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Tag Archive | "jr."
Tags: "I Have a Dream", jr., Martin Luther King
Malloy: Ring Bell to Honor MLK's Famous Speech
HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is asking residents and organizations to ring bells at 3:00 p.m. on Aug. 28 as part of a nationwide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s renowned "I Have a Dream" speech.
"Dr. King's message of freedom, equality and liberty resonates as strongly today as it did fifty years ago," Malloy said. "Never before has a single speech had such a dramatic and positive impact on our nation. Let's honor the message of Dr. King's speech and the many civil rights, labor and religious organizations that organized to spread his words. Let's not take for granted all that they fought so hard for. Especially now, at a time when some states are pursuing new laws that constrain the fundamental right to vote, we cannot forget that the fight for equal opportunity, equal justice, and an equal voice in our democracy never ends."
King's family, in cooperation with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, is inviting every state in the nation to participate in this date of remembrance by ringing bells in unison at churches, schools and other venues where bells are available.
The organization on Wednesday will host a "Let Freedom Ring" celebration at the Lincoln Monument in Washington, DC, where they will lead the nationwide bell ringing.
Governor Malloy has also issued an official proclamation to commemorate the occasion.
Posted in NationComments (0)
Tags: 2013 HPS Teacher of the Year, jr., Mario Marrerro, Robert Cotto
Hartford Honors Its Teacher of the Year: Mario Marrero
It is one thing for a teacher to believe that every child can learn. It is quite another for a teacher to persuade every one of his students that they can learn. Mario Marrero, a fourth-grade teacher at the Betances STEM Magnet School, is precisely that kind of teacher, according to colleagues.
"He always sets high expectations for his students, not only in their academics, but in their behavior," said fellow teacher Melissa Rodriguez. "They are like small soldiers as they walk through the hallways and into their room."
Born in Hartford to a family of teachers, Marrero received his primary middle and high school education in South Windsor. During his college years, Marrero studied in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and graduated from Southwestern Adventist University in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education.
He joined the teaching staff at Hartford Public Schools right from college and has so made a difference in the lives of the city's children that he has been named Hartford's 2013 Teacher of the Year.
The surprise announcement was made at the annual Hartford Public Schools Teacher of the Year dinner banquet held at The Marriott Hartford Downtown Hotel in Hartford.
"Teaching is my passion and I take pride and joy in what I do," Marrero says. "We are in the exciting position of being able to shape and mold our future."
Mr. Marrero began his career in education as a sixth grade teacher at what was then known as the Annie Fisher Magnet School of Multiple Intelligences. After two years at Fisher, he accepted a position as a third-grade teacher at Milner Core Knowledge Academy. Throughout his four years at Milner, he taught third and fifth grade. Mr. Marrero also spent his after school hours tutoring and coaching the middle grades basketball team. He credits his time at Milner for making him the teacher that he is today.
At Betances STEM Magnet School, where he plays an important role in the integration of technology in the classroom, Marrero is also the Lead Teacher of the Science Department, where he and his colleagues create inquiry-based lessons to help provide rigorous, hands-on learning experiences for their students.
"Treat education like a free buffet," Mr. Marrero tells his students. "Get as much out of it as you can."
A resident of Avon, Mr. Marrero belongs to the Connecticut Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church, where he has taught Sabbath school, played various roles in the annual Christmas musical and sings in the church choir.
Featured Photo: Mario Marrero, 2013 HPS Teacher of the Year, (seated center) Photo Courtesy of Hartford Public School.
Inset Photo: Photo: Mario Marrerro, 2013 HPS Teacher of the Year, (left) Robert Cotto, Jr. Hartford Board of Education Secretary (middle), Keith Sevigny, 2012 HPS Teacher of the Year. (right). Photo Courtesy of Robert Cotto, Jr.
Posted in Featured, Hartford, NeighborhoodComments (0)
Tags: Gov. Dannel Malloy, jr., Judge Lubbie Harper, Sen. Eric Coleman
Gov. Malloy Appoints Supreme Court Judge
HARTFORD — The Connecticut Judicial system has its third black judge.
This was welcome news to Sen. Eric Coleman (D) who chairs the General Assembly's Judiciaary Committee.
Coleman today praised Gov. Dannel Malloy's decision to appoint Appellate Judge Lubbie Harper, Jr. to the Connecticut Supreme Court
"Judge Lubbie Harper, Jr. has been a star in Connecticut's justice system from the commencement of his service as a judge, and has attracted a lot of attention for his no-nonsense, down-to-earth style," Coleman said in a statement to the press. "Judge Harper is an admirable selection on the part of Governor Malloy, and I am sure he will do an outstanding job as our newest Supreme Court Justice."
Judge Harper currently serves as an Appellate Judge, as chair of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, and as Connecticut's representative to the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.
He was nominated to the Appellate Court in 2005 by Governor M. Jodi Rell, and to the Superior Court in 1997 by Governor John G. Rowland.
Harper, 68, graduated from the University of New Haven, received his Masters from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He lives with his wife Twila in North Haven, Connecticut.
The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Judge Harper's nomination on March 11.
Posted in Hartford, NeighborhoodComments (0)
Tags: Edwin Vargas, Hartford Mayoral Election 2012, jr.
Edwin Vargas Kicks Off Mayoral Campaign
HARTFORD — Edwin Vargas Jr. is the fourth city resident to announce his mayoral bid for the 2012 election.
At Shop Fare Supermarket on Maples Street, about a dozen supporters and onlookers surrounded Vargas on Friday as he officially kicked off his candidacy.
"I've been in the community, Vargas said at a gathering at Jesse's Bar on Broad Street. "I have a lot of support."
Vargas, 61, is a long-time educator and community activist, having taught for more than three decades. He then became president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers.
He has also served as president of the Greater Hartford Labor Council AFL-CIO, president of the Puerto Rican PAC, and chair of Hartford Democratic Party.
Last year, Vargas challenged incumbent state Sen. John Fonfara, 54, for the 1st Senate District seat in the August primary. The district represents Hartford's South End and parts of Wethersfield.
Ed Vargas, Jr. confers with onlookers at gathering at Jesse's
Vargas carried Hartford but not Wethersfield.
Vargas has had his eye on Fonfara's seat for sometime and was gearing up to make another bid–if Fonfara had resigned to accept another prize: Department of Public Utilities Commissioner in Gov. Dannel Malloy's administration. Malloy offered that job to someone else.
And that door was closed for Vargas again, so he jumped into the mayoral race.
But this time, Vargas said, he has enough support in Hartford to put up a robust mayoral bid.
Tags: jr., Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Day
Church Celebrates Martin Luther King Day
HARTFORD — The Office for Black Catholic Ministries (OBCM) of the Archdiocese of Hartford will sponsor its sixth annual Mass in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford on Jan. 17 at 9 a.m.
"The Mass will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who never abandoned his faith and fought tirelessly for racial equality through peaceful measures," said Deacon Arthur L. Miller, Director of the OBCM.
It's been nearly fifty years since Dr. King delivered his immortal "I have a dream" speech in front of 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and shortly after received the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee described him as, "The first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence. He is the first to make the message of brotherly love a reality in the course of his struggle, and he has brought this message to all men, to all nations and races."
Monsignor John J. McCarthy will celebrate the Mass, Deacon Miller will serve as homilist and music will be provided by the gospel choir of Saint Michael Church in Hartford.
Tags: "March of Honor", Glen Beck, jr., Martin Luther King
Beck's Shameful Dishonor of King Nothing New for Conservatives
By Ofari Hutchinson, Guest Columnist
Glenn Beck is either a liar or was simply mistaken as he claims that he got the date confused. The date is August 28, the same date as the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington. This is the date that Beck picked for his "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington D.C. Beck says he had no idea the date is a sacred day for civil rights leaders, and that it was pure coincidence he'll rally that day.
Civil rights leaders don't buy it, and neither do I. The provocative, over the top, incendiary talk show host doesn't do anything by accident. He always has a keen eye on anything that he does. One eye is on what will shock, grab, and infuriate the largest number of people. That always ties in to his eternal hunt for ratings, ratings, and more ratings. Ratings are the mother's milk of cable talk shows. Beck has delivered them better than most.
His other eye is just as firmly on President Obama — or rather, on dredging up anything that can belittle, ridicule and mock an African-American president. There's no better way to do that than mock the day that for a half century has been nearly universally recognized as the moment when the nation and the world became riveted on King and the civil rights battle in America. Beck knew what he was doing when he picked the date, and the day won't pass without Beck and speaker after conservative speaker invoking the name of King and the civil rights movement to tout a hands-off government, unchecked free markets, non-interference in the affairs of private business, and their phony "color-blind" notion of civil rights. The day also won't pass without Beck and other speakers making the preposterous claim that if King were alive today, he'd be quite comfortable attending their rally. There's nothing new about this shameful distortion of King by conservatives.
Starting with Reagan, Republican presidents realized that they could wring some political mileage out of King's legacy. They tried to recast him in their image on civil rights, and bent and twisted his oft times public religious Puritanism on morals issues to justify GOP positions in the values wars that they wage with blacks, Democrats and liberals.
With King safely gone for nearly two decades, Republicans in the mid-1980s eagerly grabbed at the famous line in his "I Have A Dream" speech at the March on Washington in August 1963, in which he called on Americans to judge individuals by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Those sentiments prove, Republicans claimed, that King would be on their side against affirmative action. During the fierce wars over affirmative action in the 1990s, King's words were even more shamelessly used to justify opposition to affirmative action.
Even conservative black evangelists jumped into the act, staging a march to King's gravesite to protest gay marriage, the implication being as a good Baptist minister, King would have been on their side. Coretta Scott King dispelled that notion by repeatedly issuing statements saying that she was a staunch backer of gay rights, and so would her husband have been.
The Republicans' distortion wouldn't have been possible if some of King's pronouncements on religion and the black family did not superficially parallel GOP positions on crime, marriage, the family and personal responsibility. Republicans carefully cobbled together bits and pieces from King's speeches and writings during the 1950s and early 1960s to paint him as anti–big government, anti-welfare, and tough on black crime, as well as an advocate of thrift, hard work and temperance.
The snippets of conservative thinking in King's early musings blended easily with the social conservatism of many blacks. And this was more than enough for Republicans to say that Kind would have been a big player on the GOP team. Beck and company merely picked up this manufactured view of King to justify their embrace of him.
Beck's best efforts to stir his legion of Tea Party into a frenzy would come to nothing if millions didn't genuinely loathe Obama and his policies, and firmly believe that he has turned government into a monster that will turn their taxes into endless social programs that benefit minorities at the expense of hard-working whites. This is how hate-mongers on the right stoke the anger and alienation that many whites feel toward health care and, by extension, Obama. This translates to even more fear, rage and distrust of big government.
Glenn Beck's rally is an outrageous and cynical ploy to hammer Obama. Beck can have it both ways. He can knock everyone else for playing the race card with Obama, while playing it hard himself with the timing of his rally. Leave it to Beck to find the perfect way to dishonor King.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He hosts a nationally broadcast political affairs radio talk show on Pacifica and KTYM Radio Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/earlhutchinson
Posted in Featured, Nation, OpinionComments (0)
Tags: jr., Vaness Rubin, Woodie King
Rubin Is Riveting in 'Yesterdays–An Evening with Billie Holiday'
By Ann-Marie Adams, Theater Reviewer
HARTFORD — A theater critic once said this about the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday: There are two types of people in this world, those who get Billie Holiday and those who don't.
The same can be said of Vanessa Rubin's rendition of the legend in the play, "Yesterdays–An Evening with Billie Holiday."
In her theatrical debut as Billy Holiday, Rubin delivers an outstanding performance for a memorable and melancholy evening, as she crooned in between monologues that reintroduced a scarred child behind the tragic figure jazz lovers have come to know and love.
The scene is a New York City club in 1959 and Holiday gives her last performance. Rubin, as Holiday, talks about her childhood days including her rape, her first big break, her incarceration and her infamous performance at Carnegie Hall. She sings 16 songs, including "God Bless the Child," "May Man" and "Strange Fruit."
Rubin doesn't have Billie Holiday's breaking, crying voice, not that we should expect her to be live version of the woman many called the Judy Garland of a segregated black America. But she gave a stellar performance, channeling the pain and pleasure that permeated Holiday's tragic life. Rubin delivered a beautiful and moving performance, holding her audience every minute of the almost two-hour show.
The other performers are Levi Barcourt on piano and Bernard Davis on drums and David Jackson on bass. Davis adds vocals during a staged intermission.
The production runs from Aug. 5 – Aug. 22.
Posted in A & E, FeaturedComments (0)
Tags: Henry Louis Gates, ishmael reed, jr.
Who Made Gates the Nation's "Leading Black Intellectual"?
Post-Race Scholar Yells Racism
By ISHMAEL REED in Counterpunch
Now that Henry Louis Gates' Jr. has gotten a tiny taste of what "the underclass" undergo each day, do you think that he will go easier on them? Lighten up on the tough love lectures? Even during his encounter with the police, he was given some slack. If a black man in an inner city neighborhood had hesitated to identify himself, or given the police some lip, the police would have called SWAT. When Oscar Grant, an apprentice butcher, talked back to a BART policeman in Oakland, he was shot!
Given the position that Gates has pronounced since the late eighties, if I had been the arresting officer and post-race spokesperson Gates accused me of racism, I would have given him a sample of his own medicine. I would have replied that "race is a social construct"–the line that he and his friends have been pushing over the last couple of decades.
After this experience, will Gates stop attributing the problems of those inner city dwellers to the behavior of "thirty five-year-old grandmothers living in the projects?" (Gates says that when he became a tough lover he was following the example of his mentor Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka as though his and Soyinka's situations were the same. As a result of Soyinka's criticisms of a Nigerian dictator, he was jailed and his life constantly threatened.)
Prior to the late eighties, Gates' tough love exhortations were aimed at racism in the halls of academe, but then he signed on to downtown feminist reasoning that racism was a black male problem. Karen Durbin, who hired him to write for The Village Voice, takes credit for inventing him as a "public intellectual." He was then assigned by Rebecca Penny Sinkler, former editor of The New York Times Book Review, to do a snuff job on black male writers. In an extraordinary review, he seemed to conclude that black women writers were good, not because of their merit, but because black male writers were bad. This was a response to an article by Mel Watkins, a former book review editor, who on his way out warned of a growing trend that was exciting the publisher's cash registers. Books that I would describe as high Harlequin romances, melodramas in which saintly women were besieged by cruel black male oppressors, the kind of image of the brothers promoted by confederate novelists Thomas Nelson Page and Thomas Dixon.
Gates dismissed a number of black writers as misogynists, including me, whom he smeared throughout the United States and Europe, but when Bill Clinton was caught exploiting a young woman, sexually, he told the Times that he would "go to the wall for this president." Feminists like Gloria Steinem defended the president as well, even though for years they'd been writing about women as victims of male chauvinists with power, the kind of guys who used to bankroll Ms. magazine.
Not to say that portraits of black men should be uniformly positive–I've certainly introduced some creeps in my own work–but most of the white screenwriters, directors and producers who film this material–and the professors and critics who promote it– are silent about the abuses against women belonging to their own ethnic groups. Moreover, Alice Walker, Tina Turner and bell hooks have complained that in the hands of white script writers, directors and producers, the black males become more sinister straw men than they appear in the original texts.
There are big bucks to be made in promoting this culture. Two studios are currently fighting over the rights to a movie called "Push" about a black father who impregnates his illiterate Harlem daughter. A representative of one, according to the Times, said that the movie would provide both with "a gold mine of opportunity."
As an example of the double standard by which blacks and whites are treated in American society, at about the same time that the Gate's article on black misogyny was printed, there appeared a piece about Jewish American writers. Very few women were mentioned.
Gates was also under pressure for making himself the head black feminist in the words of feminist Michele Wallace as a result of his profiting from black feminist studies sales because, as she put it in the Voice, he had unresolved issues with his late mother, who was, according to Gates, a black nationalist. The black feminists wanted in. As a result, Gates invited them to join his Norton anthology project. The result was the Norton Anthology of African American Literature. One of the editors was the late feminist scholar Dr. Barbara Christian. She complained to me almost to the day that she died that she and the late Nellie Y. McKay, another editor, did all of the work while Gates took the credit. This seems to be Gates' pattern. Getting others to do his work. Mother Jones magazine accused him of exploiting those writers who helped to assemble his Encarta Africana, of running an academic sweat shop and even avoiding affirmative action goals by not hiring blacks. Julian Brookes of Mother Jones wrote:
"Henry Louis Gates Jr. has never been shy about speaking up for affirmative action. Indeed, the prominent Harvard professor insists that he wouldn't be where he is today without it. Odd, then, that when it came to assembling a staff to compile an encyclopedia of black history, Gates hired a group that was almost exclusively white. Of the up to 40 full-time writers and editors who worked to produce Encarta Africana only three were black. What's more, Gates and co-editor K. Anthony Appiah rejected several requests from white staffers to hire more black writers. Mother Jones turned to Gates for an explanation of this apparent inconsistency.
"Did the staff members who expressed concern that the Africana team was too white have a point?"
Gates responded:
"It's a disgusting notion that white people can't write on black history–some of the best scholars of Africa are white. People should feel free to criticize the quality of the encyclopedia, but I will not yield one millimeter[to people who criticize the makeup of the staff]. It's wrongheaded. Would I have liked there to be more African Americans in the pool? Sure. But we did the best we could given the time limits and budget."
While his alliance with feminists gave Gates' career a powerful boost, it was his Op ed for the Times blaming continued anti-Semitism on African Americans that brought the public intellectual uptown. It was then that Gates was ordained as the pre-eminent African American scholar when, if one polled African-American scholars throughout the nation, Gates would not have ranked among the top twenty five. It would have to be done by secret ballot given the power that Gates' sponsors have given him to make or break academic careers. As Quincy Troupe, editor of Black Renaissance Noire would say, Gates is among those leaders who were "given to us," not only by the white mainstream but also by white progressives. Amy Goodman carries on about Gates and Cornel West like the old Bobby Soxers used to swoon over Sinatra. Last week Rachel Maddow called Gates "the nation's leading black intellectual." Who pray tell is the nation's leading white intellectual, Rachel? How come we can only have one? Some would argue that Gates hasn't written a first rate scholarly work since 1989.
CNN gave Gates' accusation against blacks as anti-Semites a worldwide audience and so when I traveled to Israel for the first time in the year, 2000, Israeli intellectuals asked me why American blacks hated Jews so. In print, I challenged Gate's libeling of blacks as a group in my book, Another Day at the Front, because at the time of his Op-ed, the Anti-Defamation League issued a report that showed the decline of anti-Semitism among black Americans. I cited this report to Gates. He said that the Times promised that there would be a follow up Op-ed about racism among American Jews. It never appeared. Barry Glassner was correct when he wrote in his "The Culture of Fear" that the whole Gates-generated black Jewish feud was hyped.
Under Tina Brown's editorship at The New Yorker, Gates was hired to do hatchet jobs on Minister Louis Farrakhan and the late playwright August Wilson.
The piece on Wilson appeared after a debate between Robert Brustein and Wilson about Wilson's proposal for a black nationalist theater. Gates took Brustein's side of the argument. Shortly afterward, Brustein and Gates were awarded a million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation for the purpose of holding theatrical Talented Tenth dinner parties at Harvard at a time when regional black theater was heading toward extinction. Tina Brown, a one-time Gates sponsor, is a post-racer like Gates. Like Andrew Sullivan, a Charles Murray supporter, she gets away with the most fatuous comments as a result of Americans being enthralled by a London accent. On the Bill Maher show, she said that issues of race were passé because the country has elected a black president. This woman lives in a city from which blacks and Latinos have been ethnically cleansed as a result the policies of Mayor Giuliani, a man who gets his talking points from The Manhattan Institute. Thousands of black and Hispanic New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked without a peep from Gates and his Harvard circle of post-racers such as Orlando Patterson.
Even the Bush administration admitted to the existence of racial profiling, yet Gates says that only after his arrest did he understand the extent of racial profiling, a problem for over two hundred years. Why wasn't "the nation's leading black intellectual" aware of the problem? His exact words following his arrest were "What it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable are all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policemen." Amazing! Shouldn't "the nation's leading black intellectual" be aware of writer Charles Chesnutt who wrote about racial profiling in 1905!
The Village Voice recently exposed the brutality meted out to black and Hispanic prisoners at New York's Riker's Island and medical experiments that have damaged black children living in the city. Yet Maureen Dowd agrees with Tina Brown, her fellow New Yorker, that because the president and his attorney general are black–in terms of racism–it's mission accomplished. Makes you understand how the German citizens of Munich could go about their business while people were being gassed a few miles away. You can almost forgive Marie Antoinette. She was a young woman in her thirties with not a single face lift operation.
What is it with this post-race Harvard elite? I got to see Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl perform in San Francisco the other night, the last of the great sixties comedians. During his routine, Gregory said that he's sending his grand kids to black historical colleges because even though he lives near Harvard and can afford to send them there, he wouldn't "send his dog to Harvard." Maybe he is on to something.
When Queer Power became the vogue, Gates latched on to that movement, too. In an introduction to an anthology of Gay writings, Gates argued that Gays face more discrimination than blacks, which is disputed even by Charles Blow, Times statistician, who like Harvard's Patterson and Gates, makes tough love to blacks exclusively. Recently, he reported that the typical target of a hate crime is black, but failed to identify the typical perpetrator of a hate crime as a young white male.
Moreover, what's the percentage of Gays on death row? The percentage of blacks? Which group is more likely to be redlined by banks, a practice that has cost blacks billions of dollars in equity? Would Cambridge police have given two white Gays the problems that they gave Gates? Why no discussion of charges of Gay racism made by Marlon Riggs, Barbara Smith and Audre Lorde? How many unarmed white Gays have been murdered by the police? How many blacks? Undoubtedly, there are pockets of homophobia among blacks but not as much as that among other ethnic communities that I could cite. The best thing for blacks would be for Gays to get married and blacks should help in this effort, otherwise all of the oxygen on the left will continue to be soaked up by this issue.
For white Gays and Lesbians to compare their struggle to that of the Civil Rights movement is like Gates comparing his situation with that of Wole Soyinka's. Moreover, Barbara Smith says that when she tried to join the Gay Millennial March on Washington, the leaders told her to get lost. They said they were intent upon convincing white Heterosexual America that "We're just like you."
Will the pre-late-80s Gates be resurrected as a result of what MSNBC and CNN commentator Touré calls Gates' wake up call? (This is the same Toure, a brilliant fiction writer, who just about wrote a post-race manifesto for The New York Times Book Review, during which he dismissed an older generation of black activists as a bunch of "Jesses".)
Will Gates let up on what Kofi Natambu the young editor of the Panopticon Review calls his "opportunism." Will he re-think remarks like the one he made after the election of his friend, the tough love president Barack Obama? Gates said that he doubted that the election would end black substance abuse and unmarried motherhood?
Is it possible that things are more complicated than tough love sound bites which are designed to solicit more patronage? Will he reconsider the post-race neocon line of his blog, TheRoot.com, bankrolled by The Washington Post? Will he invite writers Carl Dix and Askia Toure, who represent other African American constituencies, as much as he prints the views of far right Manhattan Institute spokesperson and racial profiling denier, John McWhorter.
Will he continue to advertise shoddy blame-the-victim and black pathology sideshows like CNN's "Black In America," and "The Wire?" (Predictably CNN's Anderson Cooper turned Gates' controversy into a carnival act. The story was followed by one about Michael Jackson's doctors. CNN is making so much money and raising its ratings so rapidly from black pathology stories that it's beginning to give Black Entertainment Network a run for its money, so to speak.)
Predictably, the segregated media–the spare all white jury dominating the conversation about race as usual–gave the Cambridge cop the benefit of the doubt and the police unions backed him up. The police unions always back up their fellow officers even when they shoot unarmed black suspects in the back or, in the case of Papa Charlie James, an elderly San Francisco black man, while he was laying in bed. They back each other up and "testilie" all of the time.
Will Gates listen to his critics from whom he has been protected by powerful moneyed forces, which have given him the ability to make or break academic careers, preside over the decision-making of patronage and grant-awarding institutions. Houston A. Baker Jr.'s Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned The Ideals Of The Civil Rights Era offers mild criticisms of Gates, West and other black public intellectuals, who, according to him, are "embraced by virtue of their race transcendent ideology." His book went from the warehouse to the remainder shelves. The Village Voice promised two installments of courageous muckraking pieces about Gates written by novelist, playwright and poet Thulani Davis; part two never appeared. Letters challenging Gates by one of Gates' main critics at Harvard, Dr. Martin Kilson, have been censored. Kilson refers to Gates as "the master of the intellectual dodge." And even when Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell at The Nation's blog defied the 24-hour news cycle that has depicted Gates, a black nationalist critic, as an overnight black nationalist– she calls him "apolitical"–she had to pull her punches. As an intellectual, she has more depth than all of the white mainstream and white progressive media's selected "leaders of black intellection," among whom are post-modernist preachers who can spew rhetoric faster than the speed of light.
It remains to be seen whether Gates, who calls himself an intellectual entrepreneur, will now use his "wake up call" to lead a movement that will challenge racial disparities in the criminal justice system. A system that is rotten to the core, where whites commit the overwhelming majority of the crimes, while blacks and Hispanics do the time. A prison system where torture and rape are regular occurrences and where in some states the conditions are worse than at Gitmo. California prisons hospitals are so bad that they have been declared unconstitutional and a form of torture, over the objections of Attorney General Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who leased his face to the rich and was on television the other day talking about how rough they have it. A man who is channeling his hero the late Kurt Waldheim's attitudes toward the poor and disabled.
Gates can help lead the fight so that there will be mutual respect between law enforcement and minorities instead of their calling us niggers all the time and being Marvin Gaye's "trigger happy" policemen. Not all of them but quite a few. Or Gates can coast along. Continue to maintain that black personal behavior, like not turning off the TV at night, is at the root of the barriers facing millions of black Americans. Will return to the intellectual rigor espoused by his hero W.E.B Dubois or will he continue to act as a sort of black intellectual Charles Van Doren? An entertainer. (An insider at PBS told me that the network is demanding that Gates back up his claims about the ancestry of celebrities with more solid proofs.)
Gates has discussed doing a documentary about racial profiling. I invite him to cover a meeting residents of my Oakland ghetto neighborhood have with the police each month. (Most of our problems incidentally are caused by the off-springs of two family households. Suburban gun dealers who arm gang leaders. The gang leader on our block isn't black! An absentee landlord who owns a house where crack operations take place.) He can bring Bill Cosby with him. He'll find that the problems of inner citizens are more complex than "thirty five year-old grandmothers living in the projects" and rappers not pulling up their pants and that racism remains in the words of the great novelist John A. Williams, "an inexorable force."
Finally, in his 2002 Jefferson lecture, delivered at the Library of Congress, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., during remarks about the 18th-Century poet Phillis Wheatley in which he excoriated the attitudes of her critics in the Black Arts movement, one more time, ended his lecture with: "We can finally say: Welcome home, Phillis; welcome home."
If Gate's ceases his role as just another tough lover and an "intellectual entrepreneur," and takes a role in ending racial traffic and retail profiling, and police home invasions, issues that have lingered since even more Chesnutt's time, we can say, "Welcome home, Skip; welcome home."
Ishmael Reed is the publisher of Konch. His new book, "Mixing It Up, Taking On The Media Bullies" was published by De Capo.
Posted in Featured, NationComments (0)


