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Ventoy: create bootable USB media that uses ISO images
Updated • Apr 20, 2020
When you want to create a bootable USB device, you may use programs like Rufus for that or tools provided by the developers of operating systems. What these tools do, usually, is to extract an ISO image to the USB device and make the device bootable in the process.
Ventoy is a new software application for Linux and Windows that does things a bit differently. Instead of extracting an ISO image, it allows you to place the actual ISO images on the USB device so that you may boot from them directly. The program supports multiple ISO images that you can place on a USB device and uses GRUB as the boot manager.
You can transfer multiple ISO images to the device once the Ventoy structure has been created on the device using an installer. It is possible to place Windows and Linux images on the device to boot from them whenever the need arises. Updating of ISO images is a breeze as well as you simply replace an ISO image with another.
Installation is pretty straightforward on Windows. Just download the application archive from the developer website and extract it. Not that Windows may throw a Smartscreen warning when you execute it.
All it takes then is to select an USB device using the device selector at the top and to hit the Update button to start the process. Ventoy formats the entire disk and erase all content on it but warns about it. The application creates a FAT and an exFAT partition on the device.
Once the initial installation has been done, place ISO images on the partition. Ventoy will pick these up automatically when you boot it to provide you with a selection menu. Just select the operating system that you want to boot and wait for the boot process to complete.
Ventoy is an interesting program for Windows and Linux users who work with one or multiple ISO images regularly. It can be used to place multiple Windows client and server ISO images and/or Linux images on the same device to boot from them. For Windows, one could place Windows 8.1 and various Windows 10 ISO images on the device to boot from them and start the installation. The developer has a list of tested ISO images on the site that includes all current versions of Windows as well as numerous Linux distributions.
New ISO images can be placed on the device or you may replace existing ones, e.g. to update a Linux distribution ISO to the latest version. Please note that the full path to the ISO images may not contain spaces or non-ASCII characters as it won't be detected properly if it does.
Now You: How do you create ISO images? (via Deskmodder)
Update: The server is very slow. We have uploaded the Windows version to our own download server. Click on the following link to download it: ventoy-1006-windows
3.5 based on 11 votes
Windows, Linux
http://www.ventoy.net/index.html
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Al CiD said on April 20, 2020 at 11:33 am
Thanks for this information, I will have a look
Anonymous said on April 21, 2020 at 2:26 pm
Cannot get it working with Windows-Install ISO.
Always a "media driver is missing" error during Windows 10 clean install
Anonymous said on July 11, 2020 at 3:53 am
I was getting the same error with a different similar multiboot USB. After getting this error myself when using a PNY usb, I then tried it with a Kingston USB, it worked fine.
stefann said on April 20, 2020 at 11:59 am
Have tried many times to download the Windows version. Now it tells me it will take 4 hours 47 minutes and 4 seconds to download this BS ! Tssss….is this a joke ???
Robert G. said on April 20, 2020 at 12:09 pm
For me, YUMI makes the job.
https://www.naveen.info/creating-a-bootable-usb-from-acronis-iso/714/
Kitsune09 said on April 20, 2020 at 1:41 pm
The files must be hosted on a server that uses a 110 baud acoustic coupler as a connection to the Internet. Stefann you're lucky, this morning I've seen the download time for me in DAYS. I'd really like to try it out but the creators of Ventoy really need at least one or two good high speed mirrors for hosting the downloadable binaries.
stefann said on April 20, 2020 at 3:07 pm
@Kitsune09 : I agree with You with what You wrote. Some speedy mirrors would be nice !
GDT said on April 20, 2020 at 10:16 pm
110 baud. LOL.
I had the same trouble. I tried a few hours later and got it. I've uploaded it to my OneDrive account. You can freely access it here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Am_6IBn1Abx9mL9Ymt6F_uEivoA7kA?e=ckwIdh
Mr Stank said on April 20, 2020 at 1:55 pm
I like the fact that lately you present and review tools that can be used in Linux too. Thank you.
Kreela said on April 20, 2020 at 2:20 pm
I use AIO Boot or WinsetupfromUSB for both Windows and Linux multiboot USB with or without UEFI. AIOBoot works the best.
dmacleo said on April 20, 2020 at 2:41 pm
useless if it can't be downloaded. have not checked the git repo would be nice if this was torrent.
Allan said on April 20, 2020 at 3:52 pm
Installation instructions are non-existent on the Github site, and ambiguous in the article. "Just download the application archive from the developer website and extract it." Extract it to what: the Windows computer, the USB drive? "Not that Windows may throw a Smartscreen warning when you execute it." Execute what and where to find it? "All it takes then is to select an USB device using the device selector at the top and to hit the Update button to start the process." At the top of what, and start what process? "Once the initial installation has been done, place ISO images on the partition." What partition?
I love your site, and I know that it's hard to put yourself in the mindset of someone who who knows much less about a subject than you do, but Github is for software professionals, and the rest of us need some guidance.
Martin Brinkmann said on April 20, 2020 at 5:12 pm
Just run the program from any location, it does not matter. You select the USB device in the interface and that puts the necessary files on the drive.
ram said on April 20, 2020 at 3:57 pm
A 3MB file taking forever—–is it a scam?
Edelberto Lambortutti said on April 20, 2020 at 5:05 pm
https://www.deskmodder.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ventoy-1006-windows.zip
Ed Tittel said on April 20, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Martin: can you please post the file on your site? Like others here, I am having severe difficulties downloading the ZIP file even though it self-reports at only 3.1 MB in size. Weird.
why not just use my link ????????????????
Done, it is now up!
Edelberto: didn't see your link until just now. Thanks! We must've posted at about the same time. Thanks also to Martin, for sharing as well. Tried 4 times to download, each time flaked out about 1.8-2.0 MB into the transfer. Thanks again, to both of you.
rac2010 said on April 20, 2020 at 8:15 pm
It doesn't seem to work with the latest Hiren's ISO. Others seem to work. Not sure if it is my problem or Hiren's "problem"
Forgot to mention: it recognizes Hiren's ISO when I boot to USB-stick. But if I select it, I get an error. Hiren's ISO on its own USB-stick works fine.
Thank you. It turns out that part of my problem was that the zip archive on the Github site linked to on the Ventoy site is different than the archive you just linked on your website. I have no idea what anyone is supposed to do with the one I downloaded from Github, but yours worked as expected. I still can't find on the Ventoy site or on Github the one that you linked on your website. I've experienced this sort of thing on Github before – it's difficult or impossible to find or identify the installation package. For the sake of us non-experts, I wish developers would be more explicit about this.
Avast flags the main exe in the zip file as a threat.
Carlos said on April 21, 2020 at 3:14 pm
McAfee VSE also flagged it as containing TROJAN Artemis!9A7432DE7959
DrW said on April 20, 2020 at 10:48 pm
Downloaded Fine for me Just now. Server issue may have been fixed.
Dave said on April 20, 2020 at 11:52 pm
I found this url https://www.deskmodder.de/blog/2020/04/19/ventoy-bootfaehigen-usb-stick-ganz-einfach-mit-einer-iso-erstellen-multiboot-faehig/
It is in german, so use chrome so you can translate it.
Oh, and this page: http://www.ventoy.net/doc_news.html
There may be issues with some ISOs, since he has specific ones listed as supported.
clake said on April 21, 2020 at 5:00 am
On debian, I use the package grub-imageboot to boot .iso files directly from grub.
