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Love Thy Neighbor Fundraiser at Stache Featured Beatles Favorites By the Beethose
Michael Mut January 5, 2015 9:00AM
Inside Stache, the sign-less speakeasy in downtown Fort Lauderdale, it's dimly lit and ornately decorated with parlor-style seating. In the main room, a wall is handily stacked to the ceiling with libations.
The classy venue hosted a special fundraising event for a homeless advocacy nonprofit that's been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. Love Thy Neighbor is headed by nonagenarian, World War II veteran Arnold Abbott, a frail man whose looks bely his strength. He's got a golden ticker and a firm handshake. Abbott was recently cited several times by the police for feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale.
The combat-tested Abbott, who says he's been "fighting for the underdog all my life," spent 50 years fighting for civil rights. At Saturday's event, he reminisced about going to Mississippi in 1964 to help African Americans register to vote. He's not bothered by the recent police action and is determined to bring equality for and fairness to the homeless.
See also: Fernando Perdomo and the Beethose Beatles Tribute Band Raise Money for Love Thy Neighbor
"That's what I'm fighting for, to have these people treated like everybody else," he said. Abbott also runs a culinary apprenticeship program with local activist Stanley Jackson, which helps to place the homeless in gainful employment.
See also: More on Arnold Abbott and Love Thy Neighbor
Saturday night was all about raising money for his primary organization through classic tunes. Local Beatles tribute act the Beethose played the entirety of the Fab Four's double album known as the White Album. The supergroup took requests for pay during a third jukebox set.
To set the mood, the band had a slideshow of Beatles imagery projected on a screen over the stage throughout the evening, including shots of the band in-studio, with the Maharishi Mahesh, the requisite portrait of band interloper and vocal whiner Yoko Ono and the White Album cover.
The crowd was multi-generational, including people who would have been alive to experience the real thing and young hip music lovers too. People slowly filed in, as lead singer, bassist, and founding member Jim Camacho, playing the role of Paul McCartney, welcomed and thanked the crowd. From the first notes of "Back in the U.S.S.R.," the band took off on a nearly three hour flight of musical fancy.
Keyboardist and John Lennon stand-in Chris Price, he of the Jeff Healy-like lap-top, finger-picking guitar style, led a tender and emotive "Dear Prudence." "I'm a piano player used to looking down and playing a flat surface," he explained of his unconventional style. Price is the songwriting partner of Camacho and the other half of a production team with fellow Beethose Fernando Perdomo.
Perdomo dedicated "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and the entire evening to the late local guitarist and part-time Beethose member Domingo "Mingui" Perez. Perdomo is another founding member of the band and played all of George Harrison's lead guitar parts. Another standout track followed soon after, "My Guitar Gently Weeps," sung by Chris Alvy that featured a blistering recreation of the original Eric Clapton solo by Perdomo.
A lover of the album Revolver, Alvy is the founder and leader of local pop rockers the Super Fuzz, which will soon be releasing new material and showcasing in Nashville this March. Alvy was asked to join the group three years ago by Camacho. He handled the Harrison rhythm guitar parts.
"Rocky Racoon" drew hoots and hollers from the crowd at the start. For this tune, Camacho handed the bass reigns to Perdomo, as he would a few more times throughout the night, and Price owned the ragtime piano parts with authenticity. Drummer and founding member Jordan Welch, introduced as "the guy who is keeping this whole thing together" by Camacho, sang Ringo Starr's lead vocals on "Don't Pass Me By," as the band sounded tight but not stiff.
There were considerably more people in the house by the time the band reached "Why Don't We Do It in the Road," highlighted by Camacho's stark rendition of Macca's raunchy vocals. Afterwards, Jim dryly quipped, "That was one of Paul's most romantic songs, and one of his most complicated."
Price's voice again lead on "Julia," greatly enhanced by Camacho's backing accents. This song effectively closed the first set. By that time it was apparent that this group of musicians are not only faithful keepers of the Beatles' musical flame, but their talent is overwhelmingly exceptional as well. The "faux five" display an interchangeability and natural interplay similar to the Fab Four. On a smaller scale, the Beethose are a once-in-a-lifetime collection of musical talent, much as the Beatles were.
A rollicking version of "Birthday" opened the second set, one heavily laden with Lennon tunes and thus Price's vocals. "It's just a product of the record," Price explained. "John dominated side three more." He flexed his considerable bluesy prowess on "Yer Blues."
At this point, Camacho apologized for the appearance of the Yoko images in the slideshow, but added "I felt she was an integral part of the White Album." He later explained on the controversial matter of Ono, if "there was no Phil Spector, there would be no Pet Sounds. Yoko really is all over that record: you hear her voice on 'Birthday,' you hear her on 'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill,' and obviously, there would be no 'Revolution 9' (without her)."
Shortly after, Price asked for a moment of silence for "the person who tweeted 'Who is Paul McCartney?'", a humorous reference to the recent collaboration between the Beatle and Kanye West and the apparent ignorance of some of the latter's fanatics. Price and Camacho continued their fine vocal interplay on "Mother Nature's Son" and the keyboardist continued his daft, soulful crooning on "Sexy Sadie."
"Helter Skelter" was easily the grittiest and hardest-rocking number of the evening, with Camacho plucking his custom Hofner-shaped, Steinberger-necked bass from atop his left shoulder and slapping it about, and not in a Larry Graham fashion. Drummer Welch added, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" to the ending.
Other energetic set two moments included "Revolution 1," "Savoy Truffle," and the dreamy, noisy and spacey improvised "Number 9," featuring a diatribe about fast-food menu numbers nine by Perdomo. (We doubt Macca ever ate a McRib.)
Without a true break, the band launched into set number three, the request portion of the evening which included Abbott's requests: "Come Together" and "Yesterday." A nameless donor requested "Sgt. Pepper." As Camacho thanked whoever donated generously to hear it, Perdomo added "thank you for hacking everyone, Anonymous!"
Not all the songs went over as smoothly, but with much aplomb and in the spirit of not taking themselves too seriously, the band tackled the material and by mid-tune had locked each in. They also played "Paperback Writer," complete with a Latin jazz breakdown, per the donor's request, "Let It Be," and closed with "Hey Jude," complete with a crowd call- and-response singalong.
"To be able to use my musical talent for a greater good is truly gratifying. I am very happy to be part of this," Alvy concluded. "Anything to help people out, I am always down." Welch pointed out that the secret to the longevity of the group is the love of the songs; Camacho deadpanned that the Beethose have the best songs on the South Florida music scene.
"It was great to meet Arnold," he added sincerely, "I was so happy that he came out and I was happy to play 'Yesterday' for him. I felt that the energy in the room was very positive and it was a beautiful night."
"It's not my kind of music," Abbott admitted at the end of the evening, "I'm into classical music and love soft music, but the people there appreciated it, there was a lot of dancing going on. I couldn't be more pleased with the results."
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Thanks Friday, June 19, 2015 at 12:10:00 PM MDT Anonymous said... or it's affiliates. Canon Pixma MG2450 MFC aufschr... Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Help!!!! Solution 2 Press and hold on the RESUME/Cancel for more then 5 seconds until you see the message goes away. Monday, March 10, 2014 at 4:02:00 PM MDT jaymar said... Best of luck!
There are some interesting settings in here, but I'm not sure of what everything does, so be careful with them. Be forewarned that Canon claims this stops the printer from detecting ink levels (I'm not sure if it means for the specific cartridge or as a printer setting). I installed a remanufactured cartridge but the printer said the ink level was low and then after a few pages of printing it would not print any more. Knowing good and well that there is plenty of ink left after the sensor tells the computer that it is empty.
lboogie December 6, 2014 at 1:34 am (UTC 0) Reply Matt you're a genius!! Is this because the colour ink cartridge is low? I didn't find this solution for a while because it's buried deep in the Canon KB, and haven't before used it. As a Search and Rescue Pilot I'm so busy!
Bookmark Fix Canon Printer Error 5200 (3 Solutions) Learn how to fix Canon Printer error 5200. So sometimes, I have to deal with an error because I'm not using the OEM ink cartridges. (I think the coupon codes don't apply to those.) If like me you are kcsuperbikes August 18, 2015 at 2:21 pm (UTC 0) Reply Hello - We use a Cannon MX515 and it will not fax multiple pages it scans the documents then fails. All I wanted to do was print a black & white copy and it would not because I was out of one color ink even though my black ink was full.
Personally I think this whole thing is both greed and incompetency on Cannon's Part. user-manual-PIXMA MP600... Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 4:39:00 AM MDT Araignée said... Let go of the Power button and wait 10 seconds.
Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 10:04:00 AM MST Anonymous said... Yes No Delete Posts Are you sure you want to Delete selected Posts? The way we can fax multiple documents is to send them 1 by 1 which can be very time consuming. It was scanning fine before this message appeared.
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text:
Olympic short-track speedskater Valerie Maltais makes move to long track
Valerie Maltais rounds the track during a short track speed skating practice. (Paul Chiasson/CP)
Canadian Press August 28, 2018, 1:33 PM
CALGARY — Decorated short-track speedskater Valerie Maltais is switching gears to long-track version of her sport.
The three-time Olympian from Saguenay, Que., won a relay silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in short track.
After a decade of training in Montreal with the Canadian short-track squad, Maltais has relocated to Calgary's Olympic Oval where the national long-track team is based.