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'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' Cast Reflects on Philip Seymour Hoffman's Final Film
By Alex Ungerman 5:14 PM PST, November 6, 2015
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 marks not only a close for the series, but also the last time we will see the great Philip Seymour Hoffman on the big screen.
The cast, as well as director, Francis Lawrence, reflected on working with the late actor, who died of a drug overdose in February 2014.
PHOTOS: Stars We Lost
"He's terrific," said Donald Sutherland. "He was a wonderful actor"
"I think everybody felt really sad. It was a tremendous loss," said Julianne Moore.
"Right after he died, I found it really difficult to work on the scenes and look through the footage," Lawrence told ET. "Obviously, it was a very emotional time and a tough time."
"Now when I look at it," he continued, "it's a nice thing to see him up there and to be reminded of him and working with him. And I think he's the second shot in the movie, so pretty quickly you see his presence."
WATCH: 12 Moments From 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' Trailer That Book Fans Will Freak Out Over
Over a year after his death, Hoffman's life partner, Mimi O'Donnell, said she is slowly healing.
"I would say that, after a year has passed, I'm able to function, if that's the right word, or be in the world a little bit differently," she said in May.
Watch ET's first interview with Hoffman below.
Lizzo Transforms Into a Superhero in Powerful 'Special' Music Video
Jessica Biel Pens Heartfelt Birthday Tribute to Justin Timberlake