The .iso files can be placed in a directory on the hard drive, /boot/images, then update-grub adds them to menu. It works with some of the mini distros iso's or other raw disk image formats like .img
slitaz and kolibri worked in the past, probably still do.
I like the option in your article as well, as it makes it convenient to manage .iso install images for full distros, booted directly from the usb stick.
Al CiD said on April 21, 2020 at 9:18 am
Next try, first one was deleted… I don´t know why
For me, EASY2BOOT makes the job for years now, it´s free and open source too
thanks for those that created a mirror
will try to play around with this sometime this week
andy brookes said on April 21, 2020 at 2:54 pm
I just tried it by downloading to my Slackware Linux Desktop ; i unpacked then cd'ed into directory :
ventoy-1.0.06
├── Ventoy2Disk.sh
├── boot
├── log.txt
├── tool
└── ventoy
chmod a+x Ventoy2Disk.sh
sh Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdc
then drp and dragged slack live :slackware64-live-xfce-current.iso
worked a treat
after playing with slackware live using your software the next thing i would suggest is :is there any way to have persistence ?
I successfully installed clamav and successfully ran freshclam but on shutdown and boot up it all vanished !
Marc said on April 22, 2020 at 5:49 am
This is exactly what I have wanted for a long time. I tried it out with a Win10XPE image, it boots up, but none of the applications are there. It's very strange if I burn the iso to DVD (ewww) it works, if I use Rufus to put it on USB it works. I REALLY hope it can come to a point where using Ventoy is no different than booting from the actual DVD.
Jimmy said on April 23, 2020 at 12:14 pm
It's also on Github: https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/releases
Robert G. (2nd post on this topic) said on April 25, 2020 at 7:27 pm
Didn't work with an Acronis True Image's ISO.
Anonymous said on April 26, 2020 at 8:12 am
Didn't work with an Manjaro 19.0.2.
Worked with Win 10 build 1909.
mwila mumba said on April 27, 2020 at 11:11 am
I'm loving this Ventoy thingy…..I had been using Yumi to achieve the same thing expect that with Yumi you have to read in the ISO and do some other bits before you can start using it….but with this so smple….right up my alley ( being a bit lazy a suppose)
Sylvain said on May 6, 2020 at 3:05 pm
What is the real difference with E2B?
It seems to be the same kind of thing.
And from what I read here, all distros/tools mentioned as not working with this are bootable with Easy2Boot.
Would appreciate to read about its added value.
Anonymous said on May 7, 2020 at 6:57 am
With Easy2Boot, the iso file in the USB drive must be contiguous and the USB can NOT be write protected.
Ventoy has no such limitations.
Besides, Easy2Boot uses different solutions for Legacy BIOS (grub4dos) and UEFI (grub2).
LogicDaemon said on May 17, 2020 at 7:00 pm
E2B works with many things GRUB (and thus Ventoy) will never bother to support. It uses GRUB in some cases itself (https://www.easy2boot.com/uefi-grub2-ptn2/).
E2B has tons of caveats, has architecture of pasta and got crutches and bugs all over it.
I use E2B myself and recommend it to friends with stable psychics :-)
brandon said on July 4, 2020 at 6:13 am
will this work for arm pc specifically a raspberry pi 4b


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Contest Alert for the budding writers who write in English and Tamil!
The online digital publishing platform, 'Chillzee KiMo' announced a writing contest for all the budding & best Indian writers who write in English and Tamil language. The registration process has already begun and ends on 31st May 2020. The winner will be announced on 31st July 2020 on the website of Chillzee KiMo The winning writer will be awarded Rs. 50,000 and the submitted novel will also get published in the online Chillzee KiMo magazine. There is also a special prize of Rs. 20,000 for the best debut writer. Also, there is an amount of Rs. 20,000 to the runner-up and Rs.10,000 for the second runner-up in the contest. The writers who are participating in the contest each of them has to submit their novel with a minimum of 30,000 words. Writer Bindu Vinod, the Founder of Chillzee KiMo said, "We are honoured to announce this contest, which provides a great opportunity for writers to write quality and entertaining stories. When we have quality stories, we can ignite the reading habits of our young generation. Quality writers and excellent readers help to build a better and powerful world." Details of the contest can be found on the Chillzee KiMo website. www.kimo.chillzee.in/chillzee-kimo-tamil-english-novel-writing-contest-2019-01 For more information, please visit: www.kimo.chillzee.in. (Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with NewsVoir.)
contest alert English Indian Writers News publishing news tamil news Writing and publishing
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Puerto Rico's famous Punta Ventana unrecognisable after earthquake
By Katherine Scott| 2 weeks ago
Puerto Rico's iconic coastal archway, Punta Ventana, has collapsed early on Monday morning following a severe earthquake.
Also known as Window Point on account of the towering seacliff's hollowed out centre that frames the coast, the natural wonder was all but levelled after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the island and its residents.
The natural bridge of Punta Ventana collapsed during the morning's earthquake. (AP)
Many tourists and locals would climb the curved stone bridge that forms the top ledge of Punta Ventana for photos and views of the coastline. Luckily, no one was present at the iconic cliff when the earthquake struck at 6.35am, local time.
The landmark, nestled in Guayanilla, was a huge drawcard for tourism to the island, and source of pride for locals.
A post shared by Yaritza (@aztiraymv) on Aug 27, 2016 at 7:04am PDT
So revered was Punta Ventana as a symbol of the town, Guayanilla had even incorporated the coastal wonder into their town slogan, which translates roughly to: "The New Window to the Caribbean."
The US territory has been experiencing multiple earthquakes since December 28, largely confined to the southern part of the island.
But the quake that destroyed Punta Ventana was the island's biggest so far, also shaking a number of homes off their foundations and triggering rockslides.
The town's mayor, Torres Yordán, expressed concerns at how the landmark's destruction would affect tourism moving forward, according to Washington Post.
"We have no idea how losing the Ventana will impact us here... We could try to rebuild it, but where's the money for that?"
The ancient rock formation has been the subject of countless postcards and holiday snaps. It also overlooks Caribbean beach, Playa Tamarindo, as well as residing next to a popular hiking forest.


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*DUE TO COVID-19, THIS YEAR'S ATHLETICS PROGRAMMING WILL BE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH ESPORTS.*
Esports stands for electronic sports. Esports is different from recreational video gaming in that it will be organized competitive gameplay between two individuals, governed by a set of rules and guidelines created by YP athletic directors. Esports will develop teamwork, communication, critical and strategic thinking, creativity, sportsmanship, and leadership for anyone who participates.
Esports will be set up with the structure of a traditional sports team with expectations for eligibility, discipline and class work completion as requirements for participation and continued involvement. ADs will be responsible for the management of their Esports program to ensure that all students are meeting expectations and engaging in a positive manner.
There will be schedules that will provide competitive games on Friday evenings with a time limit of no more than 1.5 hrs per game. Students will need to earn the right to play in these games by meeting all academic expectations during the week. Failure to meet the academic expectation would result in the opportunity to play be taken away.
Athletic Directors will develop communication, accountability, tracking and results reporting systems for programming on their campus. Winners from each campus will complete in a tournament at the end of the season for the district championship. There will also be a staff division to promote staff well-being and interaction. We will provide this programming for the entire school year.
Esports Registration Survey
To access the links for the Sports Specific Sessions, click the button below.