"I've always thought that long track speed skating is a beautiful sport," Maltais said Tuesday in a statement from Speed Skating Canada.
"At my first Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver, I had tickets for the team pursuit event and the Canadian men's team won gold. That's when I started to follow long track more closely."
Short track's objective is to beat competitors to the finish line, which often results in contact and crashes. Long track is a battle against the clock with two skaters racing in their own lanes.
"That type of race against time fascinates me and I want to try my luck at it," Maltais said. "At age 28 and after three Olympic cycles in short track, this new challenge gives me a chance at a fresh start."
There is often crossover between the two speedskating disciplines.
After winning a short-track relay gold in 2010, Olivier Jean switched to long track and earned a mass start bronze medal at the 2017 world single distance championship.
Maltais placed seventh in the women's 1,000 metres in February at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She says her goal is to be on the national long-track team next year.
Blondin in 11th place at ISU World Allround speedskating championship
Gretzky talks Olympics, growing the game in China and summer hockey
Mark Spector
%2Folympics%2Folympic-short-track-speedskater-valerie-maltais-makes-move-long-track%2F
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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GROWTH IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING / JOHN MAULDIN´S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
| Etiquetas: Economics, Stock Markets, U.S. Economic And Political, World Economic And Political
Growth Is the Answer to Everything
By John Mauldin
"Growth is never by mere chance. It is the result of forces working together."
In this business we spend a lot of time thinking about problems. What if we could wave a magic wand and make them all go away? Maybe we can.
The wand isn't made from wood. You don't need Latin phrases or a special incantation learned at Hogwarts to make it work, either. It's a simple six-letter word: growth. Get the economy growing at a decent pace again, and most of our problems will get better.
Conversely, they'll only get worse if we stay in slow-growth mode. And don't even think about what a recession will do to the markets in this environment.
Fortunately, there are things we can do to bring growth back. We just have to decide to do them.
The Solution to Every Problem
A new reader browsing through my archives might get the impression I am a worrywart. In fact, I'm quite optimistic about our future – but I don't deny we face serious challenges. My weekly letters are a peek into my ongoing thought process as I wonder how we will tackle those challenges.
Just in the past few months we've looked at problems like retirement, energy prices, political chaos, zero interest rates, negative interest rates, China's economy, terrorism, unemployment, inflation, pensions, healthcare, refugees, and the Federal Reserve. And an overarching theme of many letters has been the very big problem of growing debt. Whew – so many problems.
We can look at each of these challenges individually and come up with possible solutions. Would our solutions work? I don't know, but I'm confident we would see improvement on all fronts if we got GDP growth back up to 4% for a few years.
In the summer of 2012, a few weeks after House Speaker Newt Gingrich had withdrawn from the presidential race, he and his wife Callista came to visit me at the villa we were renting in a tiny town on a mountain in Tuscany, Italy. In addition to doing the usual tourist stuff, Newt and I spent more than a few evenings talking late into the night about an extraordinarily wide variety of topics and discovering that we had many interests in common.
I remember one late night in particular, when I challenged him a bit on the tax and budget plans he had outlined in his campaign. While I agreed with their general direction (and still do), I was concerned about the growing US debt and wanted to see a return to paying the debt down. His plan simply balanced the budget and held government budget growth below economic growth. "How do we deal with the debt?" was my question. His answer was simple: "With the budget and regulatory changes I outlined, we simply grow our way out of it."
That had been his experience when he and Rep. John Kasich (to whom he still gives a great deal of credit) worked with then-President Bill Clinton to balance the budget – and the country actually began to run surpluses. We grew our way out of the problem. If the Republicans under President Bush had not squandered the opportunity Clinton, Gingrich, and Kasich left them with, we would have come to the 2008 recession with very little if any debt and a healthy ability to run deficits without damaging the long-term prospects for growth in this country. And if we had actually used those deficits to build the infrastructure that was talked about but never undertaken? We would have something to show for the massive government debt we're saddled with now.
So, is growing our way out of debt a pipe dream? It shouldn't be. The US economy grew about 3.5% a year from 1950 through the year 2000. During that period there were many expansions in which the economy grew even faster than that average, and there were recession years when growth was much lower.
This alternation is exactly what economic theory says we should expect – every economy goes through boom-bust cycles. Since the end of World War II, we have had a recession every 5–10 years or so. Our experience was that they always gave way to an expansion that made up the lost ground and then some.
It hasn't worked that way this time. We entered a recession in late 2007 that officially ended in September 2009. Now it's 2016. This month will mark 8½ years of economic expansion. So why is no one cheering?
Because the less than 2% average growth we have seen since the end of the recession (and actually, since the year 2000) has added very little real income to most American households. Many of us have seen our job situations end up dramatically changed, with our new positions offering significantly less income. In addition, instead of the reduced healthcare costs we were promised under Obamacare, most of us have seen our costs go up dramatically.
So the great majority of us aren't feeling like we have recovered. While some are better off now, the growing divide between those who are flush and those who are scraping by has resulted in a groundswell of voters from both parties demanding change.
There is a fascinating quote attributed to Lord Salisbury, who was the Tory prime minister of England during Queen Victoria's reign. Supposedly, when she said things must change, he said, "Change? Change? Aren't things bad enough already?" Sometimes, when you wish for change, you'd better be prepared to get what you ask for. Sometimes you get it good and hard. And speaking of change…
Little Changes Add Up
Last month I ran across a fascinating study by economist John Cochrane. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, former University of Chicago professor, and adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute. He blogs as The Grumpy Economist but doesn't seem all that grumpy, as economists go.
Cochrane wrote a paper on economic growth last year as part of a project to design presidential debate questions. Sadly, the candidates chose to talk about other issues such as finger length and personal energy levels, but Cochrane's paper is still useful. I'll discuss it briefly, but everyone should read the full version. It is not at all technical, and you will learn much.
He begins by showing how small changes matter a great deal in the long run. The economy grew by over 3½% from 1950 to 2000. From 2000 the economy has grown at about half that rate, or 1.7%. And therein lies the reason that incomes have been so punk for much of America:
Small percentages hide a large reality. The average American is more than three times better off than his or her counterpart in 1950. Real GDP per person has risen from $16,000 in 1952 to over $50,000 today, both measured in 2009 dollars. Many pundits seem to remember the 1950s fondly, but $16,000 per person is a lot less than $50,000!
If the US economy had grown at 2% rather than 3.5% since 1950, income per person by 2000 would have been $23,000 not $50,000! [emphasis mine] That's a huge difference. Nowhere in economic policy are we even talking about events that will double, or halve, the average American's living standards in the next generation.
I don't know about you, but to me those are stunning numbers, for several different reasons. I was born in 1949, so GDP per person has more than tripled in my lifetime. That's in constant dollars, so it isn't just "growth" by inflation.
Yet this tripling would not have occurred if the economy had grown at 2% a year instead of 3.5% during my lifetime. That extra 1.5% made an enormous difference. In fact, the difference is even greater.
GDP per capita does not capture the increase in lifespan – nearly 10 years – in health, in environmental quality, security and quality of life that we have experienced. The average American today lives far better than a 1950s American would if he or she had three rather than one 1950s cars, TVs, telephones, encyclopedias (in place of internet), or three annual visits to a 1950s doctor…"
Those 1950s doctor's visits now seem like Stone Age medicine. And that doesn't take into account mobile phones, Google maps, and a plethora of other things that make our life better because the growth of the economy made us better able to afford them.
But even these less quantified benefits flow from economic growth. Only wealthy countries can afford environmental protection and advanced health care. We can afford to worry about global warming. India worries about 600 people per toilet, emphysema from burning cow patties, and easily treatable parasitic infections. Our ability to defend freedom around the world – even if we are wise enough to do it sensibly – depends on robust economic growth. If GDP had grown at 2%, not 3.5%, we would only be able to afford half the military we have today. The immense improvements in the quality of goods and many services we have today are part of the engine of economic growth.
This is why the recent years of subpar growth are a big problem. It isn't just the current feeble recovery: we are now almost a full generation into a low-growth era that marks a departure from most people's prior experience. It's no wonder so many folks are discouraged and angry. (And by the way, we're growing faster in the US than they are in Europe and Japan.)
Some economists will argue that the last century was an aberration. Robert Gordon is a good example. Watch his TED Talk if you've never seen it. He believes a handful of one-time breakthroughs (electricity, automobiles) accounted for most of the economic growth we now think should be normal. I disagree with Gordon – and will attempt to rebut him in my upcoming book – but I have to admit he makes some very good, valid points.
(The short version of my view is that I think we're on the cusp of changes that will be just as revolutionary as electricity and that will boost our growth considerably – even by the standard measure of GDP, which we know misses so much. This is why I am optimistic about our future.)
Cochrane points to the official Congressional Budget Office long-range outlook, which assumes 2.2% growth from now through 2040. That would be an improvement over the recent past, but it's still historically low.
If you change that assumption from 2.2% to 3.5%, total GDP in 2040 will be 38% higher. That GDP boost means tax revenues will be 38% higher, and much of our debt problem will disappear. Shades of Newt Gingrich! Conversely, Cochrane notes that 1% GDP growth over that period would yield a 26% drop in GDP and tax revenue, leaving us in a deep hole.