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home / Blog / Is Zithromax A Rarely Used Antibiotic And If So Then Why?
People tend to think that when a medication doesn't get used that much then this means it must not be good. Surely if a medication was really effective and people knew this, then they would ask for it by name wouldn't they? Most of the time yes, but a lot of the times people don't really understand just how many different types of treatment exist for a certain condition or infection. Take Zithromax for example. It's a form of antibiotic that works really well and it has a good track record.
The issue with it is that most people just don't know a lot about it and because of this they don't know to ask for it. The same can be said for a lot of doctors. Doctors generally have a specific set of antibiotics they feel comfortable prescribing. This doesn't mean that they've had bad result with one medication over the other. It simply means that they've experience enough success consistently with one option in order to make it their go to choice. Zithromax may or may not fall into that category sometimes.
If Zithromax is rarely used, then it's because there are either several other antibiotics that are seen as a better option or because most doctors don't know enough about it. This doesn't mean it won't work though. Rare use can also be a good thing in this case. Most people these days are aware of the resistance problems concerning bacterial infections. So the fact that a certain treatment isn't used all that much means that it will probably be more effective overall, at least in the beginning stages.
Rare usage also comes with some risks, such as it not being completely known how long it should take to work or how much is needed. What a doctor could do is compare an antibacterial treatment such as Zithromax with those that are similar to it in order to get an idea. In case they didn't feel comfortable doing this, then the best option would be to just test you on it and see if you respond well. This will usually happen if a doctor does have a little more knowledge on Zithromax than others.
One more reason why Zithromax might be rarely used is because doctors don't want to use it except for in extreme cases. If there are other antibiotics that would work just as well for you, then they want to use these instead. Zithromax might be used when an infection requires something stronger and a doctor knows it's going to get a desired result in a certain period of time.
Besides from these reasons people shouldn't worry about any antibiotic being rarely used. You only want any type of antibiotic when you really need it, not just for the purpose of using it. You want to keep resistance issues low so that when you really do need treatment in the future you can be sure it will help your infection to get better.


