In its sixth publishing, Las Italias confronts with the evolution of the Vito Pace's art, which is shaped by the conceptual art and by a continuous cancellation of the artistic object.
« The artwork, from the vase by the Greek craftsman, to the Vault of the Sistine Chapel, is always an exquisitely "relative" masterpiece. The artwork is never alone, it is always a comparison. Just to start, it's at least a comparison with another artwork. An alone in the world work of art would not even be understood as a human production, but it would be regarded with reverence or horror, like some kind of magic, as a taboo, as a work created by God or by a sorcerer, not by a man. And we have already suffered too much from the myth of artists considered divine or the most divine in the world,1 instead of simply human1 ».
Written in the last century, these words are as relevant as ever when we consider them in relation to the specific direction of artistic research taken up by Vito Pace.
Born in Avigliano (in the province of Potenza) in 1966, Pace currently lives in Germany. His poetry goes, in the years after his academic training, towards a conceptual elaboration that starts from of the focus on the space to identify the process of realization and the perception of the artwork.
After he had abandoned the figurative and traditional sculpture, the first excursus in conceptual art is the performance Materialmente (Materially - Turin, 1991), in which two distinct moments in time are fixed through two tanks of water, in which the artist himself sink together with a picture of himself in the water. The production of the work - the action performed by the artist and its photographyc documentation - becomes the subject itself of the artwork.
The exhibition sets out the '"happening" of the artwork, its realization in the world as a process (in this case a performative process) and not its condition of material object. In this sense we can say that the artist's attention is directed to zeroing the poetic and emotional element of the work, in favour of an explicitation of the procedure necessary to achieve it.
The annihilation of the artwork as an object bearing an external meaning, or as a fetish or a symbol of the artist's inner being or sensitivity, of his own condition as a creator, of his inspiration as divine and almost intangible element, takes place through the exposure of the concept that becomes work and of the process fitting for its realization.
Developing along this direction, the artworks by Pace become true through different techniques, making it impossible to establish an "aesthetics" continuity as his distinctive feature. In the development of his research the declared influences of the father of Conceptual Art, Joseph Kosuth, and of other members of the movement as the Japanese artist On Kawara and a progressive interest in the issues of space as an active part of the work and the perception of art are evident.
The process actually makes the work a manifestation of its concept, not only as a production basis for the artistic work but as its conceptual genesis on a mere intellectual level : what is produced (either a performance, an installation, a drawing, etc.) has the role of signifier and signified, it does not refer to external values, as there is no transcendence or inspiration in its being-in-the-world. Art becomes almost a scientific process, a laboratory research that finds – in the artwork- the disclosure of the found data.
But, by its own nature, this research knows no end, so each work becomes a part of an endless process that seeks - with each exposure, at each completed work realization - the "zero", that is the elimination of the work through its happening and the exposure of the process needed to produce it, to be able to start again with a new phase of the research.
A concept that seems due to the "active nihilism" of Friedrich Nietzsche, where the decay of values, the "Death of God," will be followed by a new rebirth.
Each work stands as a result of the above one, acquiring data - even in a physical meaning, through the notes the artist takes during the design of each work and that he reuses for subsequent work - as a starting point for the next stage of the research .
Which can lead to really technically different results which do not despise the new technologies, as in the case of Kontora Mir2 [The documentation is still available at the link : www.kontoramir.com], a project (Shiryaevo, 2001-2006) that was born as part of the second Shiryaevo Biennale of Arts and structured as a physical and virtual place for communication, discussion and artistic production, as well as a multimedia archive which has developed over the years in both its virtual part, through a website created and maintained by the Austrian artist and journalist Martin Krusche, both in its physical part, through workshops and seminars in European universities and academies.
The two words that give the name to the project : Kontora (контора), office, and Mir (мир) world but also peace, gather its spirit : a common work place unrelated to a physical location, open and accessible from anywhere in the world, but also Pace's office, wide-opened to collaboration with artists from everywhere.
The artist's drifting apart from the artwork could not be clearer : the object of art is not only non-existent, but it is collective, without an identity connotation attributed to a single author, but it is a steady process bringing together in a virtual place artists from all around the world.
The project comes to a conclusion in 2006 through the exhibition der Transfer ist aus (the transfer is finished - Milan, 2006), which brings together the works and the contributions of all the artists in one place and Pace himself expresses them through a performance, but with a very loud techno music undercurrent that makes futile any explanation, stating this way the impossibility of a real conclusion of an experience which began as a "place of peace" and in which collaborations, encounters and experiences were born.
Kontora Mir underlines another feature of Pace's works : although they clearly belong to the world of art and therefore they are theoretically describable through its language, their complexity often makes inappropriate words such as installation, painting, drawing, etc..
The only correct way to speak about each of them is using the word "projects" rather than works, thus including finite elements that make them up and their conceptual origin.
This is the case of ein Hut und ein Kräuterlikör (Stuttgart, 2002-2003), a project made up of several elements : the model of a villa with watercolor drawings of its plant and sections, three portraits of women and two columns with decorative inlays wood.
The narrative element suggested by the combination of the different parts of the work describes a story that really has never been told, a story that does not exist and is in fact the idea from which the work was created, the conceptual act of its genesis. Almost showing an "after" whose before is alluded but does not really.
Every single element is realized with a precision and a formal neatness which makes it technically perfect, almost anonymous. Any indication of a signature or a track of the artist lack : each object dampens the work, they all put a distance between the work and the author, as a screen of a formal and technical precision pursued almost obsessively, looking for a way to explain the concept without any interference by the subject.
Next to the hermetic history of ein Hut und ein Kräuterlikör, Gastrocnemius (Stuttgart, 2004-2005) takes place another fictional narrative - not tied, this time, to the past but almost futuristic in its essence - composed of different objects : a room which was rebuilt in the exhibition space and documented by the plan and elevation drawings, some clothes with an oval incision on the muscle that gives its name to the artwork (the same Gastrocnemius which is located in the calf), a drawing in which you trace the "path" of the incidence of sunlight on the muscle itself.
Even in this case, the artist seems to suggest a narrative element which is never explicit though ; as in some kind of puzzle, the elements are tangible and the solution can only result from a combination of them, and yet it is elusive. Furthermore, the deliberate anonymity of each component makes difficult to read the artwork in traditional terms.
Ironically and provokingly, the artist pushes toward a different gaze : not being able to see "after" the work (what does it represent ?) he obliges you to see the "before" (what it is originated from). And to choose whether to participate in the subtle and intellectual play built by the works or to deny to confrontation.
A reverse process (not a work that originated in a hypothetical story but the creation of a story through visual art) emerges in the installation to Emma Ricklud, which was born during a residency at the Ricklundgården (Saxnäs 2009 ), or the house where the Swedish painter Folke Ricklund and his wife Emma lived, in which since the '60s a foundation and an international cultural center takes place.
The work arises from Emma Ricklund's storyx who, according to some sources, was a "clandestine" painter : she used to hide her works because she believed them not to be up to those of her husband, who were known in Sweden as "the painter of the mountain" at the time.
In the work dedicated to her, Pace staged a tribute to her memory through different steps : in the beginning he drew on the wall of the studio a portrait of her (the same that Folke would have used during his life in Saxnäs), then he took a picture of it and put the shot into a miniature reconstruction of the study, that is visible only through a small hole in the wooden box that houses it.
This way, the position of artist-in-the-studio is symbolically returned to Emma Ricklund, a new story is built for her, a story that takes shape in the installation that bears her name.
Another passage from narrative to memory takes place through Post Scriptum a project in which the research on his own origins leads Pace along two directions : a private one, linked to an artist who was his compatriot, the other one is projected outwards that reverberates in the environment and the Lucan landscape.
For the first issue, he uses the figure of Vincenzo Claps (1913-1975) an exponent of Lucanian neo-realism of the '40s and the author of the painting Ragazzo delle elementary (Scholar boy, 1948) that inspired Pace was to some kind of self-analysis.
The study on the painting goes through its reproduction and the creation of the clothes of the student : the portrait becomes a symbol of a time stage that is at the same time in the past -as it belongs to a historical period now over - and present - through the revision made by the artist in an endless game of mirrors.
Besides to it, a marble with the inscription P.S. Post Scriptum, which can also be read as Post Mortem, or as an evocation of something or someone that there is not (or no longer), and an altar that holds an empty frame, inspired by a tombstone : but that, rather than being assigned to contain a single photograph of the deceased, it is designated to "capture" the landscape, as some photos taken through the frame show.
The dimension of the external world combines the personal one, dialing the past and the present in the landscape that belongs to the land of origin of the artist.
Perception and vision are presented as predominant investigative tools in the following Pace's projects, as in Svenska Landskap (Gleisdorf, Austria 2009) in which two elements traditionally belonging to art -a photograph of a landscape and its pictorial reproduction - are exhibited in an art gallery where nobody cannot enter.
So a distance fruition, available through a glass is imposed to the photograph and the painting, placed in an inaccessible place ; it forces the viewer to reflect on space : the one where he is confined, the one in which the works are physically exposed and finally his mind, where his ideas about the exhibited works take shape. The subject of the work is therefore not the landscape but the idea of space.
On the other hand, in spite of what the title says, it was not realized in Sweden, but in Germany. Then a misrepresentation of the elements that make up the work is obvious, as if to get closer to abstraction - (in the etymological sense of the term, that is essence, or idea from which it arises) - the work should move away from the artist and from the contingency of the representation of a real element and open a reflection on aestethics, on construction and reproduction of reality and of art.
This reflection returns in Betrachtungsapparat (Berlin - Pforzheim, 2010), an art project that was inspired by the most congenial place for an artist : his studio, and it is divided into two phases and in two different places. The starting point is L'atelier du peintre by Goustave Courbet a work in which the artist depicts himself in his studio while he painted ; it is assumed as a link with the traditional view of the artist and of his way to create to subvert the sense, making a reversal of both coordinates.
The first part of the project, Atelier Erasmus Strasse, has as a scenario the atelier where Pace operates normally. He empties it, removing all the elements of the "artistic making" (tools, materials, artifacts, models, etc.), reducing the space to its zero grade.
In this vacuum, the artist inserts two red flags that have nothing to do with the art itself, but they are two simple objects, whose connotation does not provide guidance (representing a party ? A Company ? A State ?) .
The study, in its new role, is depicted from the outside. The painting is inserted into a miniature of the atelier, as a representation of the process that occurred elsewhere. So the creative act (the painting) is made outside of the space designed to (the study), confirming the innate ambivalence of the process of realization of the work.
In the second phase, Atelier Berlin, that was made during a residence of the artist in Berlin, the object of the representation is the space outside of the new atelier, which Pace observes and reproduces through an "apparatus for the vision", or a sort of camera obscura built by himself, which, when it is placed by the window, provides him a delimited framing of the area outside the atelier.
Later, Pace points the same device to Treptower Park in Berlin, maintaining the same angle that it had in the studio, and draws the park.
The re-construction of this landscape refers to the creative process of Post Scriptum, but the emptiness of the photo frame is replaced by an apparatus for the vision that supports a process as old as the drawing en plein air.
The works belonging to Betrachtungsapparat were sent to Russia for the event Street Museum - Museum as Street together with a new project dedicated to '"Order of the arts", which investigates the interaction between an artistic and aesthetic act and the human and social dynamics of urban contexts.
It consists of two marble road names plates : on the first there are the words "the order of the arts" engraved in Latin (Artium Ratio), and then it was donated to the city of Ullyanovsk ; the other one with the same phrase translated into Russian (Порядок вискусстве) was delivered to the small town of Avigliano, place of origin of the artist.
The founding principle of the work lies in the deliberation of making art, as it is summarized by the expression "the order of the arts" understood as a philosophical and aesthetic formula which suggests on the one hand, the value of art as an aesthetic "canon" and a "rule" for the use of space, and on the other is configured as a key element for the functional and aesthetic perception of the urban space as an "order" for the social plurality. As a law engraved on the marble that shows the order of the arts as the art of social order.
The public, social and political space represents the most recent research direction of the artist, as shown by the work Sozialdemotratie der landschaft (Social Democracy of the landscape, Shyriaevo 2013).
While this project is an evolution and deepening of the researches on the perception of space conducted by Svenska Landskap and Betrachtungsapparat, on the other hand it focuses on the utopian strain of the society towards an unattainable equality and democracy.
The project consists of a device through which you can observe the "social democratic landscape". Along the line of the paradox where the projects of Pace often move, this device is actually a kind of sophisticated frame that focuses a portion of the landscape on a soundtrack - created by Igor Vaganov3 – composed by music, sounds collage and speeches fragments.
A provocation which seems to suggest that the only form of social democracy that can succeed is that of the landscape surrounding the observer (in fact, the device does nothing but to frame what is in front of it) and it opens to the paradox in order to force to the reflection on the nowadays social and political situation.
A connection to the present day establishes the artist as belonging to the contemporary world, without needing him to lend himself as the representative of a movement or a political organization. According to Vito Pace, the artist's task is not to find answers, but to keep asking questions, through a reflection on everyday philosophical, cultural, social and political aspects of his own time.
1 R. Longhi, Proposte per una critica d'arte, in Paragone Arte, 1950 page17.