On the other hand, there is no reason to think 3.5% growth is the ceiling. With a few changes we might be able to boost it even higher. Cochrane says what I have long believed: Rising productivity is the key to economic growth. The more each human can produce, on average, the higher everyone's standard of living can rise.
Restoring Growth
Cochrane takes a matter-of-fact approach to the growth problem. What are the barriers to productivity growth, and what can we do to remove them? Not surprisingly, most barriers are the result of counterproductive government policies.
He breaks them down into categories. I'll highlight a few.
Regulation: The government interferes in just about every segment of the economy. Sometimes it brings benefits like traffic safety and clean air. More often, regulation simply slows growth in order to transfer wealth from one group to another. It interferes with growth by impeding competition and distorting economic incentives. It distorts the signal that individuals send markets about their preferences and adds a great deal of noise and cost, which distorts economic activity from being its most efficient.
Finance: The Dodd-Frank financial regulations had the laudable goal of preventing future bank crises, but in reality they simply work against other government policies. Washington encourages and subsidizes debt and then tries to prevent the inevitable consequences. We wouldn't need Dodd-Frank if the government were not rewarding excessive debt. As I've written about extensively in this letter (often citing Dr. Lacy Hunt and others), excessive, unproductive debt of the type we are generating in the US and Europe actually inhibits growth.
Healthcare: We're all frustrated by Obamacare and health insurance generally. What we need is simple, portable, catastrophic health insurance. Instead of promoting it, the government makes it illegal.
Energy: Here again the government works at cross-purposes with itself. It subsidizes energy so that it costs less, then tries to prevent us from using too much of it. Cochrane says the ethanol mandate helps no one but the large corn-producing companies. Ditto for solar subsidies.
Taxes: Taxes should raise revenue, but instead we use them to redistribute income and encourage/discourage behavior. A simpler tax code would remove massive economic distortions, and it would be far better to tax consumption instead of income.
Social programs: Cochrane sees no need to be stingy with helping people in genuine need. Welfare programs are far less costly than the many subsidies we give the middle class and large corporations. The problem is that perverse incentives trap people and make them permanently dependent. He suggests consolidating all the aid programs and making them time-based, like unemployment benefits, rather than income-based.
Immigration: We can end illegal immigration overnight, says Cochrane, by making it legal. The question is the terms we apply to legal immigration. We should welcome skilled workers who want to stay in the US and contribute to our economy. He also points out, wisely, that whether someone should be here is a separate question from whether they should be allowed to work here.
Education: Public schools do not need more money; they need correct incentives. The way to deliver them and ensure better opportunities for all is to adopt vouchers and charter schools. The government doesn't have to directly provide the service in order to help people afford it.
Implementing these reforms is a political challenge, not an economic one. One man's waste is another man's subsidy. People naturally resist when they perceive they are on the losing end of the bargain. Serious change is very hard if everyone insists on keeping whatever benefits they presently have.
Frankly, I realize that making these fundamental changes will be difficult, but we have to try. Cochrane stresses that even small changes make a big difference over time. In a few weeks, I will be sending you a very special Outside the Box, written by former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, who has become my friend and who is one of the most focused and dedicated men I know when it comes to dealing with the deficit and debt. He is advocating a Convention of the States to propose constitutional amendments to force the government to effectively deal with the debt and regulation.
Numerous states (including Texas) have already adopted these proposals, and we anticipate as many as 15 more will adopt a resolution by the end of the year. Such a movement wouldn't be necessary if we had a Congress and president that were capable of acting responsibly, but it appears the politicians of both parties are all too willing to make small changes around the edges without dealing with our central problems.
It is not just personal and government incomes that will continue to be affected if we don't do something to boost growth; investors are going to suffer, too.
From Carrot to Stick
This week I received a very kind email from my friend Ed Easterling of Crestmont Research. Ed and I have collaborated many times over the past 15 years, most recently on "It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Goes on a P/E Diet."
A big part of Ed's research focuses on the relationships between price/earnings ratios and economic cycles. Bull markets end when company valuations grow excessively high. Then the ensuing bear market ends when valuations get unreasonably low. These secular bull or bear markets take many years (on average 17) to play out.
I noted at the end of last week's letter that I would be writing about growth. Ed reminded me that economic growth is directly related to P/E growth and thus stock market returns. In the aggregate over a cycle, corporate profits can't grow faster than the economy grows. Yes, you can always point to exceptions, but we're looking at the aggregate here.
Here is one aspect of the problem: if people perceive that underlying economic growth has dropped to a permanently lower level, they will revise lower the amount they are willing to pay for a share of corporate profits, based on what they perceive as diminished future prospects.
Ed's research shows that in a world in which 3% GDP growth is the long-term average, P/E ratios will average about 15.5. If expected GDP growth is only 2%, the historical average P/E drops to 11.5. That is a huge difference in long-term gains over a cycle.
Ed explained how he calculates the effect of slow growth on P/E in a 2013 article, "Game Changer: Market Beware Slower Economic Growth." I suggest you read it. The implications are enormous. The difference between 3% and 2% long-run economic growth is a double whammy for stocks.
Companies will be less profitable if the economy grows more slowly, and P/E multiples will be lower because future profit expectations will not support the kind of valuations we used to think of as normal.
This is not a small problem. According to Ed's research, if economic growth falls off just 1%, we should expect stock prices on large indexes to fall by 26%. That's the difference between 15.5x and 11.5x P/E ratios. The reduction in stock prices will vary from cycle to cycle, but that is the average.
From there, the problems radiate outward. Anyone saving for retirement will have to reduce the amount they expect their stock portfolio to contribute. So will institutions and pension funds, which as we saw last week are already severely challenged. Lower profits mean less ability to invest in new capacity and more incentive to replace human workers with machines. Lower profits mean fewer new jobs and lower incomes. Less wealth flowing through the economy will reduce both tax revenue and contributions to charities.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Economic growth really is the one-stop-shop answer to most of our economic problems. Income inequality? Low growth makes it worse, not better. Bernie Sanders' many new taxes on top of the existing burden would make income inequality worse, not better. Middle America would soon be in a full-blown depression.
While most people agree the current recovery is too slow, I think many still believe we will eventually bounce back to the halcyon days of 3% and 4% GDP growth. I hope they are right, because we are all in deep trouble otherwise.
Many politicians would like to see the current growth malaise solved by monetary policy. Monetary policy can be useful, but it can't overcome the enormous economic drag that bad fiscal and regulatory policies create. Without significant changes (and not the kind that "progressive" politicians endorse), the growth that we need will be very elusive. Think Europe.
We are one recession away from a fiscal nightmare. Lacking growth, government debt will explode. Pensions and insurance companies will be deeply underwater. In the wake of the next recession, income and employment will be hit even harder than during this last anemic recovery.
We can avoid that fate by taking the kind of steps John Cochrane outlines in his article. I would go further and say that we need to adopt budget and tax policies in the cooperative spirit of the Clinton/Gingrich era. I urge you again to read Cochrane's ideas and do whatever you can, politically or otherwise, to make some of them happen. As JC Penney once said, "Growth is never by mere chance. It is the result of forces working together."
Newport Beach, New York, and an SIC Conference
I'll be heading out at the end of month to Rob Arnott's fabulous advisory council meetings, this time at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. Those of you who know Rob and Research Affiliates know that his conference is a tad more academic than most, but he combines the intellectual heavy lifting with a fabulous food and party experience. It's kind of like Adult Nerd Heaven. Then the following week I'll be in New York, speaking and attending a conference.
For those who want to attend my annual Strategic Investment Conference this May 24–27 in Dallas, I hope you have registered. The conference is sold out, and we are creating a waiting list. We are trying to figure out how to accommodate more people but will not do so if we cannot make sure that the total experience for those already registered will be up to the standards we always strive for.
That said, if you want to attend, I suggest you go to the Strategic Investment Conference website and register to have your name put on the waiting list. I can almost guarantee that if we do find a way to accommodate a few more folks, those seats will almost immediately disappear, too. Those who wanted to wait to the last month to register are going to be disappointed. I won't even tease you with the fabulous new speakers that we are seemingly adding every week. It just keeps getting better and better. And since I can't take everybody to Austin for the amazing local music scene, we are working on bringing Austin music to Dallas. It's going to be fun! Just a little Texas ambience for y'all.
Chicago was a whirlwind of meetings and good food. I was there with my associate Shannon Staton, and it happened to be her birthday. Along with some friends, we went to a restaurant that she wanted to try called The Girl and the Goat. It is quite famous locally and was evidently started by a lady who won a chef competition on TV. I should probably pay more attention, because the food was fabulous. Thanks to Brian Lockhart and Geoff Eliason for being wonderful hosts and introducing us to so many excellent new friends in Chicago.