text:
**MVC Actions Audit Extension for [Audit.NET library](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET).** (An extensible framework to audit executing operations in .NET).

Generate Audit Trails for MVC actions. Supporting AspNetCore Mvc.

Audit.Mvc provides the infrastructure to log interactions with MVC applications.
It can record action methods calls to controllers and razor pages.

## Install

**NuGet Package**
To install the package run the following command on the Package Manager Console:

```
PM> Install-Package Audit.Mvc
```

[![NuGet Status](https://img.shields.io/nuget/v/Audit.Mvc.svg?style=flat)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Audit.Mvc/)
[![NuGet Count](https://img.shields.io/nuget/dt/Audit.Mvc.svg)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Audit.Mvc/)

# IMPORTANT NOTE

If your project targets the full .NET framework, but you are using AspNet Core (`Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.*`)
you should install and reference the `Audit.Mvc.Core` package instead, otherwise it will assume you are targeting
the old generation of ASP.NET:

```
PM> Install-Package Audit.Mvc.Core
```

If your project targets the NET Core framework (NetStandard >= 1.6), there is no difference between using `Audit.Mvc` or `Audit.Mvc.Core`
since both assumes AspNet Core.

## Usage

### MVC Controllers

Decorate the MVC Actions or Controllers you want to audit with `[Audit]` action filter.

For example:

```c#
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    [Audit]
    public ActionResult Index(int id, string name)
    {
      //...
      return View(new SomeViewModel() { Id = id, Name = name });
    }

    [Audit(EventType = "InsertOrderAction", IncludeHeaders = true, IncludeModel = true)]
    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult TestPost(SomeViewModel model)
    {
      //...
    }
}
```

> The `[Audit]` attribute cannot be used on razor pages,
because [action filters are not supported on razor pages](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/mvc/controllers/filters?view=aspnetcore-3.1#filter-types).

### Razor pages

To audit razor pages, include the `AuditPageFilter` on the filters collection on your startup code, for example:

```c#
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddRazorPages()
        .AddMvcOptions(options =>
        {
            options.Filters.Add(new AuditPageFilter()
            {
                IncludeHeaders = true
            });
        });
}
```

Or you can apply the filter only to certain pages, for example for pages under `/Movies` path:

```c#
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddRazorPages(options =>
    {
        options.Conventions.AddFolderApplicationModelConvention("/Movies", model => model.Filters.Add(new AuditPageFilter()
        {
            IncludeResponseBody = true
        }));
    });
}
```

Alternatively, if you want to setup the audit on a particular page and/or don't want to add the filter as a global filter,
you can override the `OnPageHandlerExecutionAsync` on your page model and manually call the same method
on an `AuditPageFilter` instance:

```c#
public class YourPageModel : PageModel
{
    private readonly AuditPageFilter _pageFilter = new AuditPageFilter() { IncludeHeaders = true };

    public override async Task OnPageHandlerExecutionAsync(PageHandlerExecutingContext context, PageHandlerExecutionDelegate next)
    {
        await _pageFilter.OnPageHandlerExecutionAsync(context, next);
    }
    // ...
}
```

## Configuration

### Output

The MVC audit events are stored using a _Data Provider_. You can use one of the [available data providers](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET#data-providers-included) or implement your own. Please refer to the [data providers](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET#data-providers) section on Audit.NET documentation.

### Settings

The `AuditAttribute` can be configured with the following properties:
- **EventType**: A string that identifies the event type. Can contain the following placeholders:
  - \{controller}: replaced with the controller name (only for MVC).
  - \{action}: replaced with the action method name (or the display name for razor pages).
  - \{verb}: replaced with the HTTP verb used (GET, POST, etc).
  - \{area}: replaced with the area name (only for razor pages).
  - \{path}: replaced with the view path (only for razor pages).
- **IncludeHeaders**: Boolean to indicate whether to include the Http Request Headers or not.
- **IncludeModel**: Boolean to indicate whether to include the View Model or not.
- **IncludeRequestBody**: Boolean to indicate whether to include or exclude the request body from the logs. Default is false. (Check following note)
- **IncludeResponseBody**: Boolean to indicate whether to include response body or not. Default is false.
- **SerializeActionParameters**: Boolean to indicate whether the action arguments should be pre-serialized to the audit event. Default is false.

To configure the output persistence mechanism please see [Event Output Configuration](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET/blob/master/README.md#data-providers).

### NOTE
When **IncludeRequestBody** is set to true you may need to enable rewind on the request body stream, otherwise the controller won't be able to read
the request body more than once (by default it's a forwand-only stream that can be read only once). You can enable rewind on your startup logic with the following startup code:

```c#
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
{
    app.Use(async (context, next) => {
        context.Request.EnableBuffering();
        await next();
    });
}
```

## Audit Ignore attribute
To selectively exclude certain controllers, action methods, action parameters or return values, you can decorate them with `AuditIgnore` attribute.

For example:

```c#
[Audit(IncludeHeaders = true, IncludeModel = true)]
public class AccountController : Controller
{
    [HttpGet]
    [AuditIgnore]
    public IEnumerable<string> GetAccounts()
    {
        // this action will not be audited
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public IEnumerable<string> PostAccount(string user, [AuditIgnore]string password)
    {
        // password argument will not be audited
    }

    [HttpGet]
    [return:AuditIgnore]
    public IEnumerable<string> GetSecrets(string user)
    {
        // the response body of this action will not be audited
    }
}
```

You can also decorate the razor pages classes, methods or arguments to be ignored on the audits:

```c#
public class IndexModel : PageModel
{
    [return:AuditIgnore]
    public IActionResult OnGet(string user)
    {
        // the response of this action will not be audited
    }

    [AuditIgnore]
    public void OnDelete(string user)
    {
        // this action will not be audited
    }

    public async Task<IActionResult> OnPostAsync([AuditIgnore]string password)
    {
        // password argument will not be audited
    }
}
```

## Output details

The following table describes the Audit.Mvc output fields:

- ### [AuditAction object](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET/blob/master/src/Audit.Mvc/AuditAction.cs)

| Field Name | Type | Description |
| ------------ | ---------------- |  -------------- |
| **TraceId** | string | A unique identifier per request |
| **HttpMethod** | string | HTTP method (GET, POST, etc) |
| **ControllerName** | string | The controller name (or the area name for razor pages) |
| **ActionName** | string | The action name (or the display name for razor pages) |
| **ViewName** | string | The view name (if any) |
| **ViewPath** | string | View physical path (if any) |
| **FormVariables** | Object | Form-data input variables passed to the action |
| **ActionParameters** | Object | The action parameters passed |
| **RequestBody** | [BodyContent](#bodycontent) | The request body (optional) |
| **ResponseBody** | [BodyContent](#bodycontent) | The response body (optional) |
| **UserName** | string | Username on the HttpContext Identity |
| **RequestUrl** | string | URL of the request |
| **IpAddress** | string | Client IP address |
| **ResponseStatusCode** | integer | HTTP response status code |
| **ResponseStatus** | string | Response status description |
| **Headers** | Object | HTTP Headers (optional) |
| **Model** | Object | The model object returned by the controller (if any) (optional) |
| **ModelStateValid** | boolean | Boolean to indicate if the model is valid |
| **ModelStateErrors** | string | Error description when the model is invalid |
| **RedirectLocation** | string | The redirect location (if any) |
| **Exception** | string | The exception thrown details (if any) |

### [BodyContent](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET/blob/master/src/Audit.Mvc/BodyContent.cs)
| Field Name | Type | Description |
| ------------ | ---------------- |  -------------- |
| **Type** | string | The body type reported |
| **Length** | long? | The length of the body if reported |
| **Value** | Object | The body content |

## Customization

You can access the Audit Scope from the controller action by calling the Controller extension method `GetCurrentAuditScope()`.