text:
module HamlLint
  # A miscellaneous set of utility functions.
  module Utils
    module_function

    # Returns whether a glob pattern (or any of a list of patterns) matches the
    # specified file.
    #
    # This is defined here so our file globbing options are consistent
    # everywhere we perform globbing.
    #
    # @param glob [String, Array]
    # @param file [String]
    # @return [Boolean]
    def any_glob_matches?(globs_or_glob, file)
      Array(globs_or_glob).any? do |glob|
        ::File.fnmatch?(glob, file,
                        ::File::FNM_PATHNAME | # Wildcards don't match path separators
                        ::File::FNM_DOTMATCH)  # `*` wildcard matches dotfiles
      end
    end

    # Yields interpolated values within a block of text.
    #
    # @param text [String]
    # @yield Passes interpolated code and line number that code appears on in
    #   the text.
    # @yieldparam interpolated_code [String] code that was interpolated
    # @yieldparam line [Integer] line number code appears on in text
    def extract_interpolated_values(text) # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
      dumped_text = text.dump
      newline_positions = extract_substring_positions(dumped_text, '\\\n')

      Haml::Util.handle_interpolation(dumped_text) do |scan|
        line = (newline_positions.find_index { |marker| scan.pos <= marker } ||
                newline_positions.size) + 1

        escape_count = (scan[2].size - 1) / 2
        break unless escape_count.even?

        dumped_interpolated_str = Haml::Util.balance(scan, '{', '}', 1)[0][0...-1]

        # Hacky way to turn a dumped string back into a regular string
        yield [eval('"' + dumped_interpolated_str + '"'), line] # rubocop:disable Eval
      end
    end

    # Returns indexes of all occurrences of a substring within a string.
    #
    # Note, this will not return overlaping substrings, so searching for "aa"
    # in "aaa" will only find one substring, not two.
    #
    # @param text [String] the text to search
    # @param substr [String] the substring to search for
    # @return [Array<Integer>] list of indexes where the substring occurs
    def extract_substring_positions(text, substr)
      positions = []
      scanner = StringScanner.new(text)
      positions << scanner.pos while scanner.scan(/(.*?)#{substr}/)
      positions
    end

    # Converts a string containing underscores/hyphens/spaces into CamelCase.
    #
    # @param str [String]
    # @return [String]
    def camel_case(str)
      str.split(/_|-| /).map { |part| part.sub(/^\w/) { |c| c.upcase } }.join
    end

