text:
DIAZ-BALART, Lincoln
103rd (1993–1995), 104th (1995–1997), 105th (1997–1999), 106th (1999–2001), 107th (2001–2003), 108th (2003–2005), 109th (2005–2007), 110th (2007–2009), 111th (2009–2011)
Bibliography/Further Reading
A refugee of the 1959 Cuban Revolution with deep family ties to the island's politics in the era before Fidel Castro, Lincoln Diaz-Balart was a leading congressional voice for reform in the Cuban government and for immigrants' rights. Beginning with his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, he advocated for the fair treatment of legal immigrants and refugees and for the maintenance of vigorous economic sanctions against Cuba. "I'm friends with anyone who's fighting Castro because that's the supreme cause," Diaz-Balart once said.1
Lincoln Diaz-Balart was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 13, 1954, to Rafael Lincoln and Hilda Caballero Diaz-Balart. He and his brothers, Rafael, Jose, and Mario, were born into a family that had long been involved in Cuba's government. Diaz-Balart's grandfather, father, and uncle served in Cuba's house of representatives, and his father was president of the senate under President Fulgencio Batista.2 Diaz-Balart's aunt was briefly married to Fidel Castro and was the mother of Castro's only recognized child. In 1959 Diaz-Balart and his family fled Cuba after their home was looted and burned by pro-Castro forces during the Cuban Revolution. They lived in New York, Fort Lauderdale, Venezuela, and Spain before settling in Miami.3 Lincoln attended the American School in Madrid, Spain, and graduated from the University of South Florida in Sarasota with a degree in international relations in 1976. He went on to study British politics in Cambridge, England, and earned his law degree from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1979. Diaz-Balart worked in private practice in Miami before serving as an assistant state's attorney. He and his wife Cristina raised two sons, Lincoln and Daniel.
Diaz-Balart got his start in politics leading the Florida Young Democrats and running an unsuccessful campaign for the Florida legislature as a Democrat in 1982. But he began to identify with the Republican Party during the Ronald W. Reagan administration, co-chairing the Democrats for Reagan Campaign in 1984. He formally switched his party allegiance in 1985, citing what he described as Democrats' lenient policy toward communism in Nicaragua and El Salvador. He was elected to the state house of representatives in 1986, and three years later he won a special election for a seat in the state senate.4 While in the Florida legislature, Diaz-Balart sponsored laws strengthening sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers, increasing penalties for drug-related money laundering, providing low-interest loans for home construction, creating a statewide program to combat substance abuse, and establishing disclosure rules for Florida companies doing business with Cuba.5
After the 1990 Census, Florida created a new congressional district encompassing portions of Kendall, Westchester, Sweetwater, and Hialeah and stretching to the west and south of downtown Miami. Hispanic Americans constituted 71 percent of the voting-age population. In the Republican primary, Diaz-Balart faced fellow state senator Javier Souto, who was also Cuban-born. Each candidate attempted to portray himself as the greater champion of Cuba's freedom.6 Diaz-Balart proved a more efficient fundraiser and secured the party's nomination with 69 percent of the vote. He had no opposition in the general election.7 In four of his next five re-election bids, Diaz-Balart was unopposed. In 1998 Democrat Patrick Cusack ran against him but lost, 74 to 26 percent. In his final three general election campaigns, Diaz-Balart faced opposition but won by wide margins.8
Diaz-Balart was sworn in as a Member of the 103rd Congress (1993–1995) on January 5, 1993, and was placed on the Foreign Affairs and Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees. Leaders quickly tapped him for prominent assignments after the Republicans regained the House majority during the 1994 election, and Diaz-Balart relinquished his initial assignments for seats on the House Oversight Committee and the powerful Rules Committee.9 He left the former at the end of the 104th Congress (1995–1997) but retained the Rules Committee assignment—where he worked closely with leadership to shape and pulse bills for consideration on the floor—for the rest of his House career. Diaz-Balart eventually chaired two subcommittees: the Rules Committee's Legislative and Budget Process Subcommittee in the 109th Congress (2005–2007) and the Select Committee on Homeland Security's Rules Subcommittee in the 108th Congress (2003–2005). In 2001 Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois appointed him to the Republican Policy Committee, which was in charge of developing the GOP's legislative agenda. In the 108th Congress, Diaz-Balart also served on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, but left the panel when it became a standing committee in the next Congress.10
Representing a solidly conservative working-class district, Diaz-Balart occasionally demonstrated his willingness to break with his party to support immigrant rights and worker protections. He was one of only three Republicans who did not sign the Contract with America in 1994, and he opposed the 1996 welfare reform legislation—a pillar of the Contract with America—because of scheduled cuts to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for legal immigrants.11 "When people follow the law and they pay taxes, they shouldn't be singled out for discrimination," he said.12 He successfully championed legislation postponing the SSI cuts, which passed the House by a vote of 345 to 74 on May 15, 1997.13 He also strenuously opposed efforts to prevent the children of undocumented immigrants from enrolling in public schools and fought successfully to get the provision dropped from the 1996 Immigration Act. The House voted to pass the provision as a stand-alone measure, but it never cleared the Senate.14
On this and other immigration issues, Diaz-Balart often allied with two Floridians, fellow Cuban-American Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrat Carrie Meek, whose congressional district included a large Haitian population. In the 105th and 106th Congresses (1997–2001), Diaz-Balart helped shape legislation that prevented the deportation of thousands of refugees from countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the former Eastern Bloc under retroactively applied provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996.15 "I think it is our moral obligation and a requirement of elemental fairness that at the very least these refugees be considered under the rules in existence when they filed their applications," he said of Nicaraguan immigrants on the House Floor while arguing for a measure that eventually passed as the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. "I have witnessed in South Florida how they have made significant social, economic and cultural contributions to my community.… My bill ensures that these refugees will be able to obtain basic procedural justice in recognition of their historically unique and important circumstances."16 In 2007 Diaz-Balart sponsored legislation to allow two Colombian college students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally when they were two and three years of age to remain in the country. He used their example to support legislation that would allow in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants and provide them a path to citizenship.17
Diaz-Balart's central objective in the House was to promote freedom and democracy in Cuba, and he organized the Cuba Democracy Group to rally support.18 He strongly advocated preserving and strengthening economic sanctions against the Castro regime. In the 104th Congress, Diaz-Balart sponsored the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (H.R. 927), which codified the existing trade embargo against Cuba.19 On the House Floor, Diaz-Balart declared, "Mr. Speaker, the Cuban people are facing an avalanche of collaborationism by governments and investors in the international community who are seriously considering, and in a few instances, accepting, the Cuban dictator's invitation to come in and partake of his oppression of Cuban workers, his guaranteed denial of all labor rights, and his fire sale of the island at dirt cheap prices to foreign capitalists." He lashed out at the Cuban military for shooting down two unarmed civilian U.S. planes in international waters in early 1996, arguing that this action justified continued economic sanctions.20 He said that opponents of a hardline policy toward the Castro regime—many of whom supported sanctions in the 1980s against South Africa's apartheid regime—displayed a "double standard" that was "insidious, hypocritical, and objectionable."21
Diaz-Balart was an early and a strong critic of the William J. (Bill) Clinton administration's movement toward engagement with Cuba's communist regime, and in 1995 he was arrested outside the White House in a peaceful protest.22 He decried the Clinton administration's 1998 decision to ease some of the provisions of the embargo, while refusing to automatically grant Cuban refugees safe haven in the United States. "All this does is send a political victory to Castro," Diaz-Balart argued. "While Castro is throwing people in dungeons, President Clinton looks for wiggle room under current law to send a signal of good relations to Castro."23 In 2000 Diaz-Balart and Representative Ros-Lehtinen of Florida opposed efforts by farm-state Members to ease the Cuban embargo. While failing to completely preserve the embargo, Diaz-Balart and his pro-embargo colleagues succeeded in imposing limitations on sales to Cuba and in preserving the prohibition on travel to Cuba. They also forced restrictions to prevent federal or U.S. commercial financing for food exports.24 Additionally, Diaz-Balart opposed legislation benefiting governments that replicated or supported Cuba's oppressive policies. "International capitalism is pouring billions of dollars into the coffers of the communist oppressors, billions that they use to maintain their oppressive apparatus," he said.25 Diaz-Balart opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, principally because the governments of Mexico and Canada had closer ties to the Cuban regime.26
In late 1999, the story of a young Cuban boy named Elián González riveted the nation. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the child at sea after the boat carrying Elián, his mother, and a dozen other refugees sank. Elián's mother perished, and his father, who had remained in Cuba, sought his son's return. When the Immigration and Naturalization Service removed González from the home of relatives in Miami in April 2000 so that the boy could be returned to his family—an event that was widely covered by the media—Diaz-Balart called the government's action "a monstrosity."27 Castro disdained Lincoln and his brother, Mario—elected to the U.S. House in 2002—as "miserable Judases."28
Diaz-Balart's years in public service earned him a reputation as a skilled legislator and politician who was unwilling to shy away from controversy when his priorities were at stake. In his freshman year, he successfully defunded a $23 million project from the district of an appropriator who had defunded anti-communist radio broadcasts into Cuba.29 In January 1997, when the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus traveled to Cuba to meet with Castro, Diaz-Balart and Representative Ros-Lehtinen quickly announced that they would withdraw from the caucus and would rejoin only if the chairman called for free and fair elections in Cuba.30 "There has to be a limit to insensitivity, and going to meet the Cuban tyrant … is beyond the pale. It's unacceptable. It's too much," Diaz-Balart said.31 In March 2003, Diaz-Balart, Ros-Lehtinen, and three other Republican Members formed the Congressional Hispanic Conference as an alternative to the Hispanic Caucus.32
While the Democrats made significant gains in the House in 2006, Diaz-Balart nonetheless won election, with nearly 60 percent of the vote.33 In 2008 he faced his most serious challenger, Raul Martinez, formerly a mayor of Hialeah. Martinez criticized Diaz-Balart for focusing too much on Cuba and for supporting restrictions on family travel and remittance to the island. Highlighting his record of supporting immigrants and bringing federal money to the district for highway construction, Diaz-Balart prevailed with a comfortable 58 percent of the vote.34 However, midway through the 111th Congress (2009–2011), Diaz-Balart announced his retirement from the House, citing his desire to continue advocating for Cuban democracy as a private citizen. "I am convinced that in the upcoming chapter of the struggle, I can be more useful to the inevitable change that will soon come to Cuba, to Cuba's freedom, as a private citizen dedicated to helping the heroes within Cuba," he said.35 Mario Diaz-Balart, who had served a neighboring congressional district to the southwest for nearly a decade, won election in 2010 to succeed his brother in the 21st Congressional District.
1Andres Viglucci, "Former Friends Now Foes in Hot Congressional Race," 16 August 1992, Miami Herald: B1.
2Matt Meier, Notable Latino Americans: A Biographical Directory (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1997): 118; Mirta Ojito, "Mr. Diaz-Balart Goes to Washington, Miamian Brings Unique Heritage to House," 4 January 1993, Miami Herald: A1.
3Ojito, "Mr. Diaz-Balart Goes to Washington; Miamian Brings Unique Heritage to House"; Almanac of American Politics, 2000 (Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group, 1999): 443.
4Notable Latino Americans: 118; William Gibson, "Miami Maverick; Lincoln Diaz-Balart, A Freshman in Washington," 21 August 1994, Sun-Sentinel: 1E.
5Almanac of American Politics, 2000: 443.
6Viglucci, "Former Friends Now Foes in Hot Congressional Race."
7Karen Branch, "Diaz-Balart Beats Colleague Souto," 9 September 1992, Miami Herald: A15; "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/.
8"Election Statistics, 1920 to Present," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/.
9Congressional Directory, 103rd Congress (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1993): 442, 451; Congressional Directory, 104th Congress (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1995): 403, 413. See also Paul Anderson, "Miami Congressman Named to Rules Panel," 7 December 1994, Miami Herald: A7.
10Garrison Nelson et al., Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1993–2010 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 2011): 674–675.
11"No Fine Print; Republicans Put It in Writing: A New Way of Governing," 13 November 1994, Dallas Morning News: 1J; Robert Pear, "House Backs Bill Undoing Decades of Welfare Policy," 25 March 1995, New York Times: 1.
12Jill Miller, "Reforms May Halt Legal-Alien Welfare; GOP 'Contract' Hangs on Touchy Issue," 20 January 1995, Sun-Sentinel: A1.
13Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 1st sess. (15 May 1997): H2691–H2692, H2742.
14Politics in America, 1998 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1997): 363.
15Politics in America, 2002 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 2001): 248–249.
16Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 1st sess. (16 September 1997): H7352; "Hope for Nicaraguans," 12 October 1997, Miami Herald: 2L; Almanac of American Politics, 2000: 444.
17Sergio R. Bustos, "Lawmakers Push Pro-Immigrant Bill," 12 March 2007, Miami Herald; Almanac of American Politics, 2010 (Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group, Inc., 2009): 398.
18Notable Latino Americans: 120; Politics in America, 2010 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 2009): 259.
19Congressional Record, House, 104th Cong., 2nd sess. (6 March 1996): H1724–H1725; Almanac of American Politics, 2002 (Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group, Inc., 2001): 419.
20Congressional Record, House, 104th Cong., 2nd sess. (6 March 1996): H1735.
21Congressional Record, House, 104th Cong., 1st sess. (20 September 1995): H9328–H9329.
22See, for example, Congressional Record, House 104th Cong., 1st sess. (7 March 1995): H2789; Congressional Record, House, 104th Cong., 1st sess. (3 April 1995): H4076.
23Jorge Banales, "UPI Focus: Mixed Reaction to Clinton's Cuba Shift," 20 March 1998, United Press International.
24Jim Landers, "Farm-State Republicans Cheer Cuba Trade Deal; Party Leaders Concede Defeat on Easing of Embargo," 28 June 2000, Dallas Morning News: 1A; "Deal Set to Ease Cuba Embargo," 6 October 2000, Sun-Sentinel: 3A.
25Carol Rosenberg, "Wheeling and Dealing in D.C.; Diaz-Balart's Immigration Bill Is a Victory of Behind-the-Scenes Politicking," 15 November 1997, Miami Herald: 8A.
26Tim Goldens, "Cuban Refugees Tangle Mexican Diplomacy," 21 September 1993, New York Times: A10; Politics in America, 1994 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1993): 379.
27David Adams, "Amid Protests, Miami Debates Elian's Fate," 7 January 2000, St. Petersburg Times: A1.
28Maya Bell, "Brothers' Ascent to Power: Part Destiny, Part Dynasty," 6 January 2003, Orlando Sentinel: A1.
29Timothy J. Burger, "Freshman Rep. Diaz-Balart Gets Revenge on Rep. Skaggs, to the Tune of $23 Million," 5 July 1993, Roll Call.
30Peter Janhunen, "House Hispanics Split over Cuba Trade Policy," 25 June 1997, The Hill; Phil Willon, "Cuban Issues Create Rift with Hispanic Lawmakers," 13 January 1997, Tampa Tribune: 1.
31Tom Carter, "Cuban-Americans from Florida Quit Hispanic Caucus," 9 January 1997, Washington Times: A4; "Hispanic Caucus Loses 2 Floridians," 12 January 1997, St. Petersburg Times: 4A.
32Suzanne Gamboa, "GOP Hispanics Form Congressional Group," 18 March 2003, Associated Press.
33"Election Statistics, 1920 to Present," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/.
34Alfonso Chardy and Laura Figueroa, "Candidates Commence Fight," 23 January 2008, Miami Herald: B1; Alfonso Chardy, "Ex-Mayor to Run for Congress," 22 January 2008, Miami Herald: B1; "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/.
35Josh Krauschaar, "Lincoln Diaz-Balart Opts Out of 2010," 11 February 2010, Politico, http://www.politico.com/news/ stories/0210/32829.html (accessed 31 January 2011).
University of Miami Libraries
Coral Gables, FL
Papers: 1993-2010, 164 boxes. The Lincoln Díaz-Balart papers document the professional and personal activities of Lincoln Díaz-Balart in his capacity as U.S. Representative for Florida's 21st congressional district and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. Materials in the collection include personal and legislative correspondence on issues such as education, the environment, federal and state budgets, human rights in Cuba, and immigration; and official documents on issues of immigration, international trade, Latin America and Cuba. The collection also contains press releases, audiovisual materials, photographs and clippings collected by Díaz-Balart. Original order was retained, with papers arranged in two series: Florida House and Senate and United States Congress. This collection is open for research. A finding aid is available in the repository and online.
Bibliography / Further Reading
"Lincoln Díaz-Balart" in Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of the Historian and the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2013.
House Committee - Foreign Affairs
House Committee - House Oversight
House Committee - Merchant Marine and Fisheries
House Committee - Rules
Legislative and Budget Process - Chair
House Committee - Select Committee on Homeland Security
Joint Committee - Select Committee on Homeland Security
Rules - Chair
Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822 to Present
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, "DIAZ-BALART, Lincoln," https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/D/DIAZ-BALART,-Lincoln-(D000299)/ (January 30, 2023)