For example:
```c#
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    [Audit]
    public ActionResult Index(int id, string name)
    {
       //...
       var auditScope = this.GetCurrentAuditScope();
       auditScope.Comment("New comment from controller");
       auditScope.SetCustomField("TestField", Guid.NewGuid());
       //...
    }
}
```

See [Audit.NET](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET) documentation about [Custom Field and Comments](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET#custom-fields-and-comments) for more information.

### Output Sample for Get operation

> `HomeController.Index` (GET) with params: id=1234567&name=test

```javascript
{
    "EventType": "Home/Index (GET)",
    "Environment": {
        ...
    },
    "StartDate": "2016-08-22T18:31:14.6550924-05:00",
    "EndDate": "2016-08-22T18:31:23.1834012-05:00",
    "Duration": 8529,
    "Action": {
        "TraceId": "0HLFLQP4HGFAG_00000001",
        "HttpMethod": "GET",
        "ControllerName": "Home",
        "ActionName": "Index",
        "ViewName": "Index",
        "ViewPath": "~/Views/Home/Index.cshtml",
        "FormVariables": {},
        "ActionParameters": {
            "id": 1234567,
            "name": "test",
        },
        "UserName": "federico@mycompany.com",
        "RequestUrl": "/",
        "IpAddress": "127.0.0.1",
        "ResponseStatus": "200 OK",
        "ResponseStatusCode": 200,
        "ModelStateValid": true,
        "RedirectLocation": null
    }
}
```

### Output Sample for Post operation

> `HomeController.TestPost` (POST) with body: id=1234567&name=test

```javascript
{
    "EventType": "InsertOrderAction",
    "Environment": {
        ...
    },
    "StartDate": "2016-08-22T18:31:00.0020036-05:00",
    "EndDate": "2016-08-22T18:31:15.1705128-05:00",
    "Duration": 15000,
    "Action": {
        "TraceId": "0HLFLQP4HGFAG_00000002",
        "HttpMethod": "POST",
        "ControllerName": "Home",
        "ActionName": "TestPost",
        "FormVariables": {
            "id": "1234567",
            "name": "test"
        },
        "ActionParameters": {
            "model": {
                "id": 1234567,
                "name": "test"
            }
        },
        "UserName": "federico@mycompany.com",
        "RequestUrl": "/Home/TestPost",
        "IpAddress": "::1",
        "ResponseStatus": "200 OK",
        "ResponseStatusCode": 200,
        "Headers": {
            "Cache-Control": "max-age=0",
            "Connection": "keep-alive",
            "Content-Length": "24",
            "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
            "Accept": "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8",
            "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate",
            "Accept-Language": "es-419,es;q=0.8",
            "Host": "localhost:37341",
            "Referer": "http://localhost:37341/",
            "User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/52.0.2743",
            "Origin": "http://localhost:37341",
            "Upgrade-Insecure-Requests": "1"
        },
        "ModelStateValid": false,
        "ModelStateErrors": {
            "Id": "The field Id must be between 0 and 9999."
        },
        "RedirectLocation": null
    }
}
```

## MVC template (dotnet new)

If you are creating an ASP.NET Core MVC project from scratch, you can use the
**dotnet new template** provided on the library [Audit.Mvc.Template](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Audit.Mvc.Template/).
This allows to quickly generate an *audit-enabled* MVC project that can be used as a starting point for your project or as a working example.

To install the template on your system, just type:

```sh
dotnet new -i Audit.Mvc.Template
```

Once you install the template, you should see it on the dotnet new templates list with the name `mvcaudit` as follows:

![capture](https://i.imgur.com/awBKluE.png)

You can now create a new project on the current folder by running:

```sh
dotnet new mvcaudit
```

This will create a new Asp.NET Core 2.1 project.

To get help about the options:

```
dotnet new mvcaudit -h
```

# Contribute

If you like this project please contribute in any of the following ways:

- [Star](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET/stargazers) this project on GitHub.
- Request a new feature or expose any bug you found by creating a [new issue](https://github.com/thepirat000/Audit.NET/issues/new).
- Ask any questions about the library on [StackOverflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask?tags=Audit.NET).
- Subscribe to and use the [Gitter Audit.NET channel](https://gitter.im/Audit-NET/Lobby).
- Support the project by [becoming a Backer](https://opencollective.com/auditnet):
[![Backer](https://opencollective.com/auditnet/tiers/backer.svg?avatarHeight=36&width=600)](https://opencollective.com/auditnet)
- Spread the word by blogging about it, or sharing it on social networks:

- Buy me a coffee via [ko-fi](https://www.ko-fi.com/X8X3OBB5):

[![ko-fi](https://www.ko-fi.com/img/donate_sm.png)](https://ko-fi.com/X8X3OBB5)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A Hong Kong photographer detained for carrying a bullet proof jacket and helmet in Thailand will face trial after pleading not guilty to a weapons possession charge on Monday.
The case has sparked outcry from media freedom groups who say journalists should not be punished for carrying body armour and protective gear in and out of dangerous zones.
Hong Kong photojournalist Anthony Kwan Hok-chun (C) walks with lawyers as they arrive at Samutprakarn provincial court on September 7, 2015. Photo: AFP / Pornchai Kittiwongsakul.
Kwan, who works for the Hong Kong-based Initium media group, was held on August 23 after trying to depart Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport with a flak jacket and helmet in his hand luggage.
But both items are classified as weapons under Thai law and Kwan was charged with breaching the country's Arms Control Act — punishable by five years in jail.
He was in Thailand to cover the aftermath of August's deadly Bangkok bombing.
Kwan told reporters on Monday after the hearing at the Samut Prakhan provincial court, near Bangkok, that he had been indicted.
His plea means he will face a trial starting next month. The court granted Kwan bail but was set later Monday to rule on whether he is free to leave Thailand.
"I think everyone in my situation would be a little bit concerned. I'm preparing for the worst but hoping for the best," Kwan added.
Thailand's classification of protection equipment as a weapon that requires a license has been criticised by media groups who say they are vital pieces of kit for reporters in a country where political violence routinely spills onto the streets.
Ahead of Monday's hearing, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand issued a statement to express disappointment at Kwan's indictment.
"Thai authorities should consult with the media community… to explore a way around the 1987 law, which was surely not intended to prosecute journalists carrying out their normal duties," the statement said.


text:
Home Africa Sudan reopens airspace after revolt quelled
Sudan reopens airspace after revolt quelled
Sudan has reopened its airspace, the head of the sovereign council said on Wednesday, while the army said two soldiers were killed and four injured in quelling a revolt by former security agents linked to toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir, Reuters reports.
The violence was the biggest confrontation yet between the old guard and supporters of the new administration, which helped topple Bashir in April after 30 years in power.
In a speech early on Wednesday, the sovereign council head, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, vowed never to allow any coup to take place and added that the army was in control of all intelligence buildings.
"All headquarters are under the army's control, and the airspace is now open," al-Burhan said.
The former security agents fought soldiers in the capital, Khartoum, for hours until government forces quelled the revolt late on Tuesday, residents and a military source said.
Read: Sudan: Holy Quran Society and media outlets foreclosed to recover funds
"What happened on Tuesday is a revolt," Mohamed Othman al-Hussein, the army chief of staff, said on Wednesday.
The two officers killed and four injured in putting down the revolt showed the military had been able to end it with minimal casualties, he added in a speech.
In a protest over severance packages, the former employees of the National Intelligence and Security Service also shut two small oilfields in Darfur, a government source told Reuters. The fields had an output of around 5,000 barrels a day.
Restructuring the once-feared security apparatus blamed for suppressing dissent under Bashir was among the key demands of the uprising that had forced his removal.
However, once dismissed by the new transitional government, many of the security agents returned to their barracks without being disarmed, after leaving the ministries and streets they once controlled.
Previous articlePence Swears In First Chief Of Space Operations At White House
Next articleNew footage shows Iranian missiles hitting Ukraine plane
UK represents Israel's third largest export market and more, says Middle East think-tank
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obor - October 18, 2019
Arsenal fans disapprove of links to Olympiakos winger Daniel Podence
Socialism Is The Greatest Threat To The Environment – OpEd
To protect Israel's colonial project, Palestinians are treated like a humanitarian...
"Catastrophic error", "Would be a waste" – Newcastle outcast linked with...
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O2 and Samsung to develop 5G … – News
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Morocco accuses UAE of supporting Polisario Front
obor - August 24, 2019


