Hanging on the wall of François Delattre's office is an enormous aerial color photograph depicting thousands of volunteers standing on Omaha Beach, arranged in a pattern that spells out the words FRANCE WILL NEVER FORGET.
The annual extravaganza is an Independence Day show of gratitude for the sacrifices of American soldiers during World War II — and for Delattre, a highly personal reminder of the warm ties between two countries that haven't always seen eye to eye, especially when it comes to military intervention in the Middle East.
"France and the United States have never been closer than they are today," says Delattre, who presented his credentials to President Obama as French ambassador just over a year ago. "We are each other's closest ally in the fight against terrorism — in Afghanistan but also in Yemen and in the Sahel, on every front. We prevailed together against Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, bringing 42 years of bloody dictatorship to an end.
"In the same vein, our two countries have taken the lead in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state," he said. "We are in the forefront of international efforts to promote democratic movements in the Arab world, and we're fighting together in the mountains of Afghanistan not only to track down the remaining al-Qaeda affiliates, but also to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition there."
Yet amid all the turbulence around the world, the French have endured their fair share of tragedy at home. Delattre, 48, spoke to The Washington Diplomat less than two weeks before a gunman on a motorbike opened fire outside of a Jewish school in Toulouse on March 19, killing a rabbi and three children in a cold-blooded crime that stunned the nation. It followed similar shootings that killed three French paratroopers of Arab descent who belonged to a unit that fought in Afghanistan.
After a nationwide manhunt, police closed in on the shooter, Mohammed Merah, a 23-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin who readily admitted to negotiators that he had committed the killings to "avenge Palestinian children" and to protest France's foreign military interventions, as well as a law banning women from wearing a full Islamic veil in public.
After a dramatic 30-hour standoff, security forces killed Merah in his apartment. The second-generation radicalized Frenchman, who described himself as a freedom fighter allied with al-Qaeda, had traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and had apparently been under police surveillance for several years.
"Words are not enough to describe the horrific and tragic attacks that struck this Jewish school in Toulouse," said Delattre, whose embassy on Reservoir Road opened a book of condolences in memory of the latest victims, all of whom had dual French-Israeli citizenship. "The French nation is united by this national tragedy. We especially value the international community's solidarity; I have been very moved by the many messages of sympathy that I've received."
But whether the shootings will result in solidarity at home remains to be seen — coming in the midst of a heated presidential contest already filled with anti-immigrant vitriol, mostly emanating from President Nicolas Sarkozy, a skilled crisis manager who has clawed his way back from what looked like certain defeat just a few months ago.
The killings could mark a decisive turning point in the election. If they had been the work of a far-right neo-Nazi fanatic like Norway's Anders Behring Breivik, Sarkozy could have faced a backlash for stirring up anti-immigrant sentiment. But with news that it was an unapologetic Muslim al-Qaeda sympathizer who methodically shot children at point-blank range, the president's hard line against immigration could very well resonate among voters and propel him to a second term.
So far, Sarkozy has appealed for unity and calm — unlike Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate who said France should wage war on Islamic fundamentalism.
"I have brought the Jewish and Muslim communities together to show that terrorism will not manage to break our nation's feeling of community," Sarkozy said after a meeting with religious leaders. "We must stand together. We must not cede to discrimination or vengeance."
"This is a national tragedy," Delattre told us. "It is a cowardly attack on children, in their school, and the whole nation is behind the families and the community that was struck. But it is also an attack on the French Republic's values that we will confront and overcome."
Muslim women enjoy a conversation on the beach in Nice.
Those values will be put to the test in the next few weeks as voters choose their next leader, who will not only have to grapple with the fallout from the Toulouse shootings (Merah led a relatively carefree life in France despite being under surveillance for years after reportedly training with Islamic militants abroad), but also longstanding tensions over immigration, the mission in Afghanistan, homegrown Islamic radicalization and terrorism — not to mention a euro crisis that threatens to further drag down France's stagnant economy.
Delattre, a career diplomat, declined to discuss the particulars of the upcoming election, but as Paris's envoy in Washington, he spoke at great length about something he's confident will remain stable for some time to come: France-U.S. ties.
Incidentally, Delattre's interview with us took place just as violence began rocking Afghanistan in the wake of an accidental burning of Korans at a U.S. army base, which was followed by news that a U.S. soldier reportedly went on a nighttime rampage and massacred 16 sleeping civilians — most of them children — at a village just outside his base in Kandahar province.
Despite the continuing bloodletting in Afghanistan, Delattre says relations between Paris and Washington are light-years better than they were 10 years ago, at the height of French opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq under then-President George W. Bush. The anti-French sentiment prevalent in Washington back then led to hysterical demands by Republican lawmakers to boycott French wine and to rename french fries "freedom fries" on menus displayed at the House of Representatives cafeteria.
"The overall context today is very different compared to the environment my predecessors had to live with. For example, it was much more difficult for Jean-David Levitte, who did an incredible job at the heart of the Iraq crisis," said Delattre of the former ambassador who is now diplomatic advisor to the president. "Today, the environment is much more favorable, and I don't have to be on the defensive. It's a good time to build longer-term partnerships — economic, scientific, university partnerships — between our two countries and to bring the Franco-American relationship to a new level for the years to come.
"Just one example: The largest event ever to commemorate 9/11 outside the United States was organized at Place du Trocadéro [in Paris] on the 10th anniversary. It was so moving. They formed two columns in front of the Eiffel Tower: one with the names of all the victims, and the other with hundreds of messages from people simply wanting to say, 'I love America.'"
French factory and transport workers demanding higher salaries stage a noisy anti-government demonstration at Place Bellecour in downtown Lyon. Up until the shootings in Toulouse, the economy was the top issue in France's 2012 presidential election.
One indication of that closeness, according to the ambassador, is the two countries' common front against Iran's reported pursuit of nuclear weapons. Both the United States and France strongly oppose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's efforts to acquire nuclear technology — though Delattre declined to comment on whether Israel should launch a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
"We continue to believe that the sanctions are seriously biting the Iranian regime. We believe the sanctions can have the desired effect and force Iran to change course. We only approved the EU oil embargo a few weeks ago, so we need a bit of time to see how they will work," he said. "We're also trying to convince the other main oil importers like Japan, South Korea, China and India to do their part, along with freezing the assets of Iran's Central Bank. These two sanctions, which really brought the international regime of sanctions to an unprecedented level, were put in place on France's initiative."
An even more urgent problem is Syria, where the death toll in President Bashar al-Assad's yearlong crackdown against rebels opposed to his authoritarian government is approaching the 10,000 mark.
"This is totally unacceptable," Delattre said. "We are on the same page as the Obama administration. We, the Americans and the Arab countries are trying to do three things: first, to support the Arab League proposals to initiate peaceful democratic transition in Syria.... The second front is humanitarian. Here again, we are working with the U.S. and other countries to bring humanitarian aid to the populations in need.
"The third front is about supporting the opposition in Syria, in particular recognizing the Syrian National Council as a legitimate body to represent the Syrian opposition, to enhance its credibility and ability to prepare the transition."
France, in fact, has been one of al-Assad's most outspoken critics on the U.N. Security Council, along with the United States and Britain, insisting that any resolution go beyond just calling for a truce, but also put into place a political transition that leads to al-Assad's departure.
The vibrant district of Montmartre in Paris is a melting pot of African and Arab immigrants. In the 2012 presidential election, incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy has tapped into anti-immigrant sentiment by railing against foreigners in France.
Libya though marked a turning point for Paris and its support of the Arab Spring, in many ways cementing France's re-emergence on the world stage as a pivotal regional player.
French fighter jets were the first to enter Libyan airspace to implement a no-fly zone, as Paris took a leadership role in the NATO military intervention that helped rebels crush the Qaddafi regime.
Last spring, French troops and helicopters also joined a U.N. campaign in Côte d'Ivoire to dislodge Laurent Gbagbo from power, after the strongman refused to recognize his defeat in the presidential elections, sparking a political crisis.
France's newfound military muscle dovetailed the country's return to NATO's military command after a four-decade-long absence from the security bloc's decision-making apparatus.
The country's increased international profile has been championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, never one to shy away from the limelight. "France has decided to assume its role, its role before history," he declared at the onset of the Libya mission.
Sarkozy, along with his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, has also assumed an integral role in navigating the euro crisis that's gripped the European Union for the last year.
Today, however, Sarkozy finds himself in the midst of a very different battle as he fights to keep his job in an election that will very much shape France's national and international trajectory.
On April 22, French voters will cast ballots in the first round of presidential elections that pit the conservative Sarkozy against his formidable Socialist rival, François Hollande, who just months ago looked like he would coast to victory against the embattled incumbent, who at one point was down in the polls by more than 15 percentage points.
Hollande was nominated as the Socialist candidate after the frontrunner, former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York on suspicion of sexual assault. A relative unknown outside of France who's never held public office before, Hollande seized on voter anxiety over widening income disparities to propel himself in the polls. He unnerved investors but also struck a chord with middle-class voters by supporting a 75 percent tax on anyone earning more than 1 million euro ($1.3 million). In contrast, Sarkozy had regularly come under fire for pushing to liberalize France's stale labor market, raising the retirement age and cutting taxes on the wealthy, among other unpopular measures.
But Hollande lacks Sarkozy's forceful bulldog persona, and Sarko steadily came back from behind by unleashing a strident nationalist tone — in particular targeting France's immigrant population. Even before he showed his mettle during the Toulouse shootings, the president declared that there were too many foreigners in France and reiterated calls to cut the annual number of legal immigrants by nearly half. A poll conducted March 13 — five days before the Jewish school attack — indicated that the two candidates were running virtually neck and neck.
And while Hollande has vowed to withdraw all French troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, the economy — not security — had been the centerpiece of his campaign. He also warned against stoking a climate of intolerance following the Toulouse rampage.
Sarkozy, on the other hand, has consistently put national security high on his agenda, and he has navigated the most recent crisis with commanding authority — which could put him at a distinct advantage over the next few weeks.
But some fear that the Toulouse shootings — and a Sarkozy victory — will only incite more unfounded paranoia about foreigners, even though the tragedy appears to be an isolated incident and, despite frequent rhetoric to the contrary, there's no evidence linking immigration to crime in France.
With iconic attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Basilique du Sacré Coeur in the Montmartre district of Paris, France remains one of the world's top tourist attractions.
James Traub, writing in the Foreign Policy article "Pandering in Paris," denounced "Sarkozy's utterly shameless courtship of France's xenophobic voters," while also criticizing Hollande for "playing to French resentment of capitalism and wealth as cynically as Sarkozy was with the immigrant issue."
The domestic politicking has also forced the president, an ardent supporter of France's primacy in the European Union, to alienate the bloc. On March 11, for example, he threatened to withdraw from Europe's open border zone known as the Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel among 23 European nations, unless more is done to stop illegal immigration.
"Aside from being near-impossible to do, it symbolizes the extent to which Sarkozy has soured on the European Union, despite defining himself as its savior," writes Martin Michelot, a Paris-based program assistant with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "Such a position is unheard of in France, one of the founding states and still today one of the driving forces of European cooperation."
The ambassador, not surprisingly, tried to be more diplomatic in his reflections on the raging immigration debate in France.
"It's very important to put things in perspective," Delattre advised, noting that unlike many other European nations where large portions of the population emigrated, France has regularly absorbed waves of foreigners. "Decades before the Second World War, the immigration rate in France was almost the same as it is today. This has to do with the fact that in the 1960s and '70s, there was an acceleration in immigration, and today we have a large population of immigrants living in the suburbs. One of our challenges is to better integrate them."
Integration has indeed long been a sore spot for France, with Arab and African immigrants often shoved into poorer conclaves on the outskirts of Paris, riots periodically breaking out in recent years, and right-wing anger over the surge in foreigners, especially Muslims, growing ever louder.
In mid-February, for example, the country was consumed by an artificially manufactured controversy when far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen falsely claimed that all meat eaten in the Paris region was now halal, meaning it's slaughtered according to Islamic ritual. She went on to call the ritual "a barbaric practice that spreads bacteria" to nonbelievers. Sarkozy, jumping on the bandwagon, threw his support behind the National Front's proposal to label all halal meat, telling reporters that the meat scandal was the "number one issue" on the minds of French voters (never mind the country's moribund economy and recent credit downgrade).
The ambassador agreed that immigration is a politically charged issue, especially in France, where Muslims (mainly from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey) make up between 5 and 10 percent of the population.
"We have the problem of these impoverished neighborhoods, but I would not say that the French people are upset with immigrants. Many of them are grateful for what immigrants have brought to the country," he said, adding that despite France's current unemployment rate of 9.3 percent, "I profoundly believe the French people welcome immigrants. It's up to us to be able to give them the jobs they need, so they'll feel properly integrated. This is not a religious problem."
Delattre was born in a small town close to Grenoble and grew up in Paris. He says that "at an early stage, I knew I wanted to become a diplomat, because I used to play with the globe. This globe was a source of dreams, and when I grew up, the globe reminded me what a French diplomat could do."
Delattre's dream came true 24 years ago, when he won his first posting to the French Embassy in Bonn. There, he headed up an office dealing with the economic impact of Germany's reunification and the environment. A member of President Jacques Chirac's foreign policy team from 1995 to 1998, he was responsible for European and transatlantic defense and security matters, as well as managing the Bosnian crisis. He also spent four years as communications director at the French Embassy in Washington, and another four years as consul-general in New York before being named in 2008 to his first ambassadorial post as French envoy to Canada.
During his time in New York, Delattre recalled, he'd often bring visiting ministers to Harlem or the Bronx and show them how municipal authorities were attracting private investment in poor neighborhoods. "This is where we have to draw on lessons from the American experience," he said.
Today, the ambassador regularly travels to states such as Georgia and North Carolina in part to promote business ties. Delattre agreed that joblessness, rising gas prices and economic uncertainty are dominating the upcoming presidential elections in both the United States and France.
"The truth is that with the economic crisis, the level of discontent is quite high in every democracy today," he said. "We are no exceptions to this rule. We have to deal with that."
Even so, he took pains to downplay the eurozone crisis, insisting the euro has been an unparalleled success ever since it replaced the franc in his country 13 years ago. In February, Banque de France declared that some 50 million old franc notes still in circulation are no longer transferable into euro; banknotes already converted will be sent to a cement factory and recycled into material used to construct tennis courts.
"Since the establishment of the euro, we've created 14 million jobs in Europe; over the same time, 8 million jobs were created in the United States. So the euro has been a great success story for Europe but also for America. Back then, the American press was full of fears about 'Fortress Europe.' But exactly the opposite has happened, and the euro helped promote American exports and investments to Europe," Delattre told us.
"People keep saying the euro is a weak currency, but it's much stronger than when it was founded — 20 or 30 percent higher, in fact, which is a problem for our exports," he explained. "When we founded the euro, we established a very strong monetary union but a weaker economic union. So our key objective today is to reinforce the economic leg of this union and establish a decision-making process for the eurozone and promote a better coordination of economic policies between the eurozone member states."
Delattre said the United States and France are working within the G8 and the G20 "to tackle the roots of the crisis, and to restore confidence through the Deauville Partnership" established in May 2011.
"Within the G20, we've seen some real results in terms of fighting against tax havens. We are working hard to get the emerging powers on board and be aware of their global responsibilities on every front."
Delattre adds that Standard & Poor's Jan. 12 downgrade of France and eight other eurozone countries (in France's case, from AAA+ to AA+) has had "zero impact" on his country's economy. "The only impact it could have would have been on interest rates, and it had none," he said. "There was no impact at all, for one simple reason: The markets had already anticipated it."
Many eurozone countries are, of course, in far worse shape than France. On March 14, EU finance ministers gave the green light to the €130 billion ($170 billion) second rescue package for Greece. Commentators said this was a pure formality after a satisfyingly large proportion of creditors agreed to a debt cut for Greece, though Delattre insists that "we cannot accept a default, because that would likely spin out of control."
On a much brighter note, Delattre says France and Ireland are the only two countries in the 27-member European Union whose populations are growing thanks to natural increases rather than immigration.
More important, he said, France is in the midst of a "booming entrepreneurship" with more than 600,000 new businesses having been started in the past year alone.
"This is a spectacular increase compared to previous years, and a record high for Europe," Delattre told The Diplomat. "It says a lot about the vitality of the French economy, and the fact that the younger generation in my country — instead of knocking on the government's door like they used to — now roll up their sleeves, start a business, fail, start again, and at the end of the day, they succeed. The French government has been able to seriously cut red tape. One example of that is today, you can start a business online in 15 minutes.
"Innovation is our number one, number two and number three priorities without any hesitation," he continued. "We are investing in France in an unprecedented way in higher education and research. A few years ago, we established 71 innovative clusters all over the country, bringing together the private sector, the universities, research centers — and it works. We draw lessons from the American experience."
To that end, the ambassador says the two countries are cooperating across the Atlantic like never before.
"The backbone of the French-American partnership is cross-investment. We are among the top five foreign investors in the United States; 4,000 French companies support more than 650,000 American jobs. Conversely, the U.S. is the top foreign investor in France, and U.S. investment in my country increased by more than 30 percent last year, so the dynamics are huge."
Delattre added: "The fundamentals of the Franco-American friendship are stronger than ever. I'm very confident for the coming years and decades. What we must try to do now is build on this favorable context to bring the Franco-American partnership to a new level."