Sport Specific Schedule
Houston Charter Athletics League
Rank One Sport
Includes Athletics forms, teams, events and information.
District Contact
Pierre Urban, Manager of Athletics Programming


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Posted on February 12, 2019 June 15, 2019 by Steve
14 Questions About that Terrible Joni Mitchell Quote
Yesterday, a graphic with a Joni Mitchell Quote went massively viral on my Facebook and Instagram feeds. Lots of my most brilliant and usually quite observant and clued in music friends were sharing it unquestioningly as a useful comment about the state of music now. The quote itself is apparently from 2004, and is as follows:
"I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look at a willingness to cooperate. I thought, that's interesting, because I believe a total unwillingness to co-operate is what is necessary to be an artist – not for perverse reasons, but to protect your vision. The considerations of a corportation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music, that's why I spend my time now painting"
Joni Mitchell, quoted in the LA Times, Sept 5th 2004
So, perhaps not surprisingly, I take some issue with this. So here are 14 questions/comments you may want to ask yourself or reflect on about this before going 'yeah, Joni! I'm taking up painting too!' (though obviously, painting is a really really awesome way to spend your life, and in no way an inferior choice to making music…!)
1) who was this 'someone from the music business' and which bit of the music business were they in? Why is this one unnamed person's pretty gruesomely commercial focus being held up as a template for understanding the motivations and behaviour of everyone in 'the music business'?
2) what the hell is 'the music business'. I'm in the music business, clearly this person's thoughts don't reflect on me… were they in publishing? Sync? A&R? Running a label? A sub-label? The 'music business' is gargantuan – finding a person with really terrible opinions within its bounds has never been hard.
3) For every renegade artist through the history of music, I'll show you a thousand successful and often brilliant artists how had a certain look and were willing to co-operate. Frank Zappa was a total one off. Find me the label that launched 500 Frank Zappas and we can have a talk about Zappaism as a business model.
4) I adore Joni's music – Hejira is my favourite record of all time, and she's easily in the top 10 or so most significant musicians of the last 100 years, but when she was signed, she was a beautiful young acoustic guitar playing singer-songwriter in the golden age of acoustic singer/songwriters. She didn't need to co-operate, she was exactly what they were looking for. Don Juan's Reckless Daughter was what she could do after a decade as a global icon, not the demo that got her signed in the first place.
5) Why are co-operation and artistic vision contradictory? Why do we view wilful obscurantism as a virtue? How many artists are doing exactly what they want to do AND making commercially viable music? James Taylor wrote some of the most beautiful, singable, hummable music of all time. I don't see that as a flaw in his creative plan.
6) The 70-80 year history of the recording industry is LITTERED with stories of records being rejected because of a lack of singles. Some dickhead sent back Three Feet High And Rising for not having a single on it. Listen to Wasted Years by Iron Maiden and tell me that's not an obvious attempt to write a hit. Big Yellow Taxi is arguably Joni's most famous song, and by far the most poppy thing she ever did. And it's great! It's not worse art because people loved it! You can't rate art on its complexity, less still argue about the ethics of a multi-national business based on how insane their commercial choices are.
7) The Major labels were once the only game in town, at least if you had any concern for global success. That's not the case now. Joni said this, apparently, in 2004. Even then, that was not the case. Marillion had already gone it alone and crowd-funded a record by then, Joni could've done literally anything to make a record, and the more outside the mainstream she did it, the more coverage she'd have got (x-ref Radiohead and In Rainbows)
8) Joni's reasons for quitting music are, by her own extensive admission in many many interviews, WAY more complex than this. All of them are valid – her life and work are her own. The validity of her choices is not really up for discussion.
9) Looks and commercial success have always gone hand in hand. The idea that 'a certain look' is a new idea is specious revisionism.
10) There has never EVER been a better time in human history to make recorded work as a musician, protect your vision AND negotiate a deal after the fact. Making records is orders of magnitude cheaper, labels do A&R via metrics now – look at Stormzy's deal with Atlantic/Warner. He owns his entire operation, they just do the donkey work that he doesn't need to do. But 'recorded music' is a tiny blip in the human timeline. Even if the model goes away, that's not the end of anything. The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world.
11) If this is about there being an absence of successful 'risky' pop music out there, please explain Janelle Monae, the last ATCQ album, most Grime, Bjork, Kate Tempest, DJ Shadow, etc. etc. etc. Some are on subsidiaries of majors, some are completely independent and wouldn't accept a deal if they were offered it. That's a GREAT thing. A wonderful situation.
12) On a daily basis I come across incredible music, so much I can't keep track of it. The world is laden down with people making extraordinary art. There are people making incredible art who I saw sharing this insane meme, in seeming ignorance of their own careers being the evidence that this is nonsense. Commercial success has been the death of many, many people. Riches are rarely ultimately a blessing. Sustainability of artistic practice is the only concern I have here, so a reduced capacity for stardom and supreme wealth is not going to make me sad…
13) being an artist is hard. It's always been hard, that's what makes the art so special. A handful of people who remember selectively isn't the story we need to be hearing or re-telling. Sure, there's less money in A&R and artist development from majors now. The whole landscape has changed. But more people are making more music in more places, and that's a fundamentally good thing, unless you assume that by the divine right of kings you should have their audience as well. There's also a lot less record label money being spent on coke, turning every charlied pop star into an insufferable self absorbed bankrupt arsehole. Every cloud has a dusty, silver lining…
14) go make some art. If that's painting instead of music, that's not a step down. Joni's music is unassailably amazing. Her painting is also exquisite. I'm glad that she's had the economic latitude in her life to pursue both of those dreams in such extraordinary ways. But please don't take a dump in our paddling pool because things aren't they way there were in the 70s…
CategoriesUpdates
One Reply to "14 Questions About that Terrible Joni Mitchell Quote"
Bruce Kanary says:
Dear Steve… Most of what you said is true. As someone whose first real exposure to music was hearing Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire" on the radio the I was waking up for grade one. I was too young to know of Elvis. The next songs I heard were those singers between 1960 and the Beatles. (whoever they were) Buddy Holly, etc…??? From the Beatles onward there was unleashed hundreds of Bands over a short decade that still impressively move several generations, including the present ones. During those years, accusations of "selling" out to the Music Establishment were rampant. Many bands and single singers did (they knew which side their bread their butter on) so this situation was not uncommon. So, in some ways not much has changed. Since the late 70's (and I may be generous with the next few words), the music Industry has taken a noticeable dive in talent and creativity. With very few exceptions, Main Stream music today is a terrible joke and a disgrace to the art itself.. Nothing new is said, no new topics of any value are discussed, etc… it has stagnated badly and has been in that state for some time. What Joni is really talking about is that the Music Industry has been taken over completely (for the most part) by the Corporate Agenda. It took a long time, but, the control is unmistakable. People like her and so many others would never make it or even have a chance in the music business now, and because of this the open doors for so many others (today)… remain closed and and those doors not even a potential.
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text:
Money and Pensions Service reveals plans for a single consumer destination driving financial wellbeing
Money and Pensions Service reveals plans to launch a single offering for consumers
MoneyHelper will replace legacy brands; Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise
People across the UK will be empowered to manage their financial wellbeing with greater confidence and clarity throughout their lifetimes, when a holistic new consumer brand is launched by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) this summer.