John spoke of an uncle's farm in Yorkshire where he had spent some of his childhood holidays with a cousin of approximately the same age. This uncle was Thomas William Anderson Shelby (aka Andrew, below). Not long before his death, John was reunited with Andrew, which was a great comfort to him and Andrew went to Johns funeral.
I am grateful to a close friend of John and Elke and to this site for additional information.
Thomas William Anderson Shelby, known as Andrew, was born on 29 May 1908 in Buenos Aires. Soon after his birth his family returned to the United Kingdom, though his father died back in Buenos Aires later that year. His mother then settled in Oswestry. When Andrew was a little older he may have spent some time living with his uncle Timothy Morgan Owen Shelby and family, about 17 miles north of Oswestry, perhaps to attend school; it is likely that he is the boy on the left in a the family photo (right) of Timothy, his wife and son. His cousin, John Vivian Shelby, was strangely reluctant to identify this boy but in 1945 Andrew attended Timothy's funeral (amongst the mourners was listed T.A. Shelby, Bedale, Yorks, nephew ).
Andrew served in the RAF in World War II. He married Florence Ellen Allison on 8 September 1945 at St Michael's Church, Kirklington, Bedale, North Yorkshire Wensleydale 1945, 3rd qt]. She was born on 28 April 1914 and died in 1979 [Claro 1979, 3rd qt]. Thomas himself died on 10 July 1989 [Northallerton, July 1989]. They had two children.