    # Find all consecutive items satisfying the given block of a minimum size,
    # yielding each group of consecutive items to the provided block.
    #
    # @param items [Array]
    # @param satisfies [Proc] function that takes an item and returns true/false
    # @param min_consecutive [Fixnum] minimum number of consecutive items before
    #   yielding the group
    # @yield Passes list of consecutive items all matching the criteria defined
    #   by the `satisfies` {Proc} to the provided block
    # @yieldparam group [Array] List of consecutive items
    # @yieldreturn [Boolean] block should return whether item matches criteria
    #   for inclusion
    def for_consecutive_items(items, satisfies, min_consecutive = 2)
      current_index = -1

      while (current_index += 1) < items.count
        next unless satisfies[items[current_index]]

        count = count_consecutive(items, current_index, &satisfies)
        next unless count >= min_consecutive

        # Yield the chunk of consecutive items
        yield items[current_index...(current_index + count)]

        current_index += count # Skip this patch of consecutive items to find more
      end
    end

    # Count the number of consecutive items satisfying the given {Proc}.
    #
    # @param items [Array]
    # @param offset [Fixnum] index to start searching from
    # @yield [item] Passes item to the provided block.
    # @yieldparam item [Object] Item to evaluate as matching criteria for
    #   inclusion
    # @yieldreturn [Boolean] whether to include the item
    # @return [Integer]
    def count_consecutive(items, offset = 0, &block)
      count = 1
      count += 1 while (offset + count < items.count) && block.call(items[offset + count])
      count
    end

    # Calls a block of code with a modified set of environment variables,
    # restoring them once the code has executed.
    #
    # @param env [Hash] environment variables to set
    def with_environment(env)
      old_env = {}
      env.each do |var, value|
        old_env[var] = ENV[var.to_s]
        ENV[var.to_s] = value
      end

      yield
    ensure
      old_env.each { |var, value| ENV[var.to_s] = value }
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
A Guide to Picking Out the Songs For Your Wedding
Wedding Music Guide
18 June, 2018 by Shannon Vestal Robson
Music is a big part of most weddings, and if you've already started planning one, you know there are more than a few decisions to be made. Whether you decide to hire a band or a DJ or provide the wedding's soundtrack with your own iPod, we have a wedding music guide to help you through. Below, you'll find all the major categories for music you'll need to figure out, as well as other parts of the day you may not have thought of yet. Check out the list for guidelines on music you need to think about, whether you're an indie rock bride or a country Western couple.
Processional: This is the music that accompanies the walk down the aisle. You'll need to pick a song for your bridesmaids to walk down the aisle to, and then a song for the bride's entrance. There are traditional choices like "Here Comes the Bride," of course, but you can do other classic alternatives like Pachelbel's Canon in D (like in Father of the Bride) or something totally different to personalize it. Love a song but not the lyrics? Have an instrumental version played. We have a few ideas for the processional.
Recessional: The recessional is like the opposite of the processional — it's when you walk down the aisle, but the other way. For your big exit, you could go with something more upbeat because the pressure is off now that you've gotten through the vows. (Think the scene in Love Actually when the band plays "All You Need Is Love.") Here are some ideas for the recessional.
Cocktail hour music: If you choose to host a cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception, it's good to have a playlist of songs to set the mood. The music should be low-key but convivial — you're not trying to get anyone to dance yet, but you don't want to put anyone to sleep either.
Reception entrance: This is a song to mark the bride and groom's entrance into the reception, usually with the wedding party in tow. It should be celebratory, not unlike the recessional song, and it's a good chance to set the tone for the party. If you want to introduce your wedding party first, you'll also need a separate song for them.
The first dance: Yes, everyone knows they need a first dance, but most people struggle trying to find the perfect song. If you don't already have "your song," we have plenty of first dance song suggestions.
Father/daughter dance: Traditionally, the father of the bride takes a spin with his daughter on the dance floor after the first dance. It can be something personal or traditional, and if you need some father/daughter dance song ideas, we've got them. Similarly, some couples also have a mother/son dance or simply integrate that into the father/daughter dance at the end.
Reception music: Whether you pick all, most, or some of your dance music depends on how in control of the playlist you want to be. Even if you give your DJ free rein, you may want to make a Do Not Play list — a list of songs that you really don't want to hear for whatever reason (you might not want your reception to be remembered for trying to bring back "The Macarena"). For songs you do want, though, we have lots of ideas, from fun pop hits to '80s songs. To end the evening, some couples also opt to have one song close out the event (doesn't The Wanted's "Glad You Came" seem perfect for this?).
Cake-cutting: If you make your cake-cutting a ceremonial event, pick out an upbeat song since it is usually a cute, sweet part of the evening. (Tip: if you have a first dance song that you rule out because it's too fast-paced, it might be perfect for cake-cutting.)
Bouquet toss: For this fun part of the wedding, another upbeat song is in order, and since you're commanding the wedding's single ladies to the floor, you can go literal ("Single Ladies") or just pick another fun, romantic song. And if you choose to have a garter toss, the same rules apply.
WeddingWedding MusicMusic
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Crowdfunding Goes Hyper-Local in Williamson County
Posted on: June 9th, 2014 in Media Mentions
Williamson County Partnership Crowdfunding Website Unveiled
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Williamson County's newest economic development tool – an intrastate crowdfunding website, http://wilcofundingportal.com/, developed by the Texas Entrepreneur Network (TEN) – was unveiled today at the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce | Economic Development Partnership's Momentum luncheon by Hall T. Martin, director of TEN.
"The WilCo Funding Portal will provide startups and entrepreneurs in Williamson County a new source of capital for starting and growing their business. Investors in the community will find it easier to locate startups and community projects they want to support. The use of internet-based portals will accelerate the growth rate of companies as they are able to access capital faster and with more efficiency," said Martin.
Crowdfunding is the concept that allows companies to access desired funding by leveraging small contributions from many parties. With the ability to maximize smaller contributions, crowdfunding has become the latest tool young enterprises, that may otherwise struggle to secure traditional financing, are using to find the necessary funding to grow their operations.
SnakeHead Software, LLC's campaign is one of the first to launch with the new site. Founder and President Gerald Bailey recognizes the void this type of program fills and how it meets a need in the ever-changing entrepreneurial culture.
"As you know, one of the biggest issues facing startups today is access to capital. Crowdfunding, now one of the biggest trends today, allows entrepreneurs to raise funds in ways not previously possible. I'm really excited to be a part of the new crowdfunding project in Williamson County. This allows me to raise money for our projects through both reward as well as equity based funding," said Bailey. "Living in an area which is known as the Live Music Capital of the World, it makes perfect sense to launch our new music based racing game here with the help of the WILCO crowdfunding portal. And with their help and others, I can work to raise awareness of my campaign right here in my own backyard."
The Texas Entrepreneurs Network will be responsible for launching, overseeing, and administering the crowdfunding website while the Chamber, along with other partnering Economic Development organizations in Cedar Park and Georgetown, will work with businesses utilizing the crowdfunding website to promote economic development, business growth, and job creation in Williamson County. Focusing only on businesses located or locating in Williamson County, this will be one of the few hyper-local crowdfunding websites in the nation.
"The Chamber's collaboration with The Texas Entrepreneurs Network to promote intrastate investment in Round Rock businesses is the most recent example of the leading role the Round Rock Chamber continues to play in the support, promotion, and development of entrepreneurial endeavor in Central Texas," said Frank Leffingwell of Leffingwell Law, PC.
The addition of the crowdfunding website to be operated by Texas Entrepreneur Network will complement all of the Chambers' existing relationships with financial institutions to deliver comprehensive assistance to Williamson County businesses looking for financial assistance.
"We understand the intrinsic value of fostering an active entrepreneurial community and this new crowdfunding site truly supports that belief," said Mike Odom, president and CEO of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce | Economic Development Partnership. "As the only one of its kind in Texas, as well as a great example of inter-county cooperation, we are extremely proud of this effort."
For more information about the Williamson County crowdfunding project,
contact Hall T. Martin at 512-656-9487 or director@txenetworks.com.
NewerTourism Revenue at an all Time High
Older Benchmark Electronics Expanding in Round Rock


text:
Constantine III (Latin: ; died shortly before 18 September 411) was a common Roman soldier who was declared emperor in Roman Britain in 407 and established himself in Gaul. He was recognised as co-emperor of the Roman Empire from 409 until 411.