In less than two weeks we are going to find out if the Republican Party is truly on its way to a brokered convention. I wrote a few weeks ago about what a brokered convention would look like, from the point of view of someone who has managed and been involved in floor fights at political conventions that are much larger than the GOP national convention. The vast majority of people have no idea just how truly wide open such a situation is. If I were responsible for running the upcoming Republican convention, I would be terrified at the prospect. National conventions are supposed to be coronations where everyone comes together, holds hands, and presents the party and the candidate to the nation. Conventions aren't occasions when you want to air the family laundry on national TV to a world that simply won't get the dynamics. I guess you could say the upside is that the media will be obsessed with every little twist and turn from individual delegates for three months leading up to the convention and will likely run 24-hour coverage during the convention. Then again, touting that upside might be reaching too hard for the silver lining in what could be a really dark cloud. It will be truly fascinating if the question of a brokered convention comes down to the final state convention in California. Just saying…
Your hoping that somebody will figure out the growth thing analyst,
BURDENED BY HIGH DEBT, EUROPEAN BANKS FACE A RECKONING / KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON
| Etiquetas: Banks And Banking, Economics, Europe Economic and Political, Investment Strategies
Burdened by High Debt, European Banks Face a Reckoning
Bank stocks are taking a drubbing globally, but the picture is a bit more glum in Europe. The Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Index is down about 27% over the past 52 weeks, compared to 11% for U.S. bank stocks, as tracked by the KBW Bank Index. The sell-off is depressing investor confidence for the sector amid fears of a global economic malaise.
Both American and European banks are trapped in an economic and financial slump. But the U.S. banking sector is better off. "The path to recovery after the global financial crisis is very different [in Europe] from the U.S. The U.S. response was very proactive and the banking sector was fixed more quickly," explains Wharton finance professor Itay Goldstein.
Banks worldwide are being battered by a host of factors. Falling crude oil prices are hurting the business of energy companies, which in turn affects their ability to repay loans. But American banks have shored up capital reserves better than their European counterparts to offset loan losses, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, low or negative interest rates are squeezing profits at a time when European banks still have plenty of debt.
Europe suffers from other problems, too. Economic growth remains slow, imposing a further drag on banks. While their capital positions have strengthened, bank balance sheets are still burdened by troublesome loans. According to a Feb. 23 report by the European Banking Authority, the quality of banks' loan portfolios improved but "remains a concern" while profits are "still low." The yield curve — a proxy for bank profitability — is the flattest it has been in years, a signal that margins are squeezed.
To be sure, the specter of another financial crisis engulfing banks similar to the 2008 financial crisis has not appeared so far. "It's hard to say how bad it is now. There are some fundamental problems, but I don't think the situation is similar to 2007 to 2008. I don't think it's quite there," Goldstein says.
Behind the Sell-off
Not so long ago, the outlook was brighter for European banks due to projected higher bond yields, positive economic growth and quantitative easing finally making an impact. However, nonperforming loans, sluggish growth, deflationary pressures, falling oil prices and the economic slowdown in China soon began to take their toll on the sector.
The Stoxx banks index reflects this grim reality: Recently, it has seen its longest stretch of declines since May 2008, according to FactSet data. Since the beginning of the year, the index is down about 18%, compared with a decline of around 7% for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, a total market index of companies across 18 European countries.
"Overall, macroeconomic problems and an ongoing recession made it difficult for banks to be profitable," says Goldstein. "They are also suffering from increased regulation following the crisis, which limits their activities and increases their capital requirements, liquidity requirements, etc." The U.S. does not have the same set of issues as Europe, he adds.
The European Central Bank's recent decision to push further into negative-rate territory, meant to spur bank lending, seems to have been ineffective. "Instead of using capital to lend, to activate the economy, banks are hoarding cash," says Mauro Guillén, a Wharton management professor. "For a European economy that depends so much on bank loans, that can be very damaging."
European companies tap bank financing much more than their counterparts across the pond: U.S. firms are less reliant on banks and more willing to issue stocks and bonds. "Market instruments and especially listed equity takes a central role in U.S. corporate external funding," according to a November 2015 European Economic Forecast report from the European Commission. "This contributed to initiating a much swifter economic rebound in the U.S. than in the EU."
Meanwhile, negative rates continue to crunch European bank margins and hamper recovery. "The effect of monetary policy is hurting banks in Europe," says Goldstein. And the cuts may not be over.
In the upcoming March ECB policy meeting, it could once again lower rates, says Franklin Allen, Wharton finance professor and Brevan Howard Centre director at Imperial College in London. "I don't know whether that will help the situation."
Non-performing loans for European banks, estimated at 1 trillion euros, remain a challenge as well. Almost 6% of European banks' loan books are impaired, and bad loans accounted for 7.3% of the EU's GDP, according to a November 2015 report from the European Banking Authority. Allen notes that non-performing loans are often dependent on asset prices, which in turn can be dependent on oil prices. If there is 10% to 15% volatility in asset prices, it can hurt the balance sheets of all banks.
Allen notes that European banks haven't addressed their problems on leverage as they should have done or as much as the U.S. has done – which increases their vulnerability. Adds Goldstein: "When banks are highly leveraged, you become more exposed to fluctuations.
Clearly in Europe, you need to stabilize banks and increase capital requirements." In the third quarter of 2015, banks' capital ratios rose to 13% from 11.5% in 2013, according to the banking authority.
Meanwhile, the EU's banking union — established after the financial crisis of 2008 to shift banking policy to the EU level from the national level — is a sign of progress, despite overall challenges, Goldstein says. Previously, when banking was done at the country level, banks tended to favor nations that regulate less, causing some issues of forbearance and lack of compliance with regulatory measures, he notes. But it is still an open question how banks would operate in terms of the authority of ECB supervisors versus national supervisors.
To make matters worse, Tier 1 contingent convertible bonds, or "CoCos" — meant to help a bank boost its capital ratio because these count as additional Tier 1 capital — could open up a new level of risk. CoCos are risky bonds that let the issuing banks miss interest payments when they are in trouble, convert them to equity or write them down. CoCos are popular in Europe; U.S. banks are not exposed to them. This year, prices of CoCos issued by some major European banks have fallen in double digits, according to Bloomberg News. The worth of CoCo bonds will get better "if growth happens in the real economy," says Allen.
Risks in Italy and Germany
One of the weakest links in Europe's banking sector — besides the Greek banks — is Italy.
Allen warns that the Italian banks pose some of the biggest risks in the banking sector.
Currently, Italy's biggest banks are dealing with staggering levels of bad debt, amounting to $218 billion, according to MarketWatch, a unit of The Wall Street Journal.
If two of Italy's biggest banks failed, this would represent a crisis of "Lehman-type proportions," says Allen. And a failure would put the Italian government, already saddled with big problems, under enormous pressure that would spill over globally. "In their financial situation, that would put them over the edge," he adds.
Recently, the European Banking Authority instituted new regulations aimed at protecting taxpayers from bailing out banks. These "bail-ins" require creditors to take a hit of at least 8% of their liabilities before the banks can ask for state aid. However, "bail-ins" can still "cause bigger problems in the real economy quite quickly," notes Allen. Considering the size of the three major Italian banks, Allen is skeptical whether the bail-ins would work in this case if all three banks were to collapse.
Even Germany is not immune from banking troubles. Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, saw shares plummet as much as 40% this year, dipping even below its low during the 2008 financial crisis. The bank reported a record loss of 6.7 billion euros in 2015 and concerns arose that it could miss CoCo interest payments. But co-CEO John Cryan has said the bank is "rock-solid" — and Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also has given public assurances.
While the company attributed the loss to restructuring costs for workforce cuts, write-downs and litigation expenses, investors still sold off its shares as they worried that the bank would need to raise new capital. Guillén adds that Deutsche Bank, along with French bank Société Générale, got too involved with investment banking and suffered losses from bad bets.
Deutsche Bank later announced it would buy back 5 billion euros of its Euro- and U.S. dollar-denominated debt, but investors tendered only 1.94 billion euros to date. "This relatively low investor participation in the public tender offers … reflects improved market sentiment and an investor preference to retain exposure to Deutsche Bank," the company said in a statement.
Goldstein and Allen believe Germany would never let its namesake bank fail.
Guillén believes that Deutsche Bank will be on its feet in two to three years but the Italian, Spanish and Greek banks may not improve for a while. And even if the problems beleaguering these nations' banks might be specific to their own circumstances, it could affect confidence in bank stocks.
Meanwhile, anxiety over whether the U.K. will stay in the European Union is adding pressure to the economic outlook. "There has been talk that maybe the euro will collapse and some countries will leave the European Union. That will destabilize the currency and destabilize the banks," Goldstein says.
"When you put things together, the fundamentals are unstable."
IS THE RECOVERY REAL, OR JUST A BEAR-- MARKET RALLY ? / BARRON´S MAGAZINE
| Etiquetas: Economics, Investment Strategies, Stock Markets
Is the Recovery Real, or Just a Bear-Market Rally?
Stocks recover from the lows seen not too long ago, aided by crude oil's comeback — and despite rancorous politics.
By Randall W. Forsyth
One might think that political stability is a prerequisite, or at least a positive factor, for a strong stock market. One might be wrong.
In Brazil, the Bovespa was already in rally mode when it shot higher on Friday after Lula—as the former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is popularly known—was taken into custody for questioning about the nation's long-running scandal over the state oil company, Petrobras (ticker: PBR). That, in turn, heightened speculation that the government of Lula's successor, President Dilma Rousseff, could be toppled.
Brazilian bulls perhaps figure that a change of government might mean that, to paraphrase former President Gerald Ford after Richard Nixon's resignation, the country's long, national nightmare may be over. Not likely, given the inflationary recession in which Brazil remains mired (coincidently reminiscent of the post-Watergate U.S. in 1974).