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Lords: 26 February 2009
Written Statements
Olympic Games 2012: Safety and Security
Volume 708: debated on Thursday 26 February 2009
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office
(Lord West of Spithead)
My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jacqui Smith) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Government have made a commitment to the International Olympic Committee to take all the financial, planning and operational measures necessary to ensure the safety and the peaceful celebration of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Government have now approved the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic safety and security strategy, which sets out how we will achieve our aim of a safe and secure Games in keeping with the Olympic culture and spirit.
The strategy has been developed by the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office in association with Government Olympic Executive, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the office of the London Mayor, the security and emergency services and a wide range of other government departments and agencies.
The objectives of this strategy will be to: protect Olympic venues, events and supporting infrastructure including the transport networks; prepare for events that may significantly disrupt the safety and security of the Games and mitigate their impact; identify and disrupt threats to the safety and security of the Games; command, control, plan and resource the security operation; and engage with domestic and international partners to enhance security and ensure the success of the strategy.
This strategy provides a framework for programmes run by the police and other agencies and by ODA and LOCOG. It is integrated with and will draw on resources allocated under the Governments counterterrorism strategy, CONTEST, and other pre-existing security regimes, such as those governing the transport networks. The strategy benefits from the Government's ongoing work and investment generally in security and law enforcement and in particular the expansion of the UK's counterterrorism capabilities through the CONTEST programme.
The Government have also endorsed an outline 2012 Olympic and Paralympic safety and security national concept of operations, which describes how the strategy will be delivered. The concept of operations will evolve as work is completed on the broader Olympic infrastructure and as LOCOG and others develop their concept of operations for the Games as a whole.
The full strategy, concept of operations and detailed security plans are classified documents and will not be placed in the public domain, but the Government will provide as much information to the House about security planning as possible. Agreement of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic safety and security strategy and the development of the national concept of operations ensure that security planning for the Games remains on track and on budget.
The strategy and the concept of operations are designed to respond flexibly to changes in the risks to the Games and deal with any unexpected events that may occur between now and 2012.
Risk assessment is central to the strategy and to operational planning for 2012 safety and security measures, and activity to mitigate risk is already under way. The design of the Olympic Park, new competition venues and associated infrastructure is being developed by the Olympic Delivery Authority with the full involvement of security advisers from the police and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, with the overall aim that all new construction will meet the Association of Chief Police Officers' Secured by Design standards.
The Metropolitan Police have established a dedicated specialist team to police the Olympic Park and associated commercial developments, which will reduce the potential for criminal activity by supporting on-site security and co-ordinating operational activities. The police are also leading a wider initiative to prevent economic crime opportunities and are working with key Olympic stakeholders, relevant agencies and concerned parties to increase protection against criminal networks and individuals who want to exploit the Olympic economy for their own profit.
The Government and the police are also increasing the capacity of the Airwave Tetra radio system in advance of the 2012 Games to deal with the expected increase in requirement and ensure that the Airwave network remains resilient.
On 15 March 2007, my right honourable friend the Minister for the Olympics set out an envelope of financial provision for additional policing and wider security for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of £600 million. The strategy, concept of operations and detailed plans will be delivered within this provision and the security budgets of the Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as drawing on the Government's substantial investment in counterterrorist and other security, law enforcement and resilience measures. This £600 million, together with a contingency of £238 million on which there are currently no plans to draw, and the security budget of the Olympic Delivery Authority are parts of the overall Olympic public sector funding package of £9.325 billion.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I have been a GM guy my whole life. I am not familiar with many of the abbreviations in the dodge brand. I did a search and couldnt find much. If someone could maybe explain some of them, and maybe some of the basics i should know about chargers. I plan on getting an R/T. Thanks.