Constantine rose to power from within the field army of Roman Britain and was acclaimed emperor in early 407. He promptly moved to Gaul (modern France), taking all of the mobile troops from Britain, with their commander Gerontius, to confront bands of Germanic invaders who had crossed the Rhine the previous winter. With a mixture of fighting and diplomacy Constantine stabilised the situation and established control over Gaul and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal), establishing his capital at Arles. The sitting emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius, sent an army under Sarus the Goth to expel Constantine's forces. After initial victories, Sarus was repulsed. In Hispania, Honorius's relatives rose and expelled Constantine's administration. An army under the general Gerontius was sent to deal with this and Constantine's authority was re-established. In early 409 Honorius recognised Constantine as co-emperor. Constantine in turn raised his own oldest son to co-emperor as Constans II.

In 409 Gerontius rebelled, proclaimed his client Maximus emperor and incited barbarian groups in Gaul to rise up. Constans was sent to quash the revolt, but was defeated and withdrew to Arles. Meanwhile, Constantine invaded northern Italy, but his plan failed and he also pulled back to Arles. In 410 Constans was sent to Hispania again. Gerontius had strengthened his army with Germanic tribesmen and defeated Constans; the latter retreated north and was defeated again and killed at Vienne early in 411. Gerontius then besieged Constantine in Arles. Honorius appointed a new general, Flavius Constantius, who arrived at Arles while Gerontius was outside the city. Much of Gerontius's army deserted to Constantius, who took over the siege. A force attempting to relieve Constantine was ambushed. Constantine abdicated, took holy orders andpromised his lifesurrendered. Constantius had lied: Constantine was killed and his head presented to Honorius on a pole.

Background

Following the death of the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 395 the Roman Empire was divided between his two sons: Arcadius became emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and ten-year-old Honorius of the Western. Honorius was underage and the leading general Stilicho became hugely influential and the de facto commander-in-chief of the Roman armies in the west.

During this period Roman Britain was suffering raids by the Scoti, Saxons and Picts. Sometime between 396 and 398 Stilicho is said by contemporary poet and speech writer Claudian to have ordered a campaign against the Picts, probably a naval campaign intended to suppress their seaborne raids on the east coast of Roman Britain. He may also have ordered campaigns against the Scoti and Saxons. Other interpretations suggest it went badly, or that troops defending Roman Britain defeated a Pictish invasion without external support. This is the last recorded Roman military campaign in Britain. Stilicho sent funds to strengthen the defences along Hadrian's Wall and the coastal defences at about the same time.

In 401 or 402 Stilicho needed military manpower for wars with the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths and so stripped Hadrian's Wall of troops. The year 402 is the last date from which Roman coinage is found in large quantities in Britain, suggesting the Empire was no longer paying the troops who remained. Meanwhile, the Picts, Saxons and Scoti continued their raids, which may have increased in scope. In 405 the Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages is described as having raided along the southern coast of Britain.

Both the Eastern and Western Empires were suffering from incursions of large groups from Germanic tribes, whom the Romans referred to generically as "barbarians". In 406 a group of Alans and Goths led by Radagaisus invaded Italy. The group included women and children and is estimated to have been 90,000–100,000 strong, of whom more than 20,000 were fighting men. For six months they devastated northern Italy, capturing and sacking several cities. After concentrating his forces, Stilicho caught the Goths while they were besieging Florentia (modern Florence) and defeated them at the Battle of Faesulae; 12,000 prisoners joined the Roman army and so many captives were sold that the market in slaves collapsed. The Western Empire's problems with barbarian intruders were far from over.

Life
Little is known of Flavius Claudius Constantinus prior to his being declared emperor and taking the regnal name Constantine. His date and place of birth are unknown, as is his marital status. He had two sons, although their names prior to being given more regal-sounding ones are likewise unknown. Regarding his personal habits, one fifth-century historian described him as a glutton and another considered that his major flaw was being inconstant in his policies.

Rise
In 406 the approximately 6,000 troops of the Roman field army based in Roman Britain were dissatisfied. They had not been paid for several years, a large contingent had left to fight on the continent four years earlier and had not returned, the coastal defences had been dismantled to form the new field army and their commander had been replaced. They revolted and determined to choose their own leader. Their first choice was a man named Marcus whom they appointed emperor. After a short period, unhappy with his performance, they killed him and appointed Gratian. He also failed to meet the troops' expectations and was killed after four months. On 31 December 406 several tribes of barbarian invaders, including the Vandals, Sueves and Alans crossed the Rhine, perhaps near Mainz, and overran the Roman defensive works in a successful invasion of the Western Roman Empire. Hearing of the Germanic invasion the Roman military in Britain was desperate for some sense of security in a world that seemed to be rapidly falling apart. They next chose as their leader a man named after the famed emperor of the early fourth century, Constantine the Great, who had himself risen to power through a military coup in Britain. Flavius Claudius Constantinus was a common soldier, not an officer, and early in 407, possibly February, his fellows acclaimed him as emperor. The modern historian Francisco Sanz-Huesma differs and proposes that Constantine was a skilled politician who engineered the three acclamations with the (successful) intention of eventually raising himself to imperial power.

Rebellion in Roman Britain was not unusual, a contemporary described it as a "province rich in usurpers". It was on the periphery of the Empire and there was a common view that it was overlooked in terms of resources and patronage. However, such revolts were usually short-lived; Constantine was uncommon in both establishing a lasting power base and in successfully exporting his rebellion to the mainland. Constantine moved quickly: he appointed two officers already in Gaul (modern France) as generals, Justinianus and Nebiogastes, instructing them to seize Arles and the passes which controlled traffic to and from Italy. He crossed the Channel at Bononia (modern Boulogne), taking with him all of the 6,000 or so mobile troops left in Britain and their commander, the general Gerontius. This denuded Roman Britain of front-line military protection and explains the disappearance of the legions in the early fifth century. Constantine travelled to Lyon, where he set up his headquarters and commenced minting coins in his own name. The Roman Army of Gaul declared for him, followed by the civilian administration in Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). The central Roman authorities did not respond to the Germanic invasion, while Constantine's forces got the better of at least one confrontation with the Vandals. Constantine also negotiated agreements with the Germanic groupings of the Franks, Alamanni and the Burgundians, thus securing the line of the Rhine. The main Vandal force and their allies moved into northern Gaul (modern Belgium).

The Western Roman emperor, Honorius, and his commander-in-chief Stilicho were in conflict with the Eastern Roman Empire and allied to a large force of Visigoths under Alaric. The relationship with the Visigoths was shakythey were demanding land or money for their services. An agreement was reached for a joint West Roman-Visigoth army to threaten the Eastern Empire to extort land from it which would then be given to the Visigoths. This manoeuvre was supposed to commence in May or June 407. By then the Vandals and their allies had broken into Gaul, where Constantine had control of the army and was claiming the imperial throne. Sending a large Western Roman force to the east would have left Italy open to invasion by one or both of these groups and so the offensive was cancelled. Instead a small army led by Sarus the Goth was sent west to put down Constantine's revolt while Stilicho's main army waited on events.

Sarus defeated the army commanded by Justinianus in a pitched battle, killing Justinianus. Constantine personally moved against Sarus, but was besieged in Valence. Nebiogastes attempted to negotiate and was killed by Sarus. Another army, led by  Gerontius and Edobichus and largely made up of freshly recruited Franks and Almannics, arrived to relieve Valence after a week of siege. Sarus was forced to retreat into Italy. Central control had deteriorated to the extent that Sarus needed to buy his passage through the Alpine passes from the brigand Bagaudae, who controlled them. With this success Constantine established control over most of Gaul and the Alpine passes into Italy.