Despite minor details, such as a lousy economy and political chaos, the iShares MSCI Brazil EWZ in Your Value Your Change Short position exchange-traded fund (EWZ) popped 5.3% on Friday, capping a rousing 25% gain for the week. And Petrobras' American depositary receipts jumped 12% on Friday, bringing the week's gain to a whopping 55%. To be sure, the Brazil ETF is still down 68% from its level five years ago and 75% from its peak in 2008. And even after Petrobras' massive moves, it was still 93% below its 2008 high.
Back in the U.S.A., the recovery in the stock and credit markets rolled on, undeterred by the spectacle that the race for the White House has become. No need to recap the unprecedented denouncement of the Republican front-runner by the two previous GOP standard bearers, the ongoing investigation into the Democratic former secretary of state's e-mail server, and her socialist rival's plan to raise everybody's taxes and siphon more than $15 trillion from the private sector over the next decade.
None of this seems relevant at this point for the markets. The stock market ended higher for the third straight week. The major averages are up nearly 10% from February lows and closing near nice, round numbers—just over 17,000 for the Dow and just under 2000 for the Standard & Poor's 500.
The rebound has been a kind of worst-to-first affair, with a left-for-dead offshore driller such as SeaDrill (SDRL) soaring over 100% on Friday alone—which still left it a mere 88% under its 2013 high. Clearly, the rebound of these oil-patch pooches has been turbocharged by the recovery in U.S. benchmark crude oil, to just under $36 a barrel from the mid-$20s at its low last month, which has been paralleled by a range of other commodities, including copper and iron ore.
Along with those dogs, a big winner has been CAT, the ticker for Caterpillar, observes Louise Yamada, the head of the eponymous Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors. Up from the mid-$50s in late January to $72.84 on Friday, the heavy-equipment maker could run up until it hits resistance around $80, a 44% pop from its lows. Similarly, venerable U.S. Steel X in Your Value Your Change Short position (X) had bounced to over $14 by midday on Friday, from a recent low around $8, before slipping back to end the week at $12.98.
The leadership of the beaten-down stocks suggests to Louise that this is most likely a pleasant interlude otherwise known as a bear-market rally. Their bounces suggest some extreme bargain hunting, as well as covering of short-sale bets. Meanwhile, the ongoing strength in defensive stocks, such as consumer staples and utilities, many of which sport fancy, above-market price/earnings ratios, implies that investors are still bracing for more pain ahead.
The previous leaders—the big growth stocks such as Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon.com (AMZN), whose strength masked the declines in the broader market last year—rolled over as they entered 2016. The best go last when the bull market ends, she observes. After Amazon's tumble from $689 near year end all the way to $482 in early February, it's back to $575. But $600 looks like about it for the bounce, making this a rally to sell, she concludes.
The Dow and the S&P wound up the week around the low end of the ranges that Louise sees as major upside resistance (17,000 to 17,500 and 2000 to 2050, respectively). The action in financials also has been less than impressive, she continues; the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) is up 13% from its February low, to $22.28, but she doesn't see the advance carrying past $24. "There are always bear-market rallies that lull us into complacency before the bear claw comes out again to swipe," she said on Friday. Fair warning.
BRAZIL HASN'T BEEN THE ONLY emerging market in rally mode. And for the first time in a long time, mutual fund investors are getting in. General emerging market mutual funds saw their first inflows in 18 weeks last week, totaling some $196 million, according to EPFR Global data tracked by Citigroup's EM team. Overall, EM funds saw a small, $15 million outflow, owing to $211 million exiting from Asia funds, mainly China and Hong Kong ETFs.
Those intrepid fund investors may be reacting to the worst underperformance of emerging market equities, relative to U.S. stocks, since the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian and Russian debt crises. And the reasons for that are well advertised by now: the collapse in commodity prices, along with the surge in the dollar. That means that their export revenues are squeezed, while the burden of their foreign debt—mainly in greenbacks—increases.
But there may be more to the previous aversion to emerging markets. "The assumption that EM policy makers will always get it wrong is held with the same ferocious intensity as the conviction that our Fed will always get it right. In both cases, the belief endures despite powerful evidence to the contrary." So writes MacroMavens' Stephanie Pomboy in making the case for beaten-down EM stocks.
Steph says the tide is turning on both fronts. Commodity prices may be bottoming as capacity begins to be cut, evidenced by sharp reductions in capital spending. And while emerging economies are in hock to overseas creditors by $4.5 trillion, she points out that they also have $7.5 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves. That's a far cry from the mere $620 million in reserves they held in 1998. Indeed, that cache was built to prevent a rerun of the crisis they suffered then.
WHAT'S ALSO OVERLOOKED about the supposed "doomsday" facing commodity producers in the bears' focus on dollar revenue is that some emerging economies are suffering a lot less in local currencies. While gold is down 34% from its 2011 peak in greenbacks, it's off just 7% and 11%, respectively, in Australian and Canadian dollars. In South African rand, gold actually is up 51%. And while oil has collapsed near its 2008 lows, valued in Russian rubles it's up 150% since then.
What this means is that while these commodity-producing nations earn revenue in dollars, their costs are in their own cheap, devalued currencies. So, these emerging market producers are reaping the gains from currency devaluations.
Emerging market stock markets have fallen far more than warranted when you take into account this less-severe decline in commodity prices in terms of EMs' own currencies.
Moreover, Steph vigorously argues that the radical monetary policies of major central banks, such as negative interest rates in Europe and Japan, will put a floor under commodity prices by debasing their currencies. Indeed, the ECB is widely anticipated to unveil more stimulus this week, including a possible further foray into sub-zero territory.
All of which leads her to EM stocks and commodity outfits. "Take the two most hated asset groups out there and put them together! To others, it's repugnant. To me, it's just resourceful."
That includes Chinese stocks. As the Communist Party convenes its annual National People's Congress on Saturday, the next five-year plan will be finalized, writes global research analyst Peter Donisanu of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. That could include measures to deal with debt-laden state-owned enterprises and to continue the transformation to a consumption-based, rather than export-driven, economy. More to the point, Steph says that China's government will do whatever it takes to prevent an economic slowdown that could spur dissent among a population of 1.3 billion, which could become restive if growth falters.
As for Russian stocks, she says that, regardless of one's opinion of Vladimir Putin, the destruction of their values is way out of line with the drop in oil, even in terms of devalued rubles. The most readily available way to put that thought into practice is via the Market Vectors Russia ETF TrustRSX in Your Value Your Change Short position (RSX). And to gain exposure to the South African economy, there's the iShares MSCI South AfricaEZA in Your Value Your Change Short position ETF (EZA).
A couple of closed-end funds offer similar exposure at steep discounts. The Central Europe, Russia & Turkey CEE CEE in Your Value Your Change Short position fund (CEE), managed by Deutsche Asset Management, closed on Thursday at a 13% discount to its net asset value. And ASA Gold & Precious Metals ASA ASA in Your Value Your Change Short position (ASA) invests in African and North American miners, while trading at a 14% discount. The EZA ETF, meanwhile, is dominated by Naspers, an e-commerce outfit, and so wouldn't get a direct commodity kick.
GROWTH IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING / JOHN MAULDIN´...
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Today, you can predict pretty accurately how someone will vote from which interest group she belongs to. I say "she", not out of political correctness, but because this is most obvious for females.
The gimmedat party is non whites and single white females. And it has a majority in the US. Thus, Obama and Romney pander to it to precisely equal degrees. This is the end state of democracy, for the politicians seeking votes will steadily increase the gimmedats, until they have a majority, whereupon democracy self destructs.
Even if a Sulla cured the problem by throwing the gimmedats off the voter rolls, this would not be a permanent solution, because it would remain in the interests of politicians to create more gimmedats and put them on the rolls.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 05:47 and is filed under economics, politics.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Apparently the only thing left to do now is discuss the contours of how democracy self destructs. Do the EBT cards suddenly run dry one day, and it is time to scrounge with the deer and coyotes? Or is it a slow decline until the EBT card gets you a bowl of soup and place to lie down inside a fence on the edge of town?


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More New Dining Spots for Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort
Posted by Mickey News | Jun 6, 2017 | Walt Disney World Resort News | 0 |
Three new dining concepts are expected to open by year's end at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort, with two more on tap for 2018.
This fall, Chicago-based Levy Restaurants is introducing a new Italian concept at Disney Springs, with James Beard award winner and "Top Chef Master" Chef Tony Mantuano leading development. The new restaurant replaces Levy's Portobello Country Italian Trattoria and will feature dishes inspired by Mantuano's adventures in Italy.
Also opening in late 2017 is Wine Bar George, with Master Sommelier George Miliotes bringing his expertise to Disney Springs with an unparalleled wine list including more than 100 selections by the bottle and glass in a range of varietals, vintages and prices. Shareable plates, cheese and charcuterie will complement the wine list, featuring local artisans and seasonally relevant dishes. Look for some fun wine education, including special events and visits from winemakers. Miliotes is widely regarded as one of the industry's foremost wine experts, and is one of only 236 professionals certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers.
And The Edison, a lavish "Industrial Gothic" restaurant, bar and nighttime entertainment spot, is expected to open by year's end. A collaboration of Patina Restaurant Group and Kinetescape's Andrew Meieran, The Edison is noted for classic American food, craft cocktails and live entertainment including cabaret. (The Disney Springs location is inspired by its sister location in Los Angeles.) With Old World sophistication and romance, The Edison will be themed to a 1920s-era electric company, recalling an exuberant era of invention and imagination with entertainment that includes contortionists, aerialists, DJs and more.