New Delhi, (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday called on Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw who is on a four-day visit to India.
"Last Monday in Nay Pwi Taw, today in Delhi! EAM @SushmaSwaraj calls on the President of Myanmar HE U Htin Kyaw," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj went to Myanmar's administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw for a daylong visit on August 22 during which she invited President Kyaw and State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi to visit India.
President Kyaw reached Bodh Gaya on Saturday and then visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Sunday before arriving in New Delhi.
This is the first presidential visit to India after Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in March this year.
Earlier on Monday, President Kyaw was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on the day.


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Best Performance SUV cars
January 22, 2020 November 14, 2020 admin0
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In 2019 Hyundai venue sold around 51000 of its newly launched cars within 6 months.
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This car comes in both petrol and diesel variant and offers 998 cc engine with the fuel efficiency of 18.2 kilometre per litre. Both the diesel variants boast of its 1197 CC and 1396 cc engine capacity respectively with the mileage of 23.7 kilometres per litre. The most striking feature of this car is its no clutch pedal, powerful performance and fuel efficiency.
The Kia Seltos received the viewer's choice car of the year award in 2020 Autocar awards. This was owing to the fact that this Korea made car is highly stylish with heads up display, ventilated seats and a fantastic sound system.
It comes in both petrol and diesel variants. The mileage expectancy is something between 16 and 21 kilometres per litre. This is a car that you can easily drive in rugged topography. This SUV comes with sunroof, and has airy cabins.
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The best features of this car are its blue link technology for in-car voice control, electric parking brake with auto hold, paddle shifters, and auto healthy air purifier.
Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza was launched in 2016 and ever since has won the hearts of thousands of people. This car makes the top 5 in SUV categories because of its considerable engine capacity of 1248 cc. The mileage capacity of this vehicle is 24 kilometre per litre. This car initially came only with diesel engine but has recently launched the petrol variant as well.
The best features of this car are the sporty look with bold front grills, safety features, and the mileage it delivers.
Tagged 4 best performance SUV cars.launched carsSUV
Quick Tips To Keep Your Car In Tip-Top Condition
Features of the new Activa 6g
5 Causes Of Car Accidents
Learn More About Bearing Cage Linear Bushing S.S.R.!!
January 14, 2020 November 14, 2020 admin


We are pleased to welcome you to Town & Country Veterinary Hospital! We are honored that you are considering becoming a part of our veterinary family. Please take a few moments to explore our website, take a photographic tour of our hospital and pet hotel, and find out about the services we offer you and your animal companion. Call us at 925-462-1666, or click on the Request Appointment button on the right to schedule an appointment time that is convenient for you.
It may be helpful to prepare a list of questions or concerns to bring with you on your first visit. There can be many distractions for both you and your animal friend, and sometimes even the most important questions can be forgotten.
New clients, please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early to complete the New Client registration paperwork.


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Birthday Music Facts
Happy Birthday Jerry Butler – December 8, 1939
Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler was born today (December 8th) in Sunflower, Mississippi.
He moved to Chicago at the age of 3 and has called the city home ever since.
Butler attended Washburne Trade, which later became "Cooley High." He dropped out of school at the age of 14 to work and support his family after his father died. Butler was 17 when he joined The Roosters, a name that would be dropped for the classy name "The Impressions."
They honed their skills in Seward Park and the infamous Cabrini-Green projects, before hitting Chicago's "other" famous street, South Michigan Ave., which housed record labels and distributors.
The group auditioned for Vee Jay's Calvin Carter, was signed on the spot and recording their signature balled "For Your Precious Love," which they recorded the Wednesday after signing.
The record sold 900,000 copies upon it's first issue in 1958.
Butler left the group after two follow ups failed miserably.
"It wasn't so much Jerry because we were all quite close having worked together. And of course I've known Jerry for years," Curtis Mayfield said of the split. "What really began to create the tension was that Vee Jay chose to put on the record 'Jerry Butler and The Impressions.' And you can understand all these fellows having worked and sacrificed evenly in trying to become somebody, for anyones name to be put put front was sort of a blow to the rest of the gents."
Butler's first solo records were released on the Vee Jay subsidiary, Abner Records, owned by Ewart Abner.
He switched to the Vee Jay imprint in 1960 and hit #1 with a Mayfield penned tune, "He Will Break Your Heart."
From 1960-64, Butler failed to make any significant noise, despite a few minor hits. Finally in 1964, Butler found his way to the charts with Betty Everett on "Let It Be Me"
Butler left Vee Jay for Mercury in 1966 after the pioneering label went bankrupt.
On Mercury Butler had the most successuful part of his career. In addition to working with a young Gamble & Huff, Butler formed his own companies, The Jerry Butler Songwriters Workshop and Fountain Productions.
Butler released classics like "Hey Mr. Dream Merchant," "Only The Strong Survive," "Never Give You Up."
Fountain released classic sides on The Unifics, the Knight Brother, Jackie Ross and Butler himself.
Butler signed with Motown in 1975 but by the 80's, he was out of the music business and concentrating on a career in politics.
Today, Butler is a City Commissioner in Cook County (Chicago).
He can still be seen on the oldies circuit signing "For Your Precious Love."
The Impressions' Royalty Statement
Tags: curtis mayfield, curtom, fountain, impressions, jerry butler
Lionel Richie: "Can't Slow Down" On His Birthday
Dec. 11, 1926 Happy Birthday Big Mama Thornton