America's farmers and ranchers are expanding into new markets around the world, spurring innovation, and creating jobs and opportunity on and off the farm. Agriculture exports have had the strongest seven-year period of growth in our Nation's history and reached the third highest level of record in FY 2015 of $139.7 billion. Agricultural exports have climbed more than 45 percent in value since 2009, totaling $911.3 billion over the past seven years.
USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) accomplished its goal of increasing the amount of credit assistance provided to minority and women farmers and ranchers. In FY 2015, FSA also exceeded its targeted level of performance for lending to beginning farmers. Lending to beginning farmers and ranchers increased by seven percent to $2.5 billion, continuing a long-term trend of increasing loan assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers. Similar results were achieved with respect to lending to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers (women and minorities), with total loan obligations up nine percent to $827 million. The microloan program posted a third consecutive strong year, with demand greatly exceeding expectations with 6,596 microloans obligated. Despite strong demand for FSA's loan programs, FSA accomplished its annual goals for loan processing timeliness,helping to ensure that credit is provided when the need arises. FSA obligated 9,264 direct and guaranteed farm operating and ownership loans to minorities and women, an increase of six percent from FY 2014. These loans, valued at $827 million, help thousands of farmers and ranchers to start or maintain their farming operations. The largest percentage changes in lending to minorities and women occurred in the direct farm ownership (FO) loan program, an increase of 19 percent in both the number of loans and dollar amount - 1,223 loans valued at $208 million in FY 2015. The microloan program is also an important source of credit for minorities and women, as FSA obligated 2,320 microloans to them in FY 2015. As of September 30, 2015, FSA has 20,796 minority and women farmers and ranchers in its loan portfolio, a significant increase from the 16,900 at the end of FY 2008.
The Federal crop insurance program continues to serve as the nation's primary farm safety net. Today America's farmers and ranchers rely upon crop insurance to address the inherent risks of agriculture. In FY 2015, USDA's exceeded its target for risk protection provided to agricultural producers through the Federal Crop Insurance Program by providing $68.7 billion in normalized value of risk protection.