MoneyHelper will be a single destination providing money and pensions guidance over the phone, online and face to face.1
Covid-19 has shone a light on the importance of financial wellbeing, and the new brand and the bringing together of legacy services will come at a time when many people need clear, accessible support. Even before the pandemic:
9 million people were over-indebted, often borrowing to buy food or pay bills2
11.5 million had less than £100 in savings
22 million said they don't know enough to plan for retirement
And 60% of people say the Covid-19 pandemic has added to their financial concerns.3
Financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and in control. It is knowing that you can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected tomorrow and are on track for a healthy financial future. People should feel confident and empowered.
Legacy services
Since MaPS was formed in 2018, it has operated its consumer services under the three legacy brands of the Money Advice Service (MAS), The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and Pension Wise.
MoneyHelper will bring these brands and services together in one place. Pension Wise, which provides guidance for people aged 50 and over about their pension options, will continue as a named service under the MoneyHelper umbrella.
Money and pensions guidance and free debt advice4 will continue to offer vital support to customers under the new MoneyHelper brand. Following a thorough review of all of the information, tools and content on the legacy services websites, the majority will move to a new home on the MoneyHelper website, making it easier for people to find the information they need.
Caroline Siarkiewicz, Chief Executive of MaPS said:
"The arrival of MoneyHelper is an exciting next phase in our journey to improve the lives of people across the UK. MoneyHelper will be a single destination that allows people to more easily find and access free money and pensions support. Often money matters are complex; and we know that many people looking for help with money or pensions worries do not know where to start.
"MoneyHelper will be uniquely placed to empower people to inform themselves of their choices and improve their financial wellbeing across their lifetimes. It will also better link people with other free support services, if that's what is right for them.
"The new single brand will allow MaPS greater efficiencies so our efforts can be better focussed on delivering for people across the UK. It will also make it easier for our growing network of partners to refer people to our services, information and tools, and help to improve the UK's financial and overall wellbeing."
The journey to MoneyHelper
MoneyHelper was developed following extensive user testing amongst MaPS audiences of people who are struggling, squeezed and cushioned5. The brand identity for the combined services was the most positively received by customers as clear, personable and encouraging people to take action.
Getting ready for MoneyHelper
MaPS is working with stakeholders across the UK to ensure that they are ready to signpost to MoneyHelper services and content when the brand begins to be rolled out from early June 2021. A toolkit and guide for stakeholders will be produced to ensure they have the information and collateral they need to ensure the changeover to MoneyHelper is as easy as possible.
At this time, consumers will be automatically redirected from the legacy brands' websites to MoneyHelper.
For more information please visit www.maps.org.uk/moneyhelper.
For media enquiries contact:
MaPS Press Office 020 8132 5284 / media@maps.org.uk
Face to face services are currently suspended due to Covid-19 restrictions and will resume in line with government guidelines.
Money and Pensions Service: UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, 2020
Money and Pensions Service: Shame, upbringing and burdening others: why 29 million UK adults don't feel comfortable talking about money despite feeling worried about it
The research was conducted by Opinium for the Money and Pensions Service. A nationally representative survey of 5,225 UK adults aged 18+ was conducted from 9th-19th October 2020 for Talk Money Week.
MaPS is the largest funder of debt advice in England and funds free, impartial debt advice provided by StepChange, Citizen's Advice and National Debtline.
MaPS defines those who are 'struggling' as people who find it hard to keep up with bills and payments and to build any form of savings buffer. They are the least financially resilient segment and the most likely to be over-indebted.
Those who are 'squeezed' are working-age consumers with significant financial commitments but relatively little provision for coping with income shocks. They are digitally savvy and have high media consumption, but this is more for entertainment than financial information.
Those who are 'cushioned' are the most financially resilient group of consumers with the highest level of income and savings and are the least likely to be over-indebted. They are more likely to be in full-time employment or retired, and are the most highly engaged with their finances.
This is based on the Money Advice Service Target Market Segmentation.
About the Money and Pensions Service
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is here to ensure every person feels more in control of their finances throughout their lives: from pocket money to pensions. When they are, communities are healthier, businesses are more prosperous, the economy benefits and individuals feel better off. MaPS delivers free and impartial money and pensions guidance to the public through the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise.
MaPS is working to make sure the whole of the UK understands that financial, physical and mental health are all deeply connected. MaPS' role is to connect organisations with the shared purpose of achieving the five goals set out in the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing.
MaPS supports innovation so that everyone can use the most effective methods to help people feel more in control of their money, targeted to those most in need and inclusive of people from all backgrounds. MaPS is an arm's-length body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
For further information visit www.maps.org.uk. Members of the public can get free guidance about their money and pensions via:
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk / 0800 138 7777
www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk / 0800 011 3797
www.pensionwise.gov.uk / 0800 138 3944
debt advice financial wellbeing money guidance money helper pensions guidance


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Photo Credit: LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Bozoma Saint John attends as Remy Martin presents Beats Party on February 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Remy Martin)
Bozoma Saint John Becomes Netflix's New Chief Marketing Officer
Stephanie Ogbogu. Jun 30, 2020.
From her executive role at Apple Music to her CBO position at Uber, Bozoma Saint John has proven herself to be quite the marketing powerhouse. Now, after serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor since 2018, Saint John is heading to Netflix, as the company has just announced she has been named their new CMO.
"I'm thrilled to join Netflix, especially at a time when storytelling is critical to our global, societal well-being," she says in a statement. "I feel honored to contribute my experience to an already dynamic legacy, and to continue driving engagement in the future."
#WATCHmework has taken on a whole new meaning…. I'm so honored, excited and ready!!! LET'S GO TEAM NETFLIX!!! I pic.twitter.com/sN8o1BY6jT
— Bozoma Saint John (@badassboz) June 30, 2020
A nearly 20-year veteran, Bozoma Saint John spent almost 10 years at PepsiCo, where she served as Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing up until she was personally recruited by Jimmy Iovine to become Head of Global Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes in 2014.
Saint John's new role at Netflix comes after the departure of Jackie Lee-Joe who amicably left the company for personal reasons. Bozoma will officially begin her new role in August.
"Bozoma Saint John is an exceptional marketer who understands how to drive conversations around popular culture better than almost anyone, " says Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. "As we bring more great stories to our members around the world, she'll define and lead our next exciting phase of creativity and connection with consumers."
Bozoma Saint JohnNetflix
Stephanie Ogbogu


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A busy week in Rome
I spent much of this past week (including St. Patrick's Day) in Rome. The main purpose of the trip was to attend the plenary session of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy. But, as I always do, I tried to find as much time as I could to meet with different groups, particularly people from our Archdiocese living or working in Rome.
On Saturday we went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for a Mass celebrating the first anniversary memorial of Chiara Lubich, the leader and foundress of the Focolare Movement.
The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Paul Poupard, the former president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and the basilica was packed with people, including many bishops and cardinals.
Bishop Alberto Martinez accompanied us to the Mass, as he has always been a consecrated member of the Focolare Movement.
With Bishop Martinez and Paraguay's Ambassador to the Holy See, Geronimo Narvaez Torres, and his wife
It was wonderful to be able to be a part of that celebration.
I had known Chiara Lubich personally and often attended the meetings for bishops that she had organized in the past.
Her vocation began as a Capuchin tertiary in Trento, and even her name, Chiara, is a Franciscan name. Much of her spirituality, I think, comes right out of St. Francis' love for the Gospel and his desire to translate that into a meaningful way of life. The fraternity of Francis, being Universal Brother, resurfaces in the theology of Chiara Lubich in her great stress for unity—that all might be one, which is the central theme of her spirituality.