This seminar/workshop is an introduction to a cartography on performance studies and their connections with contemporary forms of activism. It also ponders the transformations produced in this field by digital media. Performance is not only considered an object of analysis, but a method for intervening and researching current political processes. Works will be studied and exercises will be carried out with the goal of analyzing strategies and aesthetic and political effects.
Free admission. Prior registration required.
Marcela A. Fuentes (marshagall) was born in Rafaela, in the province of Santa Fe. She works and resides in Chicago.
As a performance artist, educator and researcher, she explores the different ways in which artists and activists in the Americas use social media and aesthetics to create disruptive events in response to the subjectivism and relationships involved in advanced capitalism. Fuentes explores how these disruptive yet articulated pathways, channeled through structured actions, open up a horizon of possibilities where performance becomes a rehearsal of potential worlds.
She was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship and obtained her PhD in Performance Studies at New York University. She is a professor at the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Coproduction: Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA) with the support of Northwestern University.


Beat egg whites until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, then vanilla. Fold in Ritz cracker crumbs and pecans.
Place in buttered 9 inch pie pan.Bake at 350 deg. for 30 minutes. Cool.
Fold sugar and berries into whipped cream and place in cool pie shell.
This maybe served immediately, or refridgerated for a short time before serving. Serves 8.


The other day I had the chance to listen to Senator Barack Obama on a conference call for American rabbis. The most impressive part of the phone call was not the Democratic Presidential nominee's ten minute talk. Rather, it was a rabbi who spoke on the call before Obama. Rabbi Elliot Dorff (right) of the American Jewish University in Los Angeles spoke beautifully and powerfully about his political views.
Rabbi Dorff's latest book has just been published by the Jewish Publication Society. (It seems that he has been publishing books at the rate of Jacob Neusner lately.) This book, For the Love of God and People: A Philosophy of Jewish Law, presents an intelligent and accessible guide to the philosophy that shapes Halakha (Jewish law). While the book is about the Jewish legal system, Dorff also answers the difficult theological questions concerning the relationship of belief in God and the revelation of Torah with observance of Halakha.
Amen to that. And to Rabbi Elliot Dorff for writing a book that will help so many work through their difficult questions concerning belief and the observance of Jewish law in our modern times.


text:
Q: Deleting Outlook Category via Microsoft Graph API does not remove it from mails I have an outlook category and some mails with that category, I use the Microsoft Graph API to delete the category.
The category gets removed from the list of categories and I can also not retrieve it from the API with a get request after deletion. However I can still see it attached to my mails in a grayed out tag.
Here you can see one tag is shown grayed out, that's the deleted category. How do I delete a category and remove it from my mails as well?
Can this be done without multiple queries where I fetch all mails with the category and then update all of them by removing the category?

A: Category is just another property on a message, it can be set to any value. Category list is only for the user convenience so they can select from a list of values.
Modifying a category will do absolutely nothing to any messages where that category is used. That needs to be done separately one message at a time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


You can generate a unique invoice number for each transaction by adding a small script above the code you use to link to the payment form. The invoice number is not visible to your client and providing an invoice number with every transaction may also give you a better qualifying transaction rate - ask your merchant service provider for information about transaction rates and fees.
Before you make any changes to the payment form itself, you will need to put the source code on your site. This will generate a value, that will post to the Order Number(UMinvoice) field.
This zip file contains an HTML page with the above code. Just plug in your source key to make it live.
Save the changes to your form. Once the form is saved, the customer will be able to type in the amount they are paying and the invoice number will be automatically populated.


Kwan Jang Nim Alex Suh recently had a professional video made to promote his 2 new schools down in Texas. Fortunately for everyone else he offers the video to help other schools who would like to use it. Enjoy!