text:
AMANDA CUNNINGHAM
Highlights of Youth
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American singer/songwriter Amanda Cunningham combines deep, soulful vocals with raw, gritty honesty that allow listeners to feel effortlessly understood and connected to the voice behind the music. In a mix of classic and contemporary pop and R&B, Amanda draws comparisons to Etta James, Sabrina Claudio, and Amy Winehouse. Amanda writes and co-produces all of her songs, drawing lyrical and vocal inspiration from the likes of Mariah Carey, Julia Michaels, Adele, Tori Kelly, and JoJo.
With the emotive, unfiltered singing talent and candid story-telling ability to express both vulnerability and strength, Amanda beautifully shares her struggles with mental health, heartache, working out who she is, and the struggles of young motherhood to listeners to say, "you are not alone, and it's okay to not be okay sometimes."
This song was me reflecting on my current friendships and how shallow they sometimes are and how people aren't there for you when you really need them. I was thinking about back in high school times when things were less fake and more real and generally more simple.
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26.2 Quest: Good Luck Boston Runners!
Just a really quick post at the beginning of a very busy week. Good luck and enjoy to all the Boston Runners!
I will leave you will this funny video that was sent to me from Improv Asylum last week. If you have run a marathon before this all rings too true.
I just died watching this! hilarious!!!
KT Tape - Have You Used It?


text:
F-F-F-Falling (иногда сокращённо Falling) () — песня, выпущенная как первый сингл финской альтернативной рок-группы The Rasmus с четвёртого студийного альбома Into. Сингл был выпущен 2 апреля 2001 года на лейбле Playground Music.

До того, как группа выпустила свой хитовый сингл «In the Shadows» в 2003 году, песня «F-F-F-Falling» была самой хитовой с позицией № 1 в финском чарте синглов и успехом на многих радиостанциях за пределами Финляндии у The Rasmus.

Список композиций
 «F-F-F-Falling» — 3:52
 «The Rasmus at Work» (видео в MPEG-формате) — 2:34

F-F-F-Falling CD 2
 «F-F-F-Falling» — 3:52
 «Smash» — 3:43

F-F-F Falling Издание Германии
 «F-F-F-Falling» — 3:52
 «Smash» — 3:43
 «Can't Stop Me» — 2:51

Комментарии по поводу песни
Ээро Хейнонен (басист)

"Эта песня была выбрана, чтобы выпустить её как первый сингл, потому что она особенная. Люди после прослушивания думают: «Что это? Эта песня не похожа на те, которые исполняют The Rasmus!».

Лаури Юленен (вокалист, автор песен)

«Первое предложение о том, чтобы не ходить в школу в понедельник. Это правда, потому что понедельник был днём, в котором мы практикуем наши новые песни».

Переиздание
«F-F-F-Falling» также появляется в виде ремиксовой версии (US Remix) в следующих выпусках:

 Dead Letters — финское издание (2003)
 Dead Letters — издание США/Великобритания (2004)
 Dead Letters — японское издание (2004)

Чарты

Примечания

Ссылки
 сайт группы
 Lyrics
 видеоклип «F-F-F-Falling» на YouTube

Синглы, возглавлявшие хит-парад Финляндии
Песни The Rasmus

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I know I promised you all I would put together a blog post on traveling with a baby, and it is coming, but first I wanted to put together a quick little guide to Marrakesh. Now, there is no way I can proclaim this is a Marrakesh travel guide, because it isn't. Theres so much to see and do in this amazing city, and I feel like we only got a tiny insight so it would be wrong of me to mislead you into thinking this was a comprehensive guide. What I can do though, is talk you through our experience, what I would and wouldn't recommend and what I enjoyed.
So firstly, flights - for some reason every time Fizan and I go away we get a tonne of dms asking us how we booked our holiday. If its not a press trip, then most of the time I will use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights and then go to the flight providers website and book direct. A lot of the time, once we've added luggage and seats and all the extras the flights end up being a lot more than they were initially so do bare that in mind when looking at skyscanner. The earlier you book, the cheaper it is and you can normally get very affordable flights from Gatwick or Stansted (prebook for better prices on the parking!).
In terms of hotels, we split our time between a Riad and a Modern hotel. I loved staying at the Riad, it actually reminded me of Pakistan so much. The style of the buildings is just perfect to enjoy the beautiful Moroccon weather, but is also convenient for when it rains (which it did, non stop, the day we arrived). The Riad we stayed in was 3 storeys with a courtyard in the middle, the courtyard housed a large orange tree which branded all the way out to the second storey - it was the perfect place to enjoy a home made Moroccan breakfast everyday. The Riad also had a small pretty pool and was decorated throughout in traditional Moroccan design. Whilst i enjoyed the Riad, I would only recommend a night or 2 if you are staying with children. The building it self didn't have a lift which meant we have to leave the stroller downstairs, and the cobbled steps probably wouldn't be ideal for young children. It was an amazing way to experience the real Marrakesh and have some home cooked food, but if you have young children I would opt for something a bit more modern which has all the amenities you need.
The second hotel we stayed in was Movenpick Marrakesh. Now I have stayed in a lot of hotels, I'm lucky enough to go on a lot of press trips where we get to stay at 5* places and receive quality customer services - but none of the hotels i have stayed in beats Movenpick Marrakesh! The place is just so beautiful - it has 3 pools, rows upon rows of palm trees and is decorated internally with modern Moroccan decor and fresh flowers. Water features play a large part in the design and I believe it has been renovated recently because it just feels so new and fresh. Our room was quite far from the reception, but i honestly didn't mind because it meant we got to walk through beautiful gardens filled with white and red roses - (I may have picked a couple of these for my evening bath in the huge bath tub in our room). Our room had a Queen size bed which I so badly wanted to bring home with me! Noah co-sleeps with us when we're travelling as he's only 4 months and I don't normally like using travel cots. After the 3 of us squeezing on the normal sized bed in the Riad, the Queen Size bed at the Movenpick was so warmly welcomed! The bathroom was absolute goals, with 2 sinks so me and Fizan had our own little station to get ready - and of course the huge bath tub that I have already mentioned. I treated myself to a soak with bubbles and flowers the first night we got there! The hotel serves a huge buffet breakfast, they have a kids club, and the most amazing burgers that you can eat by the pool. They even have a couple of restaurants on site, so Fizan and I actually got to enjoy a really romantic date at the Brazilian joint with some delicious virgin mojitos and steak! I absolutely loved the Monvepick, but it is very easy to spend all your time there and not experience the real Marrakesh, so do make sure you go out and do some sight seeing.
In terms of sight seeing, I had a whole itinerary planned of everything I wanted to do, but unfortunately firstly I didn't anticipate that the weather could turn bad (we had rain 2/6 days we were there) and secondly I didn't realise how much harder it would be to do things with a baby! That being said, we did get out and about and I fee like we explored the real Marrakesh.
My favourite place by far has to be the main town square, Jemaa El-Fnaa. It was a short walk from our Riad and every time we ventured out it felt like we had been transported to another realm. There was so much to see, and hear, and smell and taste! Whilst I was too worried about trying the street food - the last thing I wanted was to get sick whilst travelling with a baby - I did have a number of fresh juices! The main square is lined with row upon row of food vendors and fresh juice vendors and there is so much to try - every single juice stand I tried was equally as refreshing and tasty so I recommend them all. Behind the main square you'll find all the stores - I'm not sure what to call them, the souk? The bazaar? Anyway, its row upon row of stores - stores selling, spices and Argan oil, morocco lamps, beautiful designed moroccan plates and tangines, little animal figurines crafted out of wood, leather satchels and leather shoes.. and so much more. You could easily spend all day there, and we did - on more than one occasion! I normally hate trying to barter - but the shop keeps will quote you prices that are around 300% more than what they want so bartering is all part of the fun! I read lots online about Marrakesh not being safe, and I never felt like that throughout our trip - but the shop keepers can be a bit forceful and there are lots of beggars that will harass you around the markets so thats all stuff you need to be prepared for when you go.
We didn't do any other touristy stuff whilst visit although YSL gardens had been on our list, I read online that the queues are always crazy and to go early to avoid them - but we never woke up before 9 am so we gave the gardens a miss. We spent our time in Marrakesh watching daily life and enjoying local food and I feel like that was so much more valuable than doing the touristy things. We went for a Moroccan hammam at La Sultana Hotels - which is a beautiful luxury Riad situated near the main square. The hammam was pure bliss, and whilst I felt awkward and embarrassed to be washed by someone else, at the end of my massage and wash I wanted to do it all again because it felt so amazing!