Saturday evening we had a Mass for a group of pilgrims that Sister Olga Yaqob, from the campus ministry at Boston University, organized.
Among the participants were Father Jonathan Gaspar's sister, Amanda, and Beverly Brown, the wife of the president of Boston University.
Mrs. Brown, father Gaspar and his sister, Amanda
They went on a very spiritually intense pilgrimage visiting many of the holy sites and we were with them for their last evening.
We had Mass and dinner together and afterwards each of the pilgrims gave a testimony of what the pilgrimage had meant to them.
Many of them spoke about the very moving experience of their days in Assisi.
After dinner, they presented us with some gifts and I spoke a few words to them
At St. Peter's Square, I ran into a group of students from Merrimack College who were in Italy visiting the Augustinian sites. Father Bill Waters, who is the new campus minister at Merrimack, was leading the group. He used to be pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Methuen and before that at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lawrence.
It was an unexpected, but very pleasant encounter.
On Sunday, I had a Mass with two American priests serving as chaplains at the Caserma Ederle U.S. military base in Vicenza, one of whom was Father Jose Herrera. I ordained Father Jose back in the Virgin Islands.
Father Herrera
Together with the service members and their families from his chapel in Vicenza, we had Mass at the central altar in the crypt underneath St. Peter's Basilica.
Sitting in the chapel, you have a direct view of the tomb of St. Peter.
After the Mass, I met with some of the military families upstairs in the Basilica
At midday we attended the Angelus with the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square.
He spoke of his pastoral visit to Africa, which he was then about to embark upon:
On March 19, during the pastoral visit to Africa, we will celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church, and my personal patron. St. Joseph, warned in a dream by an angel, had to flee with Mary to Egypt, in Africa, to take the newly born Jesus to a safe place, far from King Herod who wanted to kill him. The Scriptures were thus fulfilled: Jesus followed in the footsteps of the patriarchs of old and, like the people of Israel, reentered the Promised Land after having been in exile in Egypt. To the heavenly intercession of this great saint I entrust this upcoming pilgrimage and the peoples of all of Africa, with the challenges that face them and the hopes that animate them. I think especially of the victims of hunger, disease, injustices, of the fratricidal conflicts and of every form of violence that, unfortunately, continues to strike adults and children, without sparing missionaries, priests, religious, and volunteers. Brothers and sisters, accompany me on this trip with your prayers, invoking Mary, Mother and Queen of Africa.
I certainly pray for him and I encourage all of you to pray for our Holy Father as he continues this important journey.
On Sunday afternoon, I stopped in to pray at the German Cemetery located within the Vatican, right beside the Basilica of St. Peter.
This cemetery had some very moving images of the Stations of the Cross that were being restored. I found them to be beautiful reminders of our Lord's love for us in his Passion.
On Monday morning, I was invited by the North American College to say Mass at the station church.
The ancient custom was that the Pope would go to different churches each day during Lent. The station church for the Monday of the third week of Lent is the Basilica of San Marco, which was founded by Pope Mark in the year 330 and is near the Capitaline Hill and the forum.
I had Mass there with virtually all of the seminarians from the NAC and the priests from Casa Santa Maria as well as other members from the English-speaking community.
Monday during the day, from 9:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night, we had meetings with the Congregation for the Clergy, one of the two Vatican congregations I serve on. (The other is the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life).
It was the first time I participated in this congregation which is made up of about 20 cardinals and several bishops.
The Prefect of the congregation is a Franciscan cardinal from Brazil, Cardinal Claudio Hummes. This was Cardinal Hummes' first session for the Congregation for the Clergy.
We discussed a number of issues concerning the priesthood. It was particularly encouraging to see that the number of priests worldwide is increasing.
There were very interesting papers presented by two North American archbishops: Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Québec and Archbishop Raymond Burke, The Archbishop Emeritus of St. Louis.
Also, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires gave a very fine paper based on the Aparecida Document.
We broke in the middle of the day to meet with the Holy Father.
He gave a very beautiful address and spoke with each of us individually.
During his address to us, he declared the Year for the Priest, which will begin on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, marking the 150th anniversary of the Birth of the Cure d'Ars and will end next year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart with a large gathering of priests in Rome.
That night we also had the opportunity to gather with our Boston priests and seminarians working in Rome, including Msgr. Bob Deeley, who is working in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Msgr. John Abruzzese who is working in the Synod of Bishops. My good friend Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga also joined us.
We also met with Monsignor Paul McInerny; Father Derek Borek, who is studying in Rome; and Eric Bennett, a Boston seminarian who is studying at the North American College.
Msgr. Deeley, Eric Bennett, Cardinal Rodriguez and Father Borek
On St. Patrick's Day we were invited to have Mass at the headquarters of the Order of Malta on the Via dei Condotti.
There, we had the Divine Office, during which we prayed in Latin with the fathers who were there.
Spain's King Juan Carlos I was baptized in this chapel by Archbishop Pacelli n 1938, one year before he became Pope Pius XII
The Knights of Malta have about 50 consecrated members who took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Out of those consecrated members come the Grand Master.
Fra Matthew Festing, an Englishman, is now in that post. (I know the American Knights and Dames were very pleased that they have an English-speaking Grand Master!)
With Fra Matthew
We prayed Lauds, had Mass and then breakfast with Fra Matthew. He served us wonderful English marmalade and bread and regaled us with stories about his service in the army in Belize, where I had also been involved in meetings when I was part of the Antilles Bishops' Conference. We swapped stories about San Ignatio, which is one of the boarder towns where he had been bivouacked. He was a delightful man and I think he is going to bring a lot of energy to the post.
The Order of Malta does so much on behalf of the sick and the poor throughout the world. It is always a pleasure to be with them.
During the evening, I celebrated St. Patrick's day sharing dinner with Cardinal Francis Stafford, a close personal friend and a very fine bishop.
Cardinal Stafford serves the Church in the Apostolic Penitentiary which deals with matters of internal forum and indulgences. We couldn't find corned beef, so he brought me to one of his favorite spots in Trastevere where we had some great Italian pizza!
On Wednesday, I celebrated Mass in the Irish Chapel, near the tomb of St. Peter, which is dedicated to St. Columbine.
Thursday, we returned to Boston and immediately went to the Annual Jesuit Gala banquet for the Jesuits of the New England Province at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. This year the banquet honored Joseph and Rose Corcoran with the Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Award.
Joe gave an extraordinary talk when he received the award in which he talked about the importance of family and education, [particularly] his support for the efforts of the Church to promote family life and good education.
He talked about the 2010 initiative and the two Jesuit middle schools in the diocese: Nativity Preparatory School and Mother Caroline Academy. These two schools are somewhat similar to the Cristo Rey-model high schools. I imagine that some of them go to the Cristo Rey school when they graduate, but others get scholarships because they are prepared very well at these schools—they go to school from seven in the morning to eight o'clock at night.
The evening ended honoring Father Tom Regan, SJ, as he ends his six years as Provincial to the New England Province.
I was very pleased that Archbishop Larry Burke, the retired Archbishop of Kingston, was there.
Father J. Bryan Hehir who is the Secretary for Health and Social Services has co-written a letter with Vicar General Father Richard Erikson to all the Pastors and Principals of the Archdiocese of Boston regarding pastoral responses to the economic crisis.