Co-emperor

By May 408 Constantine had captured Arles and made it his capital, taking over the existing imperial administration and officials, and appointing Apollinaris as chief minister (with the title of ). Heros was installed as a pliant archbishop of Arles in spite of local opposition. Constantine commenced minting large quantities of good quality coins at Arles, possibly using bullion seized from Sarus's loot during his hasty retreat, and made a show of being an equal of both the Western and Eastern Emperors.

Constantine's oldest son had entered a monastery and was a monk at the time his father rebelled, but he was summoned to the new imperial court. Constantine appointed him to the position of caesara senior, formal position that also recognised him as heir apparentand gave him the imperial-sounding name of Constans. He was swiftly married so a dynasty could be founded. Early in 408 he was sent with Gerontius into Hispania. Hispania was a stronghold of the House of Theodosius, but on Constantine's initial landing on the continent, Honorius's relatives and partisans there had been either unwilling or militarily unable to oppose his assumption of control. When Sarus seemed on the verge of ending Constantine's revolt, two members of Honorius's familyDidymus and Verinianusrebelled and overthrew Constantine's regime in Hispania. When Sarus withdrew to Italy, the knowledge of the large new army assembling at Ticinum (modern Pavia) with the intention of shortly engaging Constantine encouraged them to persist and even to attempt to seal the Pyrenean passes. Constantine feared that Honorius's cousins would organise an attack from that direction while troops under Sarus and Stilicho attacked him from Italy in a pincer manoeuvre. He struck first, at Hispania. Constans and Gerontius's army forced a pass and was reinforced. Constans established himself at Saragossa and rebuilt the civilian administration. Gerontius took the army and decisively defeated Honorius's supporters at a battle in Lusitania where Didymus and Verinianus were captured. With Hispania back under Constantine's control Constans left his new wife at Saragossa and returned to Arles to report to his father. Didymus and Verinianus accompanied him and were executed as civilian rebels, which further soured relations with Honorius.

By early 408 the Visigoths were running out of patience with Stilicho. They moved from Epirus (modern Albania) to Noricum (modern Austria) and demanded a payment of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of gold on pain of their invading Italy. Honorius and the Roman Senate were prepared to resist, but Stilicho persuaded them to approve the payment, to allow him to concentrate on the situation in Gaul. He had assembled an army at Ticinum with which to do this. It is possible that the plan was for the Visigoths to accompany this force as military allies. On 1 May the emperor of the Eastern Empire, Arcadius, died, leaving a seven-year-old heir, Theodosius II. A disagreement arose between Stilicho and Honorius, who each wished to travel to Constantinoplethe capital of the Eastern Empireto represent the Western Empire's interests. Stilicho got his way: he was to leave for the east while Honorius was to remain in Ravenna, the capital of the Western Empire. But a rift between him and Honorius was obvious. The Roman establishment, led by the senior bureaucrat Olympius, worked to oppose Stilicho by spreading rumours that he wished to travel east to depose Theodosius and set his own son on the throne. On 13 August Honorius was formally reviewing the army about to set out from Ticinum against Constantine. With him were many of the senior officers and officials of the Western Empire. The troops mutinied, slaughtering Stilicho's supporters but respecting the person of the Emperor. Stilicho sought sanctuary, then surrendered and was executed on 22 August.

Olympius reversed the policy of making a massive payment to the Visigoths and the native parts of the Army of Italy started slaughtering Goths: especially their fellow soldiers and their wives and children. The latter, living in Italian cities, sometimes overtly as hostages for their husbands and fathers' good behaviour, were easy targets. Those Goths who could fled north and joined Alaric, greatly increasing his fighting strength. Alaric promptly crossed the Alps and headed south through Italy, devastating the countryside. He camped his army outside Rome and demanded a huge ransom. Late in 408 Constantine sent an embassy to Ravenna. Needing to placate him, Honorius acknowledged him as co-emperor and sent a purple robe as formal recognition. The pair were joint consuls in 409. At around this time, Constantine raised Constans to the position of co-emperor, theoretically equal in rank to Honorius or Theodosius, as well as to Constantine.

With the Visigoths deep in Italy and unopposed, Olympius's influence ended and a new chief minister, Jovius, entered into peace negotiations but Honorius continued to refuse to reach an agreement with Alaric. The Visigoths in retaliation continued to roam across Italy and extort vast sums from the city of Rome. Alaric elevated his own emperor, the senator Priscus Attalus, to no avail. On 24 August 410 the Visigoths entered Rome and pillaged the city for three days.

Decline

In spring or summer 409 Apollinaris was replaced as  by Decimus Rusticus and Constans was sent back to Hispania. Either before Constans left Arles or while he was travelling Gerontius rebelled, proclaiming his client Maximus as emperor. Maximus was an important figure in his own right, but it was clear he was controlled by Gerontius. They set up court at Tarraco (modern Tarragona). Gerontius was concerned that he would not be able to withstand the military force Constantine could bring to bear and so attempted to incite the barbarians who had entered Gaul late in 406 against Constantine. These had been quiescent in the north of the territory, but now set off across Gaul for the rich territories of Aquitaine and Narbonensis (modern south-west and southern France). They spread devastation across these areas, much to the horror of the populace. Concentrating on the threat from Constans, Gerontius weakened his garrisons in the Pyrenean passes and in autumn 409 much of the barbarian force entered Hispania. Eventually Gerontius was able to reach a modus operandi with some of these groups whereby they supplied him with military forces, which enabled him to take the offensive against Constantine.

From 408 Saxon pirates raided Roman Britain extensively, undeterred by the totally inadequate force which Constantine had left. The locals organised their own defences, so successfully that they defeated the Saxons in 409. Distressed that Constantine had failed to defend them, the Roman inhabitants of Britain rebelled and expelled his officials, accepting that henceforth they would have to look to their own defence. Inspired by the example of Roman Britain, later that year the Bagaudae of Armorica (modern Brittany) also expelled Constantine's officials and declared independence.

Constantine sent a further embassy to Ravenna, which achieved little, but Constantine's emissary, Jovius, did suborn one of Honorius's senior generals, Allobich. In spring 410 Constantine led an army into northern Italy. It is possible that he claimed he intended to assist Honorius against the Visigoths. It is also likely he was counting on support from Allobich. When he reached the River Po he heard, wrongly, that Allobich was dead, which caused him to abandon his mission and withdraw to Arles.

Meanwhile, Constans, with an army commanded by a general named Justus, attempted to subdue Gerontius. He failed, although no details are known, and returned to Arles in spring 410. At about the same time Constantine returned from his abortive invasion of Italy. Given the difficulties the Visigoths were creating in Italy, Gerontius was considered a greater threat than Honorius. Edobichus was again sent north to raise troops from the Franks while Constans returned to confront Gerontius with a fresh army. Events are again unclear, but it seems likely that Gerontius was simultaneously advancing on Arles. The two armies clashed and Constans was defeated. He fell back to the north with what was left of his command, hoping to be reinforced by Edobichus. But Gerontius caught him at Vienne, probably early in 411, defeated his army and killed Constans. Gerontius's army then marched on Arles and besieged Constantine.

Fall

In 411 Honorius appointed a new general, Flavius Constantius, who took the Army of Italy over the Alps into Gaul in another attempt to suppress Constantine. Constantius arrived at Arles while Gerontius was outside the city. Many of Gerontius's troops deserted to Constantius and Gerontius retreated to Hispania with the remainder. There, in a hopeless position, Gerontius committed suicide. Constantius's army took over the siege. Meanwhile Edobichus raised troops in northern Gaul amongst the Franks and Alamanni, combined them with those of the Army of Gaul still loyal to Constantine and marched to Constantine's assistance. Constantius defeated this force in an ambush. Constantine, his hopes fading after the troops guarding the Rhine abandoned him to support yet another claimant to the imperial throne, the Gallo-Roman Jovinus, surrendered to Constantius along with his surviving son Julian. Despite a promise of safe passage, and Constantine's assumption of clerical office, Constantius imprisoned the former soldier and had him and Julian beheaded in either August or September 411. His head was mounted on a pole and presented to Emperor Honorius on 18 September. It was later displayed outside Carthage, as was that of Julian.