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They fire Joe, but they allow McQueary to coach. How is ethical ????
it is disgusting
The fact that there were victims in 2005/2006 proves that the Penn State establishment could have done more from the top (including Paterno). More lives were destroyed because Paterno didn't do enough. Those defending him frankly look idiotic and should be disgusted with themselves. They seem to only interested in protecting the Penn State brand. MLK stated "we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends", in this case silence destroyed a few more lives unnecessarily.
SucksToBeFromPSUToday
Sandusky and Second Mile did worse than anything known yet. It is being reported that he "pimped out" 10 year old boys to major university donors - people with their names on many of the buildings on campus. This is bigger than football - goes way, way beyond the program. It is also being reported that the "Johns" were wealthy Pennsylvanians including politicians in Harrisburg. The governor is already complicit in this as the DA that didn't put Sandusky behind bars. And we know that DA Gricar suddenly disappeared in 2005 and his laptop was found in the river without the hard drive. He clearly knew about all of this and was "disappeared" before he finished his investigation. And who would have been at the center of his investigation? Governor Corbett?
JoePa is not the tip of the iceberg. In the end, we're going to find out he had almost nothing to do with this and is, in fact, pretty clean.
But Spanier will go to jail. Corbett needs to be recalled - and he probably belongs in jail. And a host of wealthy, well known donors will be outed and they should go to jail too. They'll be renaming buildings soon at University Park.
Are you serious? Where are you reading this? I haven't heard this before.
http://www.nesn.com/2011/11/jerry-sandusky-rumored-to-have-been-pimping-out-young-boys-to-rich-donors-says-mark-madden.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/10/penn-state-scandal-rumors-sandusky-pimping_n_1086099.html?ref=sports
changeusa
i agree this is bigger than just Penn State, what the media has not caught on to yet, are all of the other coaches from high schools that served with Sandusky and went back to their high schools and pushed this program. There are alot more kids out there carrying secrets around. The DA and the Media need to also investigate all of the trainers , assistant trainers and any coaches that assisted with the summer camps. I have a feeling this does not stop at Penn State, this is a huge ring of predators and I am 100% sure that if the Media digs far enough they will find out the other secrets hiding out there and uncover the other offenders. I can personally speak, there are alot of concerned parents out there right now wondering if their child was a victim.
Jennifer G
Totally agree with you...there is so much more that will be uncovered in years to come. I believe Gicar was murdered and that someone involved in all of this ordered the hit. This is perhaps the most heinous scandal that will happen in any of our lifetimes.
I would like to know if any of these coaches knew what was going on?
– Tom Bill (Assistant coach at Hunterdon Central (N.J.) HS)
– Darryl Bullock (Assistant coach at North Carolina Central University)
– Stan Clayton (Assistant coach at University of Toledo)
– Steve Davis (Assistant coach at St. Thomas More (Conn.) Academy)
– Troy Davis (Assistant head coach at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.))
– Matt Evancho (Head coach at Saucon Valley (Pa.) HS)
– Aaron Harris (Assistant coach at University of Delaware)
– George Landis (Head coach at Central Dauphin East (Pa.) HS)
– Joe Markiewicz (Assistant coach at Steel Valley (Pa.) HS)
– Pat Monroe (Head coach at South Allegheny (Pa.) HS)
– Dave Opfar (Head coach at St. Francis University)
– Dan Radakovich (Recently retired assistant head coach at Robert Morris University and former Penn State assistant)
– Andrew Richardson (Assistant coach at Robert Morris University)
– Patrick Weber (Assistant coach at Morris Knolls (N.J.) HS)
Penn State lettermen returning to assist at the camp include: Tom Cherry and Stu Helgeson
Also on the camp staff are a pair of former Penn State Football graduate assistant coaches, Bob Forgrave, the head coach at Hempfield High School, and Chris Sprague, an assistant coach at Lock Haven University.
it's amazing, that none of these coaches witnessed anything , some of these coaches are very good friends with Sandusky and Paterno. Can you actually tell me that while assisting with the summer football camps that no one witnessed anything? These camps get thousands of kids a year, i dont believe that the number will stay at 9 /15 / 20 who know's how many of these kids now men, are out there.
MCTB
Here's one blogger talking about the rumors Sandusky pimped out boys to major donors.
THESE PEOPLE WHO HID THIS ARE ALL SICK! THEY ALL SHOULD GO TO JAIL!!! GROSSSSS!
JoePa WILL live on
I hope your not catholic...If you are, every singe time a man in the cloth does such an act to a little boy, we need a new pope...
JoePa will live on - your defense is "two wrongs make a right"? Especially when it comes to ANALLY R`APING 10 YEAR OLD CHILDREN?
Your hero KNEW Sandusky ANALLY R'APED A 10 YEAR OLD AND YET CHOSE TO KEEP WORKING WITH HIM.
I totally agree with you!!!! I am willing to bet ALL of these coaches KNEW what Sandusky was doing all these yrs but cared too much about their own jobs so they looked the other way!! Kinda like that disgusting Cardinal Bernard Law who KNEW for DECADES what those maggot priests were up to! All he did was assign them to another parish hoping the "PROBLEM" as he called it would go away and all that did was make more kids into victims and he gets to live out his days at the Vatican when he should be sitting in prison himself. And last night with the riots, totally childish and stupid.
Again, Joe hadn't "worked with" Sandusky since 1999. You may still assign blame but so many people seem to think Sandusky was a coach while this happened in 2002. He retired in 1999.
"Maybe the police should have interviewed the witness"
Maybe they would have if Paturno and the witness and others had reported the crime instead of protecting the criminal.
Barry G.
The people who filed Joe need to resign, and they need to reinstate Joe.
Really? You must not know football coaches. He knew exactly what happened, these guys control EVERYTHING. I am sure there were a lot of people who knew and all should be arrested. They and Joe Pa hid this to protect themselves and the U – disgusting.
So if your 10 your old child was the one abused by Sandusky and you found out Joe Paterno KNEW for 9 years and never called the police would you still want him to be reinstated? This is beyond football.
They need to put Joe in jail, he allowed countless more boys to be violated just because he didn't want to deal with the problem. Evil can only be victorious when Good Men do nothing.
dirkk03
Good job Barry G. Defend pedophilia! Go! fight! Win!
Are you a pedo lover too? SICKO. To say that "if he knew the extent of it, he would have done more," like these sicko pedo Paterno lovers makes me sick!! How much do you need to know about child rapists? How MANY times do you need to know before you go STRAIGHT to the police and blow the doors off of it!! SICKO pedo defenders. I don't care who you think you told. The minute you realize these people are still there, you know you need to do MORE!! You don't just keep your tail between your legs. Two wrongs don't make a right. You man up, and YOU blow it up. YOU go to the police. Every single person who didn't do that is responsible. Every single person who didn't is VILE. Are there more people who deserve to go down? YES. But did Paterno deserve what he got? DARN straight.
You don't really believe that do you? Please educate yourself. Truly, how is it you can justify Joe not getting the police involved. If someone came to you and told you they saw one of your staff members raping a 10 year old boy in the shower how would you have handled it? Please respond.
Barry G– aren't you the child molester living in Pittsburg?
This should be about the victims, of this abuse. Not about a football coach, or program.
This is the most horrible thing, that can happen to a child, and the family of this child.
How can these people live with themselves. Not going straight to the police, and reporting this terrible crime.
I do not understand, someone seeing this happen, and walking away.......this is insane.........from an innocent child....
Do they not have a heart, or any kind of feeling, for their fellow human beings.....a little child. how can this be?
All i can say is they are sorry lowdown dirty rat Bast@rds.......... peace out..........
WHO CARES ABOUT PATERNO?! HE'S JUST ANOTHER COACH WHO THINKS HE IS ABOVE THE SYSTEM. FORGET HIM
Sounds like you spend allot of time thinking about it
Franco Harris
We are...Pedo State!
Pedo State Pedo Bears
Suppose you find out that one of your subordinates just got caught naked in a shower anally rap`ing/forcibly sodomizing a 10 year old boy. Which do you do? (Check all that apply)
1) Kick his a`rse
2) Call the police
3) Refuse to work with him (and fire him if you have the capacity)
4) Report him to your superiors, who apparently laugh it off, then keep working with him and calling him a friend like nothing happened??
5. CUT THAT FOOL FROM NAVEL TO NECK!
Lshen
1 then 2 then 3.
Sandusky had already been retired for three years in 2002. He was not a subordinate. This are the kind of facts everyone is ignoring.
ginamero
Dude, get serious help now.
Wy isn't the person who informed the coach of what happened also facing the same harsh scrutinty? He certainly should be as well. You can bet that if I witnessed what McQueary or whatever his name is, says that he witnessed, not only would I have informed my boss that very day instead of the next, I also would have reported it to the police. What the heck was this piece of trash thinking when he saw the pedophile around campus and town for the next several months and years? He should be deeply ashamed of himself and carry a massive weight of guilt for the rest of his life AND he should be fired immediately as well.
schnikers
Would have been nice if we had the riot over the child abuse.
GOP =Guardians of Pedophiles, Thanks Paterno
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VIDEO: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard supports activism of Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes
By Scott PhillipsOct 3, 2016, 7:45 PM EDT
(Michael P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
Wisconsin has been in the news recently for two seniors being involved in off-the-court activism. Senior point guard Bronson Koenig has stood up for Native Americans by joining the Dakota Pipeline protest and holding a clinic for local kids while senior forward Nigel Hayes has been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement in trying to draw attention to that cause.
On Monday, Badgers head coach Greg Gard strongly supported his two senior leaders taking a stance for things that they cared about as he answered questions about the duo in a press conference.
"I think the first thing is you have to applaud them for bringing awareness to both situations," Gard said. "Obviously, the depth of their knowledge and their intellect in both areas really has helped me. I've learned a lot more about it and I've talked to them about it both individually and as a team. And I really applaud them for what they've done and the stance they've taken. We've obviously supported them in two different issues."
Gard went on to talk about how both Koenig and Hayes are doing a great job of being student-athletes who have grown on-and-off the floor since coming to Wisconsin.
"They're using college for what it should be used for. You try to better yourself. You try to educate yourself. You expand your horizons," Gard said. "One thing we've talked t0 them about is being cautious. Understand ramifications in tomorrow and understand them in six weeks and six months and how it all plays out. I commend them for how they've grown, how they've matured. They understand and have really grasped the idea of student-athlete.
"They're way more than just a basketball player. I think that has shown through with their actions and statements here."
One main takeaway from Gard's answers is how he seems to be on the same page with his players and his team over the activism. While these subjects can sometimes be divisive and difficult to discuss in a public forum, Gard mentioning that the team has talked about these issues seems to be a positive for a team that has high hopes moving forward. If Wisconsin can rally together around issues away from basketball then it might be a good sign that this can staff focused on being a major threat in the Big Ten.


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Reporting In: Notes & Comments From The NEW 2010 Leadership Summit
Published on: September 28, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Want an enthusiasm infusion?
Try spending time with about 800 women, all of whom are passionate about their careers, their companies, and the industry in which they work.
That's the scene here, where the Network of Executive Women (NEW) has convened with record attendance for its Leadership Summit 2010. Last evening was just the beginning, but the brio with which the women seem to be embracing every moment seems remarkable. And there seems to be a genuine feeling of...well, sisterhood, that binds them together. I've not been to one of these national meetings before, and I must admit that the enthusiasm is almost startling. Not to mention contagious.
Ironically, NEW kicks off its Leadership Summit as the New York Times reports on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study saying that over the past decade, women actually have made little progress climbing the management ladder. "As of 2007, the latest year for which comprehensive data on managers was available, women accounted for about 40 percent of managers in the United States work force," the Times writes. "In 2000, women held 39 percent of management positions. Outside of management, women held 49 percent of the jobs in both years."
Meanwhile, women are making some progress on the salary front, as "the gap between what men and women earn has shrunk over the last few decades. Full-time women workers closed the gap to 80.2 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2009, up from just 62.3 cents in 1979 ... Across the work force, the pay gap was also slightly wider for managers who had children. Managers who were mothers earned 79 cents of every dollar paid to managers who were fathers, after adjusting for things like age and education. This gap has stayed the same since at least 2000."
The GAO study also indicates that "on average, female managers had less education, were younger and were more likely to be working part time than their male counterparts," according to the Times.
What this means is that NEW needs to be - and in fact aims to be - far more than a cheering section. There is serious work to be done here, especially if the implications of the GAO study are true, and the exceptional talent in the room last night is being undervalued and under-compensated.
Here's a hopeful stat. Over the past half-dozen years or so, NEW has raised through a variety of means some $70,000 that has been used to fund a number of scholarships to women pursuing careers in the retailing and consumer products industries. This year, both through fund raising and an auction here, it is expected that NEW will begin closing in on $100,000.
One of the most interesting people I met here was Lashawndra Lawrence, one of three recipients of this year's scholarships. She's scheduled to graduate from Tuskegee University next May with a Masters degree in food science. Her goal is to become a research chef for a major food company and develop health, affordable food products to be used in treating chronic illnesses and preventing obesity.
I have to admit that I was glad to see that not everyone sees business advancement as emanating from an MBA.
(I was also glad to see something else. Because I'm speaking in one of NEW's sessions today, I was treated to the frankly heart-warming sight of virtually every attendee walking around carrying a copy of "The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies," which was co-authored by Michael Sansolo and me. For an author, there is no more thrilling sight.)
More tomorrow...
KC's View:
Back to Home What's your view?
Sansolo Speaks: "Not All Lessons Are Created Equal"
by Michael Sansolo
In the hunt to build our message with customers, we all love to reach for an example that helps explain our case. Heck, we do that constantly here at MNB. The problem, of course, is that some lessons are far better than others. Let me explain…
I love magazines and their ongoing business struggles concern me. Well-crafted magazines can present a depth of information and understanding that is unparalleled by other forms of media. And certainly there are some magazines still flourishing, but the overall combination of short attention spans and reduced advertising budgets are walloping most of the publishing industry these days.
So the magazine industry is responding with eye-catching ads designed to tout the strength of its products. One ad looked like a ransom note, using magazine titles to form the sentences. Another featured a provocative photo (is there any other kind) of Lady Gaga. And now there is one asking a simple question: Will the Internet kill magazines? Did instant coffee kill coffee?
That last one got me thinking and with a little searching, I found that the better lesson on coffee is the very opposite of what the ad promised. Rather, it's a lesson about what can happen to a product when its core offering is attacked and instant varieties weren't the cause. In the early 1960s, the average American drank three cups of coffee each day and nearly all was fresh brewed. Twenty years later, instant had grown but coffee consumption was down nearly one cup a day overall. These days (another 20 years down the road), consumption is even lower, with "gourmet" coffee having basically replaced only some of the lost cups.
According to coffee industry websites, most of the decline was caused by crop problems in Brazil in the early 1970s, not to the growth of instant products. The problems drove up prices and drove down supplies of the best tasting coffee. In essence the product cost more and tasted weaker and the result was a movement of drinkers away from coffee. Despite all the Starbucks on all the street corners, coffee consumption remains historically low.
Interestingly, there are parallels for magazines and supermarkets (and many other products). While both industries arguably have better products and services than ever, they are facing consumers who doesn't get it or want to get it. Today's younger generations grew up finding information from easy sources like television and now the internet, much as they grew up getting simple meals from fast food providers. Cooking and reading…that seems hard. Only both can and should be very enjoyable.
I thought about a presentation I did recently with Calvin Mayne of Dorothy Lane Markets in Dayton, OH. Calvin's stores are anything but typical, but no one should lightly dismiss what makes them work. It's the passion for food that runs through the Mayne family, the DLM staff and even the customers. DLM uses education to teach shoppers about new products, recipes and tastes. Calvin explains how education and creative merchandising made a product like Manchego cheese essential, when years before no one knew it existed. A little education and a little merchandising excitement can change the value equation and in turn breathe life back into products and categories.
You can think of other examples like it. An educated consumer becomes a better customer because they better understand the value they receive and appreciate it more.
It strikes me that provocative photos of Lady Gaga aren't special and certainly don't make a great argument for buying a magazine. Somehow the publishing industry has to figure out how to outflank the immediacy and mostly shallow nature of internet news. (Maybe they should read MNB.) Likewise, supermarkets have to understand that an endless parade of price merchandising doesn't drive additional supermarket consumption. Yes, we have to serve what the shopper values, but we also have teach them what they might aspire to value and serve that too.
That strikes me as a more winning example.
Michael Sansolo can be reached via email at msansolo@morningnewsbeat.com . His new book, "THE BIG PICTURE: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies," co-authored with Kevin Coupe, is available by clicking here .
Tuesday Morning Eye-Opener … from the Content Guy
Still using traditional methods to reach your customers?
Consider this.
Harris Interactive is out with a new study saying that eight percent of Americans currently use an e-reader, and that 12 percent of people who don;t plan to buy one within the next six months.
Now, that adds up to just one in five customers. Which may not seem like a lot. However, the study also says that the 53 percent of the people who own e-readers read more books during the past six months than people without e-readers.
In other words, the people who adopt e-reader technology actually tend to be the publishing industry's best customers.
The growing popularity of e-reader technology is borne out by a story from Bloomberg saying that "book sales in the U.S. fell for the first time in six months in July as revenue from printed titles tumbled and purchases of digital books soared. Overall revenue declined 1.3 percent to $1.5 billion in July from a year earlier, the Association of American Publishers said in an e-mailed statement. The group collects sales figures from more than 300 U.S. publishers. Revenue from adult paperback titles, the largest category, sank 10 percent to $111.1 million. Digital-book sales more than doubled to $40.8 million."
In other words, the tides are changing.
The question is, how many other traditional business methodologies will be swept away by these shifting tides? The shift to e-readers in the book category almost certainly will affect how people consume other printed materials, like newspapers and magazines. Just this week, the New Yorker - one of the most text-intensive magazines out there - announced it was coming with an iPad edition that will be made more robust with videos and other interactive features developed for the technology.
Businesses that depend on traditional information delivery methods for their ads, coupons, etc... need to start considering and planning for the implications of these shifts now.
To do otherwise would be to forge ahead with business strategies and tactics that may be out of touch with what consumers want and how they behave.
And that's my Tuesday Eye-Opener.
- Kevin Coupe
Ben & Jerry's To Abandon "All Natural" Claim
Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's announced yesterday that it will no longer use the phrase "all natural" on any of its labels, bowing to pressure from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
As reported here on MNB back in August, CSPI had pointed out that "at least 48 out of 53 flavors of Ben & Jerry's 'All Natural' ice cream and frozen yogurt contain alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, or other ingredients that either don't exist in nature or that have been chemically modified."
The company originally said it was adhering to all federal guidelines in its labeling policies, but now is making the change to avoid confusion and, in all likelihood, controversy that might sully its brand equity.
CSPI points out that there is no formal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of "all natural."
Kudos to Ben & Jerry's for doing the right thing and not digging in its heels for what could have been an embarrassing little dust-up.
This seems like a no-brainer to me. Who needs an FDA definition of "all-natural"? It is what it is.
What we need is companies that don't try to stretch the definition for their own purposes.
Chocolate Milk Under Attack In Central Florida
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Florida Board of Education is planning to pass legislation that would ban the sale of sugary beverages - including chocolate milk - in public schools.
Hearings are scheduled to be held over the next two months, and the bill will get discussion and consideration in December.
"When you think about it, we probably have a million overweight or obese children in our schools," said John Padget, a board member. "I think the clock is ticking in terms of personal health."
According to the story, "One reason the board chose to move forward was the realization that the federal government make take years to revamp its rules on what foods should and shouldn't be allowed to be sold in elementary-, middle- and high schools.
"Also, board members learned that the Washington D.C. school district recently announced it is cutting out flavored milk, which tends to be high in sugar."
I get the impulse. Obesity is an enormous issue, and people want to address it as best they can, as early as they can.
Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it strikes me that there are a lot of things worse than chocolate milk that kids could be drinking. For some kids who do not like the taste of milk, it always has been my impression, flavored milks are an option that allow they to get needed dairy products into their bodies.
And forgive me, but maybe the Florida Board of Education should be paying as much attention to the fact that the state has a high school graduation rate of under 60 percent, which I'm not sure can be blamed on chocolate milk.
The MNB Walmart Watch
• Walmart yesterday announced that it has made a $4.6 billion (US) bid to acquire the South African wholesaler Massmart Holdings, and that the two companies have entered into negotiations in the hope of making a deal. Published reports not that Massmart has a variety of store formats and brands throughout the sub-Saharan region; Walmart reportedly has been looking for a platform on the continent that will allow it to expand elsewhere in Africa.
Nestlé To Invest In Nutritional, Pharmaceutical Research
The Wall Street Journal reports that Nestlé plans to spend as much as $500 million (US) over the coming decade "to produce more food and drink products with health benefits, a high-margin segment that has proved controversial with regulators and consumers.
"Nestlé created two new units, Nestlé Health Science SA and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, that will deepen its use of nutritional and pharmaceutical research to develop products that may prevent and treat chronic ailments such as diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer's disease, all of which are expected to be major contributors to rising health-care costs in coming years."
Maybe they can come up with a chocolate milk that will satisfy the Florida Board of Education.
FTC: Pom Wonderful Is Not So Much
The New York Times this morning reports that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is charging that Pom Wonderful, described as "the pricey and popular pomegranate juice sold in the distinctly curvaceous bottle" that is said to help reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer and impotence, actually is making "making false and unsubstantiated claims about the power of their pomegranate elixir."
According to the story, "In a complaint that seeks to prevent the company from making any further medical claims unless they are substantiated by the Food and Drug Administration, the commission said the company ignored evidence that contradicted its claims that the juice could help prevent or treat heart disease, reduce the risk of prostate cancer and overcome erectile dysfunction."
Pom Wonderful reportedly plans to contest the charges, saying that it has "spent $34 million on pomegranate research, including 19 clinical trials and multiple studies published in peer-reviewed journals."
"It's a shame that the government is unable to understand this fundamental distinction," the company said in a statement, "and instead is wasting taxpayer resources to persecute the pomegranate."
Actually, to be fair about it, the FTC is not persecuting nor prosecuting the pomegranate. Just a company that it says is making fraudulent claims, which is sort of what we want the government to do, especially if the company in question is making claims about a product for which it is charging $5 for a 16-ounce bottle.
Let the hearings begin, and let the evidence be heard. I can be convinced either way.
FastNewsBeat
• The Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), and the Global Food Safety Forum (GFSF) have announced their first collaborative effort will be a food safety training program held in conjunction with the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo in Shanghai on November 8. GFSF will host a one-day workshop for Chinese companies, focusing on the Chinese livestock and meat processing industries. SQFI will host a detailed class on implementing the SQF 1000 and 2000 standards.
• Crain's Chicago Business reports that McDonald's is planning a revitalization of its milk shake line, "trying to revive sales of the creamy drink by adding a cherry-topped version to its McCafé line, alongside hot-selling frappes and smoothies.
"In Chicago and a handful of other test markets, the Oak Brook-based chain is updating its chocolate, vanilla and strawberry Triple Thick Shakes with a whipped cream garnish and serving them in clear plastic McCafé cups." A national rollout is scheduled to begin in October.
• The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) announced that it is teaming up with the National Retail Federation (NRF) and eBay to tackle the growing problem of organized retail crime. This relationship strengthens the partnership and provides for even greater collaboration and information sharing in an ongoing effort to support the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as state and local law enforcement agencies working in partnership with grocery loss prevention professionals.
• In Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports that "Cargill Inc. said Friday that it has agreed to pay $350 million for Unilever's Brazilian tomato products business, which includes a processing plant and major tomato sauce brands.
"The deal brings the Minnetonka-based agribusiness giant into the tomato sauce business for the first time. It will also be Cargill's largest acquisition in Brazil since it started operating there in 1965."
• As expected, Unilever is acquiring Alberto Culver Co., which makes products such as TRESemme, VO5 and Noxzema, for $3.7 billion.
Your Views: Malls, Obesity Delusions, And Teddy Ballgame
Responding to the spate of stories recently about supermarkets being located in regional malls, MNB user Geoff Harper wrote:
Grocery stores in malls died in the 1960's and 1970's. Why? Because the mall customer is buying non-perishable items and is not going home in the next hour. With Whole Foods and Aldi now going to malls, I'd be interested to know where they are located in the mall and what plans the mall owners have to (as you say) change the mall into an attractive shopping experience. If that can happen, then the mall idea may make sense. If not, the stores will not last long.
MNB user Louis A. Scudere wrote:
What's old is new again. Supermarkets tried to co-locate in/with malls in the early/mid eighties with limited success and tended to move away from such strategies as it was realized that while a good supermarket location would always be a good mall/general merchandise location, it was not a two way street. However, having said that, the three formats that exist right now that could, possibly, benefit from such a strategy would IMHO be high end such as Whole Foods, mid scale limited assortment, such as Aldi's, and upscale limited assortment such as Trader Joe's.
I am familiar with the Whole Foods location in the "Streets of Woodfield" section of the Woodfield Mall shopping complex in suburban Chicago. It is in a very high traffic location, too much in my opinion, thus I suspect that ingress/egress is very much a challenge at this location. The fact that Mariano's Fresh Market opened about 3 miles to the northwest has probably not helped their situation appreciably. Therein lies the problem with mall co-location. While mall locations offer a draw of regional nature, the fact of the matter is that grocery shopping still teds to be governed by convenience, thus, in an all things being equal situation (ala Whole Foods and Mariano's, to the Whole Foods folks I am not saying they are equal, but I will say that Mariano's offers a very viable alternative, with similar product offerings, and feel, in their power aisle) the more convenient location will win out. A variation on this theme is Aldi's, strategy of placing locations within ½ mile of Wal-Mart supercenters. This has appeared to have some level of success, at least in the Southeastern US. The other issue typically with mall real estate is that it tends to be very expensive relative to alternative supermarket locations, therefore driving a unit's breakeven point higher and leaving it vulnerable to competitive moves on its periphery.
Given, all of the above, coupled with the basic fact that (while this old saw has eroded somewhat in the past 30 years it is still true) the majority of the consuming public does not like to by their pants and their peas in the same place, while the so-called nascent trend is interesting, I wouldn't be holding my breath looking for a new supermarket to pop up at the local mall any time soon.
MNB user Steve Paris wrote:
This is common in other parts of the world, especially in developing markets where large scale "modern" shopping outlets tend to be grouped as a destination. There is no reason why this can't work in the U.S., and in fact, might give traditional grocers with a strong identity and proposition a chance to compete even more effectively with the Targets & Wal-Marts of the world by offering a different type of "one-stop" shop. Sadly, though for those chains stuck in the middle strategically (we all know who they are), it will not help them long term and might even be a distraction from recognizing what they need to do to fix their businesses.
On another subject, this from an MNB user:
Below is the summary you shared of how the OECD thinks we can decrease childhood obesity.
"Among the OECD recommendations for how to deal with this crisis - and the report makes no bones about the fact that this is a crisis, both from an economic and health care point of view - is the use of 'health-promotion campaigns, compulsory food labeling and a serious commitment from the food industry to stop advertising unhealthy foods to kids.'
Sorry, but, in my opinion, this is just pathetic reasoning. I grew up in the era (mid-50's) when child-oriented food advertising on TV was all junk food. And proud of it. Sugar Corn Pops are tops. Sugar Jets (how many parents had to nail the 2nd floor screens shut so children wouldn't attempt to fly out the windows). M&M's jumping in the "swimming pool" to come out all candy coated. I think, next to sugar-coated cereals, candy bars were the most advertised foods for children on TV.
Were any of us obese? Not by a long shot. It was all our parents could do to keep us at the breakfast table long enough to swish down the sugar laden cereal. There were at least 5-6 kids already on your back porch waiting impatiently for you to come out and play. Once you were outside, you would move to the next house until we had everyone rounded up. Then, it was one physical activity after another. Red rover. All day tag. Kick ball. Riding bikes. Jumping rope. Jumping off garage roof tops. Climbing trees. Roller skating on bumpy sidewalks w/the skates that fit on your shoes w/the skate key that you wore around your neck. Cowboys and Indians (in addition to the skate key, no self-respecting kid, girl or boy, was w/o their handy, cap-loaded, six-shooter in holster). Rainy days were pure hell if your parents wouldn't let you play outside in the rain.
Even after dark, we would congregate under streetlights for 30 scatter or kick the can. We all had numerous cuts/bruises on our shins from all the things we would trip/fall over in the dark while running around. And then onto catching lightening bugs in the empty peanut butter jar.
In the winter, we would sled ride until our clothes were soaked rather than go back in the house. There was a crick at the bottom of the hill; only if your sled carried you into the crick would you consider going inside. Every yard had an igloo and a snowman. Some had forts for the snowball fights.
We all walked to school and back, including lunch time, since our schools didn't have cafeterias. For me, that was 4 miles daily at age 6. Outdoor recess was a daily given. How could any of us be obese? In retrospect, if we hadn't consumed all that sugar, we would probably have collapsed from lack of enough calories to get us through the day. Compare that to today's children's daily "activities", and I use the word loosely.
So, as I read their conclusion stated above, it almost, again in my opinion, defies logic that this is what they conclude are the weapons to fight childhood obesity.
All of your comments are right on the money, except for one thing.
We don't live in the 50s anymore. Those rules don't apply.
It is a fantasy to think that we live in an age when kids will walk long distances to school and play outside at night. Not in an age of Amber Alerts.
Is it a shame? Of course. But it also is reality. And I think as much as we'd like to see a return to some of the values and behaviors of 50 years ago, it is delusional to think it can happen, and that this will somehow solve the obesity crisis. (Besides, not everything about the 50s was all that great. Hindsight can be a little misty-eyed.)
Do our kids need to get more exercise and spend less time in front of various electronic boxes? Sure. But that doesn't mean that "health-promotion campaigns, compulsory food labeling and a serious commitment from the food industry to stop advertising unhealthy foods to kids" are all bad ideas.
We have to deal with reality here. 2010 reality.
Got this nice note from MNB user Alison Kenney Paul regarding yesterday's Eye-Opener about Ted Williams and the tissue-thin difference between being good and great:
As a keen observer of all things consumer, I couldn't agree with you more….Ted Williams surprised and delighted fans with his easy athleticism and desire to win. John Updike did the same by choosing just the right words to convey an event, a nuance, a feeling.
We have that opportunity every day—to communicate and inspire, connect and delight….thanks for the reminder!
And MNB user Steven Ritchey wrote:
The year Ted Williams hit over .400 for the season, he was in a bit of a slump at the end of the season. The last day of the season was a double header, his manager offered to let him sit as his average was right at .400 and a bad day at the plate would mean he wouldn't hit his milestone .400 average for the season. To Williams credit he said, &*%$^ no, he played both games collected a few hits and raised his average a few points. My dad (who was a disappointed semipro baseball player) told me several stories over the years about Ted Williams, I don't know if they are true or not, but he was a fascinating ball player.
Character is always a critical factor in success.
Another MNB user wrote:
One point you missed, is Ted Williams was not appreciated to the extent that he should have been. The year he hit 4.06 he was not named MVP. Truly it could be said that as a hitter he may have been the best ever.
It's the same in business. Many of the very best employees are not recognized because they don't patronize the boss. They just go about doing their jobs, making the company a success. It is our job as leaders to recognize them, and surround them with great teammates.
Finally, on the subject of whether I am too nice and write too much about Walmart, I got this email from an MNB user:
Interesting reading the viewer's position on unsubscribing due to your handling of Wal-Mart as a topic. I had half drafted a note to you that day and dropped the matter. The gist of my note was how telling your infatuation with Wal-Mart was. You have increasingly waved their banner just layered with gushing praise. If one did not know better, one would think they had paid for a novel and unorthodox advertising program or, more likely, being sweet on them has clouded your journalistic judgement.
In any event, I would probably be in the camp that considers that not very good form for the venue you have here. While I would not go so far as to unsubscribe, your commentaries on this topic, I would say, are getting a bit caustic to your own program. After reading about your disenchanted reader, I thought I would mention my similar reaction to your handling of the Walmart topic (though your site is not seen either as a tool for "fighting" Walmart. Just realize the Walmart love affair has gotten more pronounced to others and it can rankle on many levels...). I wonder, like consumer complaints that get written, how many more pass quietly unvoiced.
For the record, best I can remember, I have posted every email critical about how I have handled Walmart.
I try to post every email that criticizes me, or at least all the ones that are coherent.
I honestly cannot figure out how to handle the Walmart situation better. I criticize them when I think they make a mistake, and I praise them when I think they do the right thing. And I try to report on what the company does when it makes news. I thought - and continue to think - that I've been fair.
One thing is for sure. Walmart has never paid me so much as a penny for "a novel and unorthodox advertising program." Frankly, I have no idea if the folks in Bentonville care what I think or write.
But I'll pay attention, and keep trying to do my best.
From The MNB Sports Desk
In Monday Night Football action, the Chicago Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers 20-17.
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A view of Snowcone from the interior. In the days following the launch, there was a media storm surrounding this wonderful design. Designboom/Dezeen and Fast Company Design were interested enough to run articles about the piece. I'm super pleased to see this get some attention outside our frigid city.


Spring is here and I am enjoying the the longer days; it gives me a chance to take Watson out for dog walks after work. There is the proliferation of blossoms that comes along with longer days: not only are we seeing new growth in the plant world, but more listings are coming on every day, and being absorbed.
April brings Daffodils to the Skagit Valley; Tulips and the Tulip Festival are coming right up!
Following is our Market Flash, still showing a few negatives in the appreciation column; compare to the previous reports here.
* Newsy Links (http://andreehurley.com/blog/newsy-links/) – see what has been happening in real estate.
* Are you interested in Luxury Properties? Take a tour of our Global Luxury (https://www.coldwellbankerluxury.com/) website!
Cindy: I am a first time home buyer. Andree Hurley helped me find my beautiful condo in Edmonds (Point Edwards). I knew I wanted it the moment I saw it. Andree made herself available to write the offer that very day. She was patient and instructive throughout the hours it took to complete the offer. From then on, she was on top of everything that needed to be done. She communicated well with me and with the seller's agent. The sale closed quickly and on time. I am very happy with her services and definitely would recommend her. Thank you.
Bruce: This is the second property Andree has sold for me, with excellent results. My late Mother's house was a mess. Andree provided invaluable assistance in helping prepare Mom's house for sale, and during the sale itself. Her communication and attention to detail were excellent, and her efforts often went beyond what I would have expected of a listing agent. During the listing and sale process, we had to work through a number of difficult surprises, not the least of which was a long-forgotten fuel oil tank which the Inspection found under the house. Andree skillfully assisted me through the process of obtaining city approval to treat (and not have to do the nearly-impossible task of removing) the tank to everybody's satisfaction.
Because of our national and international network within Coldwell Banker, I can help you, a friend or relative with their move by finding a real estate professional on both sides. I will call and interview brokers to try to make sure they are the right fit.
Referrals make up the bulk of my business and are not only a compliment but also much appreciated.


I am green with envy over your reservation at Bay Lake Towers, I can't wait to stay there! Moving resorts mid-stay is actually quite common and there are a few things that you can to to make it virtually seamless!
First of all, I suggest that you utilize the online check-in prior to leaving home for BOTH of your resort reservations. If you are staying on points this can be done through the member website by clicking on the "View Vacation Details" link from the "My Membership" module on the homepage. If you are not using vacation points. If you are not using points, simply log onto the www.disneyworld.com website and click on "My Disney Vacation" to use the online check-in feature.
Next, on the day of your transfer I would send one of the adults on the reservation over to the Wilderness Lodge first thing in the morning (boat transportation will be the quickest). Since you presumably will have already checked in online, you simply need to pick up your welcome packet and keys. If you room is not ready at that time, leave your cell phone number and they will send you a text message with your room number when it's available for you.
Once your bags are packed and ready to go at Bay Lake Tower, simply call or bring your things down to Bell Services and let them know you need your luggage transferred to your new resort. They will move your bags over to your new resort, and when you arrive back at the Wilderness Lodge after your day in the park, simply call bell services and request that your luggage be delivered to your room.
It may sound like a lot of detail, but it really is a fairly simple process, and it allows for you to enjoy your day rather than waiting around for your room and your bags.


text:
ACN Photo
On Iraq's Nineveh Plains, a Christian Village Is Coming Back to Life
Some Christians Returning to Bartella Discuss Their Reality
August 03, 2017 12:29Staff ReporterPersecuted Christians
Pope Francis, joining the US, the European Union and the United Kingdom, has recognized the crimes of ISIS against Christians and other minorities as genocide. That designation should make Iraq's suffering minorities eligible for substantial international support and protection as they are reclaiming land and properties held by ISIS for almost three years. In this report, Aid to Church in Need speaks with some of the first Christians to return to Bartella, a Christian community on the Nineveh Plains.
By Daniele Piccini
BARTELLA, a Christian village on the Nineveh Plains in Iraq, was the first of the region's communities to be liberated from the grip of ISIS, freed in fall 2016.
It was home to 3,400 Christian families before ISIS captured the community. Recently, after three years of exile in Kurdistan, the first six Syriac-Orthodox families have returned to their newly restored homes.
ISIS wreaked havoc in Bartella. More than 90 homes were completely destroyed, some 360 were badly damaged by fire and another more than 1300 homes suffered varying degrees of damage. To-date, Aid to the Church in Need, the international Catholic charity—working with the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC)—has restored 17 homes in the village. Once funding is secured, another 150 homes are due to be worked on.
The village infrastructure needs repair too. However, "the water network is slowly being brought into service again," Noor Sabah Dana, NRC engineer, told ACN. He added: "there is not enough water to meet everyone's needs, and sometimes the network breaks down completely. There is a municipal water tank, which serves other villages as well and. Electricity is also coming back slowly, though there are regular power failures, especially interruptions caused by the repair work."
The municipal administration is repairing the streets and a group of garbage collectors is cleaning up trash and debris.
These are small miracles for a village still deeply scarred by the jihadist occupation. Still, many of the community's former residents, having spent three years as IDPs in Kurdistan, are eager to return home. "At least 200 families come to Bartella from Erbil every day to clean their houses and try make them habitable again," Noor Sabah Dana reported. "The families come here to clean their flats and clear them out; then they call the Committee to appraise their homes and provide an estimate for the damages. Then the restoration process can begin," the engineer explained.
"After everything that happened, we returned to this house and asked the Church in Bartella for help," explained Mark Matti Ishaq Zora, the son of a local farmer who is the owner of the house. He said: "A team of experts came and appraised all that was necessary: the paintwork, the electrical installations, the doors and windows, the water pipes.
"This is our city, our life, our history. Besides, in Kurdistan we struggling with difficult economic conditions. Food and rent are expensive. That is why I would like to tell all the families from Bartella to come back here. There is water and electricity and the Church is helping us. It is really wonderful to be able to live here again."
Down the block, Nohe Ishaq Sliman, another home owner, chimes in: "We are all returning to Bartella because this is our city. I have lived here since I was a child.
"I drank the waters of the Tigris River and work here as a farmer. I built this house myself. How can I leave? I thank our benefactors for the help in restoring my house. I could no longer pay 600 or 700 dollars a month for rent and leave this house standing empty. How could I not return? This is my city, I want to return and live here."
The challenges facing Christians on the Nineveh Plains are enormous: Currently there are still 14,000 families who have fled from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains living in Erbil (approximately 90,000 people); nearly 13,000 homes have to be repaired or rebuilt; there are security concerns in the villages; there is Kurdish-Iraqi political manoeuvring on the ground; there are massive infrastructure concerns (water, electricity, roads, schools and clinics); and, most urgently, the IDPs in Erbil will continue to need food aid as well as help paying the rent, pending their hoped-for eventual return to their homes on the Nineveh Plains.
At this time, 342 properties are being renovated, in part through funding by ACN. Since the crisis began, ACN has provided ongoing support to the Christian refugees in northern Iraq. To date, close to $35M has been donated for emergency aid, including food, education, housing, pastoral help and reconstruction.
Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries. www.churchinneed.org (USA); www.acnuk.org (UK); www.aidtochurch.org (AUS); www.acnireland.org (IRL); www.acn-aed-ca.org (CAN)
August 03, 2017 12:29Persecuted Christians
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Pope Thanks Young People for Enthusiastic Faith
Vatican calls fight against corruption a "moral obligation"
Pope Highlights Three Act... Homily on the occasion of the Sunday of the Word of God...


text:
Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
Public Domain Movies
Old Radio Shows
Public Domain e-Texts
aka Uzumaki
Directed by Higuchinsky
Spiral is a Japanese horror movie based on a story from a manga comic book series. The movie's original Japanese title is Uzumaki, but although it is more commonly marketed under the title Spiral, Vortex is the English title used in Hong Kong and it seems likely that the subtitles were applied there because throughout the movie the subtitles always refer to a vortex rather than a spiral.
The movie is divided into four chapters. The first one is "Premonition". The other three chapters are "Erosion", "Invasion" and "Transmigration". Each one is crazier than the last, but "Premonitions" introduces all the main characters and also presents the idea that spirals may be something to be feared.
The central character is a young girl named Kirie Goshima (Eriko Hatsune), and the story is set in the small town of Kurouzo. The second key player in the story is her friend Shuichi Saito (Fhi Fan). Kirie and Shuichi are obviously very close, but the lines between friendship and romance are a little too blurred to tell how they really feel about each other. Kirie's mother died when she was little more than a toddler though, and when her little friend saw her grief he swore he would protect her and now appears to consider it part of his life's work.
Early in the first chapter, Kirie witnesses Shuichi's father using a video camera to film a snail on a wall, and he is so engrossed he fails to hear her greet him. She mentions this to Shuichi, who confesses his father has been acting strange lately, and Shuichi's overall manner indicates the matter is troubling him. It soon becomes apparent that Shuichi's worries are not unfounded. Mr Saito's increasing obsession with spirals becomes all-consuming, and, when his ever-growing collection of spiral-shaped artefacts is no longer enough for him, he decides to take things a step further by committing suicide in the family's washing machine.
Spirals turn up again and again throughout the movie and although some of them would be hard to miss, such as the spiralling cloud of smoke above the crematorium after Mr Saito's funeral, other spirals, such as little swirls of dust, can be harder to spot. One unfortunate character even jumps—or possibly falls—from a spiral staircase, and the resulting splatter of blood and brains around his head forms the nucleus of a spiral floor pattern that, in turn, becomes part of the much bigger spiral formed by the staircase. Clever use of the camera angle exploits the effect very well, making it quite a memorable scene.
As with many Asian movies the use of hair is not forgotten, but in this case the half-hidden face that is so common in movies like The Grudge and The Ring, is forsaken in favour of a young lady whose hair becomes so outrageously curly—eventually spiralling many feet above her head—it is easy to tell the idea originated from a comic book. One guy turns into a giant snail, another one steps in front of a car and becomes wound round the wheel; and the resulting impact causes the driver's face to be thrown into the windscreen, where his dislodged eyeball becomes the centre of yet another spiral formed by the cracks in the glass. It's messy, it's unsettling, and all kind of weird, but everything works very well and fits nicely into the context of the movie.
Spiral is an entertaining movie, and it is quite dark in places, but it is doubtful that anyone would ever consider it terrifying. There are a few nasty scenes that are visually unsettling, such as the one with the body wrapped round the wheel of the car, but the way they are shot manages to retain the movie's comic book feel in a way that makes it hard to describe them as gory.
All in all Spiral is an unusual and rather disturbing movie that may not appeal to viewers who are used to the more traditional horror movie tropes—slasher, ghost story, vampire etc.—but will, no doubt, be better appreciated by connoisseurs of Asian horror. Don't expect an explanation for why any of this crazy spiralling madness though, because the reason for the strange events at Kurouzo remains a mystery right to the end.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Certificate: 18 (UK)


text:
H. Moser & Cie. safeguards Swiss watchmaking with Christie's tie-up
DAILY NEWS by Andrew Seymour	on March 20, 2017
Auction house Christie's and H. Moser & Cie .have entered into a partnership that will see a piece from the watch brand's collection auctioned once a year.
Proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Fondation pour la Culture Horlogère Suisse headed up by Georges-Henri Meylan, chairman of the Board of MELB Holding.
The first prototype of the Swiss Alp Watch, and the unique Swiss Mad Watch, unveiled by H. Moser & Cie. at SIHH 2016 and 2017 respectively, will be put up for auction by Christie's at its forthcoming May 2017 sale.
Moser & Cie. intends to produce a special watch each year, which will be unveiled at SIHH and entrusted to Christie's to be sold to the highest bidder.
The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Fondation pour la Culture Horlogère Suisse (Foundation for Swiss Watchmaking Culture).
The foundation has two objectives: to support apprenticeships in the watchmaking professions and to safeguard expertise in the related artistic crafts.
"Preserving our Swiss watchmaking tradition is of crucial importance," explains Georges-Henri Meylan, president of the foundation. "It is key to the survival of our industry as a whole. We must work together to ensure our considerable expertise is preserved, and growth continues in this, our area of excellence: exceptional mechanical watchmaking."
Both the Swiss Mad Watch, produced by H. Moser & Cie. as a heartfelt statement, promoting Switzerland and arguing for a more stringent 'Swiss Made' label, and the original prototype for the Swiss Alp Watch, made from rhodium-plated brass, will be sold by Christie's in May 2017.
"The passion that the Swiss Mad Watch and the 'Make Swiss Made Great Again' campaign as well as the Swiss Alp Watch and the 'Upgrade to a Mechanical Watch' campaign have inspired immediately appealed to us," siad Thomas Perazzi, director of the Watches & Wristwatches Department at Christie's in Geneva.
WThe values of tradition and authenticity, and safeguarding master craftsmanship are crucial to us, and we are delighted to join forces with H. Moser & Cie. to bring their message to a wider audience, amplifying it in our own way.W
Included in the catalogue of rare watches, the Swiss Mad Watch and the Swiss Alp Watch will be displayed in major capitals around the world during the travelling exhibition which precedes the sale.
The proceeds made when the hammer falls will go to the Fondation pour la Culture Horlogère Suisse, which will manage the distribution of the funds.
Christie's travelling exhibition of rare watches will take in cities such as Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, New York and Geneva.
Tags : auctionschristiesh. moser & cieswiss madeswiss watchmakingwatches
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During Comic-Con International 2009 in San Diego, California, Hasbro slated a Transformers panel for all to see, so long as they could fit into the 150-person capacity of panel room 7AB. Anyway, yours truly was there and has written the panel up for all to read. Click here to read the SDCC Transformers panel write-up.