Loved these last two posts, David. I felt, though, that you walked right up to the edge of what would have truly aced your argument at the end and then left me sighing on the issue of relative demand for nominal wealth and its connection to inflation. There is one other factor involved in the hoarding or release of nominal wealth aggregates, and that is HOW nominal wealth is held (or accrued) in the first place. As you increase wealth/income inequality, nominal wealth aggregates are less likely to see disposal in a boom (or if it does, it is in Minsky's second price setting mechanism - that of real and financial assets, not goods and services). Thus, the mistake being made, even by those correctly focused on broad money, is in ignoring how nominal wealth is held and the fact that - of course - the rich are far less likely to release their excess nominal holdings into the consumption of goods and services.
This, then, is the most profound difference between the impact of excess nominal wealth on inflation in this century versus the last. Those most likely to consume do not possess much in the way of excess assets (or any net worth at all, in many cases).
Finally, low U3 needs to be expressed in the context of job quality, not just quantity. The quality of U.S. jobs has deteriorated markedly in favor of more low wage/low hours positions since 1990. This trend, which I am building into an index at Cornell, is an enormous offset to the positive effect of improvement in the headcount of those with a job. And, of course, is an additional expression of wealth and income polarization.
Two excellent points. Thank you, Dan.
When and why did US macroeconomists become fixated (I won't say peevishly) on microscopic rates of inflation?
If you say "Oh, after the 1970s-early 1980s inflation," I think you might be wrong.
In the op-ed, when the CPI was at 3%, Friedman chastised the Fed for being too tight, despite the fact that the Fed had cut the funds rate in the previous three years to 3% from 10%.
Through the Reagan years, the WSJ pushed the Fed to loosen up, as did the Reaganauts. Indeed, Reagan himself suggested placing the Fed into the Treasury (where it would answer the Oval Office, obviously). The White House loathed Volcker, and packed the FOMC against him.
Today, no right-wing economist, and the bulk of macroeconomists, would dare utter such heresy as, "3% inflation is okay," or "The Fed is too tight."
Indeed, the Fed recently adopted a 2% inflation goal, which evidently is actually an inviolate and perhaps radioactive ceiling (judging from Fed policies).
So, decades after the inflation era, long after the PCE sank in low single digits---only then did academics, central bankers and related parties start fervently genuflecting to the sub-2% inflation totem, or even zero inflation (Charles Plosser has rhapsodized about deflation, usually with a seraphic expression on his face).
Why this inflation-obsession now. as we recede further and further from the inflation days?
BTW, fun fact: PCE core inflation barely breached 9%, fleetingly, in 1980 and quickly collapsed from there.
The much-recalled "days of double-digit inflation"---well, see this chart.
(adjust chart to annual percent change).
The "days of inflation" were actually a few years of upper-single digit inflation from 1970 to 1980, falling inflation to 1987, and then sub-3% since 1992, or even lower.
Is there an agenda behind the anti-inflation extremists?
Well, I hope that others will chime in as well, but here's what I think.
The current generation of monetary policy makers still have the 70s in their mind. You are right that official measures of inflation did not break double digits for long, but inflation was high. I have a vivid recollection, as a kid, buying potato chips at 5 cents a bag, then 10 cents, then 15 (with the bags getting smaller at the same time). But perhaps even more importantly, high inflations tend to be volatile inflations. In any case, rightly or wrongly, the general impression was that this high and volatile inflation was bad and the Volcker ended it at a terrible price. The Fed never wants to be placed in that position again. And I think that this, more than anything else, explains the extreme aversion to inflation. History shows that when the inflation anchor is let loose, it becomes hard to control.
As for an agenda behind the anti-inflation extremists, who do you have in mind exactly? I'm pretty sure there's no political agenda on the FOMC. These people are committed to having the Fed fulfill its Congressional mandates, and that's it. Price stability (interpreted as 2% average long run inflation) is one of the Fed's important mandates.
Well, I think your answer is right in some measure...but does not explain the increasing squeamishness about inflation that developed AFTER the 1990s, as the high single-digit inflation of late 1970s-early 1980s receded further into the past.
But who today can say, "Sure, 3% inflation. Piece of cake---worth it to get more output."?
So a building inflation-phobia happened long AFTER the high single-digit inflation days….but what?
Your memory of potato-chip bags suggests prices more than tripled in your youth. Maybe you had a long youth (you have company in that case).
Unfortunately, the only FRED series I can find starts in 1985.
It shows potato-chip prices not doing much until 2000, then curiously rising sharply though the Great Recession.
BTW, slicing and then pan-frying potatoes in salt, pepper, butter and oil is cheaper and delivers even more satisfaction than potato chips. Even more calories. Not advised.
As for agendas at the Fed or FOMC….well, that is long answer.
There might be industry capture at a federal regulatory agency.
You can fight deflation through money-financed tax cuts on FICA levies (yay!), or you could stuff commercial banks full of reserves, and then pay banks to do nothing with the reserves. No wry comments?
There might be class-bias in a 4.75% natural rate of unemployment target (which works out to having about 1.3 people looking for work for every job opening). Oh, how nice.
The Fed Beige Books are obsessed with worker shortages, but much,much less so with housing scarcity (induced by property zoning). Commercial banks lend heavily on property. Zoned property.
There are 12 regional bank seats on the FOMC, but no labor seats, no manufacturing seats, no construction seats.
Do bondholders want interest rates to go up?
I wonder if the Fed is a lot like the USDA. It works closely with one industry….
In terms of broad representation, you should remember that the 12 regional Feds have their own boards of directors drawn from a variety of local sectors. Moreover, many of the regional Feds have branch offices with their own boards of directors (the St. Louis Fed, for example, has branches in Louisville, Memphis and Little Rock).
It's useful to be somewhat cynical; but not too cynical! Cheers.
True about the regional bank presidents, although they turn out often to be the extremists, regarding inflation fighting.
In general I do not think the system of regional bank presidents is a sterling example of transparency, accountability, and democracy in action.
There is actually something to be said in favor of Ronald Reagan's idea of placing Federal Reserve policy within the Treasury Department. This would leave accountability for monetary policy in the president's office and citizens could vote accordingly.
The opaque nature of the Federal Reserve results in all but a minute percent of the US public understanding monetary policy. If anyone does.
The fact that monetary policy-making apparatus is so incomprehensible aids and abets industry-capture of the Federal Reserve, and provides a cocoon for the zany ministry's that survive for decades after empirical results vanish.
Great post. I am not sure we will look at it and reply, but..
As far as I know, some people argue that U.S has low inflation rate now because of AMAZON. They have been simplifying the products distribution of process, so we can cost less money to buy and sell. And that might be one of the reasons, of course fixed or lower real wage which is driven by deteriorated job quality could included.
Now I wonder what you think about AMAZON as one of the reasons because you didn't mention it.
I think I know where this is going. There is a theory which does away with non-accelerating inflation completely and offers up trade-offs inherent to government subsidised ELR programs. What do you make of the talk surrounding these theories?


Colombo — 5th April 2019 – DeFonseka.com, Sri Lanka's premier Family Name / Genealogy website announced today that it has been honored with an Official Honoree award in the Best Personal Blog/Website category, at the 23rd Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet. Alongside the 5 Nominees selected for each category, The Webby Awards honors select additional outstanding entries as Official Honorees. Less than 15% of entries in the Webby Awards are deemed Official Honorees. This is the third Webby Honoree award ever received for digital excellence in Sri Lanka, and the second for a website.
DeFonseka.com is the very first web site dedicated to Genealogy and Family Name Research in Sri Lanka. Using authenticated research, a journalistic instinct and the web medium, the site examines and chronicles the family name De Fonseka, the people and their stories, achievements, and their path thru the sweeping social and economic changes over the centuries.
The website setup around 2002 with the objective of collating and preserving the family's history, undertakes research on areas related to the family name and disseminates the material thru the medium of the internet. Today it has become the premier facilitator and resource bank to anyone researching their family roots in Sri Lanka, and has been a beacon to the Sri Lankan Genealogists for many years.
"It has been a seventeen year labor of love" says the website's creator Fonny de Fonseka. "What started as an experiment to learn web design in 2002, ended up being a full-fledged family name site, surpassing the best of such sites. The site today contains over 250 pages of information including a helpful guide for Sri Lankan Genealogists".
The website's roots originate in a unique court case during the Dutch Period, in which the all-powerful 'Disava', is challenged in a court of law. This left a trail of records relating to the De Fonseka and associated families. Early researchers worked with scholars to translate the Dutch work and build the family history to the end of the 19th century. This research lays the foundation for this website, as it picks up and carries the research to the 20th century and beyond. The website is also proud to present extracts from original Dutch records referring to the case. This is the first time that the Dutch records, now preserved in the National Archives of Sri Lanka, has been brought online.
You have clearly put a substantial amount of time and effort into the research of your family, and this is evident in the range of information you have available.
The implementation, presents an undeniable excellence that puts it well above the remaining ones, making it worthy of being publicly designated as an example to be followed and as a true knowledge and information source.
You've created quite a thorough resource for your family name here.