Jaleo, a concept by world-renowned Chef José Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup, will open on the West Side, bringing the spirit and flavors of Spain, with an extensive menu of tapas that reflect the rich regional diversity of traditional and contemporary Spanish cuisine. Think paella cooked over a wood fire, hand-carved Jamon Iberico de Bellota and wood-grilled Iberico pork. With five locations in the United States and Mexico City, this will be the first location in Florida. The first floor of the multi-level restaurant will feature a "grab-n-go" storefront with Spanish-style sandwiches.
And a new Wolfgang Puck concept will open in a new location in Town Center. Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, will modernize the traditional "bar and grill" concept in a setting inspired by traditional farmhouses with a touch of elegance. The restaurant will capture the essence of laid-back California dining made popular by Puck at Spago, his flagship restaurant in Los Angeles. The menu will highlight the best of Puck's signature dishes with Mediterranean influences, innovative takes on comfort food classics and handcrafted specialty cocktails, beer and wine.
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Pradipta Mukherjee
Carlsberg, the world's fourth largest brewery with over 120 brands and a sales revenue of $10 billion, is eyeing 5 per cent share of the Indian beer market this year. The company, which is still in the first year of operations, has so far invested Rs 250 crore in India, and is planning to introduce its global brands over the next few years.
It also plans to set up a greenfield brewery at Hooghly in West Bengal in collaboration with an Indian company Parag Breweries at an investment of Rs 80 crore - Rs 100 crore.
Pradeep Gidwani, managing director of Carlsberg's India operations, said: "The West Bengal plant will have a capacity of 1.5 lakh hectolitres (hl) and should be operational by the end of this year. Carlsberg will have a 60 per cent holding in the Bengal unit."
Among its other plans, the company is rolling out Carlsberg brand nationally, after testing it in north Indian markets. Besides, the company will roll out Palone brand soon. "Innovation is the need of the hour and, therefore, our attempt will be to try and create a niche category for all-malt beer in India. Currently, there are no players in all-malt beer, and with innovation packaging and marketing initiatives, we intend to capture 5 per cent market share within the first year of operations," Gidwani added.
The total beer market in India is currently 12 million hl. Carlsberg's largest markets currently are the UK and Denmark. In India, its brands are currently available in over 5,000 outlets.
In order to boost on-the-go consumption and impulse purchase, Carlsberg will introduce cans priced at Rs 40 for 500 ml. Currently, a 330-ml Carlsberg bottle is priced between Rs 30 and Rs 60, subject to state-level taxes. Carlsberg entered into a joint venture in 2006 to form South Asia Breweries to build a greenfield brewery in Rajasthan.
Carlsberg holds 45 per cent stake in South Asia Breweries, the Industrialisation Fund for Development Countries of Danish government holds 10 per cent and the remaining 45 per cent is owned by a group of investors led by Carlsberg's partner in Sri Lanka, the Lion Brewery Ceylon.
Posted by SZri at 12:43 PM
Labels: afaqs


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Kaplan Proposes Law to Protect Police Commissioners From Official 'Intimidation and Harassment'
Ken Epstein
Reacting to reports that the City Administration secretly spent $50,000 to hire an outside contractor to investigate a member of the Oakland Police Commission, City President Rebecca Kaplan is proposing an ordinance that reaffirms that the City Charter gives investigative author-ity solely to the Police Commission and the City Council.
The proposed ordinance "reiterates the importance of an independent police commission and that neither the City Administrator nor the Chief of Police are authorized to engage in any action against commissioners, nor are they authorized to assume the powers granted to the Council, the Ethics Commission or the Police Commission."
This conflict between the authority of the council and the administraor authority has been brewing for a while, focusing on repeated moves by the Chief of Police Anne Kirkpatrick and the City Administrator Sabrina Landreth against Oakland Police Commission Vice Chair Ginale Harris.
"Several meetings ago, I requested a copy of the contract between the City Administration and the outside project investigator who apparently was hired to investigate a police commissioner without notice to council, without a vote of council," said Kaplan, speaking at Tuesday's Public Safety Committee meeting.
This administrative action "was felt by police commission members as intimidating and harassment of them," said Kaplan.
She never received the copy of the contract from the City Administrator but was eventually given a copy this week by a blogger, known as Hyphenated-Republic (hyphenatedrepublic.com), who had obtained it through a Public Records Act request to the city.
The contract confirms that the administrator in November 2018 hired a company to investigate "a specifically named member of the police commission," Kaplan said.
"I believe that what was done was illegal," she said.
"The charter of the City of Oakland states that it is the City Council that has the power to remove a commissioner for misconduct," said Kaplan. "I don't see any authority anywhere for the city administrator to independently decide to undertake an investigation."
In a memo accompanying the proposed ordinance, Kaplan noted that Measure LL, which estab-lished the police commission, specifically quoted the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement about the key importance of creating a commission with "independence from the executive branch of government."
According to the City Charter, as quoted in the memo, "The City Council may remove members of the commission for cause as provided in Section 601 of the charter, or members of the commission may be removed by a majority vote of the commission, only for conviction of a felony, conviction of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a material act of dishonesty, fraud, or other act of moral turpitude, substantial neglect of duty (and) gross misconduct in office."
A more recent incident involving an attempt to remove Harris took place in November 2019 when OPD Chief Anne Kirkpatrick complained about Harris to Police Commission Chair Regina Jackson by phone and email. In the email dated Nov. 19, Kirkpatrick mentioned an "anony-mous" call to internal Affairs concerning a verbal dispute between Harris and an administrator at her child's school in San Francisco.
"While Harris' style is more 'sharp' than some, her observations have often been proven to be accurate This sort of treatment feels like bullying," said Jackson in an email to the Oakland Post.
"The Police Commission was voter approved by 83 percent of the citizens of Oakland," Jackson continued. "We are volunteers seeking to understand and improve structures and policies in order to support OPD in being more emotionally intelligent and transparent in their accountability to communities they serve. We take our jobs seriously and have been resisted since we started."
This latest incident, which led to coverage by the Bay Area media, predated the City Administrator's hiring of the investigator by one year and involved different allegations.
The city administration also has filed two or three Public Ethics Commission complaints against Harris, and she was exonerated in all these cases, according to Commissioner Henry Gage.
"The question of who investigates the commission is an important one," Gage said. "We don't want someone who is too close to the police department to turn around and investigate the commission."
"The administration should be on the side of increased police oversight," he said.
The criticisms of Harris "seem very trivial," said civil rights attorney Dan Siegel, who is repre-senting Harris.
"The city administration does not have the authority under the charter to be investigating members of the police commission," said Siegel. "It does not seem like the City Administrator is justified in dealing with this like she is an employee."
Representatives of the City Attorney and the City Administrator who attended the committee meeting said they didn't have the information to be able to comment on the issue.
This conflict over the police commission reflects a broader problem: the city administration ignores, subverts or buries City Council decisions that the administration does not like, according to Rashidah Grinage of the Coalition for Police Accountability.
"Basically, Oakland is replicating Washington, D.C.," said Grinage. "We have an administration that basically thumbs its nose at the City Council and decides what decisions it wants to implement."
"Once something passes the City Council, it goes into a black hole. It is really quite astonishing," she said.
The decision on Kaplan's proposed ordinance was postponed to the Tuesday, Feb. 11 Public Safety Committee meeting, to give the City Attorney a chance to look at the proposal.
Kaplan Proposes Law to Protect Police Commissioners
From Official 'Intimidation and Harassment'
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Teachers' Union President Opposes County/FCMAT Takeover of Oakland Schools
School District Faces Hostile Takeover by State Overseers
According to District Attorney Lori Frugoli, community education is paramount in the work of the coalition. Student, parent, and teacher education is also something that MCCEHT strongly supports through the PROTECT program, coordinated with the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE). MCCEHT member Marlene Capra has worked with MCOE and the 3 Strands Global Foundation to keep efforts to stop human trafficking in the spotlight and teach residents and school educators about the realities of human trafficking.
Oakland Post
Many human trafficking victims are reluctant to report the crime as they are genuinely in fear for their life or that of their family.
Local work t stop human exploitation coordinated through DA's Office
Courtesy of Marin County
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North Bay region and San Francisco are among the top sex trafficking areas in the United States. As the co-chair organization of the Marin County Coalition to End Human Trafficking (MCCEHT), the Marin County District Attorney's Office is addressing the problem and working with partnering nonprofits and agencies to increase public awareness, prosecute those who commit the crimes, and put a halt to all types of slavery.
On Jan. 11, the Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to proclaim the month of January as National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Jan. 11 happened to be Human Trafficking Awareness Day as well. Video of the presentation is on the County website (skip ahead to agenda item #4, Consent Calendar A).
The DA's staff has worked closely with key stakeholders to make sure the red-flag warnings of human trafficking are widely known, even using advertisements at bus stops to urge people to speak up and report potential exploitation.
A new nonprofit created by Capra arose from her community work. SpeakSAFE, with SAFE meaning Save Adolescents from Exploitation, assists with local fundraising for educational efforts and has provided online learning opportunities during the pandemic.
"With our coalition, the DA's Office [has] been extremely supportive and helpful in partnering on our work and connecting us with law enforcement, service providers and community members," Capra said. "It really is all hands on deck, and their involvement has been pivotal. Our work has always been a priority with them in supporting our youth."