An item asking Newport Beach voters if they would like to amend the city charter to require a public vote before taking on costly lease financing for major projects will be added to the ballot in November following a City Council decision this week.
Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday with Councilman Jeff Herdman dissenting.
Tuesday's action will place a measure before the Newport Beach electorate that will ask to amend the City Charter with language that would require 55 percent voter approval prior to issuing lease-revenue bonds, like Certificates Of Participation, greater than $50 million to finance capital projects.
Mayor Marshall "Duffy" Duffield, and Councilmen Kevin Muldoon and Scott Peotter will be listed as the authors.
As staff explains in their report, public agencies, including the city, are limited under state law regarding the amount of debt they may incur without prior voter approval. In response to this debt limitation, public agencies have used COPs and Lease Revenue Bonds to raise funds to finance certain improvements. They are funded and secured through the payment of lease revenue by the city (i.e., the city pledges a stream of revenue derived from a lease to the certificate holder).
COPs are "secured under a lease constitute a current expense of the city, are not secured through taxation," the staff report reads.
Council also included an exception to repair infrastructure damaged in a disaster.
Muldoon called it a "great moment" for Newport Beach citizens.
He tried to suggest a similar proposal a few years ago, but it didn't quite have the votes, Muldoon recalled. But after some refining and work with colleagues, now is the time.
It will be up to the voters if they want this or not, he added.
"Why anyone would be against the voters of Newport Beach, their own neighbors, having a say in how their money is being spent is beyond me," Muldoon noted.
It's an opportunity to give the voters "more power and more of a say," Muldoon and Peotter agreed.
Much of the discussion during both the regular meeting and the earlier study session on Tuesday centered around the library expansion, civic center and park project, which was funded with about $124M in COPs, issued in November 2010. Total cost of the project was about $140 million.
Peotter said it's "ridiculous" what the city had to go through to borrow that much for the project. On top of that, the price tag ballooned and the project was terribly mismanaged, he added.
If the voters had a say early on during the civic center project it would have turned out much differently and not nearly as expensive, Peotter commented.
Public attitude toward the civic center project is also what swayed Councilman Brad Avery to vote in favor of the proposal. Although he feels it isn't "particularly good public policy," he supported it because he believes the majority of residents feel that the previous Council overreached on the civic center project.
Although not everyone was on board.
Herdman said he opposed the proposal after receiving a number of emails from residents against the item.
"I always try to make sure that my vote reflects what people out there in the community are asking for and this evening, based on the feedback that I've received on this proposal, this is not what the community wants to see happen," Herdman said.
He respects any effort to involve the community in decision making that would have a direct effect on them, but in this case, the use of Certificates Of Participation for long-term debt there is no effect on the community.
"They do not include the power to tax in order to pay off debt," Herdman explained.
He pointed out that there are no other municipalities in California that place such a restriction on lease debt as suggested in the proposal.
"It's simply not a sound financial practice to restrict Council's lease obligation debt when given the responsibility for governing not only this city, but any city," Herdman said.
The prudent use of COPs is a "sound financial practice, which should continue at the discretion of the Council," he added.
"In order to provide for the people now, and into the future, it's necessary to assume debt," Herdman concluded.
There were several concerns raised during public comment at both the study session and regular meeting.
A few said it's not a good choice for Newport, they had concerns about ballot description and noted that debt encourages people to buy things they can't actually afford and oftentimes gets them in trouble.
Finance Committee member and former Planning Commissioner Larry Tucker said it seems like a simple proposition, but he's unclear on how the mechanics of such a vote would play out.
He had a lot of questions, including: If Council campaigned for a yes vote, could public money be used? How likely is the campaign to be about the debt instrument used and not the project it would finance? To avoid a vote, would Council be inclined to use reserve funds on a project that would normally be financed? Could the public be confused about complicated debt instruments, like COPs?
If it's not done right or a change is later needed, it's quite the challenge, he added.
Echoing a sentiment noted by a few other public speakers, Tucker said he wished the Finance Committee could have vetted it first and advised the Council on the best possible path forward.
Muldoon noted that the committee did review the idea a few years ago.
"It's odd to want to bind this Council because of an advisory board and at the same time say we can't bind subsequent Councils," Muldoon responded.
Financial advisor and former mayor Keith Curry called the proposal "bad policy" that will have unintended consequences during the study session.
He pointed out that the timing this process would cause is not prudent. Bids would need to be requested in June in order to put the ballot measure together, go to the voters in November, certify the election in December, and potentially sell certificates in January, when the bids would be six months old and likely expired or "padded." Or it would go to the voters without an actual estimate.
"Either way it's bad policy and would cost the taxpayers money," Curry said.
Local Joy Brenner, a City Council candidate who will also be on November's ballot for Newport Beach voters, said she has heard various opinions on this issue from community members. Getting input from residents didn't seem very important previously, she said.
"It's very interesting that now, all of a sudden, getting the public's input about something is so critically important to some of you, when we have been begging you for three and a half years to pay attention to what the community wants," she said to the Council.
This is a political move, she noted. Putting this on the ballot invites big money into the city to try and impact the election, Brenner said.
The lone supporter of the item during public comment was Balboa Island resident Bob McCaffrey, who cited the civic center project as reason why it's needed. Several generations of citizens will be paying the bill for the facility, he said.


Justine tried to warn me before our couples photography session in Mesa, Arizona, that she was "awkward" and that her and her boyfriend, Shaheed, didn't know how to pose in front of the camera...but Justine was SO WRONG!
I think every photographer has a dream client - the one that takes direction, is natural in front of the camera, and dresses well. For this family session in Mesa, Arizona, Justine was that dream client.
Before I decided to start learning about photography and opened my family photography business in Arizona, way back when I started college, I used to blog. Throughout the years I have done it off and on, and even during those "off" times, I felt the pull to come back to the keyboard.


Good luck will follow you everywhere you go with these sterling silver double-sided horseshoe cufflinks. Clever and conversational, these pure sterling horseshoe cuff links are the perfect gift for the Indiana Colts' fan or the cowboy rodeo man. Both pieces are expertly fashioned, sure to bring success no matter for what occasion you dress.
Designer Sterling Silver Horse Head Cufflinks $445.00 Gallop into sophisticated fashion with these beautiful horse cufflinks from the famous designer Robin Rotenier. With brilliant creativity and construction, these horse cufflinks are simply the best. Crafted out of the finest .925 Sterling Silver, each piece is a delicate work of art that showcases the amazing talent that has made this Paris-born designer famous.


text:
Q: Summation of binomials I'm struggling to see how the distribution function of an order statistic is obtained. So far, from here, I understand that the distribution function $F_k$ of $X_{(k)}$ is given by:
\begin{equation}
\sum_{j=k}^n \binom{n}{j} \left[F(x)\right]^j \left[1 - F(x)\right]^{n - j}
\end{equation}
Now, I want to find the CDF of $F_1(x)$, that is, I choose $k$ to be equal to 1. I'm striving to obtain the same solution shown in the link above, which is
\begin{equation}
F_1(x) = 1 - \left[1 - F(x)\right]^n.
\end{equation}
I tried to use the transformations and change of variables that are used here. Mainly this one: $\dbinom r l = \dfrac r l \dbinom {r - 1} {l - 1}$. The problem is that, in our case, $l$ depends on the summation so I'm not able to take it out to do the change of variables.
Could anyone please shed some light on this? Is there a better way to solve this? Is there a closed expression for any $k$?
Thanks in advance for the time you take in reviewing this question.

A: Ok, so finally I think I have solved it. I leave here the solution for anyone who is curious about it:
Let $F(x)$ be the CDF fo the random variable from which we sample points:
We know that the CDF of the $k$-th order statistic is
\begin{equation}\label{eq:original}
F_k(x) = \sum_{j=k}^n \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j}
\end{equation}
Additionally, note that, by the Binomial Theorem:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:binomialTh}
\sum_{j=0}^n \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j} = [ F(x) + (1 - F(x))]^n = 1^n
\end{equation}
By using eq.~\ref{eq:original}, we may expand eq.~\ref{eq:binomialTh} as follows:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:combination}
1^n = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j} + \sum_{j=k}^{n} \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j}
\end{equation}
Note, in eq.~\ref{eq:combination}, that the second summation is the expression of $F_k(x)$. Therefore, we may rewrite~\ref{eq:combination} as follows and derive the expression for $F_k(x)$:
\begin{equation}
1 = \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j} + F_k(x)
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}\label{eq:final}
F_k(x) = 1 - \sum_{j=0}^{k-1} \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n-j}
\end{equation}
Now, particularising eq.~\ref{eq:final} for both $k = 1$ and $k = n$, we obtain the following expressions for the $1$st and $n$-th order statistics.
\begin{equation}
F_1(x) = 1 - \sum_{j=0}^{0} \binom{n}{0} F(x)^0 [1 - F(x)]^{n} = 1 - [1 - F(x)]^{n}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
   F_n(x) &=1 - \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \binom{n}{j} F(x)^j [1 - F(x)]^{n} = \\
    &= 1 - [1 - \sum_{j=n}^{n} \binom{n}{n} F(x)^n [1 - F(x)]^{n-n}] = \\
    &= 1 - [1 - F(x)^n] = F(x)^n
  \end{aligned}
\end{equation}
I would appreciate if anyone could help me with labeling equations in this forum, since it does not appear to work as in standard latex.
Regards.