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Solidarity & Sisterhood: My Journey (So Far) with #GirlsLikeUs
by Janet Mock
A few months ago, I participated in a focus group at the Hetrick-Martin Institute with eight other trans women. We gathered to offer insight into resources available for young trans women, and more importantly what we would have wanted (in resources, support, spaces) growing up to make our adolescence a bit easier.
An amazing discussion was sparked among the women, the kind of intimate conversation that can only happen with people who have shared such a unique experience. We may have grown up in different times, with different resources, and different challenges, but we were all trans women who ultimately chose to live visibly and were looking for ways to make it better for girls who were coming of age behind us.
The key takeaway didn't happen in our adult group. It happened in a separate focus group, where younger trans women offered their perspectives on what they wanted, what was available for them and more importantly how they saw themselves.
When I asked the facilitator how younger trans women identified, she said, "They don't call themselves trans, transsexual or transgender."
Then how do they define themselves?
"When I asked them who they were," the facilitator said, "One girl simply stated: 'We're just girls…with something extra.'"
And did they all agree to that?
"Yes, some said they were 'just girls' – point blank," she said, "And others agreed that the 'something extra' was necessary."
I found it exhilarating that these young women were naming themselves, that they were identifying how they wanted and that they exerted themselves in a world that rarely, if ever made room for them. I found myself uplifted by the "girls…with something extra" because it wasn't coming from a place of want or lack. It didn't fall prey to the tired, simplistic, limiting media sound bite of "girl trapped in boy's body." Instead it celebrated who we were as trans women: We have something extra. You can take that literally or figuratively, which is how I choose to read it: We are extra, we are more, we are special, we are everything.
I grew up just like these girls: ballsy, sassy, so sure of where I was going and how I was getting there. No one could tell me otherwise. I was a girl, with something extra: extra going beyond my genitals; extra as in sass, extra as in a killer volleyball approach, extra as in the bounce of my curls, extra as in my refusal to be a victim just because people chose not to get me, extra in the sense that I had a dream and sacrificed a lot to ensure I made those dreams my reality.
When I think of the girl I was growing up, I also think of my blind spots as well, and how I learned nearly everything I knew regarding hormones, dating, doctors, presentation, self-esteem, document changes, etc. from older women who grew up as a girl like myself. I grew up with women who knew the way—to a certain point. They could help me navigate the physical transition process, but they weren't as keen on where to go from there. No one talked to me about life after my teenage transition because education usually wasn't an integral part of the trans woman way where I grew up. Though they weren't able to help me get to college, most did wish me well when I moved to New York. And these same women supported me when I told my story nearly a decade later.
But when I came out, I was suddenly urged to identify myself: Are you transgender or transsexual? And frankly, I thought this to be one of the silliest things to be confronted with upon my sharing such a personal story with the world.
As a young woman, I only used those terms a few times, mostly because I didn't attach my sense of self to those political and medical terms. They didn't sing to my inner sense of being, they were mere labels meant to organize me and put me in my place. So how did I identify? I was a girl automatically reared as a boy who rebelled against my family's expectations to be the woman I knew myself to be.
But I'm a writer and I know the power of words, so I'm not going to feign naivety to get out of this often contentious matter in our community. As soon as I came out I was labeled as transgender. Marie Claire proclaimed, "I was born a boy." Transsexual activists argued that the LGBT establishment was misgendering me by calling me transgender.
In the end, I embraced it all because none of them could easily define who I inherently am. But it wasn't until I began speaking to other girls who grew up like I did in my post-coming out life during speaking engagements and fundraisers, on Twitter and Facebook, over coffees and dinner and on subways, that I began using phrases like, "You know how girls like us do." "You know girls like us are doing big things." "Girls like us know how to make it work, honey."
Girls like us rolled off my tongue. The root of girls like us started in private conversations with young women looking for role models, becoming role models, wanting to be heard and hoping to make a difference.
And then in March, Jenna Talackova was told because she was not a "real woman" that she could not go after her dream. And as I was writing about her, I realized that despite the fact that we look different, had different backgrounds and experiences, I knew her. I knew her on a level that only a girl who walked a similar path that we did could know.
And because of this, I cried over a beauty pageant, and I don't even watch beauty pageants. But sashaying across a stage in a gorgeous gown was Jenna's dream; it's the equivalent of me seeing my name on the glossy hardcover book boasting words I wrote to convey my truth. We all have different dreams, and this was Jenna's and in a sense it was mine. So I shared Jenna's petition on Twitter, and said:
Please sign & share this women's rights petition in support of transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova & #girlslikeus: ow.ly/9TYc6
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) March 27, 2012
And that was the online birth of #girlslikeus. I didn't think it over, it wasn't a major push, but #girlslikeus felt right. Remarkably a few more women—some well-known, others not—shared the petition and began sharing their stories of being deemed un-real, being called out, working it, fighting for what's right, wanting to transition, dreaming to do this, accomplishing that…. #girlslikeus soon grew beyond me, and I continued to feed it: I shared quotes that touched me, articles that celebrated trans women, essays written by trans women, #FF women who inspired me, and took pictures with #girlslikeus who I call my friends and dear sisters. Then, I gave a speech at the University of Southern California which was a way for me to express the anger and frustration and hope that fueled my efforts over the past year of my living visibly. I got the chance to tell bits of the injustice CeCe McDonald faced. I got to talk about how Paige Clay's end could've easily been—and can still be—mine. I rallied the strength to hold back tears as I read over words that were written just the night before. I shared that speech on YouTube and spoke out against the New York Times' sexist and transphobic depiction of Lorena Escalera, and then, remarkably a few outlets used their platform to amplify the collective voices of #girlslikeus (Bitch Media, Feministing, Fuck Yeah Feminists, GLAAD, TransGriot, WildGender), and my dream came true: #girlslikeus was used on its own without my @janetmock handle in it. It had a life of its own. Intimate, frivolous, deep and vain conversations were being had, women were connecting to one another, finding sisterhood and friendship, yet I also noticed something brewing as well. A piece by QWOC Media (Queer Women of Color) touted #girlslikeus as an online campaign meant to empower trans women of color. Yes, this was true, but it was not the whole truth, as #girlslikeus began as a means to connect all willing trans women across colors, generations, sexual identities and class. That sound bite from the QWOC piece unknowingly created a rift in the community of sisters I aimed to build, and made some white trans women feel as if they were "intruding" on #girlslikeus because it was touted as an empowerment tool for trans women of color, not just trans women. So I made it clear in a series of Tweets that #girlslikeus is for ALL trans women, and ultimately that just because a brown woman establishes a mini-movement does not mean that white women can't contribute.
#GirlsLikeUs is for ALL trans women, regardless of color, but all who lend their voice to amplify ours knows that intersectionality matters. — Janet Mock (@janetmock) May 15, 2012
That tweet was RTed by more than 40 followers, and served as my answer to any confusion about who I created this space for. Still, I knew I needed to create a definition, so, on the advice of @Arizona_Abby, I created the following to define #girlslikeus:
A space created by and for trans* women with the purpose of connecting, upLIFTing one another, and sharing resources and stories. It reaches across generations and color, location and socioeconomic standing, established by @janetmock in March 2012 to empower trans women to live visibly and connect in sisterhood and solidarity.
I also created a growing list of trans women on Twitter who've contributed Tweets to #girlslikeus (please Tweet #girlslikeus or "I stand with #girlslikeus" if you'd like to be added to this list). And I also noticed that trans women were including #girlslikeus in their profiles, as if it were a badge of honor. And to me, it is.
@BaliCheetah
@BiBi_Monroe
@ErinB68
@iheartava31
@LadyJaya
@missrosslive
@Teeloaf
@tonacity
@WendiMiyake
I want #girlslikeus to be an encouraging space, for debate, for love, for hope, for struggles. I want younger girls to have the space to be frivolous, to talk about transition, to talk about genitals if they want, to ask after the types of procedures people had, etc. It's your choice to answer or not. I also want it to be a space where women can discuss hot topics, debate about issues, point out privilege blind spots, and share new articles, policies and essays regarding issues facing trans women and women in general. But it will not be a space where we smack one another down, where we judge each other. We're judged enough in the world.
I want us to be fully ourselves, and hopefully in the process of sharing our most authentic selves, we'll find like-minded sisters whom we can embrace and love and connect with because it's only in our connecting that we will be more powerful and ensure that our voices and our lives and our struggles and joys matter.
Lastly, #girlslikeus is not a mandate for all trans women, and does not aim to speak for all trans women. One hashtag, label, group or person cannot be everything for everyone. But it can be something for some. And we must learn to support one another and let people live and tweet without judgment or a need to criticize. The mere existence of a new hashtag where some trans women find solace and sisterhood should not threaten anyone to the point that they are attacking it. It's frankly not that deep.
When I created #girlslikeus, people wanted me to define exactly what it meant – and I was still discovering that. All I had was a phrase that resonated with me, and luckily it resonated with a few other women. And despite the passing hostility, I pulled the conversation toward a direction of love. It sounds sappy, but I must say that what I've come to realize with oppressed, misunderstood communities like ours is that hurt people tend to hurt people. We live in a world where we are so fearful of being excluded and told we don't belong that when something is created – even in good intent – we receive it with skepticism, hostility and anger.
And I don't react to hostility with hostility. It's not my style. Instead, I shut my ego up and aimed to see each Tweet for what it truly is: Another woman wanting to be heard and yearning to know that she matters. That's why I created #girlslikeus in the first place: To let trans women know that their lives matter, and no one will be dismissed. So in that spirit, I present:
5 FAQs I've Been Asked About #girlslikeus:
1. Why call yourself #girlslikeus when it seems you're distinguishing yourself from the general population of women?
There's not one way to be a woman. Trans women share issues with non-trans women yet also face unique issues that only other trans women will understand on an intimate level. Yet #girlslikeus is not a monolith, and we don't all equally face the same kind of discrimination and struggles. While I wholeheartedly welcome all allies to contribute links and Tweet their support, it was important to me that there was a space for us, created by us, especially in a world where our mere presence causes such hostility.
2. Why is it #girlslikeus and not #womenlikeus? I'm not a girl.
I wanted this space to be intergenerational and wanted to encourage young women online to connect with women who've been where they've been, and to reach across age and nationality and ethnicity and truly connect. If you're a woman and feel "girls" is just too immature for you, know that it was created to support younger women who need to know that women like you exist, and hopefully the depth of that potential connection will outweigh the semantics regarding women vs. girls. Your wisdom as a woman is needed to uplift, inspire and encourage girls growing up to be women.
3. #girlslikeus seems like it's only for well-known, attractive trans women. It should be #girlslikethem.
The roots of #girlslikeus began with conversations with young women and launched in support of a beauty queen. So I understand the miscommunication, but #girlslikeus has always been about all trans women, regardless of looks, celebrity or gender expression. I know that there is not one way to be trans as there is not one way to be a woman or a human being. I welcome all women, from those who are thinking of transitioning to those who are way past transitioning and don't even feel the need to bring it up. I welcome women who don't and do identify as advocates, activists, academics, political or feminists. I want this to be a space where so-called everyday trans women just living their lives in their towns can dip in and connect without feeling as if they need to fight or educate or be activists. I welcome women who identify as lesbian, pansexual, bisexual, asexual, heterosexual, trans-attracted, the whole gamut. I'm also grateful to the well-known trans women who used their platform to spread the word about #girlslikeus when I established it, but it's lesser known, so-called everyday trans women who have fed #girlslikeus and kept the conversation lively. I am in love with all of these women, regardless of their color, location, level of so-called attractiveness, and how they fall on the gender spectrum.
4. What about #guyslikeus?
I encourage my trans brothers to create such a space for themselves, but will not be arrogant enough to believe that not such a space doesn't already exist for them or that they're not already organized via other platforms. I will leave the creation of space for trans men to trans men, and will continue to support the idea that we all occupy more spaces on Twitter as seen in #girlslikeus, #transfeminism, #transchat, #wehappytrans, #fourthwave.
5. What's your plans with #girlslikeus?
It's still very new, but I do hope to expand it to its own website, outside of Twitter and my own site. I want it to be a space where trans women can tell their own stories, offer wisdom and guidance to younger women, share articles and links and most importantly uplift one another. It'll also be great to create physical spaces where we can get together in person and connect as well.
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laird-3
IMDb member since December 1999
Poll Taker
Seven Samurai
The Green Hornet (2011)
The Green Hornet is a slacker!
We rented this movie not expecting much and found even less. The whole concept of the Green Hornet was completely ruined. A neat effective hero was turned into a 21st century slacker. It's as if the production company wanted to re-image Superman starring Forrest Gump! The 1960's Batman was played in a camp atmosphere which was funny and typical to the era, however the Green Hornet series was played straight and it worked. Even if Kato was supposed technical brain of the duo, the Green Hornet had to be minimally suave and provide some brain power to their crime-solving escapades. His idea of a Green Hornet crime wave to attract professional criminals was more letting the Animal House frat loose in downtown LA. Let's here it for Dumb and Dumber!
Leap Year (2010)
Pleasant little film
15 June 2010 - 0 out of 2 users found this review helpful.
Amy Adams was cute and talented as always. Love watching her perform and sing. Matthew Goode worked hard as her unlucky travel companion, but he was lost besides Amy's star quality. Two complaints about the plot. 1) The whole "Hope and Crosby" road journey could have been set on any McGuffin since the Leap Year concept seemed a minor point. She could have just been going to Ireland and have gotten lost for any number of reasons. 2) Why didn't her boyfriend just send a car from Dublin for her since he was in the big city and Amy was lost in the Irish Wilderness. Still the movie will be worth an occasional Saturday afternoon viewing on Encore, but not a spot among the other DVDs on my shelf.
Pushing Daisies (2007)
"Pushing Daisies" Tribute
14 June 2009 - 7 out of 29 users found this review helpful.
The final show aired in the USA last night and this episode did not disappoint. The show was fresh, different, fun and colorful in a world filled with numerous cop shows and reality shows. "Pushing Daisies" will be very missed. Kudos for the creators, writers, staff and especially the talented actors who gave us such wonderful characters. The story of Charlie and Ned was one of the greatest love stories ever on television about two people who could only express their love in words, but could never touch each other. And don't forget the lovelorn Olive who finally found love, the cynical private eye Cod who wasn't as tough as he tried to be and the eccentric aunts who through Charlie's efforts help them over come their loss and brought them back into the world. And finally the ever present Jim Dale who's narration gave the show just the right about of quirkiness. Thank you one and all. Farewell.