The archdiocese has put together materials and suggestions to help pastoral leaders deal with the needs and the very real and serious problems that many of our brothers and sisters are experiencing as the economic crisis deepens.
Please spend time reading those materials available here and share them with others.
Finally, I want to encourage you all to participate in a petition initiative that is working to gather signatures to protect the conscience rights of doctors and health care professionals.
Last August, the Bush administration approved a regulation prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who did not want to participate in abortions or other morally objectionable procedures based on their religious beliefs.
With a new administration in place, the Department of Health and Human Services is now trying to rescind the regulation, and has opened a 30 day comment period that will finalize April 9.
So, a conscience program sign-on campaign has been initiated, inviting both patients — that means all of us — and also health care professionals to sign a petition that will be presented to President Obama and members of Congress asking them to keep the current regulation that protects the conscience rights of health professionals.
There are two different petitions available at www.freedom2care.org, one for the general public and another with specific wording for health care professionals.
This is the wording of the petition to be signed by health care professionals:
As a healthcare professional, I cherish the freedom to care for patients by adhering to ethical standards of care.
I do not want the government to interfere with or restrict my freedom to practice medicine without violating the ethical standards I have learned and to which I am committed.
I want to remain free to conscientiously care for patients according to time-tested, patient-protecting ethical standards that include, but are not limited to, the Hippocratic Oath, moral and religious principles, the Nuremberg Code and other longstanding principles of medical ethics.
I oppose mandating participation in abortion and any unlawful discrimination and intolerant coercion that could force healthcare professionals like myself, or hospitals and clinics, to choose between violating ethical commitments or leaving the practice of medicine.
I support laws, regulations and policies that protect and preserve the freedom of healthcare professionals to care for patients without being forced to participate in ethically controversial practices.
The federal civil rights regulation noted below is an important tool to clarify and illuminate our civil rights protections, and should be preserved in its entirety.
Therefore, I urge the President, officers of his administration and Members of Congress to protect my freedom to care for patients under the ethical principles to which I am committed–by preserving existing federal civil rights laws and the existing Health and Human Services regulation (published 12/19/2008) that implements those laws.
The petitions underscore the importance of maintaining the conscience protection for healthcare workers as the Obama administration is trying to reverse what was a very important regulation to uphold the conscience of Catholics and others who oppose abortion procedures.
The Bishops' Conference is also encouraging Catholics to react to this attempt to rescind the regulation.
Cardinal George posted a video on the issue on YouTube that I want to share with you.
Until my next post
March 20, 2009 Cardinal Seán Main


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Home 2019 Elections Del. John Bell Announces Candidacy to Take On Extremely Anti-LGBT, Anti-Choice, Pro-Assad...
Del. John Bell Announces Candidacy to Take On Extremely Anti-LGBT, Anti-Choice, Pro-Assad State Sen. Dick Black (R-SD13)
I'd heard rumors about this for weeks, but this morning, Del. John Bell (HD-87), made it official and announced that he's throwing his hat in the ring to take on faaaar-right State Sen. Dick Black (R, SD-13). As I wrote back on July 2, Democrats (Bell plus Lucero Wiley, Kyle Green, Jasmine Moawad-Barrientos, Suhas Subramanyam – who I hear will run for Bell's HoD seat) are lining up to take on the anti-LGBT, anti-choice, pro-Assad extremist Black next year. This is one of the top two most winnable districts for Virginia Senate Democrats in 2019 – the other being Richmond-area Senate District 10, currently held by Republican Glen Sturtevant but won by Ralph Northam last year by a whopping 15 points! But yeah, we definitely need to win SD-13 next year, no doubt about it. See the press release, below, by Del. Bell, along with his 13 local endorsements (strong indication that he is the clear party favorite).
John Bell Announces Candidacy for VA State Senate District 13 with 13 Local Endorsements
South Riding, VA: August 27, 2018. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Delegate John Bell, of South Riding, has announced his candidacy for Virginia State Senate District 13. Bell, a Democrat, will challenge Republican Senator Dick Black in the general election to be held November 5th, 2019.
In a statement Bell said, "It has been the greatest honor to serve the 87th District in the House of Delegates. I look forward to continuing that service in the State Senate. The people of the 13th District deserve a representative who will address issues that directly affect their lives like keeping children safe in schools, protecting reproductive choices for women and finding cost-effective transportation solutions, not someone who uses his platform to propagate an extremist agenda."
Bell also announced endorsements from 13 local elected officials: House Minority Leader David Toscano (HD-57), Del. Hala Alaya (HD-51), Del. Jennifer Boysko (HD-86), Del. Karrie Delaney (HD-67), Del. Chris Hurst (HD-12), Del. Mark Levine (HD-45), Del. Kathleen Murphy (HD-34), Del. David Reid (HD-32), Del. Mark Sickles (HD-43), Sen. Adam Ebbin (SD-30), Sen. Barbara Favola (HD-31), Sen. Scott Surovell (SD-36) and Sen. Jennifer Wexton (SD-33).
"I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague Delegate John Bell in his campaign for the Virginia Senate" said VA State Senator and candidate for the 10th Congressional District Jennifer Wexton. "Over the past five years, I have come to know John to be a tenacious candidate, and thoughtful legislator. After we flip the U.S. House from Red to Blue in November, all eyes will turn to Virginia as we fight to flip our State Senate in 2019. There is no doubt in my mind that John is the right candidate to lead that fight."
Bell is a retired U.S. Air Force Officer. He and his wife Margaret, a local realtor, have five children and three grandchildren.
Dick Black
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The Memory of the Hands. Echoes of C. Freinet's pedagogic legacy in Murcia
alfonso.burgos@um.es
February 28, 2016 - 4:07pm
A trip to the memory, to recover those experiencies and pedagogical principles of Celestin Freinet in the Region of Murcia through their main characters. The Memory of the Hands is the first documentary film in Spain to be produced by a public university about public school.
The Memory of the Hands is but a metaphor of what the university should be: teaching, research, innovation and transference of culture and cultural memory. The films wants to recover and preserve the teacher's educational memory who strove beyond what the education administration expected of them. This teachers worked so that their studients could be better citizens and people. They looked after the boys and girls so they could choose, take responsibility and cooperate.
The heroes of our schools who are now a little less forgotten.
More info in: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5205324/
Original title: La Memoria De Las Manos. Ecos del legado pedagógico de C. Freinet en Murcia.
English title: The Memory of the Hands. Echoes of C. Freinet's pedagogic legacy in Murcia.
Director: Alfonso Burgos Risco
Writer: Alfonso Burgos Risco
Producers: Javier Tavira Moreno, Antonio Nicolás Sánchez
Production: University of Murcia (Multimedia Support Unit – TvUM) in collaboration with the Center of Studies on Educational Memory (CEME)
Key cast: Antonio López Martínez, Benigno Polo Costa, Aniceto López Serrano, Jesús Martínez Corbalán, Juan Almagro Oruro, Pedro Antonio Ríos Martínez, Alba García García, Alfonso Burgos Meseguer, Juan Mompean Pérez, Francisco Bastida Martínez, Antonio Galvañ Olivares, María Jesús Fernández Navarro, Enrique Fuster Espinosa
Art direction and animation: Alfonso Burgos
Animation Department: Alfonso Burgos, José María Laborda (CGI 3D), Adela Martínez Fernández-Delgado (scanning documents and slides); Alberto J. García García, María Garres Sánchez y Cristina Tapia Ros (Freinet's rotoscoping drawing); Jorge González Carpintero, Carmen Jiménez Abellán y Verónica Cámara Beviá (Freinet's rotoscoping colour).