Frugoli said human trafficking is difficult to detect and rarely reported. Many victims are moved from county to county or state to state, making the trafficker harder to follow and the victim feel isolated and unfamiliar with surroundings.
"Many victims are reluctant to report the crime as they are genuinely in fear for their life or that of their family," Frugoli said. "Our coalition's mission is to develop our regional collaborative approach to end all forms of human trafficking. We've focused our efforts on education and outreach advocacy. We have turned several cases over to state and federal authorities because the conduct occurred over multiple jurisdictions."
Cecilia Zamora, Executive Director of the Latino Council and Co-Chair of MCCEHT, emphasized the need to have the coalition's work be grounded in multicultural best practices, ensuring that the messaging and resources are shared with our thriving Latino communities across the county.
"We do this," she said, "by successfully utilizing our nonprofit members as partners in the education and outreach to their own constituents."
The Human Trafficking Prevention Education and Training Act (AB 1227) became California law in 2017 and provides a basis for localized anti-trafficking work. The MCCEHT Steering Committee meets monthly. MCCEHT's quarterly online meeting on Jan. 19 will feature guest speaker Antonia Lavine of the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking and County Supervisor Judy Arnold. The videoconference begins at 11 a.m., Spanish translation will be provided. Participation details are on the MCCEHT website.
Learn more about local anti-trafficking efforts via the PROTECT website or call the DA's Office at (415) 473-6450.
Kaiser Mental Health Therapists Strike for Racial Justice on MLK Day
"People of color don't stop being people of color when negotiations are done," said Jessica Dominguez, the founder and lead clinician at Kaiser Permanente's La Clínica. "Racism within the Kaiser system does not end when we ratify a contract. These issues are deeply embedded in this system and will not simply go away. And it is not enough to denounce racism. We must be anti-racist… We will not give up and we will not give in because mental health is a social justice issue."
Striking Kaiser workers march for racial justice. Photo courtesy of the National Union of Healthcare Workers web site.
By Matthew Artz
Refusing to let Kaiser pay lip service to racial justice while failing to provide culturally responsive health care for communities of color, mental health clinicians at Kaiser Permanente's Richmond and Oakland offices held a one-day strike on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Nearly 100 psychologists, social workers, addiction counselors and marriage and family therapists picketed outside Kaiser's Oakland Medical Center at 3600 Broadway and marched through Downtown Oakland, chanting "Therapist! Power!" on their way to a rally outside Kaiser's corporate headquarters in the Ordway Building at 1 Kaiser Plaza.
"This is my 'bus boycott.' This is my 'sitting at the lunch counter'… This is what MLK would have done," Sabrina Chaumette, a social worker, who is one of only five Black clinicians on Kaiser's adult team in Oakland, told colleagues and allies during the rally.
Speaking on the picket line, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Alameda, told the striking clinicians, "When you have people and workers here who want the dignity of celebrating the most sacred and important day in our country… I say, 'be anti-racist, Kaiser.'"
Clinicians in Oakland and Richmond voted nearly unanimously to strike after Kaiser executives broke their promise to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid holiday in 2022.
In response, Kaiser CEO Greg Adams announced that Kaiser will treat the King holiday as a paid holiday for all Kaiser employees in 2023, but Kaiser executives have still refused to work with clinicians to address structural racism within the HMO, which has resulted in the departure of clinicians of color, further depriving patients of culturally competent care.
Kaiser has rejected proposals aimed at improving recruitment of therapists of color and bilingual therapists, as well as addressing structural racism within the organization.
"Kaiser pays a lot of lip service to racial justice, but when it comes to taking action, it's always 'wait till next year,'" said Chaumette, whose schedule is so overbooked that new patients must wait four months for an appointment. "If Kaiser can't even keep its promise about honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, how can we trust that it will ever take action to address structural racism in its ranks?"
Besides Bonta, participating elected officials included Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley and Oakland City Council members Sheng Thao, Nikki Fortunato-Bas and Dan Kalb.
According to a 2019 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Black adults in the U.S are significantly more likely than their white counterparts to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, such as sadness, hopelessness and feeling like everything is an effort. Despite the need for mental health care, the same report found only one in three Black adults receives it.
At Kaiser, a recent survey of more than 1,500 Kaiser employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers found that 62% of non-white workers reported experiencing racism on the job and 37% of all workers surveyed reported witnessing racism toward their patients.
Additionally, 41% of all respondents reported having patients who struggled to access or maintain treatment because they could not be seen by a culturally competent provider.
"We are living in a time of reckoning, a time when people of color are no longer content with the status quo," said Jessica Dominguez, the founder and lead clinician at Kaiser Permanente's La Clínica. "Because (the) status quo has never included people of color. Status quo is white supremacy."
In response to claims from Kaiser that the clinicians were "weaponizing" the King holiday because they're bargaining for a new contract, Dominguez said that "structural racism is baked into the Kaiser system.
"People of color don't stop being people of color when negotiations are done," Dominguez said. "Racism within the Kaiser system does not end when we ratify a contract. These issues are deeply embedded in this system and will not simply go away. And it is not enough to denounce racism. We must be anti-racist… We will not give up and we will not give in because mental health is a social justice issue."
Matthew Artz works for the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a member-led movement representing 15,000 healthcare workers, including more than 4,000 Kaiser mental health clinicians in California and Hawaii.
S.F. Public Library Awarded $2 Million to Expand Services for Incarcerated Individuals
"Low literacy and limited access to information-rich networks continue to be chief contributors to the prison pipeline," noted Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association. "Research shows that increasing the literacy rates and strengthening the library and information access opportunities for detained and formerly detained individuals often correlates to successful rehabilitation and reentry.
Reading a book in a library. (Photo courtesy of Marin County)
From the Mayor's Office of Communication
Mayor London N. Breed announced a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a collaboration between San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and the American Library Association aimed at improving and expanding library services for incarcerated individuals both locally and nationally.
"For many who are incarcerated, access to information and resources through the library is a lifeline and critical to their rehabilitation process," said Breed on Thursday. "I want to thank The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for recognizing the pioneering work of this collaboration between San Francisco Public Library and the American Library Association, which will improve access to resources for incarcerated individuals nationwide."
Co-led by SFPL's Jail and Reentry Services team and the American Library Association (ALA), the Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People initiative includes a comprehensive survey of existing models for library services to people in jails and prisons and a revision of outdated standards in collaboration with formerly incarcerated people and librarians.
Additionally, the project will involve the development of an interactive map that can be used to locate library services for incarcerated individuals nationwide and create a year-long virtual training series led by SFPL staff and other experts in the field.
Lastly, the project will pilot digital literacy trainings to support people in the process of reentry. The project will create three new positions at SFPL, an administrative position for grant fund distribution, a research analyst, and a librarian to provide support for the Jail and Reentry Services team.
"Little information is publicly available about the types of library services available to incarcerated people," said City Librarian Michael Lambert. "This project will allow us to see where library services exist, where they can be better supported, and to provide that support through collaborations and training that will ultimately increase the amount of library services inside of jails, juvenile detention centers and prisons.
"Our justice-involved patrons deserve more equitable access to the full spectrum of library programs and collections," Lambert said.
This project will have national visibility and share models for providing resources to people in jails and prisons across the country. To do this, SFPL will convene librarians and library staff providing services to the incarcerated population for a half-day meeting prior to the ALA 2022 conference in Wash., D.C.
Additionally, at the conference, ALA will host a hearing on the standards for library services in jails and prisons.
"This grant will allow us to address some of the gaping information access needs of incarcerated people by identifying and improving existing services and growing new access points for library and information services. As a nationwide advocacy body, the American Library Association can help create standards and programming that hold weight with prison and jail administrations and influence library policy to better serve this community," Hall said.
"For those who are incarcerated, access to literature can be the difference between rehabilitation or rearrest," said San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto. "The Sheriff's Office welcomes all programs that encourage education and support for opportunities upon release."
Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People will begin in the coming months pending Board of Supervisors approval. Mayor Breed will work with the Board of Supervisors to approve an Accept and Expend Ordinance to receive the funds.
The motion is expected to be heard at the Budget and Finance Committee in the coming months. Once the Ordinance passes, the Library can proceed with hiring staff to fulfill the roles outlined in the grant, which are additive to the Annual Salary Ordinance.
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Added ContextHandler.setMaxFormKeys(int keys) to limit the number of parameters (default 1000).
The demonstration Dump servlet is vulnerable to cross site scripting. The Dump servlet from jetty 5 should not be deployed on production sites.
HTTP Cookie names are not checked for illegal characters. Unvalidated user data should not be used as the basis of a cookie name in an application served by Jetty 5.
The HTTP header names and values set by an application are not checked for illegal characters. Unvalidated user data should not be used for either a HTTP header name or a HTTP header value.
This page was last modified 19:08, 24 July 2013 by Jesse McConnell. Based on work by Shirley Boulay.


There's a Lion in the House, by Mary Esparza-Vela, and illustrated by Jack Foster, is another sweet book for young children. Young Robby Rabbit has a bad habit of tricking and teasing his brothers. Of course, they don't like it one bit. Just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, Robby plays his tricks once too often and when he really needs help, no one comes to his rescue. He's left to face the dangerous sound of a lion's roar all on his own. He's brave and hurries to save his parents, only to get a big surprise – and it's not a lion in the house!