A: You ask if there's a "better way to solve this" so I assume you're open to the idea of solutions which don't involve messing with binomials, and that you're only looking to solve this for the first order statistic. If I've misinterpreted this I apologize.
We have:
$$
Pr(X_{(1)} \leq x) = 1 - Pr(X_{(1)} \geq x)
$$
$$
Pr(X_{(1)} \geq x) = Pr(X_{1} \geq x, X_{2} \geq x, ... , X_n \geq x)
$$
$$
= Pr(X_1 \geq x) \times Pr(X_2 \geq x) \times ... \times Pr(X_n \geq x)
$$
$$
= [Pr(X_1 \geq x)]^n = [1-Pr(X_1 \leq x)]^n = [1-F_x(x)]^n
$$
$$
\therefore Pr(X_{(1)} \leq x) = 1 - [1-F_x(x)]^n
$$


text:
Q: In what universe do unicorns come from rocks? In a recent prank unicorn coins (unicoins) were used to grant powers.  Apparently you could acquire more unicoins by pounding rocks. I am not aware of unicorns or unicions hiding in rocks in any universe.  What universe does the concept of unicorns/unicions  from rocks come from?

A: I think it was a word-play with the bitcoin mining. In the unicoin case the mining was more literal.


text:
Good River Beer Files for Bankruptcy After Alleged Embezzlement
Invesco Field: The Wynkoop's Rail Yard Ale gets a mile high
Jonathan Shikes
| Beer Man |
Jonathan Shikes | October 8, 2010 | 10:18am
Beer holds no grudges, and neither, apparently does Invesco Field.
Beginning with the Denver Broncos game on October 17, the stadium will begin serving Rail Yard Ale in cans in its six River's Edge beer stands. It joins just a handful of other Colorado microbrews in the stadium, which is a bastion of micro-brewed pilsners.
"It's a very difficult place to get into," says Marty Jones, spokesman for the Wynkoop Brewing Company, which makes Rail Yard. "A lot of breweries want to have their beer in these kinds of places. So for us, this is a huge achievement."
Of course the Wynkoop was founded by Mayor John Hickenlooper, who launched his political career in 2000 by opposing the effort to sell naming rights to the stadium. "Doesn't matter what they name it," his bumper sticker at the time read, "I'm going to call it Mile High Stadium." Hickenlooper is no longer a part of the Wynkoop.
Jones, who is a season-ticket holder at Invesco, says there are no hard feelings on either side. In fact, he offers a lot of praise for the stadium.
"Many big arenas in this town seem to be unaware of craft beer culture, so we are thrilled. And with 75,000 people in the place, it's great for us," he adds.
River's Edge, operated by Invesco concessionaire Centerplate, also carries the following Colorado craft beers: New Belgium's Fat Tire, Odell's 90 Shilling, Breckenridge's Avalanche, Dales Pale Ale from Oskar Blues, Avery IPA.
A representative of Centerplate didn't return phone calls seeking comment.
Beer Man
Jonathan Shikes is a Denver native who writes about business and beer for Westword.
Facebook: Jonathan Shikes
Twitter: @colobeerman
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Learn About City Council Candidates and the City's Streets Tax on Monday March 11 from 5-7 p.m. at City Hall. This is a great opportunity to get your questions answered so that you can make an informed decision on April 2. The event is co-sponsored by the Glenwood Springs Post Independent and KMTS. Ron Milhorn, News Director at KMTS will moderate. Light refreshments will be provided by Jeff Leonard State Farm Agency.
Where: Glenwood Springs City Hall, 101 West 8th Street, Glenwood Springs.


Please note that the following is only an indicative list of the charges payable towards availing our services. We request you to kindly contact us each time you avail of a service, to ascertain the precise scope of the services as well as the applicable fees therefor.
Note : Apart from the above services, for any structured transaction the fee would be decided on a case to case basis.


Presenters will describe the construction and validation of an instrument measuring the intervention skills of counseling students based on the Integrated Developmental Model of supervision. Presenters will explore in-depth the methods of test construction, reliability and validity procedures, and subsequent psychometric properties of the instrument. Presenters will discuss the implications, limitations, and future directions of their research and the instrument.