Techniques: CGI, Cut-out (digital), CGI 3d and rotoscoping.
Cinematography: Isaac Rupérez Cano, Alfonso Burgos Risco.
Camera operators: Antonio Gómez Gálvez, Fernando Bernabé Casas, Erica López Muñoz, Verónica Cámara Beviá.
Original Sound Track: José Alacid Beltrán (acreditado como Pepe Alacid), Claude Debussy (composición "La Fille aux cheveux de lin"), Maurice Ravel (composición "Pavane pour une Infante Defunte")
Edition: Alfonso Burgos (editor and postproduction), Isaac Rupérez Cano (color correction)
Sound: Isaac Rupérez Cano y Javier Tavira Moreno (sound's edition and postproduction)
Color: Color (Aspect 1.85:1, HD digital)
Film Time: The Memory of the Hands. Echoes of C. Freinet's pedagogical legacy in Murcia is the story of those teachers who carried out the principles and techniques of Celestin Freinet in the Region of Murcia. In this way, there are three stages in the film: a contemporary review from time, through the research and the story of the student and the teachers; teachers experiences between the late seventies and eighties, when teachers performed their teaching experiences; and anecdotally, the representation of experiences and motivation of Celestin Freinet through rotoscoping of some sequences of the film "L'ecole Buissonniere" of Jean-Paul Le Chanois (1949).
Film Space: The filmic space is constructed from the research of the pedagogy of Celestin Freinet formulated in a class located in the room 02 of Aulario Ginés de los Rios of the University of Murcia; the student attends interviews in C.E.I.P. 'Virgen de la Fuensanta' in La Alberca (Murcia), the archaeological remains of the Castle of Yecla, the C.E.I.P. 'La Paz' inYecla, the C.I.P.S. and S.E. 'Escuela Equipo' in Murcia, the C.E.I.P. 'Narciso Yepes' in Murcia, complementing the research at the Theory and History of Education's Library of Department, Faculty of Education at the University of Murcia and the General Library in Campus Espinardo.
* 2nd Best Documentary of the Month in 12 Months Film Festival (Noviember, 2015)
* Feature documentary, winners 2015 in Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards (December 2015)
* Feature Foreign Award of Recognition in Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival (January, 2016)
* Best Foreign Documentary Feature in Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards (January, 2016)
* Award of Merit in The IndieFEST Film Awards (May, 2016)
* Best Educational Film in The Hollywood Boulevard Film Festivals (July, 2016)


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2 Oct 2005 Blog
Lloyd Reynolds
1984 "There's A Wrinkle In Our Time" (Tramp)
Tramp Records is the brainchild of DJ and funk 45 collector Tobias Kirsmayer and on this latest release Tobias has done what he does best – digging deeper and deeper into as yet untouched archives to unearth worldly funk treasures for us all to enjoy. Well, this latest release is going to cause quite a stir as it remains relatively unknown within collector circles, so we're reliably informed. Originating in Philadelpia and poorly distributed when first released, "There's A Wrinkle In Our Time" faded quickly into relative obscurity. Opening with a mad "10, 9, 8 …" countdown, we are then treated to a heavy drums and bass garage-style workout with sparse wah-wah guitar and a 60's-style protest vocal. The flip "Theme" is a new track, seeing the light of day for the first time – you get an uptempo, bass heavy rug-cutter with plenty of conga percussion that takes off at 100mph and doesn't let up. Add into this a fantastic drums and percussion breakdown in the middle of the track and you'll wonder why this gem remained hidden away for so long!
For more details of this and other Tramp Records, contact – http://www.tramprecords.com/
The Giallos Flame "Crime In The City" / Outpost 31 "Lone Wolf" (Meifumado)
This story begins on the Vinyl Vulture 'Snippets' forum when Ron Graham, aka Giallos Flame, posted up soundclips of some of his latest recordings. These were enjoyed by Dan of Meifumado Records who, quick as a flash, contacted Ron in order to discuss the release of his material. Although credited to two different artists, both tracks on this 45 were produced by Ron's fair hands, issued under different pseudonyms in order to perhaps best demonstrate the musical diversity being generated in his Durham bedroom. "Crime In The City" is an homage to Italian Prog and Italian movie soundtracks, the result being a lo-fi soundclash of Goblin and tight, punchy downtempo beats. Wierd, wonderful and somewhat infectious music that makes you wonder if this was really recorded in 1972 and not as recent as last year… Over on the flip, "Lone Wolf" draws on more UK based influences, sounding like a long-lost Music De Wolfe recording session. Dan from Meifumado tells us that the influences for the Outpost 31 sessions include "Alan Tew and Telemusic" – how very true, but this track has a broader appeal that to just serious library-heads. We've heard that a 6-track EP from Outpost 31 is in the pipeline, so watch this space!
Blak Twang "Travellin" (Bad Magic)
Taken from the album "The Rotton Club", Twang returns with a thumpin' mix of hip hop raps and sazzy reggae beats and bass. The rhyme is very much in the style of ATCQ's "World Tour" with Twang tongue- twisting his way through a lyrical postcard that name-checks just about every country in which hip hop is recognised (but begins and ends in Lewisham!). On this 12″ you get a First Man remix that drops the tempo to R'n'B jiggy-speed and adds a female vocal to the chorus. Personally speaking, the drop in tempo doesn't suit Twang's delivery, so we'll be sticking to the original mix.
Reviews – September 2005 Review: Mac Demarco's This Old Dog


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Antagonism: The Next Generation
Posted on July 12, 2013by M. Dean Cooper, Jay Shah, Lucas Jackson, Ben Crofts and Lisa Schap Not A Committee
Should the Empire still be the primary antagonists of the Sequel Trilogy, or can the film saga move on and still remain relevant? What can we learn from the Expanded Universe about this?
Mike: While I've always been quick to point out how crazy it is to believe that the entire Galactic Empire just folded their cards and went home after Endor, I'm on the fence about whether they should remain the villains of a bona fide Episode VII. On the one hand, I think the New Jedi Order series is hands-down the closest the EU has come thus far to giving us a Sequel Trilogy in terms of tone, and something as wholly different as the Yuuzhan Vong would be awesome on the big screen and would go a long way toward rejuvenating what's bound to appear to some as a tired, extraneous post-Return of the Jedi status quo, but on the other hand, George Lucas really did tie his story up in a nice little bow there.
The question, really, isn't do the films need the Empire, it's do the films need Palpatine? Even Lucas has admitted that if he were to have done sequels himself, Dark Empire—wherein the Emperor returns in a cloned body—came the closest to what he'd have come up with. In fact, given that Michael Arndt is ostensibly working from Lucas' own outline, it's entirely possible that a reborn Palpatine will indeed be what we end up with.
I don't know if we need to go that far, but I can see the argument that the threat has to come from Palpatine in some direct way—maybe a cult of rabid non-Sith followers sowing dissent, maybe even a crazed and manipulated Jedi like Joruus C'Baoth. If the Prequels were about the Republic crumbling from within, and the Classics were about the ideals of the Republic rising anew, then the Sequels need to be about demonstrating that new Republic's fortitude, and most importantly, showing that it—and our heroes—have learned the lessons of the Prequels and created something better, in terms of both the government and the Jedi Order. Anything that doesn't deliberately and aggressively make that case—whether it's more Sith, Imperial remnants, or an alien invasion—won't truly feel like the same story. Jay, am I right?