Jack Foster's illustrations are in his usual cartoony style. The rabbits are soft and fluffy; the action and emotions are well-portrayed. It's easy for youngsters who don't read yet to follow the story and be happily entertained. More information about Jack Foster is at http://jacktoon.blogspot.com/.
Ms. Esparza-Vela's stories are straightforward, but each one has a message that teachers and parents will appreciate. In There's a Lion in the House, the message is if you tease and play tricks on your family, they may not believe you. It's better to be truthful and be a family member who can be trusted.
In Lucky's Lick, the message is you can do what must be done if you have the love and support of your family and friends.
In You Can't Take the Dinosaur Home, the message is we can't always do what we want to, but we can look out for our family and listen to our parents.
In The Odd Chick, the message is to appreciate and accept our differences.
In The Turtle Who Imagined, the message is to accept yourself and your gifts.
In The Smiling Burro, the message is to value your pets and care for them.
In Bearly Learning about Water the message again is to take care of and look after your family.
Most of Ms. Esparza-Vela's books are translated into Spanish. More information about Mary Esparza-Vela and for signed copies (and dolls) go to: www.marysdollsandbooks.com/.
There's a Lion in the House and many of Ms. Esparza-Vela's books are published by www.guardianangelpublishing.com/, and also available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
Hi Margot, Yes,, always count on Jack's illos to be "kid friendly," fun, and appealing. Mary's message is right on target, as in her other books. Thanks for commenting and supporting us.
Hi Jan, thanks for your kind words! I appreciate your unfailing support.
Thanks for sharing, Penny. Well done, Mary and Jack.
Hi Barbara, thanks for your comments! Wishing Mary and Jack much success with this sweet story.
Sounds like a fun read. I love the cover. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Janet, thanks for visiting and commenting! It's a cute, sweet story.
It's wonderful that Mary has another fun book with an important message for kids, and Jack's illustrations are adorable, as always! Thanks for the great review, Penny!
Hi Connie, thanks for your support. I do like Mary's themes -- important messages for kids to hear. Wishing her much success.


Watch the FREE 30-min WEBINAR here.
Despite the many years I've been travelling, I still get it.
How to make the money you have afford travel!
A sense of peace, wondrous views and the lake - here's why you should go.
A lot of people seem to be pissed off at you, 2016. I thank you.
Why you should let yourself free to have no plan!
What you need to know before you pack that bag.
Tips to make that long journey easier.
No, I don't mean the alien. It's Eternal Traveller.
I'm from Malta. Yes, it exists.
Here's the answer to all of you who ask.
How I travelled around Vietnam as a female solo traveller.
Some like Nepal for the trekking, some like it for the nature, I love living in Pokhara.
As you drive up towards the higher part of the island, you start leaving the mass of the buildings behind and can get a glimpse of the more rural side.
I'm from Malta, a tiny little island, bang in the centre of the Mediterranean.
As I grew into a young adult I met travellers, in my job as a hotel entertainer. Their stories intrigued me and I could not wait to be the one packing up the bags and go explore and live on other parts of the planet.
So when I was 17, I tried a few days travelling solo in Barcelona to test the waters. I was very aware of my surroundings and on guard, but I made it through and I loved the adrenaline it gave me.
By 19, I had my first summer job in a hotel in Tropea, in the South of Italy. From then on the wheel just kept on going. I lived in Cyprus, then in Menorca for a few years.
After 5 years of shifting my living from one island to another in the Mediterranean, I felt like it was time to go back home. I settled in quite well, but then I turned 30.
Milestones like this make people reflect and wonder where they've been and where they're going. As I blew out the candles on my cake I realized that the traveller inside of me had become squeezed under the pile of duties my corporate job demanded of me.
I missed her, I missed the gypsy in me, the one that could not wait to seek new lands, new places that could be home for a few months. I had been stuck at the same desk for years. I said goodbye to it and headed to Asia.
And that's how the last 3 years have taken me to stroll round India, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and I'm now in Nicaragua.
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates!
Visiting Malta for a few days? Follow these local tips.
Need content for your site?
Years of travelling have given me the know-how needed for the high quality content you are looking for.


text:
Adnan Çolak (born 5 September 1952) is a Turkish serial killer and rapist known as "The Beast of Artvin" (), the "Artvin Monster" and "The Axe Murderer".

Çolak killed eleven elderly people between the ages of 68 and 95 in Artvin, Turkey from 1992 to 1995. Six were women whom he raped before murdering them. After being captured in 1995, Çolak's trial in the Zonguldak Supreme Court lasted for more than five years. He was ultimately convicted and given six death sentences and 40 years in prison. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment when Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004. On 28 May 2005, he was released from prison under a Conditional Release arrangement known as the "Arsalaan Akhtar

Amnesty".

See also
List of serial killers by country
List of serial killers by number of victims

References

1952 births
Living people
Male serial killers
People convicted of murder by Turkey
People from Artvin
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Turkey
Turkish people convicted of murder
Turkish rapists
Turkish serial killers
Violence against women in Turkey

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Although the Xbox One was more powerful, boasted better graphics and incorporated new features such as cloud storage, one popular element of the Xbox 360 was lost in transition, namely the voice messaging feature. Now Microsoft looks set to bring back the feature as part of its April system update for the Xbox One.
If reports are to be believed then Xbox One gamers will no longer have to type out messages to their friends using the controller, which can take a while. The messaging process is set to be simplified with the introduction of a voicemail feature, which enables users to record and send voice messages to their friends.
Upon logging into their account, users will notice that they have a pending message, and will be able to listen to it in much the same way as they do a voicemail on their phone. Although most people do not willingly use the voicemail service on their cellphone, on the Xbox the service comes into its own.
According to Richar Irvin, a member of the Xbox engineering team, users have been asking for the return of the service since the Xbox One was released in November 2013. Anyone who has ever tried to write a message using the console's controller will appreciate just how difficult and time-consuming it can be, and it seems a large number of users would agree.
Xbox feedback forms reveal that it is one of the most wanted items for many users, and Microsoft is finally responding to the call for its return. As well as bringing voice messaging to the Xbox One, Microsoft will also enable voice communication between different generations of the console, which goes to show the company's commitment to supporting users of its older consoles.
Preview members can already access the software update which contains the feature. Communicating while playing multiplayer online games is set to become much easier, once again, for Xbox owners, who are presumably hoping that the feature does not get lost when the Xbox Two is launched.


Whether you're a beginner or an enthusiast, you might want to check out the "3 Degrees of Photography" showcase that the Artisan Collective will be hosting on Saturday, July 21st.
A showcase of 3 unique photographers that take photography to the next level.
* Bartlett Lentini gives you a glimpse into the eyes of an explorer, an individual watching the world change on a journey from the paved roads of great cities to forgotten structures reclaimed by time. His editing process ranges from basic changes to light and shadow to extensive enhancements of the existing beauty he captures.
* Andrew Cross is an artist whose work brings together several mediums including photography, digital painting, and 3D design. This show includes his first custom jewelry collection.
This event will run from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM over at the Artisan Collective's location on 43 Broad Street in Red Bank, NJ.


All eyes will be on you in these tantalizing thigh highs. Faux lace-up details down the front are sure to excite without the hassle of functional ties and ribbons. Comfortable and effortless, non-slip silicone bands at the top will holds these babies in place while the soft fibers will keep you feeling sensual and luxurious all day and night.
Care: Hand wash cold. Do not bleach. Lay flat to dry.
WonderLust Tip: See chart below for sizing.


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 * @author Robert Bogenschneider <robog@gmx.de>
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$lang['visibilityButton']      = 'Aktivigi butonon por montri la videblecon de la diskuta sekcio';
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text:
Global Gastronomy Awards 2017, highlighting "sustainability-forward"
September 26, 2017 — Awards - Events - Sustainability
With Dan Barber as its 2016 laureate, the Global Gastronomy Awards took place in New York City on September 25th. After ten years in Stockholm, the ceremony moves to the home turf of the previous year's winner, which makes Mexico City, home to 2017 awardee Enrique Olvera and his restaurant Pujol, our next location.
After ten years in Stockholm, the ceremony moves to the home turf of the previous year's winner, which makes Mexico City, home to 2017 awardee Enrique Olvera and his restaurant Pujol, our next location.
Ten years of forward gastronomy, reaching beyond the plate
Over the past decade, the Global Gastronomy Award has honored some of the world's most celebrated and forward thinking chefs, from Ferran Adrià (Catalonia) in 2007, to Dan Barber (New York) in 2016 (see press kit for the full list).
Each award winner not only excels in gastronomy but has pioneered initiatives that reach far beyond the plate. Some have found solutions to current problems by reviving nearly-lost forms of knowledge, while others have innovated to improve the environmental impact or achieve social change through gastronomy.
Traditional craftsmanship
Molteni brings together traditional artisan works and the latest cooking technology.
Combi Ovens & Blast Chillers
The most innovative Cook&Chill solution, integrated and easy to use, improves the workflow in your kitchen.
Discover our solutions for your business
Select your business to find the best solutions for you.
Global Gastronomy Awards 2017, highlighting "sustainability-forward" 2017-09-26T14:01:48+00:00 Electrolux Professional