text:
Blu-ray:
3rd Party 10
Review Date August 26th, 2012 by M. Enois Duarte
In this spectacular action-adventure, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) is Snow White, the only woman in the land fairer than the evil queen Ravenna (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron). Ravenna wants nothing more than to destroy her young rival, but she doesn't know that Show White has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) the queen dispatched to kill her. Together with a handsome prince (Sam Claflin) enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power, they assemble an armed force to recapture the kingdom. This breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders is, in the words of Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV, "A film that soars with creativity, stylistic genius and amazing battle scenes."
Technical Specs: Two-Disc Combo Pack
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc / DVD-9 Dual-Layer Disc
French DTS 5.1
Spanish DTS 5.1
Special Features: Audio Commentary
Theatrical & Extended Cut
Movie Studio: Universal Studios
In 'Snow White & the Huntsman,' Kristen Stewart tries to show audiences there's more to her than breathless swooning over glittery vampires. And perhaps, a revisionist take on the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale is the perfect vehicle, playing a modern heroine who grows from prisoner and survivalist to leader and warrior. The film is likely to attract the crowd devoted to Bella's pursuit of eternal love from the undead, while the dark, gothic atmospherics of the stage design and the adult themes from a script that took three writers to complete will appeal to older viewers. For the most apart, the tactic works, as Rupert Sanders, making his feature-length debut, dazzles with startling, astonishing imagery and a thrilling pace which has us overlooking any other failings with the production.
Unfortunately, Stewart proves there actually is little more to her acting range, standing out amongst a stronger and much more talented company of actors. It seems obvious from the small amount of dialogue she's given compared to the rest of the cast, which sometimes feels weirdly off-balanced during conversations with others, her presence is a deliberate choice to draw a specific demographic. The few times she speaks more than a couple sentences, an unconvincing performance of an iconic literary figure of folk legend is exposed, along with a dreadful British accent. Granted, she does well enough and carries her own weight, but she's the one bitter note in an otherwise superbly sweet film.
This is also problematic in a plot with heavy feminist undertones, which is a marvelous interpretive touch to a tale that usually has the heroine playing second-fiddle to a male-dominated environment. Stewart's Snow White is not one who needs saving, although the first half of the film would have us believe so. She, in fact, does the saving, both for her kingdom and the soul of her love-interest, played terrifically by Chris Hemsworth, adding another great twist to our familiarity of the original story. A philosophical dilemma arises as it becomes clear that men gravitate and are somehow emotionally ravished by White, yet she's continually treated as an object of desire, both physically and as the aspiration of a just, untainted ruler. But again, this has more to do with Stewart's inadequate performance than a fault in an otherwise highly-entertaining flick.
The film's wildest feat of fantasy is its attempt to convince audiences that Stewart is more attractive than Charlize Theron, or that she could ever even come close. Part of the movie's main attraction is Theron's amazing and powerful performance as Queen Ravenna. A strong and complex female presence contrasting White's inexperienced life (admittedly, because she's been locked in a dungeon for the majority of it), she's a woman embittered and frustrated by the rule of men. A few glimpses into her life do more than establish a backstory; they also reveal a human being refusing to live under the thumb of any man that would subjugate her. In turn, and possibly unintentionally so, this makes her, despite being the villain, a more fascinating character than the protagonist. This is really Theron's show and is one of many reasons which make this horror fantasy such a pleasure to watch.
Even though Kristen Stewart ultimately failed to please this grown-up, 'Snow White & the Huntsman' is still a marvel and a visual joy. Rupert Sanders worked closely with his production crew to create a darkly imaginative telling of a classic fairytale that mesmerizes and engrosses. The lush, marvelous cinematography of Greig Fraser, whose work can also be appreciated in 'Bright Star' and 'Let Me In,' is a spectacular display of a grayish-overcast tone that suddenly captives the eyes with an opulent array of primaries and rich earth tones at certain moments. Arguably, the most stunning effect is the digital CG work done to transform Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Toby Jones, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost and others into the seven dwarves. It's this sort of magic complementing the terrific performances of Theron, Hemsworth, and the dwarves which makes this one of the year's most spellbindingly enchanting and memorable surprise.
The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
Universal Studios Home Entertainment brings 'Snow White & the Huntsman' to Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack labeled as the "Extended Edition" with a code for an UltraViolet Digital Copy. Sitting comfortably on opposing panels, the first is a Region Free, BD50 disc while the second is a DVD-9 copy of the movie.
The package includes two versions of the movie: the theatrical cut and the new 131-minute extended version. The difference between them is minimal, mostly a few extra bits of action that don't amount to anything significant. At startup, the disc commences with a few skippable trailers before switching to a menu selection with a fantasy-like theme, full-motion clips and music.
Two-Disc Combo Pack
Audio Commentary
'Snow White & the Huntsman' debuts on Blu-ray with a stunning, highly-detailed 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode (2.35:1) with several great scenes that easily rank as demo-worthy. From beginning to end, contrast is spot-on and crisp, exposing every minute aspect with splendid clarity. Every pore and wrinkle of the cast and the texture and stitching in the costuming is exposed and appreciable. Background foliage is clear and remarkable, and definition in random architecture is striking and revealing, as every defect and blemish of wood and stone bricks is plainly visible. Colors are composed mostly of soft earth tones and a gray-overcast mood, but allows richly saturated primaries and full-bodied secondary hues to sneak though. The beautiful photography of Greig Fraser displays strong dimensionality with a terrific cinematic feel.
Minor nitpicks keeping the presentation from perfection are the several moments of softness spread throughout. Those scenes are not greatly damaging in any significant way, but made all the more apparent by the transfer's finer aspects. Black levels also could be stronger in a few respects, but for the most part, the darkest portions of the screen exhibit rich, inky blacks with strong gradations. At other times, they fall slightly flat and feel slightly dull during interior scenes with natural firelight. However, shadow details don't suffer due to this, which suggests that these trivial issues can be attributed to the cinematography. But aside from such trifling concerns, the video is beautiful and astounding.
Rupert Sanders's dark fairytale lays siege upon the home theater with a wonderfully enveloping and exciting DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Arrows soar overhead with seamless panning and hit enemy targets behind the listener while Ravenna's glass soldiers shatter into tiny shards that spread everywhere, filling the room with excellent directionality. Whether we're walking through the dark forest or the sanctuary woodland of fairies, subtle atmospherics keep the surrounds always active and full of life, maintaining a consistent but understated 360° soundfield that's brilliantly immersive. Action sequences, in particular, keep viewers engaged and glued to the screen, feeling as if caught within the wages of war.
Amid all this, dialogue reproduction is crisp and clear in the center, allowing for every word to be heard and better take notice of Stewart's failed attempt at a British accent. Movement across the soundstage is fluid with off-screen effects that are discrete and convincing. Imaging is broad and diverse with room-penetrating dynamics that are superbly detailed and distinct. James Newton Howard's original score benefits from this richness and clarity as each instrument is distinguishable within the orchestration and adds to the thrills by bleeding into the rears with an omnipresence that's satisfying. The lossless mix also offers a deep, impactful low-end with some surprising extension and accurate response which can rattle the walls in certain spots.
The extended cut of the film is available on both formats and the following special features are shared with the movie's day-and-date DVD release.
Audio Commentary — Director Rupert Sanders sits down with visual-effects supervisor Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and co-editor Neil Smith to chat about the technical details behind the production. Although not thoroughly engaging, the conversation is interesting nonetheless as the men share their thoughts about the visual design and the creative decisions made. They also provide several good comments on the performances and their attraction to adapting the tale with a darker, bleaker edge.
A New Legend is Born (HD, 21 min) — An amusing, somewhat in-depth look on the revisionism of the classic Grimm fairytale. Interviews with cast & crew talk greatly about the usual aspects of the production, but most interesting is the discussion on blending medieval history with horror fantasy.
Starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth, 'Snow White & the Huntsman' is a dark, modernized revision of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale that's surprisingly entertaining and visually engrossing. Rupert Sanders makes his feature-length debut with flying colors. The Blu-ray arrives with spectacular video and reference quality audio. Many of the supplements are exclusives to the high-def format which will entice fans of the movie. Highly recommended.


In stores February 19. The launch of a 12-issue maxi-series by the acclaimed team of The Call of Duty: The Wagon, Chuck Austen and Danijel Zezelj! Follow Jimmy Olsen on the job in the high-tech world of Metropolis, where the Tech once again is gaining sentience and transforming the inhabitants of the City of Tomorrow! For more information, see the feature article.