Aftermath

Constantius withdrew in the face of Jovinus's forces. The modern historian Peter Heather describes the Roman Army of Gaul as emerging from Constantine's wars "in tatters". In 413 a Visigoth army under Athaulf, who was now allied with Honorius, suppressed Jovinus's revolt. Constantius took over Stilicho's role as the main power in the Western Empire and generalissimo. He was broadly able to recover the situation for the central authorities and to enable reconstruction. Gaul was pacified, the rebellion in Amorica was quashed and the area brought back under Roman control, the barbarians in Hispania were in large part subdued and the Visigoths were settled on land in Aquitaine as Roman allies. Roman rule never returned to Britain after Constantine stripped its defences. In 417 Constantius married Honorius's sister, Galla Placidia. On 8 February 421, Honorius made Constantius co-emperor under himself. Constantius reigned only seven months, dying on 2 September. Honorius then ruled alone until his death in 423, whereupon Constantius's son, Valentinian III, assumed the throne.

Legend
Constantine III is also known as Constantine II of Britain. He has been associated with the Constantine found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's popular and imaginative Historia Regum Britanniae, who comes to power following Gracianus Municeps's reign. Geoffrey's Constantine, through his son Uther Pendragon, becomes the grandfather of the legendary King Arthur. Other sources explicitly state that Constantine III is the grandfather of Arthur.

Notes, citations and sources

Notes

Citations

Sources

4th-century births
411 deaths
5th-century Roman usurpers
5th-century murdered monarchs
5th-century Roman consuls
Imperial Roman consuls
Ancient Roman generals
Ancient Romans in Britain
Constantine II of Britain
British traditional history
Claudii
Flavii
People executed by the Roman Empire
Executed Roman emperors
People executed by decapitation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
HomePoliticsAPC defiance and adherence to rules
APC defiance and adherence to rules
January 19, 2019 Abdul Rashid Thomas Politics 3
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 19 January 2019:
Umaru Napoleon Koroma – SLPP Secretary General: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 19 January 2019:
The SLPP has noticed with grave concern, the spate of lawlessness and indiscipline demonstrated mostly by members of the main opposition APC. Of special interest to the party is the attempted defiance by some high-ranking officials of the APC of orders from the state security apparatus, following their call for questioning.
The SLPP as the ruling party, feels compelled to bring it to the attention of the public, that it decries all forms of indiscipline and lawlessness, and urges the state security apparatuses to do all they can to maintain the peace and security of the state within acceptable limits and statutes.
The unwarranted political tensions generated by the attitude of the main opposition party, have clear undertones and they are done calculatedly with the intent to disrupt the peace of the country, thereby signalling a state of insecurity that will scare potential investors away.
This is not just unpatriotic but a show of insensitivity to the needs of the people of this country, which has shifted from politics to governance since April 4, 2018. (Photo: Umaru Napoleon Koroma).
The SLPP also holds the Office of President and its holders in high esteem. Former President Koroma continues to enjoy the highest respect deserving of a person who has held that office. The SLPP will always honour him as a one-time fountain of justice and first gentleman of our country.
We also expect the former president to conduct himself in a manner bespeaking of his status. His invitation by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) could not have arisen if only he had kept within the bounds of an elderly statesmen.
When invited by the SLP, he is expected to demonstrate the highest sense of respect for law and order, and comply without rancour. His supporters mobilizing to visit the scene of his interrogation and not stopping them from obstructing the work of the police, was very unfortunate and could not have been condoned.
His call for questioning by the SLP is not novel in the world and even Africa. The former South Africa President Jacob Zuma currently standing trial for alleged corrupt practices during his tenure. The late Zambian President Frederick Chiluba went through a similar experience after quitting office.
In the case of our former President Koroma, his refusal to relinquish his position in the APC after promising the people of this country of doing so three months after elections of 2018, has kept him in direct line with party politics and therefore bears the responsibility for the actions of his party.
The SLPP also condemns in very unequivocal terms, the attack on journalists especially the AYV crew, who were performing their sacred duty and the recent audio message alleged to be coming from an APC supporter threatening the life of the BBC reporter in our country.
The attack on the media by APC supporters is testimony of the intolerance and rowdy behaviour of the party, which its leadership has always failed to condemn and prevent.
The SLPP will encourage the security forces to be more vigilant and robust as the peace and serenity of the country cannot be compromised for the interest of a disgruntled few. We urge our members and the general public to refrain from all acts of indiscipline and sabotage.
Umaru Napoleon Koroma – SLPP Secretary General
Stop the attacks on Journalists – we are not enemies
Reports of APC attacks on journalists are baseless and unfounded – says APC executive
Fik says:
Are people thinking about meeting their creator and giving account of their actions on earth?
When truth goes against dad say it and repent
Jack samba says:
This is totally unacceptable in Sierra Leone politics. The country has suffer from an 11 years civil war, Ebola outbreak, and mudslide which left thousands of people dead. And since the election is over, political tension in the country has become something that everyone is now afraid of.
Id says:
Bio and his SLPP are the cause of the problems in sierra Leone. Their plan is to kill the APC party, but they will never succeed.


Thailand, with a population of 68 million, is Southeast Asia's third most populous country after Indonesia (256 million) and the Philippines (104 million). As the country continues to undergo economic growth and demographic changes, Thailand's pharmaceutical market presents numerous opportunities for foreign pharmaceutical companies.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Thailand's GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exceeded $1.1 trillion dollars in 2016, making Thailand the second largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, which has a GDP (PPP) of $3 trillion. In 2016, Thailand's GDP grew by 3.2%, compared to 1.6% in the US and 2% in the European Union (IMF). The Asian Development Bank predicts Thailand's GDP will grow 3.5% and 3.6% in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Thailand imported over $2.2 billion in pharmaceuticals in 2016, a considerable increase from $1.8 billion just two years ago. In 2016, over 65% of Thailand's pharmaceutical imports came from the United States, Europe, and Canada. Germany was the largest pharmaceutical exporter to Thailand, followed by the US, France, then Switzerland. The Thai pharmaceutical market was valued at over $5 billion in 2016, making it the second largest market in Southeast Asia. The value of Thailand's pharmaceutical market is expected to double by 2020. Pharmaceutical sales per-capita are also predicted to grow from $75 in 2016 to $125 by 2024.
Hospitals purchase over two-thirds of all pharmaceuticals sold in Thailand and primarily purchase generics and prescription pharmaceuticals, compared to drugstores which sell over-the-counter (OTC) products. Thailand has one of the largest medical tourism markets in the world, and over two million foreign patients have traveled to the country annually since 2013. The continued growth of Thailand's medical tourism industry has further increased the demand for pharmaceuticals.
Both communicable and non-communicable diseases are highly prevalent throughout Thailand, whose population is aging quickly.
Infectious diseases remain an issue for Thailand, in part due to its tropical climate. Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, affects tens of thousands annually and its prevalence fluctuates wildly, resulting in epidemics every few years. In 2016, over 60,000 people were affected by dengue fever, compared to 140,000 in 2015, 40,000 in 2014, and 150,000 in 2013. The first vaccine against Dengue fever, Dengvaxia (Sanofi Pasteur), was introduced to Thailand at the end of 2016, but health officials remain concerned that there will be another major outbreak in 2017.
Nearly 450,000 people in Thailand are living with HIV/AIDS, but the number of new HIV cases per year decreased to 7,000 in 2016, compared to 10,000 new cases in 2010 and 140,000 new cases in 1991 when Thailand was at the peak of its HIV/AIDs crisis. Other common diseases include influenza, tuberculosis, and malaria.
The prevalence of non-communicable diseases is also on the rise due to changing lifestyles and demographics. According to the World Bank, there are over 10 million smokers in Thailand and over 40% of the adult men smoke. Further, an increasing number of Thai citizens are adopting diets higher in meat, salt, fat, and sugar content, which has led to a larger number of individuals suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Smoking, hypertension, and diabetes are all risk factors for illnesses such as cancer, kidney disease, and heart disease.
Thailand's population is also rapidly aging, like that of many other countries in Asia such as Japan, China, and Korea. In 2016, nearly 8 million people, or over 10% of the population, were over the age of 60. By 2025, over 20% of Thailand's population will be older than 60. With age, the risk of developing respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes also increases. As these diseases become more common and as the Thai economy continues to grow, there will be a higher demand for newer and better pharmaceutical products.
Starting in August 2017, Thailand's government plans to bring into effect a new law that no longer requires state agencies to purchase from the Government Pharmaceuticals Organization (GPO), the state-run agency for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. Public hospitals, which have in the past been required to purchase over half of their pharmaceuticals from the GPO, will now be able to purchase more from foreign manufacturers. This change to Thailand's procurement law provides a huge opportunity for foreign pharmaceutical companies, given that hospitals are primary purchasers of pharmaceuticals in the country.
Furthermore, in August 2016, Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) became a member of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S) after applying in 2015. Accession to PIC/S indicates that Thailand's Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection procedures for drugs increasingly correspond to international standards.
Thailand is becoming a popular destination for drug clinical trials due to its developing healthcare system and medical infrastructure. Clinical trials in Thailand are cost-efficient and there is a large patient population. In addition, the government's Board of Investment actively promotes Thailand as a prime destination to conduct clinical research. In April 2016, Rich Pharmaceuticals (Beverly Hills, CA) announced they plan to conduct Phase I/II trials for new oncology treatments in Thailand.
Foreign pharmaceutical companies also manufacture products in Thailand. PharmaCyte Biotech (Laguna Hills, CA) announced in April 2016 that the company would be using Austrianova's existing live-cell encapsulation facility in Bangkok. The pancreatic cancer treatment encapsulated in Thailand will be used for PharmaCyte's future clinical trial. Teva Pharmaceutical (Israel) owns a Thai generics manufacturer, Silom, after acquiring Actavis in 2016.
Other pharmaceutical companies, such as Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca have been operating in Thailand for several years and have set up offices and facilities in the country.
The Thai drug market will continue to grow through 2020 and new laws and disease trends provide excellent opportunities for foreign pharmaceutical companies to succeed.


text:
Peter Tchernyshev: "As a choreographer you grow as you work"
Photo © Julia Komarova, Joy Geurts, Reut Golinsky
Two-time (2000 and 2002) Four Continents Champion and five-time (1999-2003) U.S. National Champion, Peter Tchernyshev, is mostly recognized in Russia as a celebrity and husband of actress and TV-presenter Anastasia Zavorotnyuk. Quite a few noticed him in various skating shows on Russian TV during the last few years, but only those who follow figure skating know that he is also a very successful choreographer and in more and more demand recently.
Peter, I'm a very big fan of your work as a choreographer, especially of the programs you create for Alexander Smirnov and Yuko Kavaguti. How did your collaboration start?
All this started a while ago when Tamara Moskvina was still working in the States with her skaters. We were practicing at the same rink, Ice House, in New Jersey. Since I was good friends with John Zimmerman (then coached by Moskvina, with his partner Kyoko Ina - ed.), I started to help them with show programs for their professional career and that went really well. Guys liked the programs, the public did too. Tamara saw me working with Kyoko and John and after she was already back in Russia, she asked me to create an exhibition program for Elena and Anton (Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze). It was some kind of a mix of hip hop, disco and "Yablochko" (Russian Sailor Dance). Later, Tamara asked me if I want to give it a shot with competitive programs too. And I said, "Why not?"
I have been working with Sasha and Yuko for a few seasons already and I've done some show programs for them as well. They are very nice people. Aside from the fact that the choreographer has to enjoy what he is doing, it's a double bonus when you also get along with those people.
So let's talk about my most favourite program of yours and theirs, "Clair de Lune", long program for seasons 2010/11 and 2011/12. Whose idea was it? Tamara's or yours?
It was my idea. Tamara actually wanted to do something different for them. She said, "I like this music, but I'm not sure it is going to work for this pair." She is a very easygoing person but sometimes it takes extra time and effort to convince her to keep trying. She'll give you the chance to try, but she can give up fast because she is feeling the pressure of the time passing. Obviously, they have to practice, to prepare for the season, but this time it worked out in the end.
And what was the idea behind it?
It's always good for skaters to know what they are skating about. Even if it doesn't come across to spectators as clearly as they understand it, it helps them to put more feelings into their performance and that for sure will be noticed by the judges. This music was used in the movie "Twilight", and the story behind it was about the love between the vampire and the girl, so I was trying to explain, "This movie is very popular now, the story is pretty romantic, once you know what you're skating about, it is going to help you get through [the performance] and generate real emotions. Maybe you can forget about the technical aspects - not completely forget - but try to emphasize the emotional side rather than the technical."
I saw them skating the program beautifully at Cup of Russia (Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup 2011) and I'm very happy that they did justice to this program.
They really showed it the way you imagined.
Yes. You know, this music is so gentle and soft, you might think that pairs skating where you have more athletic elements, which are rough like throws for example, would not suit this music well. They improved a lot with the flow of their skating; Yuko especially gave a lot of attention to the softness of the arms, trying to be subtle rather than obvious and dramatic. They were skating with some reserved inner feelings that people could see and understand. I think it was a step up for them. I think they felt comfortable in this program and I'm glad it showed.
Do they usually ask for your advice about costumes and hair?
I can give my two cents throwing some ideas on the table, but I don't want to be too pushy. I believe that any skater has to go through the process of what's working for him/her and what is not and try different things because only by going through such a process can you grow as a person, as a professional. I think they are doing fine with Tamara, searching through what's right for them in that department. My taste is very subjective. Also I'm already looking at it from the viewpoint of professional skating, not the amateur sport where judges can pick on anything if they want to. The skaters need to give them less chances to pick on them. You have to get to the very top to dictate the fashion and define what's trendy and what's not, but until you're there, it's a bit risky.
After your work with Yuko and Sasha was noticed and appreciated, did you get more requests to choreograph skating programs?
I helped a few people. For example, I made a free dance for Sinead and John Kerr (to "Exogenesis" by Muse for season 2010-2011 - ed.). They had an injury and couldn't give 100% to the program, but still I liked what I saw.
Back in the States, I worked a lot with younger skaters, making programs for them. I was really enjoying it because as a choreographer you grow as you work. You find things that will work even with smaller skaters, but as I said before, the choreographer must be interested in what he is doing and satisfied with what he sees. You want to see what you're doing the way you envision it and if the technical and the artistic ability of the people you work with is not that high you might start thinking, "Why did I let myself get into this?"
In general, I can't define myself as a choreographer for the entire skating world. It wasn't my main priority in any case. As long as I'm still skating in professional shows, sometimes - even subconsciously - I keep things reserved for myself before I give them to somebody else to do. Maybe it will change with time.
So all the programs you're skating now in shows are choreographed by you?
Yes, pretty much.
And not only choreographed. For example, I know that for your "Adagio" program, you also composed the narration.
We did "Adagio" right when Naomi (Lang) got back to skating after she had her first child. This program is a little bit more philosophical. I wrote the narrated text in Russian, then translated to English, then asked Naomi's husband who has a degree in journalism to edit it and I asked the sound director of the Blue Man Group to narrate it.
Do you have any other non-typical ideas to add to your programs?
Yes, of course! But you don't expect me to tell them to you now, right? (smiles)
How did your TV career start?
At that time I was working with Ari Zakarian and he asked me if I was interested in doing something in Russia. We've done some shows in Russia before with Evgeni Plushenko's tour, but this was for TV, which I've never done before. I thought it might be interesting and it was. It also turned out to be life changing event for me because that year I...
Actually, to get this story straight, the first year I got an offer, I turned it down because we already had some prior commitments and I didn't have a good feeling about it I guess. The season was over and I heard some great comments about how wonderful the show was and how the Russian audience loved it. So the next year I had no doubts that I want to do it (it was "Dancing on Ice", aired on Channel Russia in 2007 - ed.).
And you won it, right?
Yes, I won that season with my partner, Julia Kovalchuk. The whole experience was great because she was a workaholic, tried to learn as much as she possibly could and was very down to earth and a good person. We really enjoyed what we were doing. So that plus her talent and my expertise let us win the show with the help of the judges and the audience.
However, the greatest thing was that I met my wife there (she was the host of the show - ed.). I'm very thankful, first of all to Ari Zakarian who brought me there and second, to the Channel Russia that gave me an opportunity to participate in that show. Looking back, it was the right choice.
And then you were so good that they invited you to the "Ice Age" show? (the competing program on another channel - ed.)
Well, the story was a little bit more complicated. By the time the next season was about to begin, my wife received the offer from Channel One. For me that would have been strange to stay on Channel Russia. I had to "sit out" for one season and the year after I was in "Ice Age".
Out of all the TV projects you did - on the ice, on the ice and on the floor, skating and dancing ("Ice and Fire"), dancing with a ballerina ("Bolero") - which one was the most interesting for you?
I can't pick just one because each project was very interesting on its own. The first one, on Channel Russia, was very interesting for me because it was just completely new. I hadn't done anything like that before. I never skated with a non-skater before. I have a decent experience in coaching skating, but it was different. I've learned something new there, being constantly surrounded by actors and singers and people from the show business. For example, I've learned from how they act in the public eye.
The second season was very different because that was on Channel One. I could compare two shows, two networks and different production companies. I'd say, with all my respect to Channel Russia, Channel One was more professional. They did a great job not only in maintaining the interest of spectators but also in motivating us, the skaters, to constantly grow. I could see that Ilia Averbukh and his whole team were putting 100% into every single number. On Channel Russia, 80-90% was dependent on the professional skater. On Channel One, there was more freedom. If you felt like you wanted to do something, you were 100% free, but if you were struggling, they helped to generate great ideas. This gave me, a professional skater, a lot of new information and new tricks to use.
In the third season part of the programs were not on the ice but on the dance floor. I hadn't done anything like that before.
I read that you have some ballet background though.
I was taking some ballet classes when I was a child, from eight until 13 years old. At some point, I was dancing a few hours of ballet a day. I even had a ballet bar in our living room. But it's not the same when you're 13-14 and when you're forty...
Dancing in general is very close to ice dancing, naturally, more than to freestyle skaters so for me it was very similar and I was really looking forward to it. That season [in "Ice and Fire"] I was working with Nadezhda Granovskaya and she was also a very easygoing person and nice to work with.
One thing that you learn from these projects is that in the world of show business there are surprisingly many people who are down to earth. They are willing to listen to professionals and to share whatever knowledge they can.
In "Bolero," you suddenly became "the unprofessional half of the pair."
Well, I had some experience already from the previous season of "Ice and Fire", when we broke new ground dancing without skates on the floor. We already had a sense of what worked, what didn't work for the cameras, which was important and was part of the deal, as this was a televised show. When you build a program on ice, for example, you think of how it will be best for the cameras to fetch more speed and dynamics. On the floor, it is a little bit different, but we were all learning fast, so I came to that season of "Bolero" more or less prepared. In the end, it took way more effort than we were thinking because the high professionalism of the ballerinas, we were obligated to work really hard.
Irina Perren, your partner in "Bolero", praised you a lot in her interviews and said that from the first meeting you got along really well.
Yeah, that's true. I was the non-professional in this scenario and she was so... I shouldn't say "patient", I hope I wasn't giving her hard time (laughs)... but from the very first practice we were getting along so well that there was never feeling that we want to stop rehearsing, because some of us was getting tired or annoyed.
I got to work with the greatest ballerina and learned a lot from her, and her husband was very helpful too. He is also a dancer in the Mikhaylovsky Theatre and they do quite a lot of numbers together. So he was sharing his knowledge of partnering in ballet, which is apparently very similar to the ice dancing. He was surprised: "Wow, you're getting it so fast!" But I was twizzling and turning and spinning my partner for so many years!
There was some kind of team spirit involved too, because we were divided to the "Moscow team" and the "Saint Petersburg team". It was not the main factor, at the end of the day you need to do the performance, just yourself and your partner. But there was a good spirit, an encouraging atmosphere from the teammates to not give up, to push a bit extra. When the project was over we all felt that we've just started, we've just gained that momentum to build on what we've accomplished already and then - bang, we have only eight episodes.
So you tried to skate and to dance, with professionals and with laymen, what's next?
For myself? Honestly, since my wife is an actress, I have a weak spot for movies, for theater. It's something I would like to get myself into. Maybe not acting, but to be involved in one capacity or another in the process because I believe it's the same creative aspect and it is close to what I've been doing for so many years.
This off-season, Peter was busier than usual. Aside from his continuous collaboration with Tamara Moskvina's students, he was also invited by Tatiana Tarasova to help Maxim Kovtun and Adelina Sotnikova, coached by Elena Vodorezova-Buyanova. And in the end for each one Tchernyshev choreographed all three programs - short, long and exhibition. "Peter was always a very creative person; he excelled at skating skills," Vodorezova said in one of her interviews. "But to have good skating skills is one thing and to be able to teach someone is another. Hence, I was, from the very beginning, curious to see what he had to offer to Sotnikova and I was amazed at how naturally he found the style in which Adelina feels absolutely comfortable." "When Peter finished my short program, I had no words for it," recalled Adelina. "I saw how it looked on the video and I loved everything. A lot of heart and soul was put into my programs; I perform them with pleasure and hope to be able to show all their beauty at the competitions." Maxim Kovtun was not less excited, "I worked on my programs with Peter Tchernyshev. He is a skating genius! I never saw someone like him. This person, I think, skates better than everyone on Earth".
Equipped by Peter Tchernyshev with the best programs possible, both Adelina and Maxim will fight for medals this weekend at Cup of China.


Sterling Silver Flex Bangle Bracelet with Screw Off Cap. This bracelet is a lovely lightweight design that allows you to add and remove charms easily. One of the silver end caps screws on and off so that you can add as many charms and dangles as you like! You can switch them out daily to match your look for the day. Plus this bracelet is easy to take on and off. There's a mechanism inside the silver tube that acts like a spring allowing it to flex open and closed.
NOTE: this bracelet is sold individually. When you order one, you get one bracelet. The picture shows two bracelets solely to demonstrate the flex action.
Measurements: 2.36" x 2.76" x 0.12"


Our lives are new every morning.
Each day we are given opportunities to love life and to love the people, the life around us, and this good Earth.
As we begin a new year, we take a moment to rededicate ourselves to service, to rededicate our gifts and talents towards creating a world of justice and peace.
We rededicate ourselves to compassion.
May we have courage when we find ourselves encountering pain and suffering in others and in ourselves.
May we be free of judgment and self-righteousness.
May we bring humility to all we do.
We rededicate ourselves to reconciliation.
Let us ask for forgiveness of those we have hurt.
Let us open our hearts to possible paths toward forgiveness of those who have hurt us.
Where there is division between individuals, races, or tribes, let us be bearers of light and understanding.
We rededicate ourselves to hope.
When we hear of wars that seem unending and see scars of conflict that run to the bone, or natural disasters, or calamities that we ourselves have made, may we find the strength to continue to seek the way of understanding and love.
We rededicate ourselves to justice.
Let us resist unfair and unequal laws and treatment.
Let us expose systems that benefit those who have much and penalize those who have little.
Let us have the wisdom to hold our leaders accountable for their actions.
We rededicate ourselves to peace.
May we respond to hatred with love, to anger with kindness.
May we be filled with inner peace that spreads peace wherever we go.
May our witness and our actions bring peace to fill the whole world.
We rededicate ourselves to faith – the opening of our hearts to the unknown and the commitment to whatever lifts us from material or social status concerns.