One of the assignments of this research group is the examination and development of methods which allow an automatic recognition and representation of the relevance and structure of information in a heterogeneous environment. Such information could be facts from a data bank or publications in special magazines as well as internet ressources or material from libraries.
The projects are executed in strong cooperation with partners from Germany and all over the world respectively. The work is based on the use of and collaboration in the development of international standards, such as metadata and data exchange formats (Dublin Core, RDF, XML) as well as the use of open interface and free software, in order to facilitate enhancements and reuse.
The target of this project is to clearly improve the international visibility of national research projects within European and beyond. An analysis of the repositories with scientific contents available in Germany has been executed by the German Initiative for Network Information (DINI) and showed that there is a considerable number of repositories in Germany (107 in May 2005). However, their visibility and international cognition is not at all sufficient. The aim is a considerably higher linking-up of as many German repositories as possible in order to achieve a national and international acceptance. A basis for this are the virtually combined documents certified by DINI as well as the publication server. Germany has a leading role regarding the introduction of quality guarantees as to the certification of repositories with respect to the international standard. In this sense a certain signaling effect is intended with this network. In the course of this project capacity shall be used to technically and in content support operators of repositories on their way to certification. At the same time it is planned to achieve an additional benefit reagrding the use of institutional repositories with this network. OA-Network is in a close interplay with the project DRIVER supported by the EU and, to a certain extent, the German contribution.
Mathematical techniques of analysis and algorithms belong to the most important, but rarely visible technologies in various fields of industry, science and society. Modern methods of applied mathematics have proved to be worldwide fundamental ressources. Mathematics is a hidden key technology and is more and more developing into an innovative motor for the economically technological and social progress of the 21st century.
a profound mathematical analysis and modelling adapted to the precise problem at hand.
the optimisation of all processes necessary for the production, for examples with respect to the use of material and energy.
Mathematical thinking processes, methods and procedure - as important as they may be - do not establish themselves automatically. It requires an intensive sensitisation. This is hindered by the fact that the use of mathematics is hardly noticeable from the final product. The potential and the use of mathematical techniques have to be made accessible and be explained to (prospective) users in a suitable way.
make avaible information about potential application possibilities of mathematics from the BMBF-Funding Project New Mathematical Procedures in Industry and Service to a broader group of users.
The project is to be mainly realized by a web portal which is based on an organised and systematical supply of information by the provider itself.
Duration: August 2003 - Juli 2007.
Highly-productive standards are characterised by the fact that a rich product design can develop on its basis. The aim of this project is the active participation in selected developments of standards in the context of semantic web as well as the competent transmission to the higher education sector of the Federal Republic.


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Colombia: More than 1,000 people forcibly displaced in just four days
In the face of a wave of forced displacement in several parts of the country the Colombian state must guarantee the rights of displaced persons and provide protection to several communities that remain at risk, Amnesty International said today.
Between 17 and 20 January more than 1,000 people have been forcibly displaced and many more are at risk of displacement due to clashes between different armed groups in the areas of Bajo Cauca, Southern Córdoba and the boundaries between Boyacá and Casanare.
According to a statement published on 22 January by the Colombian Ombudsman's Office, clashes were sparked between the National Liberation Army (Ejército De Liberación Nacional, ELN) and dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) on 17 January at the Black Voice Community Council (Consejo Comunitario La Voz de los Negros), in the Department of Nariño (municipality of Magüi Payán), which caused 172 people to be forcibly displaced. In this same municipality, a clash had already occurred between armed groups last 27 November, which resulted in the death of 13 people. To date, no progress in the investigation of these events has been reported.
Additionally, on 18 January, Plínio Pulgarín, the president of the Community Action Committee of the town of San Pedrito (municipality of San José de Uré), in the department of Córdoba, was murdered by an illegal armed group called "Caparrapos", which also threatened the community. These events led to the forced displacement of 375 families that same day, according to Ombudsman's Office reports. This also created latent risk of forced displacement for the inhabitants of the neighbouring Dochama Indigenous Reservation.
On 19 January, in ten towns in the department of Antioquia (municipalities of Cáceres and Caucasia), the Ombudsman's Office recorded the displacement of 383 people from the Zenú Indigenous Community and other rural communities. This displacement resulted from armed men warning the community that there would be a clash with an illegal armed group from Barro Blanco (municipality of Tarazá). Another 350 families residing in the surrounding areas also face imminent risk of being forcibly displaced.
Furthermore, on 20 January three families were forcibly displaced in the Morcote police inspectorate (municipality of Playa), in the department of Boyacá, due to clashes between law enforcement and the ELN, and other families in the area are also at risk of being displaced. That same day, the Bajo Calima Community Council (Consejo Comunitario Bajo Calima) (municipality of Buenaventura), recorded the presence of ELN groups, which generated fear amongst the people and put five communities at risk of forced displacement.
"There is no end to the armed conflict in Colombia. The Colombian state must strengthen mechanisms for preventing forced displacement caused by clashes between armed groups. It is imperative, in the context of the ELN ceasefire ending, that the human rights of people and communities living in conflict zones are respected," said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Since the end of the ceasefire with the ELN on 9 January 2018, armed conflict has intensified in many regions of Colombia. Dozens of cases of forced displacement have been recorded, as well as alarming figures related to the murders of community leaders and human rights defenders in the departments of Antioquia, Córdoba, Cauca and Boyacá as a consequence of clashes between the ELN, paramilitary groups, state security forces and FARC dissidents.
Amnesty International urges the Colombian government to guarantee access to emergency humanitarian aid for people who have been forcibly displaced in these areas, and to ensure that they can access the comprehensive care plan provided by the Victims' Unit. It is also important to reiterate that the Colombian state must protect the people who continue to be victims of the armed conflict that still persists in several regions of the country.
For further information please contact: Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 or bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca