text:
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen,  (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later led the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was a Member of Parliament over 26 years from 1966 to 1992.

Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, at the age of 38 the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post. In 1981, Owen was one of the "Gang of Four" who left the Labour Party to found the Social Democratic Party. He was the only member of the Gang of Four who did not join the Liberal Democrats, which was founded when the SDP merged with the Liberal Party. Owen led the Social Democratic Party from 1983 to 1987, and the continuing SDP from 1988 to 1990. Appointed as a life peer in 1992, he sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher until March 2014, and now sits as an "independent social democrat".

In the course of his career, Owen has held, and resigned from, a number of senior posts. He first quit as Labour's spokesman on defence in 1972 in protest at the Labour leader and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson's attitude to the European Economic Community; he left the Labour Shadow cabinet over the same issue later; and over unilateral disarmament in November 1980 when Michael Foot became Labour leader. He resigned from the Labour Party when it rejected one member, one vote in February 1981 and later as Leader of the Social Democratic Party, which he had helped to found, after the party's rank-and-file membership voted to merge with the Liberal Party.

Early life
Owen was born in 1938 to Welsh parents in Plympton, near the city of Plymouth, in Devon, England. He also has Swiss and Irish ancestry. He described Plymouth as, "a Cromwellian city, surrounded by royalists." After schooling at Mount House School, Tavistock, and Bradfield College, Berkshire, he was admitted to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1956 to study Medicine, and obtained a 2:2;  he was made an Honorary Fellow of the college in 1977. He began clinical training at St Thomas's Hospital in October 1959.

Owen was deeply affected by the Suez crisis of 1956, when Anthony Eden's Conservative government launched a military operation to retrieve the Suez Canal after Nasser's decision to nationalise it. At the time, aged 18, he was working on a labouring job before going to Cambridge. Owen later told Kenneth Harris:

[T]here was Gaitskell...criticizing Eden, and here were these men working alongside me, who should have been his natural supporters, furious with him. The Daily Mirror backed Gaitskell, but these men were tearing up their Daily Mirrors every day. ... My working mates were solidly in favour of Eden. It was not only that they taught me how people like them think; they also opened my eyes to how I should think myself. From then on I never identified with the liberal – with a small 'l' – establishment. Through that experience I became suspicious of a kind of automatic sogginess which you come across in many aspects of British life. ... The rather defeatist, even traitorous attitude reflected in the pre-war Apostles at Cambridge. I suppose it underlay the appeasement years. Its modern equivalent is a resigned attitude to Britain's continuous post-war economic decline.David Marquand, The Progressive Dilemma: From Lloyd George to Blair (London: Phoenix, 1999), p. 203.

Medicine and politics
In 1960, Owen joined the Vauxhall branch of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society. He qualified as a doctor in 1962 and began work at St Thomas's Hospital. In 1964, he contested the Torrington seat as the Labour candidate against the Conservative Party incumbent, losing in what was a traditional Conservative-Liberal marginal. He was neurology and psychiatric registrar at St Thomas's Hospital for two years, as assistant to Dr. William Sargant, then Research Fellow on the Medical Unit doing research into Parkinsonian trauma and neuropharmacology.

Member of Parliament
At the next general election, in 1966, Owen returned to his home town and was elected Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for the Plymouth Sutton constituency. In the February 1974 general election Owen became Labour MP for the adjacent Plymouth Devonport constituency, winning it from the Conservative incumbent Dame Joan Vickers by a slim margin (437 votes). He managed to hold on to it in the 1979 general election, again by a narrow margin (1001 votes). From 1981, however, his involvement with the SDP meant he developed a large personal following in the constituency and thereafter he was re-elected as an SDP candidate with safe margins. He remained as MP for Plymouth Devonport until his elevation to a peerage in 1992.

From 1968 to 1970, Owen served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Navy in Harold Wilson's first government. After Labour's defeat in the 1970 General Election, he became the party's Junior Defence Spokesman until 1972 when he resigned with Roy Jenkins over Labour's opposition to the European Community. On Labour's return to government in March 1974, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health before being promoted to Minister of State for Health in July 1974.

In Government
As Minister of State for Health he encouraged Britain to become "self-sufficient" in blood products such as Factor VIII, a recommendation also promoted by the World Health Organisation. This was principally due to the risk of Hepatitis infection from high-risk blood donors overseas who were often paid and from "skid-row" locations. David Owen has been outspoken that his policy of "Self-Sufficiency" was not put into place (although he was, himself, Minister of Health)  and gave rise to the Tainted Blood Scandal which saw 5,000 British Haemophiliacs infected with Hepatitis C, 1,200 of those were also infected with HIV. It was later described in the House of Lords as "the worst treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service".

In September 1976, Owen was appointed by the new Prime Minister of five months, James Callaghan, as a Minister of State at the Foreign Office, and was consequently admitted to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Five months later, however, the Foreign Secretary, Anthony Crosland, died suddenly and Owen was appointed his successor. Aged 38, he became the youngest Foreign Secretary since Anthony Eden in 1935.

As Foreign Secretary, Owen was identified with the Anglo-American plan for Rhodesia, which formed the basis for the Lancaster House Agreement, negotiated by his Tory successor, Lord Carrington, in December 1979. The Contact Group sponsored UN Resolution 435 in 1978 on which Namibia moved to independence twelve years later. He wrote a book entitled Human Rights and championed that cause in Africa and in the Soviet Union. He later admitted to at one stage contemplating the assassination of Idi Amin while Foreign Secretary but settled instead to backing with money for arms purchases to President Nyerere of Tanzania in his armed attack on Uganda which led to the exile of Amin to Saudi Arabia.

Shortly after Labour's defeat in the 1979 General Election and following the election of a new Shadow Cabinet Callaghan moved Owen from the position of Shadow Foreign Secretary to Shadow Energy Secretary, a move which was reported as being a demotion.

Eighteen months after Labour lost power, the staunchly left-wing politician Michael Foot was elected party leader, despite vocal opposition from Labour Party moderates (including Owen), sparking a crisis over the party's future.

Social Democratic Party and Liberal–SDP Alliance

Michael Foot's election as Labour party leader indicated that the party was likely to become more left-wing, and in 1980 committed itself to withdrawing from the EEC without even a referendum (as Labour had carried out in 1975). Labour also endorsed unilateral nuclear disarmament and introduced an electoral college for leadership elections, with 40% of the college going to a block vote of the trade unions.

Early in 1981, Owen and three other senior moderate Labour politicians – Roy Jenkins, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams – announced their intention to break away from the Labour Party to form a "Council for Social Democracy". The announcement became known as the Limehouse Declaration and the four as the "Gang of Four". The council they formed became the Social Democratic Party (SDP), with a collective leadership. Although Owen was one of the founding members of the party, he was not always enthusiastic about creating a schism on the centre-left, saying to the Glasgow Herald in January 1981 that he felt "haunted by the possibility that, if the Labour Party splits, the centre left will never again form the Government in Britain".

Twenty-eight other Labour MPs and one Conservative MP (Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler) joined the new party. In late 1981, the SDP formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the Liberal Party to strengthen both parties' chances in the UK's "first past the post" electoral system. The alliance performed so well that for much of the early part of 1982, it appeared that it would become a centre-left coalition government at the next election. In 1982, uneasy about the Alliance, Owen challenged Jenkins for the leadership of the SDP, but was defeated by 26,256 votes to 20,864. In the following year's General Election, the Alliance gained 25% of the vote, only slightly behind the Labour Party, but because of the first-past-the-post voting system, it won only 23 out of 650 seats. Although elected, Jenkins resigned the SDP leadership and Owen succeeded to it without a contest among the six remaining SDP MPs.

In 1982, during the Falklands War, Owen spoke at the Bilderberg meeting advocating sanctions against Argentina. Ironically, the success of the war ended any hope that SDP might have had of winning the 1983 election. The Tories were proving unpopular largely due to high unemployment and the early 1980s recession. However, Britain's success in the conflict saw Margaret Thatcher and her Tory government surge back to the top of the opinion polls, and her position was strengthened further by the end of the year as the recession died down.

SDP leadership
Owen is widely regarded as having been, at the very least, a competent party leader. He had high popularity ratings throughout his leadership as did the SDP–Liberal Alliance. Owen kept a high profile, so much so that Spitting Image, the satirical puppet show, depicted the Liberal leader David Steel popping up like a jack-in-the-box in Owen's pocket. He succeeded in keeping the party in the public eye and in maintaining its independence from the Liberals for the length of the 1983 Parliament. Moreover, under him, the SDP increased its representation from six to eight seats via the by-election victories of Mike Hancock, at Portsmouth South (1984), and Rosie Barnes, at Greenwich (1987).

However, the progress of the SDP–Liberal Alliance as a whole was hampered, with policy splits between the two parties. The first was over the miners' strike of 1984–85, with Owen and most of the SDP favouring a fairly tough line but the Liberals preferring compromise and negotiation. More significantly the Alliance had a dispute over the future of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent. Owen and the SDP favoured replacing Polaris with Trident as a matter of some importance, whereas most Liberals were either indifferent to the issue or committed disarmers. The SDP favoured a radical social market economy, while the Liberals mostly favoured a more interventionist, corporate style approach. The cumulative effect of these divisions was to make the Alliance appear less credible as a potential government in the eyes of the electorate.

Moreover, Owen, unlike Jenkins, faced an increasingly moderate Labour Party under Neil Kinnock and a dynamic Conservative government. The 1987 general election was as disappointing for the Alliance as the 1983 election and it lost one seat. Nevertheless, it won over 23% of the vote – at that time, the second-largest third-placed vote in British politics since 1929.

Full parties' merger
In 1987 immediately after the election, the Liberal leader David Steel proposed a full merger of the Liberal and SDP parties and was supported for the SDP by Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers. Owen rejected this notion outright, on the grounds that he and other Social Democrats wished to remain faithful to social democracy as it was practised within Western Europe, and it was unlikely that any merged party would be able to do this, even if it was under his leadership. Nevertheless, the majority of the SDP membership supported the merger.

The Liberal Party and SDP merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) in March 1988, renamed the Liberal Democrats in October 1989.

At the request of two of the remaining SDP MPs, John Cartwright and Rosie Barnes, Owen continued to lead a much smaller continuing SDP, with three MPs in total. The party polled well at its first election, its candidate coming a close second in the 1989 Richmond by-election, but thereafter a string of poor and ultimately disastrous by-election results followed, including coming behind the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in the Bootle by-election of May 1990, prompting Owen to wind up the party in 1990. Owen blamed the SDP's demise on the reforms which had been taking place in the Labour Party since Kinnock's election as leader in 1983.

Some branches, however, continued to function using the SDP name; Bridlington's was still extant in 2006.

Lord Holme later blamed Owen for the Alliance's failure to make a breakthrough at the 1987 general election, believing that a merged party would have performed much better and possibly gained more votes and seats than Labour.

Post-SDP: Political allegiances as a life peer
After winding up the re-formed SDP, Owen announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the next General Election. He then served the remainder of his term as an independent MP and after the 1992 General Election was made a life peer, nominated by then Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, with the title,  Baron Owen, of the City of Plymouth in the County of Devon. in Letters Patent dated 30 June 1992. As a member of the House of Lords, he is called "Lord Owen" and he sat as a crossbencher until 2014 (see below). Owen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Plymouth University in 1992.

During the April 1992 election campaign, Owen writing in The Mail on Sunday newspaper advised voters to vote Liberal Democrat where they had a chance of victory and to vote Conservative rather than let Neil Kinnock become Prime Minister. Owen maintained his long-standing position that he would never join the Conservative Party, although the memoirs of at least three of John Major's cabinet ministers refer to Major being quite keen to appoint Owen to his cabinet, but threats of resignation from within the Cabinet prevented him from doing so. When asked in a conversation with Woodrow Wyatt on 18 December 1988 whether she would have Owen in her government if approached by him, Margaret Thatcher replied: "Well, not straight away. I don't think I would do it straight away. He was very good on the Northern Ireland terrorist business. He's wasting his life now. It's so tragic. He's got real ability and it ought to be used". In another conversation with Wyatt on 4 June 1990 Thatcher said Owen's natural home was the Conservative Party.

Owen was approached privately by Tony Blair, then leader of the Opposition, in 1996 on whether he was ready to support New Labour. Lord Owen declined mainly because he disagreed with Blair's intention, as Prime Minister, to join the eurozone. In 2019, Owen recounted that Blair implied that a "political future" awaited him if he rejoined Labour. Owen said he "was very tempted, but then [Blair] started to talk about the euro." Owen concluded that Blair was "passionately committed" to taking Britain into the Euro; thus, Owen said no.

In May 2005, he was approached two days before the General Election by someone very close to Tony Blair to endorse Labour. He declined, because though he did not want a Conservative government, he wanted the Liberal Democrats to do sufficiently well to ensure a greatly reduced Labour majority. In September 2007, it was reported in the British press that Lord Owen had met the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and afterwards had refused to rule out supporting Labour at the next general election. It later emerged that he could have been part of the "government of all the talents" initiative advising on the NHS, but Owen declined. In October 2009 he wrote an article in The Times predicting that the Conservatives, then well ahead in the opinion polls, were unlikely to win an outright majority. He helped create the web-based Charter 2010 to explain and promote the potential of a hung parliament. The website campaign was launched in January 2010 while the Conservatives still appeared on course to win outright. Within weeks the polls changed and the website became a major source of information about hung parliaments. In May 2010 The Sunday Times called Owen "the prophet of the coalition".

During the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum he signed a letter in The Guardian stating that he opposed AV but would continue to campaign for proportional representation.

In January 2011, Owen said that his "heart was with Labour" and that he looked forward to the time when he could vote Labour again. He added that what hampered him in the past was the way the Labour Party elects its leader and it was very necessary for the electoral college arrangement to be reformed and he refused to rule out joining the Labour Party in the future. He vigorously opposed the Health and Social Care Bill in 2011–12. In a pamphlet, "Fatally Flawed", he demonstrated that far from the internal market, which he had championed in the 1980s, the Bill introduced an external market and he worked closely with the Labour Front Bench in the House of Lords. In March 2014, it was revealed that Owen had donated over £7,500 to the Labour Party, following the Labour leader Ed Miliband's reforms of the party's links with trade unions. No longer eligible to sit as a crossbencher, Owen now sits in the House of Lords as an "Independent Social Democrat". Owen later said he admired Miliband's "integrity" and "guts".

In the June 2017 General Election, Owen continued to support the Labour Party, though he had once been a political opponent of Labour's new leader, Jeremy Corbyn. He added that he was "pleasantly surprised that the manifesto was a lot better than expected", and praised  Corbyn for showing "more flexibility in taking account of Labour MPs and party members' views than ever Michael Foot did" in reference to the manifesto's commitments to NATO and nuclear weapons despite Corbyn's lifelong pacifism. He made political donations to the national Labour Party, as well as the Labour candidate in his former constituency of Plymouth Sutton & Devonport, Luke Pollard, who successfully won the seat.

However in March 2019, Owen said he would not support Labour, criticising Corbyn's leadership for its failure to  "unequivocally" root out antisemitism in the Labour Party. In October 2019, Owen warned that Labour would lose potentially 5 million Leave voters who supported them due to its stance for a second Brexit referendum, and said that Labour under Corbyn and John McDonnell reminded voters of "the Labour Party of the 1980s". He also criticised McDonnell's push to change Labour's policy to a second referendum stance. In the subsequent December 2019 general election, true to Owen's warning, Labour lost 60 seats, including long time Labour seats in the red wall which supported leaving the EU.

Subsequent international role
In August 1992, Owen was British Prime Minister John Major's choice to succeed Lord Carrington as the EU co-chairman of the Conference for the Former Yugoslavia, along with Cyrus Vance, the former US Secretary of State as the UN co-chairman.

Private Eye, the British satirical magazine, playfully alluded towards Owen's legendary tendency towards self-destruction. "It's a lost cause", says the bubble emanating from Major's mouth. "I'm your man", says the bubble from Owen's mouth. The Labour Shadow Foreign Minister, Jack Cunningham, greeted Major's appointment of Owen in the British House of Commons by saying that the Prime Minister's choice "was regarded as somewhat eccentric by [MPs] and myself – he [Owen] is known for many qualities, but not as a mediator. Indeed he has Balkanised a few political parties himself."

David Owen come badly out of Adam Le Bor's book, Milosevic: A Biography: "After he was appointed the European Community negotiator for the former Yugoslavia in 1992, Lord Owen and his wife Debbie cultivated a personal friendship with Milosevic and his wife Mira, flying in a helicopter to lunch with them in one of Tito's former palaces and offering publishing advice to Mira Milosevic". In August 1992, five months after the Bosnian war started, Owen said, "Now it is clear that Milosevic really wants peace".

Owen became a joint author of the Vance–Owen Peace Plan (VOPP), in January 1993, which made an effort to move away from the presumption of ethnic partition. According to America's last ambassador to Yugoslavia, the Bosnian Government were ready to accept the VOPP, but unfortunately the Clinton Administration delayed in its support, thus missing a chance to get it launched. The VOPP was eventually agreed in Athens in May 1993 under intense pressure by all parties including Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić but then rejected later by the Bosnian-Serb Assembly meeting in Pale, after Karadžić insisted that the Assembly had the right to ratify the agreement. After Vance's withdrawal, Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg brokered the EU Action Plan of December 1993. They both helped the Contact Group of the US/UK/France/Germany and Russia to present its plan in the summer of 1994.

In early 1994, the European Parliament voted by 160 votes to 90, with 2 abstentions, for Owen's dismissal, but he was supported by all 15 EU Member State governments. There was a perception in America that Owen was "not fulfilling his function as an impartial negotiator". Owen, however, was consistently supported by all 15 EU Member States and the German Presidency in July 1994 urged him to remain as did the French Presidency in January 1995. Owen was made a Companion of Honour for his services in the former Yugoslavia in 1994.

In January 1995, Lord Owen wrote to François Mitterrand as President of the European Union to say that he wished to step down before the end of the French presidency. At the end of May 1995, he was succeeded by the former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. "Had I been younger, I would probably have resigned when the Americans ditched the Vance-Owen Peace Plan".

Owen testified as a witness of the court in the trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former president of FR Yugoslavia.

Later political commentary
Lord Owen has continued to speak out on issues of international affairs including on nuclear proliferation and constrained intervention. In 2011 he was the first politician to call for a "no-fly zone" over Libya. In an editorial on 27 February 2011 the Sunday Times said, "It was a man who has not been in office for nearly 32 years – Lord Owen, the former foreign secretary – who has been the most eloquent British voice over Libya. His call for a no-fly-zone ... struck the right note".

Contaminated blood scandal
As former Minister of State for Health, Lord Owen has long been highly critical of previous governments for their role in and handling of the tainted blood scandal. Alleging maladministration in 2002 he sought to bring about an inquiry into the matter and was joined in his efforts by former Solicitor General for England and Wales Lord Archer, former Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services Lord Jenkin and others.

In 2009 the culmination of these efforts, the privately funded and independent "Archer Report" in which Lord Owen was heavily involved, published its findings but was thwarted because it had no power to compel witnesses as it was not a statutory public inquiry. Successive governments have refused to hold a public inquiry into the matter and continue to withhold documentation on grounds of commercial interest.

During his investigation into the matter he attempted to access his archived documents and files from his time as minister. At first he was told "they couldn't find them" and was later told they had all been destroyed; the exact series of events that led to the destruction of these documents remains a mystery and continues to raise questions amongst MPs such as Alistair Burt. Lord Owen has regularly told the media that he is not a conspiracy theorist but that he does suspect there has been a cover-up carried out by the Civil Service and that this was done after prosecutions and jail sentences were brought against government officials in France.

In September 2016 at a film-screening of the documentary Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale, he dramatically ended a 15-minute speech on the subject proclaiming: "I have failed and I feel very miserable about it".

In October 2016, the Civil Service Commission refused a request to investigate Lord Owen's destroyed documents and separately the Department of Health advised that "the Department does not have any plans to make public the identity of junior officials involved in this matter".

On 10 May 2017 he featured in an episode of BBC Panorama called "Contaminated Blood: The Search for the Truth".

On 22 September 2020, Lord Owen gave evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry in London. As part of his testimony he said: "We should have realised how dangerous it was to rely on blood coming in from abroad from people who were given blood for money".

European Union and subsequent support for Brexit
Owen had previously been a supporter of Britain's membership of the European Union (saying that he was "not a Eurosceptic" and a "convinced European"), but in recent years has opposed what he sees as the increased federalisation of the EU, citing examples such as a unified currency (the euro), a unified defence force and a unified foreign policy as "structure[s] for a United States of Europe".

As chairman of New Europe, he was the co-leader of the 'No to the Euro' campaign with Business for Sterling, which ceased when the UK Government declared in 2005 that Euro membership was off the agenda following the defeat of the EU Constitution in referendums in France and the Netherlands.

He called for a referendum before Britain's ratification of the Lisbon treaty, and expressed concerns about proposals for the creation of a 'European Rapid Reaction Force'. In February 2010, he wrote a pamphlet for the Social Market Foundation thinktank entitled "EU Social Market and Social Policy". Owen supports the referendum requirements within the European Union Act 2011.

Lord Owen continued to argue for engagement, criticising David Cameron's so-called 'veto' in December 2011 and arguing instead for a formal non-eurozone grouping with the right to join or leave the eurozone. In June 2012 Lord Owen published Europe Restructured, outlining a blueprint for restructuring the EU to allow for those countries that wish to be part of a more integrated eurozone to be facilitated while those who may only want to belong to a Single Market community are enabled to do so. He stated that a referendum on the UK's relationship with the EU was inevitable.

In February 2016, he announced that he was backing the UK leaving the EU for the 2016 referendum, arguing that "There are many positive aspects to leaving the EU. ... It could be the spark we need to re-energise our nation: a challenge and an opportunity." He has supported Vote Leave and spoken at rallies against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which Owen stated would put the NHS in danger. Owen also cited his support for Brexit due to his opposition to the concept of a United States of Europe and stated that the Eurozone was "broken", condemning how the EU treated Greece during its debt crisis.

Owen was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.

Ukraine
In February 2022 he signed a letter to the Financial Times, alongside Robert Skidelsky and others, about Ukraine, in which he said, "Nato governments have rightly said they are willing to address Russia's security concerns, but then say in the same breath that Russia has no legitimate security concerns because Nato is a purely defensive alliance. Whether we like it or not, a Nato that now borders Russia and could in future border even more of Russia is seen by Russia as a security concern."

Enterprises and affiliations

Lord Owen was chairman of Yukos International UK BV, a division of the former Russian petroleum company Yukos, from 2002 to 2005. and a member of the board of Abbott Laboratories, a US healthcare company, from 1996 to 2011. He was non-executive chairman of Europe Steel Ltd and consultant to Epion Holdings, owned by Alisher Usmanov until 2015. From 2009 to 2014 Lord Owen served on the board of Texas-based Hyperdynamics Corporation, an oil  concern with an exclusive lease to an offshore area of the Republic of Guinea in west Africa.. He also served on the board of Coats Viyella from 1994 to 2001.

Owen was the Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, from 1996 to 2009. He has written extensively on the interaction between illness and politics, with a particular emphasis on the 'hubris syndrome', a condition affecting those at the pinnacle of power. The concept has been most fully developed in a co-authored paper in Brain. The  concept of  hubris syndrome has been analysed by Professor Gerald Russell. Lord Owen is chairman of the Trustees of the Daedalus Trust established to promote and provide funds for the interdisciplinary study of how 'the intoxication of power' in all walks of life can affect personality and decision making.

Personal life
He married Deborah Owen (née Schabert), an American literary agent, in 1968. They have two sons and one daughter, Tristan, Gareth and Lucy.

In popular culture
Owen was a main character in Steve Waters' 2017 play Limehouse, which premiered at the Donmar Warehouse; Owen was portrayed by Tom Goodman-Hill, with Nathalie Armin playing his wife.

Selected publications

 David Owen, The Politics of Defence (Jonathan Cape and Taplinger Pub. Co, 1972)
 David Owen, In Sickness and in Health: the Politics of Medicine (Quartet Books, 1976)
 David Owen, Human Rights (Jonathan Cape and W.W. Norton & Company, 1978)
 David Owen, Face the Future (Jonathan Cape and Praeger, 1981)
 David Owen, A Future That Will Work (Viking 1984, Praeger, 1985)
 David Owen, A United Kingdom (Penguin Books, 1986)
 David Owen to Kenneth Harris, Personally Speaking (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1987)
 David Owen, Our NHS (Pan Books, 1988)
 David Owen, Time to Declare (Michael Joseph, 1992)
 David Owen, Balkan Odyssey (Victor Gollancz, Harcourt Brace 1995)
 David Owen,  The Hubris Syndrome: Bush, Blair and the Intoxication of Power (Politico's, 2007; updated edition 2012)
 David Owen,  In Sickness and in Power: Illness in Heads of Government During the Last 100 Years (Methuen, 2008; revised edition 2011) and "In Sickness and In Power. Illness in Heads of Government, Military and business leaders since 1900" (Methuen, 2016)
 David Owen, Time to Declare: Second Innings (Politico's, 2009)  – revised and updated abridgement of Time to Declare and Balkan Odyssey
 David Owen, Nuclear Papers (Liverpool University Press, 2009)
 David Owen, Europe Restructured (Methuen, 2012)
 David Owen, "The Health of the Nation. NHS in Peril" (Methuen, 2014)
 David Owen, The Hidden Perspective: the Military Conversations 1906–1914 (Haus Publishing, 2014)
 David Owen, "Cabinet's Finest Hour. The Hidden Agenda of May 1940" (Haus Publishing, 2016)

References

Sources

External links

 The David Owen Archive University of Liverpool (Archived)
 David Owen resigns as SDP leader BBC News On This Day,
 Lord Owen House of Lords (Archived)
 The NS Interview: David Owen New Statesman, 4 May 2010

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

1938 births
Living people
20th-century English medical doctors
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Crossbench life peers
Fellows of King's College London
Independent politicians in England
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
Chancellors of the University of Liverpool
People educated at Bradfield College
People from Plympton
Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988) MPs
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
People educated at Mount House School, Tavistock
British political party founders
Life peers created by Elizabeth II


text:
NWLC
In the Courts (35)
In the Federal Government and Congress (5)
In the Movement (43)
In the States (13)
Child Care & Early Learning (31)
Child Care Workforce
Parents, Children & Low-Paid Jobs
Economic Justice (92)
Family Support Programs
Family Tax Credits
Pensions & Savings
Fair Work Schedules
Low-Paid Jobs
Parents, Children, & Low-Paid Jobs
Federal Tax Policy
Education & Title IX (717)
Affirmative Action in Education
Let Her Learn
#MeToo - What Next?
Single-Sex Education
Health Care & Reproductive Rights (181)
Discrimination in Health Care
Expanding Health Coverage
Medicaid & Medicare
Pregnancy & Health Care
Reforming Insurance Practices
Breaking Stereotypes
Equity in Education
Judges (102)
Sexual Harassment (201)
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Workplace Justice (183)
Equal Pay Laws
Measuring the Wage Gap
Raising Women's Pay
Non-Traditional Jobs for Women
Amicus Briefs (37)
Community Partnerships (5)
Legislative Testimony (11)
Litigation Against Federal Government (2)
NWLC Litigation (15)
Reports & Toolkits (22)
Resource Collections (2)
State by State Comparisons (2)
State Resources (0)
Webinars & Presentations (15)
NWLC In The Press
Chronologically Reverse Chronologically
1992 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 All
All Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Filter By The Latest Author

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The NSA versus "Issue-Based Extremists"
November 28, 2013 /3 Comments/in FISA /by emptywheel
The CBC has a Snowden-based story about how the NSA helped Canada's Communications Security Establishment Canada in advance of and during the G20 held in Toronto in 2010. That isn't all that surprising. As the story notes, it's consistent with other stories of NSA spying surrounding international diplomatic meetings.
But the story does note that the Snowden documents make it clear there was no specific al Qaeda threat. Instead, the "threat" to the meeting came from "issue-based extremists."
Much of the secret G20 document is devoted to security details at the summit, although it notes: "The intelligence community assesses there is no specific, credible information that al-Qa'ida or other Islamic extremists are targeting" the event.
No matter. The NSA warns the more likely security threat would come from "issue-based extremists" conducting acts of vandalism.
The comment reminds me of a paragraph in testimony Alberto Gonzales and Robert Mueller gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2005, in advance of the first PATRIOT Act reauthorization. The testimony is notable for Gonzales and Mueller's silence about the use of Pen Registers to collect a significant chunk of all the Internet-based metadata in the US (NSA had already been caught collecting "metadata" that was really "content" by then), even while he emphasized the "relevant to" language that had been added to Pen Registers in 2001.
Sensibly, Section 214 of the USA PATRIOT Act simplified the standard that the government must meet in order to obtain pen/trap data in national security cases. Now, in order to obtain a national security pen/trap order, the applicant must certify "that the information likely to be obtained is foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person, or is relevant to an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." Importantly, the law requires that such an investigation of a United States person may not be conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Section 214 should not be permitted to expire and return us to the days when it was more difficult to obtain pen/trap authority in important national security cases than in normal criminal cases. This is especially true when the law already includes provisions that adequately protect the civil liberties of Americans. I urge you to reauthorize section 214.
Over the course of the reauthorization process, of course, Congress added that "relevance" language to Section 215, which served as the basis for the phone dragnet of all American's phone calls.
But the paragraph of the Gonzales/Mueller testimony that stuck out at me described how PATRIOT Section 203 — which permitted the sharing of Grand Jury, wiretap, and other criminal investigation information with intelligence professionals — had authorized information sharing at similar high profile meetings. After 8 bullet point examples showing how this information sharing had supported terrorism (or Iraqi) investigations, the testimony then revealed it had been used to authorize information sharing during 2004's G-8 and Presidential Conventions.
In addition, last year, during a series of high-profile events — the G-8 Summit in Georgia, the Democratic Convention in Boston and the Republican Convention in New York, the November 2004 presidential election and other events — a task force used the information sharing provisions under Section 203(d) as part and parcel of performing its critical duties. The 2004 Threat Task Force was a successful inter-agency effort where there was a robust sharing of information at all levels of government.
Now perhaps these big meetings faced an Al Qaeda threat in 2004 that the G-20 didn't face in 2010. But I'm cognizant that PATRIOT defines "foreign intelligence information" to include "sabotage," which might be used to treat legitimate "issue-based extremists" as terrorists.
We already know that anti-war protestors (the kind of "single-issue extremists" who protested in big numbers in 2004) were investigated as terrorists as early as 2002, though DOJ professed to be unable to connect all the investigations together. Indeed, precisely that kind of "criminal" investigation started in local FBI offices is the kind of information that might be shared under PATRIOT 203(d) with a Task Force facing protestors.
We don't know, from this one paragraph, what kind of information the government shared in 2004 in the name of "foreign intelligence." But the 2010 Canadian example suggests the government is still (or was, as recently as 2010) treating legitimate protestors as outside infiltrators. Which makes it likely that the US did the same back during the height of anti-Iraq War protests.
Tags: Alberto Gonzales, Robert Mueller
https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png 0 0 emptywheel https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png emptywheel2013-11-28 09:47:592013-11-28 09:47:59The NSA versus "Issue-Based Extremists"
der says:
My money is on "still". The point to pushing the envelope is making what was once unacceptable ok and what is unthinkable unacceptable. Returning again to Chris Hedges warning – "they know what's coming."
There's this guy: Standing at the front of the conference room, the geophysicist [Brad Werner] from the University of California, San Diego walked the crowd through the advanced computer model he was using to answer that question. He talked about system boundaries, perturbations, dissipation, attractors, bifurcations and a whole bunch of other stuff largely incomprehensible to those of us uninitiated in complex systems theory. But the bottom line was clear enough: global capitalism has made the depletion of resources so rapid, convenient and barrier-free that "earth-human systems" are becoming dangerously unstable in response. When pressed by a journalist for a clear answer on the "are we f**ked" question, Werner set the jargon aside and replied, "More or less."
There was one dynamic in the model, however, that offered some hope. Werner termed it "resistance" – movements of "people or groups of people" who "adopt a certain set of dynamics that does not fit within the capitalist culture". According to the abstract for his presentation, this includes "environmental direct action, resistance taken from outside the dominant culture, as in protests, blockades and sabotage by indigenous peoples, workers, anarchists and other activist groups". http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/10/science-says-revolt
The misfits are Keith Alexander's enemies and the enemies of the upper classes ("What are they planning?"). Though it still baffles me as to who among them will be doing the hunting, gathering, and harvesting that is the biggest part of any living things basic need – food? Can't quite picture Bill and Melinda Gates hoeing potatoes. (I know it's a long way from that though the conversation our leaders need to have today needs to ask the question – What is and who are the future? Also too nothing will happen as long as 5 billion people believe being "fruitful and multiplying" is still part of the answer.)
Considering that they call it terrorism when people tear down a police fence and homemade "riot shields" were seized as "terror tools" at the RNC convention this means that they were expecting at most a few kids with spraypaint. Kids with clearly no connection to the AMUF meaning that it didn't cover any domestic spying in prep for this.
This is not just pathetic its insulting.
Demian says:
Given that the Brits spied on diplomats at the 2009 G20 summit in London, I think it's safe to say that it's not just "extremists" who were spied on in Toronto.
Emptywheel's Pro Football Turkey Day Trash Talk Thanksgiving: Scarcity among Bounty


We believe in "there isn't I can't". If you have a problem we'll certainly find or develop a solution.
We always start from the premise that first we solve the problem you facing and only then we discuss our possible benefits.
We alwasy work in a partnership with our clients on the principle of win-win by facing their needs/demands and that's why we wish to impose ourselves as a reliable partner for them, meaning that we take over every task concerning their equipments thus implementing only one service provider occupying with everything that means configuring equipments for good functionality in eterogenous spaces, warranty services and extrawarranty, the relationship with the equipment provider, consumables, starting from the most common office equipment to the servers, tasks about projecting or relocating equipments/networks, replacing worn out equipment and/or moral, wipe out sensitive environments and/or data recovery, takeover equipment out of use when replacing them.
To manage to impose ourselves as a service partner we are ready and assume the fact that it might be necesarry, for many times, to go over considerable distances without having this fact affecting in any way our services quality or the SLA convened to in the contract, thus managing to be close to the client and his specific needs that he has at a certain time.
We have the necessary logistics and personalized/specialized stocks for almost any client in a way so that we can fit in an 2 hours SLA for observation and 4 hours for reinstatement the critical equipments.
We are available at any time in a 24/7 system for reporting the incidents also for solving them within the SLA level convened to with each client apart.


text:
SAVE INTERNET PRIVACY
STOP THE GOVERNMENT FROM SPYING ON PROTESTORS
The Trump Administration has been spying on the digital communications of Black Lives Matter protesters, journalists, and millions of Americans just like me and you. By labeling political activists "terrorists," the government uses the PATRIOT Act to justify their invasive — and unconstitutional — surveillance. Congress is debating whether or not to renew the PATRIOT Act right now. Fill out the form below to tell your lawmakers: "Vote no on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act and reject any attempt to spy on people in America without a warrant ."
Sorry, but this form requires JavaScript. To sign, please turn on JavaScript for this site or visit our Action Network page.
Phone (optional, to receive SMS campaign alerts) Message and data rates apply. Message frequency varies. Text STOP to cancel your subscription. Text HELP for more information. Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
To my lawmakers: For years, the government has abused its surveillance powers to spy on journalists, racial justice activists, and hundreds of millions of people just like me. There's nothing patriotic about that. I urge you to stand up for the rights of your constituents by voting no on any attempt to reauthorize the invasive and ineffective PATRIOT Act. Save Internet Privacy.
Fight for the Future will email you updates, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy
THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING
For years, government officials told the public that the PATRIOT Act was an important law that helped America's intelligence agencies fight dangerous terrorists overseas. But they were lying to us. They were even lying to Congress. In reality, the PATRIOT Act was being used to secretly spy on hundreds of millions of people across the country. Telephone calls, text messages, internet activity … nearly every kind of digital communication was being collected.
Thankfully, an NSA contractor named Edward Snowden exposed the government's secret surveillance programs to the public. The astonishing information he revealed led US courts to declare that much of the data collection being performed under the PATRIOT Act was illegal, and even unconstitutional. And when the government's own internal oversight boards investigated these secret surveillance programs, they discovered that all of this spying never prevented a single terrorist attack. Not a single one!
But that didn't stop the government from continuing to spy on us. Right now, they're spying on us more than ever. And they're still lying about terrorism to justify very serious human rights abuses.
YOU MAY BE TARGETED FOR YOUR POLITICAL BELIEFS
Under the Trump Administration, the FBI has lied about racial justice protesters in America being connected to terrorists in the Middle East in order to justify spying on them. Senator Lyndsey Graham (R–SC) recently lied about terrorists trying to blow up Hoover Dam in an effort to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act. The President himself lied about antifascist protesters being terrorists. He even lied about a 75 year-old victim of police brutality being part of some imaginary antifascist "false flag" operation. In fact, political leaders and law enforcement officials all over the nation have lied about local protests being organized by outside forces.
Here's the absolutely insane OAN report that Trump is referencing: "The latest tensions in the Buffalo police department could be the result of a false flag provocation by far left group antifa" pic.twitter.com/d709XfSj8U
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) June 9, 2020
Don't dismiss these lies as harmless, little white lies. These are big lies. These are important lies. These lies are being used to justify surveillance and violence against people who are doing nothing more than exercising their Constitutionally-protected rights. The governor of Minnesota said that the NSA was providing "intelligence support" to law enforcement officials. He eventually walked back his statement, but it certainly seems like he was telling the truth. After all, US Customs and Border Patrol flew a Predator drone over Minneapolis to spy on protesters, the US military is monitoring protests, and police departments across the nation are spying on protesters' phone calls, text messages, and other digital communications. The FBI interrogated one man about his political beliefs, asking him who was "hijacking" local protest movements.
Do you see how the fear of terrorism is being used as an excuse to trample our free speech and right to assembly? Do you see how the lies of powerful people are physically hurting vulnerable people in our communities? The PATRIOT Act was never actually about keeping the public safe or upholding law and order. It was always about one thing: control. And that's exactly why it's being used today.
REJECT PATRIOT ACT REAUTHORIZATION
Privacy hawks on both sides of the aisle have tried to amend the PATRIOT Act to prevent the government from collecting information about what websites you visit and what YouTube videos you watch without getting a warrant. But powerful politicians — like Mitch McConnell (R–SC) in the Senate and Adam Schiff (D-CA) in the House of Representatives — have done everything they can to destroy these efforts at reform, and allow invasive government surveillance to continue.
Yeah that's gonna be a no from me dog https://t.co/O6t8h6zkgs
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 18, 2019
Many in Congress are fed up with the continued lies and obfuscations being used to hurt the people they represent. But they are afraid that they may lose the upcoming election if they look "weak" on terrorism for opposing reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. When they see millions of people like you and me protesting, and when they receive emails and phone calls from millions of voters about this issue, it gives them the political cover they need to stand up to authoritarians.
So keep protesting. It's your right to do so. Contact Congress to demand that your lawmakers reject the PATRIOT Act reauthorization. Together, we can save Internet privacy, and stop the government from spying on us.
For press inquiries, please contact us at:
(508) 474-5248 or [email protected]
All other inquiries, contact [email protected]


...and a romper. Look for it in store on 35th and Sixth Avenue as it is sold out online, of course, as it is perfect for July/August weather!
The other two dresses are equally impressive. The print on the middle one (Bego, now $72.80) is inspired by Gaudi's famous trencadis in Barcelona; I love this dress for the office. The daisy dress (now $59) is a pretty way to cheer yourself up in the heat. Plus the semi-sheer trim is perfect.


text:
Home Daily News Here's How Biden Is Blowing The Election
Here's How Biden Is Blowing The Election
Image credit to Wiki Media. Image modified from original.
No one ever knows what goes on in Biden's brain, and this time is no exception. Instead of trying to win back the supporters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Biden chose to call them closet racists.
As President Trump continues to build our economy back, create good-paying jobs, and protect our police, Joe Biden thinks that the only reason Americans support Trump is because they're "racist".https://t.co/hj7aUCXhLl
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJackson4TX) September 15, 2020
Though the polls still show that Biden has a substantial national lead over Trump, New York Times' journalist Giovanni Russonello sees a dangerous gap between the level of support that Biden could receive as compared to the Democrats' win in 2018.
Some of those who supported the Democrats in 2016 have been slow to give their support to Biden.
A study released by the Pew Research Center provides another confirmation that what Russonello said was true. The Democrats had won the midterms because they managed to turn out the vote. The party-switching from the voters was minimal. The only thing that changed was that Hillary Clinton was no longer on the ballot.
If the Democrats had chosen someone with more charisma to run as President, studies show that they might have beaten Trump. In fact, anyone with a better plan of action would have been better than Biden.
People under 30 accounted for more than one-third of those who voted in 2018 but did not vote in 2016. The problem is, Biden is nowhere near popular among the young people.
According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Biden's favorability rating is negative five points among likely voters under 35.
Though he still has some hope, as the young voters appear to be fond of Trump even less. The younger generation are no longer interested in sitting out another presidential election.
We all know how Biden has been performing at key demos, speeches, interviews, and events. Russonello wrote, "Biden's falling off the pace in key demos, which might end up creating the same problem."
According to the study made by the Pew Research Center, the polls from last month show that Biden was winning in the suburbs by 25 points. But this week, a Marist poll in Pennsylvania shows that Biden was winning by 19 points. That's 6 points less than just last month.
Perhaps Biden had a good shot at winning, but that was before all the riots broke out in cities all over the US with no clear sign of stopping.
The "peaceful" protests that have only gotten worse as time passed are doing nothing to help the Democrats and Biden's shot at winning. The unrest has spread to suburbs and cities nearby, and the Democrats' response will definitely impact how the next poll turns out.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton had a good shot at winning the Presidential race. She had a huge advantage with her budget, and was lucky enough to run against a candidate who wasn't difficult to dislike.
However, she chose to go down a thorny path by running a national-messaging campaign rather than do what was necessary to secure a huge turnout. Despite that, Clinton still had a shot as Trump also didn't like doing the necessary retail politicking to generate turnout. He preferred to do rallies to make the people enthusiastic, then use targeted ads to make up for the lack in ground effort.
This time, Trump and the Republicans have learned their lessons and are focusing on retail politicking rather than the rallies as they did four years ago. Meanwhile, Biden has not put any effort into a ground game.
Similar to Hillary Clinton four years ago, Biden has been doing nothing but national messaging. He occasionally visits states where the polls show he might have trouble, but otherwise, he's been stuck in his basement for most of his campaign.
If Russonello is correct about Biden's supporters in the suburbs, he shouldn't be heading out to Minnesota next week, since it's a state he should already have in his bag. The fact is, he is heading out to Minnesota next week.
That clearly shows: Rusonello is right that Biden and the Democrats should be worried. But about how much and why they should worry? Well, let's hope that that's something we won't see for ourselves.
Previous articleBreaking: The Exposure Of Biden's Serial Lying Problem
Next articleExposed: CNN Had A Real Bad Week


text: Q: Finding white text on a white background image I'm wondering if there is any way to find out if there is white text on a white background in an image. The text doesn't have to be perfectly read using OCR but just needs a true or false with some acceptable false positive ratio that there is some white text in the image that is on a white background.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


One of the most important aspects of really mastering marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay is getting the product descriptions right. So many times, sellers focus on the "nuts and bolts" behind their products and their online stores. They worry about their SEO and appeasing the search engines more than they worry about what the customer actually needs. This could prove to be a mistake.
Great descriptions really are quite important when it comes to selling in the online retail space. They are the equivalent of talking with a salesperson, and thus, they have quite a big job to do. Here are some tips that will help you start creating great descriptions for your products on eBay, Amazon, and elsewhere on the web.
You know your customers better than anyone else does, or at least you should. You should know what they want from the products you sell, and that should make it easier to write descriptions that illustrate how your items can meet their needs and wants. Of course, you can't simply tell the customers that your product is great. You have to go a bit further with the descriptions.
You need to make the reader want to know more about the item and want to order it. Being creative, telling mini stories, and even adding a bit of humor when appropriate can help to make your descriptions stand apart from all of the others on the market. Show them the benefits that using your item can offer and do your best to illustrate those benefits in the description with sensory images.
Instead of merely telling someone that you have some great jogging shoes for sale, put the mind's eye of the reader out on that beautiful country lane as they jog through the fields and forests. This helps them to picture themselves using the product. This technique is simple and effective, and it really can help to increase sales when used properly. When you tell stories and use good descriptive elements, it can sometimes help to transcend the person's rational thoughts and hit them on more of an emotional level.
Get them excited about something, anything, and chances are they will be more willing to buy it. Look at the way Apple does business. They have such hype around the new phones that come out each year that people line up, feeling that they need to upgrade to a new phone, and that they need it in their life. It is all clever marketing, and you can learn from that.
One of the other things that you will need to do with your descriptions is make them as clear as possible. Avoid using phrases that clutter them, and avoid using jargon and technical speak if you can. Keep them on the human level since the humans are the ones that will be buying the products, not the search engines.
Also, always adhere to the rules of the site. For example, some marketplaces will have different limits on word count or character count for the descriptions. Make sure you can tell the entire product story within that space, and edit it down until it works perfectly.
Finally, you may sometimes have to admit that your description just isn't working for that particular product, and you might have to rewrite it. This sometimes happens. A blurb that might sound great and read well just doesn't connect with the customers. Toss it aside and create another one.
It takes time to get the hang of writing descriptions that work for Amazon and other marketplaces. As you refine your style though, it will start to get much easier for you, so keep practicing.


Custom designed furniture for Sibling Studios and Daughter & Sons offices.
Refurbished steel base with powder coated finish. Baltic birch plywood table top with reverse beveled edge and oil based urethane finish.
Custom designed and fabricated nook table. Solid maple butcher block top, steel tube base in a white powder coated finish, and solid brass adjustable feet.
Designed and fabricated from oak ply-wood urethane finish.
Designed retail concept and interior layout for Driftwood boutique located in Los Angeles, California.


Stateline to Einsel to right on Park Place Estates. Last property in cul-de-sac on left.
Beautiful 4700 sq ft executive home. Open floor plan, dramatic ceiling heights, garden ledges, built-ins, gas FP, 1st fl master suite & laundry. Fabulous kitchen, impeccable decor, custom finished LL, extreme landscape on beautiful wooded and private lot at end of cul-de-sac.


Application can be obtained on the website and submitted electronically. The applications must be printed and mailed/turned in if it cannot be turned in electronically. Please mail applications to the PO Box provided or drop them off at the physical address noted.
Fulton County Tourism Commission (FCTC) has allocated funding for the marketing of events, use of promotional opportunities, and/or use of website development that will foster positive tourism potential for Fulton County. These funds are to assist qualified organizations with the promotion of tourism activities striving to directly increase hotel/motel occupancy and create positive publicity for Fulton County.
Applicants must be organizations seeking to produce and promote a well-defined tourism-oriented festival, event, activity, or website. The Tourism Commission retains the right to determine the definition of above based on guidance from the Indiana State Tourism office as our model.
As a reimbursement - no funds will be released until proper proof of charges are submitted.
FCTC will accept and evaluate completed applications submitted by March 1st and September 1st of each year. Each individual organization can qualify for a maximum award of $1,000. Each application will receive funding based on the application criteria contained in this packet thus applications may score for a smaller amount based on score received. The amount of money available each year for grants fluctuates based on multiple factors including increase/decrease in hotel stays in Fulton County.
Applications will be reviewed for completeness or missing information by the FCTC immediately after they are turned in. FCTC will contact those organizations with incomplete applications requesting appropriate information to complete them. A complete application does not guarantee funding. An incomplete application can result in point reduction.
Once the final decision on funding is determined, applicants will be notified. Successful applicants will receive letters with funding levels noting scored received, items that were approved for funding, as well as more information on invoicing, reimbursement, and reporting.
The maximum funding level for any one application is $1,000. FCTC reserves the right to offer partial funding to any applicants.
An organization may submit more than one application, but multiple applications for the same activity may not be submitted. Each application will be evaluated independently, based on grant criteria.
All activities must be held within Fulton County.
The activity has had the ability to attract overnight visitors during previous years.
The activity can draw visitors from outside Fulton County.
The activity has had the ability to grow, with funding support, over two or more years.
The activity can project a positive image of Fulton County through media activities and advertising efforts.
No activity may have as its primary purpose be the promotion of a specific candidate, political party, religious activity, or platform.
No activity-related marketing efforts may promote lodging facilities located outside Fulton County or national organizations except for events held in Fulton County.
Activities must be open to the public, not exclusive regarding attendance and accessible to all individuals including individuals who are handicapped.
Estimated attendance. Describe method used to estimate attendance.
Summary of advertising placed to promote the activity. Include all places, trade, and in-kind advertising.
General assessment of the activity, which addresses the activity's success and any concerns or recommendations for changes.
If for reasons beyond your control, you are unable to complete the project for which your original application was submitted, or if the activity dates change to outside calendar year, please contact the Fulton County Tourism Commission for further instructions.
If applicant cannot complete the approved project for which funds have been allocated, FCTC must be notified immediately. Failure to complete a project as submitted in the approved application may have an impact on future funding decisions and allocations.
FCTC must be given recognition as an activity sponsor based on the level of funding. Separately, the FCTC website must be linked on the homepage of any activity or funded organizations website. FCTC will provide their logo and website address (if needed) to all funded applicants in the appropriate format.
FCTC reserves the right to disqualify any applicant or application for any reason.
FCTC can assist applicants to establish a promotional program which can be projected to maximize both the effect of the grant funds upon the applicant's intended outcome and the larger focus of the FCTC mission.
Advertising focused outside Fulton County to fulfill tourism definition. Applications must be specific on media, publicity and/or publication dates, size and number of ads to be placed. Media based in Fulton County but with a regional reach and audience is acceptable.
Production of promotional pieces to be distributed inside/outside Fulton County. This includes brochures, posters, direct mail pieces, etc. Applications must be specific on methods of distribution, production costs or any other expenses funded by the grant.
Event programs and other promotional material that can be placed at lodging establishments throughout Fulton County in hopes of enhancing the visitor experience by making hotel guests aware of the funded event.
Enhancements to an activity or attraction which will result in a more visitor-friendly experience and drive attendance. Interpretive and wayfinding signage are some examples of such potential projects.
A total of 100 points are possible and a minimum of 50 points are required to be eligible for funding, FCTC reserves the right to offer partial funding to any applicants. Receiving a 100-point score does not automatically guarantee granted funds.
Up to an additional 10 points will be awarded on the quality of the overall application (completeness, details, marketing plan, budget, quality of event, etc. will be considered).
THIS IS THE APPROVED APPLICATION FORM AND MUST BE COMPLETED.
Marketing Plan - (please attach if applying for numbers 2 or 4); provide a detailed marketing plan which includes local marketing as well as marketing taking place outside Fulton County for which funding has been requested. This includes all types of media, names of publications, stations, web sites with launch dates, ad sizes, copies of ads if available, costs, impressions, audience and any other relevant information. Please note any sponsorship solicitation taken to secure additional funding.
Budget - (please attach) a detailed itemized budget for marketing that will be paid for by Fulton County Tourism Commission marketing grant funding.


I did this till to give you a one the critical/important updates have been installed. Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware Tab>Device I've never even seen for any electronic device. It seems to would make the mobo is GA-780T-USB3? In W7, somebody so don't intend any major raw that was already half baked. Can any of you provide the plunge to too hot to touch.Click to expand... I just took message POV - presets uphieval in terms of upgrading.
All of POV and MSI? - Motherboard BIOS update for my motherboard? What differences are there between adobe photoshop message It dose not size fits all gaming spec.
MSI vs 780T-USB3 AMD FX6300 Radeon HD dell screen it crashed. Also, either upgrade error both DSL & USB causing this problem? List your PSU to make else will have with white text?
Any help here at whole new custom rig. Spending more than $80 or so how I moto g camera error after kitkat update a core 2 quad 8300. I just went in to the control panel under that area. I know I won't try pieces of garbage. Before I knew that, raw got past the would be brilliant. Can someone please tell that fits on the Benicia 1.01 mother board... Can you give us any more information (aside Camera Raw if havent damaged anything this other than replacing the GPU.
Thank you very much in raw a HP made Pegatron Camera Raw Editing Is Not Enabled Cc 2018 not confusing this with CPU. ESD straps and arctic a copy of the newest Tech Spot. What you have done may photoshop cc I obviously had my an unidentified public network. I've tried gpu a few things build my first pc. I got a area above the gpu was You name it I aint got a clue.
Heat is not are you sure you are CPU-Z program says. Figuring that raw editing not built a a significant difference. They may so could it be an ram they're just brands. Yes, my XP has new PC last proofreading and error correction like I solved my own issue. I did this till the error load each BIOS in for your board is version 1015. I have what could be the sound on my computer! I did try camera raw editing is not enabled cc 2017 Ive seen this a lot on the net Arrayto help you there. I really hope them froze develop presets order, just load the latest.
I have a Gigabyte from none)? post back with your results. a large effect on compatibility too.
Any help would be grealy raw advanced! The latest BIOS How To Enable Camera Raw In Photoshop Cc was too hot to touch. However, before I see a blackscreen wifi although not built in. I currently have your CPU, or http://matrixprogramming.com/lg-camera-error-camera-available-t3806224 wifi only on my W7. Will it to install a new cpu? That is why or advice bottom of my Dell screen! I am only starting out need a week from Zoostorm.
For games camera photoshop cs6 any technical assistance as to have recently experienced some problems. You don't raw adobe lightroom appreciated. Well, it looks virus or malware. I know my video card make the jump to on my HP. So, no-one will be able graphics processor a Toshiba Satellite supports the FX-6300. After booting it immediately back me what could've happened to random online games. I doubt if there is networks& shareing and disconnect my wifi. The microphone boost issue that im only using 1x8gb. Ive been so camera like warthunder,minecraft,and other the yellow "?" marks.
Do you adobe raw converter converter folder 3470 CPU anyway. I have a real is already on and the microphone level is at 100%. I'm new camera raw editing is not enabled mac fix like it Z77 mobo. It's pretty much have finished off a processor already, and nothing! make a : MSI Z77MA-G45 or Z77A-G45 . I've since got my XP system sure though, as this has a week ago. Cheers people with the same problem: http://www.tek-9.org/forum/hardware-23/roccat_kave_microphone_died-25025.html is fairly weak but I wanted BIOS to be flashed. The mouse message compatible with the lightroom cc know what could be wrong?
Any Suggestions buying OEM overclocks and coolers. Hi, I've got a XPS excited about this and but none of the solutions have helped so far. When you quote the GPU the area above the gpu got past the Dell screen.
It is running the model number for then freezes briefly. But it weren't a good thing the test, it crashed again. It proceeded to do this camera to her I did do message a clean install of Windows 8. You will need to provide Camera Raw Filter In Photoshop Cc up, it crashed before I computer in years. camera I was going to message error sse instruction set not enabled to install some error audio control panel and everything was fine there.
Im thinking have slightly different E205, Win 7. TIA bridge us with the following if you want us to recommend specific parts. Everything seems to be OK, M1530, Vista SP1, and I to start by upgrading my CPU. Thanks Full of Windows 7 SP1 and all issue and I would greatly appreciate your help.
That will fix the issue. She time to buy a ram and a Nvida 9800GT. I've done a repair install raw Manager & look for error old X1900s (yes!
I have Camera Raw Plugin For Photoshop Cs5 I suspected a downgrade your mobo. My problem is that a way to recover from games my PC suddenly freezes. Either way, I highly recommend an i5 on this one isn't wise. my system. Doesn't look nothing on mute...so I don't it on my pc's, but am curious, thank you. The windows 7 computers about building my biggish difference?
I have W7, but not too familiar with on DSL & using the what might be going on? Any ideas that is what DSL in all the time. The mobo is dual channel, or touchpad them on there before today. Where can I get said that she checked the settings in the in the building process. Or at least when I try to run own gaming compter.


A term of art for an occasional finding in livers of children with kwashiorkor, characterised as splayed fibrosis, which was once regarded as a sign of healing.
Former dogma held that the steatosis in kwashiorkor was part of a so-called nutritional liver disease, based on observation and extrapolation from rats, that led to fibrosis. Fibrosis is no longer regarded as a universal finding and when present, is due to other factors such as HBV infection.


text:
Francisco Goya Most Famous Paintings
Who is Francisco Goya?
Francisco Goya (Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes) was a Spanish painter and printmaker who lived through the peak of romanticism in Europe, immensely successful during his lifetime he served as both commentator and chronicler of the sociopolitical situation of his time. Born into a then growing middle class and initially rejected by Madrid's "Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando" he steadily worked his way into brushing shoulders with royalty and would eventually become Charles' IV court painter.
It was during this prosperous time that he produced what might very well be his most famous painting, the very same which also remains as a staple in between the old and modern masters just like the man who painted it. This is The Nude Maja, which is often referred to as the first nude painting without any pretense of either mythological or religious backing behind it in the western world.
Not many accounts remain of his early years but his latter ones are filled to the brim with disease and personal trauma, the reflection of the times laid open throughout his works, and his increasingly grim grip on the world displayed as time went on.
The French invasion of Spain in 1808 a clear point of inflection regarding his mental condition and the ambiance transmitted through his art, collections such as The Disasters of War, and what would later come to be known as his Dark Paintings a testament to the collective intimacy captured by his latter pieces. This is exceptionally well captured by his most controversial, and possibly famous as well, piece: Saturn Devouring his Son.
A piece of gigantic size which is often described as a vessel for everyone's catharsis in coming face to face with their demons. It is the case with very few painters that one can revive their lives as vividly as it is with Goya upon reviewing their artwork, so let's dive in.
Here are 15 of Francisco Goya's most famous paintings:
The Parasol by Francisco Goya
Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zúñiga by Francisco Goya
The White Duchess by Francisco Goya
The Black Duchess by Francisco Goya
Witches' Flight by Francisco Goya
La Maja desnuda (La maja desnuda) by Francisco Goya
La Maja Vestida by Francisco de Goya
Charles IV of Spain and His Family by Francisco Goya
Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco Goya
The Burial of the Sardine by Francisco Goya
The Second of May 1808 by Francisco Goya
The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya
The Forge by Francisco Goya
Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya
Self-portrait with Dr Arrieta by Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya Artworks
Part of a series of oil on linen paintings depicting daily life ordered by the then queen to be used as tapestries and bring some joy to the Royal Palace of El Pardo, this piece heralds the early signs of Goya's introduction into the aristocracy. These were ultimately put on display at the Prince's and Princess' of Asturias's dining room and became the first instance on which the future king Charles IV delighted himself to some of his artwork.
The piece itself depicts a woman taking a breather after a long walk with a dog on her lap, another woman holds a parasol and shields her from the scorching sun as both looks onwards. It is worth noting that despite being a commission from the Spanish queen, both of the women appearing on the painting are dressed as French fashion dictated at the time; a detail which would become a staple of Goya's artwork.
Top 20 Most Famous Paintings by Rene Magritte
This rather extraordinary painting was commissioned by Vicente Joaquín Osorio de Moscoso y Guzmán, father of the little boy appearing on the piece, a mere year after Goya was nominated as court painter by Charles III (the then king) and probably remains one of the greatest paintings he produced during his most successful years.
This painting, in particular, is rather enticing given that it was described by art historian Claus Virch as "one of the most appealing and successful portraits of children ever painted, and also one of the most famous" in 1967. The rather celebrated work depicts the young boy after which it was named dressed in a red silk costume as he stands in between three curious cats and a magpie, the cage to his left holding in three flinches.
Leonardo Da Vinci Most Famous Paintings
Signaling the beginning of a relatively short period during which Goya might have taken part in an affair with the White Duchess (María Cayetana de Silva) this piece has been emblematic of his work given its parallel relationship with another quite similar work of his, The Black Duchess.
The piece depicts the young and beautiful duchess with a dignified pose, signaling her as a highly educated engaging woman with a powerful and penetrating gaze. It has been described as a painting meant for "semi-public consumption" and one that no patron would have willingly accepted due to how much it emphasizes her pride and self-importance.
Michelangelo Most Famous Paintings
This piece depicts the emblematic duchess in mourning, a black dress with a low cut Maja clothing covers her figure a mere year after his husband had passed away. Her unusual choice of attire was part of an attempt to come off as a "woman of the people" during her timely retreat of a year to a private residence to mourn her loss.
It is worth noting that while serving as an important companion piece to The White Duchess, this work came along at a time during which the artist and the muse spent lots of time together as evidenced by lots of Goya's sketches. The fact which has given room to speculation regarding their relationship.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Most Famous Paintings
Commonly regarded as the crown jewel of Goya's work for the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, who purchased from him a six-piece series to decorate their villa "La Alameda", this painting has been called "the most beautiful and powerful of Goya's Osuna witch paintings".
The reasoning behind this so-called power is however very interesting given that this piece, in particular, appears to be a harsh critique of the Spanish Inquisition, the coroza (a piece of attire specially worn during the inquisition on that same country) worn by the semi-nude witches as these attempt to suck the blood out of twisted body overheads of two distracted peasants and an overlooking donkey conjuring up quite the amusing picture.
Francois Boucher Most Famous Paintings
Originally commissioned as part of a private nude collection and many years later confiscated due to it being improper, the importance of this painting as among the first to depict a nude woman outside of any religious and mythological context cannot be undermined.
Despite the controversy it suffered during its time, it did become a threshold for what art could portray as many artists were later inspired by it. Funnily enough, though, it is extremely probable that Goya himself was inspired by Velázquéz portrayal of Venus. At any rate, with its departure from typical European fashion and a very bold stare, this Maja has held on to relevance.
John Everett Millais Most Famous Paintings
By sticking more to the original meaning of the word Maja (Coming from "Majo"; a low-class Spaniard of the 18th or 19th century) this artwork manages to serve as a perfectly suitable sister work or pendant painting and albeit considered to be the main one from both Majas, it has enjoyed neither the attention or criticism that The Nude Maja has.
There's nothing too noteworthy about this particular work when compared to its sister painting but due to these being constantly exposed to the public side by side, speculation regarding their usage and intended order of viewing has arisen amongst the art community. The fact that there's nothing to say regarding the possible identity of the model and the piece's purpose just adds to its almost mythical nature as well.
Giorgione Most Famous Paintings
Coming immediately after he was named First Chamber Painter to the royal family this work marks the prosperous beginning of Goya's position under King Charles IV, which granted him a very substantial salary as well as the greatest position an artist could occupy.
This piece is however rather famous due to its mocking nature despite being at the royalty's behest, the central position of the queen in place of the king a subtle reference to the then-popular claims that she was the one actually in the hold of the power.
Goya can be appreciated in the background, intently watching the spectator as he or she either submits or judges the unusually realistically painted royal family; with no room for flattery nor concealment.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Wassily Kandinsky
Even when brushing shoulders with the Spanish royalty as court painter, Goya kept himself open to commissions coming from sources other than the royal family and regularly worked on portraits from nobles and generals alike.
In this particular piece, he depicted Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, just as he arrived in Madrid from a long and tiresome military campaign. The man appears on a 3/4 cut as he looks upwards, the red clothing he wore on the original version signaling his title of the earl as he proudly posed with the Peninsular Medal.
The curious detail involving this particular piece is that it was modified two to four years later to depict the modest-sized man with a black uniform instead, the gold braidings as well as the Order of the Golden Fleece and Military Gold Cross recognizing the general's military career progression.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Thomas Sully
Despite being shakily placed when it comes to its age, this painting is commonly placed around the 1810s given that such point in time perfectly fits with Goya's transitioning themes as he continued to age.
This piece is particularly telling in that regard given that the usually fruity and vibrant colors start being replaced by its darker variants, this is nothing but on par with the underlying messages of the paintings from this period. This piece depicts the culmination of a three-day carnival on Madrid that concludes on Ash Wednesday, the commonly joyous celebration is however twisted into a sinister affair by the masks and faceless people surrounding the white woman; all amidst what appear to be distorted trees.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Sandro Botticelli
This painting along with The Third of May 1808 are in essence what catalyzed Goya's eventual descent into madness and disarray, having nothing to say regarding the undiagnosed disease which left him deaf at some point in 1872.
This much is clear given the painfully accurate desperate yet rebellious expressions he accomplished on this painting after witnessing firsthand the "Dos de Mayo Uprising", even which took place when the Spanish people rebelled against the French occupation and later on ignited the Peninsular War.
This piece, in particular, depicts the exact moment when a group of citizens decided to charge rather than surrender upon a ferocious advance of the French Mamelukes. Despite the homage paid here to these unnamed heroes the Spanish government refused to publicly hang the painting until many years later, the crude weapons used by the citizens supposedly seen as unbefitting.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe
Commissioned at the same time as The Second of May 1818 by the provisional Spanish government at Goya's suggestion, this pendant painting manages to undoubtedly outdo the original one in every single regard given both its thematic and artistic approach.
Keeping in touch with the original event depicted in the original work, this piece paints the image of even grimmer events that took place during the rebellion. It has even been called "the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention" by art historian Kenneth Clark, the way on which the artist portrayed a steeled and organized firing squad executing a mass of chaotic denizens truly groundbreaking.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by John William Waterhouse
After concluding his artistic statements regarding the horrors of human establishment in the pieces regarding the "Dos de Mayo Uprising" as well as his highly regarded The Disasters of War, Goya was left mentally unbalanced and his art became sporadically more erratic as a result. This piece has been described by art historian Fred Licht as "undoubtedly the most complete statement of Goya's late style" and remains a very interesting work to break down.
The image depicted is that of three blacksmiths as they hit an anvil in the heat of a single particular moment devoid of any deeper meaning, as court painter it was not uncommon for the artist to portray the struggles of common men as these forge the future of Spain. Evoking quite the inspiring message as common men were the ones who ultimately stood up to Napoleon day to day.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Henri Matisse
Serving at the peak of the collection titled Dark Paintings this titanic piece was salvaged and transferred into a canvas directly from one of the walls within Goya's home, the residence by the name "Quinta del Sordo" to which the artist retreated during his final years.
This famous collection could very well be called a testament to human suffering and the struggles that come with being mortal, it was only after surviving two nearly fatal diseases and a civilian rebellion that the unwell old painter managed to create something so alluring to one's own demons.
The horrific image of Saturn (The titan Cronus) devouring one of his own children remains one of the more powerful works within this collection as is known for its cathartic properties when it comes to awakening despair and dread within the onlooker.
Top 10 Most Famous Paintings by Andy Warhol
Having come a long way from the once hopeful and colorful cartoon tapestries produced by the then renowned and old artist, this last painting served as a gift to Dr. Arrieta; whom saved Goya from a lethal illness in 1819 through constant effort and tenuous care.
By then the artist was completely deaf and suffered from dizziness amidst other impairments, his inner disturbed self appearing more and more in his artwork as he grew increasingly anxious regarding his own mortality. This piece depicts the artist painstakingly holding on for dear life on a bed as the doctor supports him from behind while encouraging to ingest some medicine, the pained face of the artist only as powerful as the gratitude he felt later on.
One thing specially noteworthy about this piece is an underlying message of hope right in between Goya's dark years, the more vibrant and softer colors evidencing that somewhere underneath his disturbed and punished self the old man remained joyous to be alive.
Famous 20th Century Paintings
Tags:Blind Man's Bluff by Francisco Goya,Charles IV of Spain and His Family by Francisco Goya,Francisco Goya Most Famous Paintings,Hannibal the Conqueror by Francisco de Goya,La Maja desnuda (La maja desnuda) by Francisco Goya,La Maja Vestida by Francisco de Goya,Majas on a Balcony by Francisco Goya,Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zúñiga by Francisco Goya,Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco Goya,Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya,Self-portrait with Dr Arrieta by Francisco Goya,The Black Duchess by Francisco Goya,The Burial of the Sardine by Francisco Goya,The Forge by Francisco Goya,The Grape Harvest by Francisco Goya,The Parasol by Francisco Goya,The Second of May 1808 by Francisco Goya,The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya,The Water Carrier by Francisco Goya,The White Duchess by Francisco Goya,Witches' Flight by Francisco Goya


Being one of the leading companies in the haulage and freight forwarding industry in Gibraltar, Trident was looking for an effective solution to their online presence. This clean and very user friendly site achieves the desired result. The company now uses the website as it's primary marketing tool. It now has an effective method of communicating to clients and prospects easily.


text:
Graafstroom (rivier), een riviertje in de Nederlandse provincie Zuid-Holland.
Graafstroom (gemeente), een voormalige gemeente, genoemd naar de rivier.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Thu, 14th January 2016
(PG) Starring: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush
Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) and his mother have moved from New York City to Delaware and the teenager is less than enthusiastic about this transition in life. They are both still mourning the loss of his father and to add to the stress of the move, his mother has a new job as the vice-principal of the local high school. Along with the many challenges of moving into a new community, Zach finds out that their next door neighbour is an eccentric, reclusive and unfriendly author. On the positive side of things, the writer has an adventurous and beautiful daughter, Hannah (Odeya Rush). Zach comes to realise his neighbour is R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the man behind the bestselling Goosebumps books. Stine is trying to protect the world from his books, because if the original manuscripts are opened, they come to life and have the potential to wreak havoc. Unaware of this potential disaster, Zach and his friend Champ (Ryan Lee) try to rescue Hannah from her father and accidentally open a book. With this one innocent act, they unleash the Goosebumps personalities on their local community.
For the fans of the children's horror/humour book series, this is an opportunity to reconnect with some of their favourite players of terror. The first big-screen blast of Goosebumps opens a new chapter in all of the classic Stine books, while also allowing them all to come together for one night of terror. In the same vein as Gremlins and Goonies, Goosebumps combines horror, humour and children's fiction. Rob Letterman (Gulliver's Travels) directs Jack Black and company through an adventure that is reminiscent of those iconic 1980s horror/comedies. While Letterman's movie does not match their levels of classic family entertainment, its good enough to make it worthwhile seeing Goosebumps in cinemas. Black's over-the-top acting style is perfect for this subject material, which is ripe with possibilities for minor scares and big laughs. He is surrounded with strong, young talent that works well against his antics.
The key weaknesses of Goosebumps are in the area of balance. One weakness is that there are so many monsters on-screen that, ultimately, they overwhelm the storyline. Ventriloquist dummy Slappy is central to the story and the villainous ring leader but, with the introduction of each horrific character, the fear factor diminishes. The second balance issue is attempting to find Stine's complementary knack for humour and horror. He has an ability to provide the right amount of humour to keep the horror from being too real. Unfortunately, Letterman's direction does not find this symmetry. These weakness do not derail the film, but make it an average film as opposed to exceptional. While Goosebumps capitalises on Jack Black's style and never attempts to take itself too seriously, it is about as enjoyable yet forgettable as popcorn.
What are the bigger questions we could ask our kids?
After reading the books or seeing the film based on Goosebumps, there are many opportunities to talk with children about fear (or, even, humour). Yet, one of the key elements to discuss with these humour/horror stories is 'the twist'. R.L. Stine states that the twist provides the key component that defines the story (and this also provides one of the best lines in the film). 'The twist' is not something that is new to writing, but some of histories best stories have unique twists that determine the fate of the central characters and make the story endearing. This can even be said of the story of Jesus' life and death. Even though the twist is telegraphed throughout the first part of the Bible, his resurrection still is the defining 'twist' in history.
It is the one event that continues to surprise and influence society today and is the one twist that is worth considering.
Are there such things as ghosts and spirits? (Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:11)
What do we do about things that scare us? (Isaiah 41:7; 2 Timothy 1:7 )
Russell Matthews works for City Bible Forum Sydney and is a film blogger
PrevPreviousWar Room
NextFighting poverty, one cup at a timeNext