Jay: I have to say that I'm strongly in favor of the Sequel Trilogy making use of the Empire as a continued antagonist. While the Expanded Universe has already beaten that drum to death and has consequently moved on to creating different sorts of antagonists, I think that the recent history of the EU has shown that sometimes the struggle to create antagonists bigger and better than those which came before ends up cheapening the original story and bogging down the continued narrative in a search for a compellingly large scale villain. This isn't to say that villains need to be scaled up, and I would make an argument that as far as the EU goes there's a need for a villain that's conceptually more sophisticated rather than conventionally more dangerous. But we're talking about the sequel movies here, which have to fit in as the third act of the overall Star Wars saga.
I agree that it should be framed in terms of seeing the ultimate success of what the heroes in the original trilogy have created. If the prequels were about the downfall of the Republic and if the originals were about the defeat of the Empire which replaced it, then the sequels ought to show the birth pangs of the New Republic and end on an ultimately optimistic note. There has to be something to struggle against, and I think it would be poetic if the struggles at least paralleled in some way the triumphs they made earlier. Just as A New Hope ended on a high note but was followed with an even more intensified struggle against the Empire, so too does the Rebel victory after Return of the Jedi close one chapter of the struggle but end another.
ROTJ is not undermined if the Rebels have to keep fighting. Once the Rebels have created a New Republic, they have something that others will seek to destroy — something that's worth fighting for. Moreover, they'll have the same difficulties that the Old Republic had and whole new ones too, and it would be great to see how the heroes deal with them. I would especially like to see how they deal with former Imperials in their midst, defectors or those who have surrendered to be part of their new government.
While the Force and Jedi will undoubtedly play a huge role in the sequels, I hope the political story remains too. It's always been an important part of the saga: Lucas showed us how even an ideal society can be brought low by corruption and opportunism, and he showed us how terribly seductive and dangerous the siren call of dictatorship could be. That all resonated with the audiences of the time — today, especially after the Arab Spring and the difficulties going on in Egypt as we speak, seeing a struggle to maintain the gains of a democratic revolution and seeing how it is definitely worth it to experience pain and struggle to avoid backsliding into comfortable dictatorship is very timely.
Lucas: I think it would be silly if the Empire showed up decades later in the sequel trilogy. It was logical and perfectly intelligent of the EU to show that simply killing the Emperor and blowing up a superweapon and some ships doesn't defeat a galactic regime overnight — winding that up has to be a process. But for the process to take the thirty years one would expect to pass between the OT and ST is ridiculous and totally undervalues the original trilogy and its happy ending. In four years, Luke, Han, and Leia put an end to the two greatest Sith Lords of all time and dealt the Empire a mortal wound . . . only for it to take thirty years to wrap up the cleanup work and turn out to be a long generational struggle in which the heroes actually didn't defeat much of anything and now it's going to be up to the next generation to wipe out the Empire for real? It just doesn't work. It's one thing for Anakin to sacrifice himself to defeat Palpatine, the greatest Sith Lord of all time, and still have some cleanup work to do afterward and some unrelated lesser Sith pop up afterward — it doesn't invalidate the story that's been told, because he really did defeat that threat, cleanup worth notwithstanding, and the new threats are their own thing. It's another thing for Anakin to sacrifice himself to defeat Palpatine, but actually it didn't really solve anything, sorry.
The EU got the original timeline right, I think — the Empire is rolled back significantly within a few years of Endor, defeated within seven years, and a few tiny scraps from it survive for fifteen years after Endor until they, heavily reformed, make peace with the New Republic so that a little remnant of the Imperial elements we know from the movies can stick around in the stories. And those were stories that were specifically wrapping up the Empire, not presenting themselves as a next-generation installment of the saga on par with the films. The thing that came closest to that, as you mentioned, Coop, was the NJO, and it quite rightly recognized that it had to introduce a new enemy for the next generation to combat rather than keep dragging out the death throes of the OT's villains.
Any attempt to draw the villain from Palpatine's legacy likewise runs into the issue of demeaning the OT's ending, and also runs the risk of feeling derivative. The fact is, George Lucas told a six-part story; the existing movies are a closed loop that don't admit any logical attachment point for sequels. He wrote the end of the story, and went back to write the beginning . . . but there's really nowhere to go after the end of the story. Any attempt to follow up by drawing out the previous films' story, or clumsily building an addition onto them, is going to feel like the pointless cash-in attempt that, let's admit it, the ST basically is. It'll be, at best, like Hans Gruber's brother showing up in Die Hard: With a Vengeance: a transparently lame attempt to justify a sequel with a nebulous, jury-rigged sense of connection, but at least they kind of tried, they're not completely unoriginal about it, and hey, it's Jeremy Irons. At worst, it'll be like one of those sequels where the original thrived on the love-hate romance between two characters, so the sequel breaks them back up again so they can repeat the whole thing all over.
No, the fact is, if they're doing sequels they need the sequels to stand on their own, not as a jury-rigged extension of the OT's story, but as a new chapter in the saga. The focus should be on the next generation facing a new threat, one they can call their own. There's already a connection in the heroes of the OT being there, passing on their legacy in some way, and the next generation defending what they built. It's possible that the Sith could provide a better vector for connection than the Empire — a secret Sith apprentice or teaching or artifact being passed down in some way — but even that might seem to be piggybacking too derivatively on the prior films when what they really need is to step out and be their own beast.
If the ST is ever going to have any kind of sense of artistic integrity, of artistic necessity, of being more than just a stupid, lame corporate cash-in attempt on one of the most beloved cinematic stories of all time, it has to stand on its own two feet and be itself. It can't scavenge for scraps of the the OT's storyline, much less simply drag the Empire back out to defeat all over again.
Ben: I'm inclined to draw a distinction between the films and the EU, as the films now have a far more substantial Imperial collapse than what was initially the case at the start of the 1990s. I think it's quite clear that now the idea is without the Emperor and Vader the Empire does immediately implode. For me, that idea does not really fly at all, but it's the EU that really runs with it.
But the EU does not go so far as to repudiate the Imperial ideals that Zahn reconfigures them as. In place of totalitarianism comes a military authoritarianism that works as a form of social contract willingly entered into, probably along the same lines as the military. If you are a citizen of the Empire, you are so on the basis the Empire can call on you at any time if it sees fit. You are free to a point and protected by the state but on the basis that you are the state's to use as it sees fit. If you want to be totally free in a chaotic democracy the New Republic is that way! Neither does the EU have the NR obliterate the Remnant, despite it having the ability to do so. There is no final defeat for the Empire in the EU but neither are its ideals so horrific as what is seen in the films.
As to what the villain should be for the ST, that's a tough one. While it's a new trilogy, it's not unlikely that audiences will expect some thematic continuity. I think that's a near certainty in the area of spaceship aesthetics, with next gen X-Wings and Mon Cal Cruisers featuring but to not draw on the Star Destroyer design, perhaps one of the most iconic images going would be a shame. Having a form of the Empire as an ally could be quite daring and would allow those ships to be used in a new way.
But we don't become friends with our enemies, do we? No, but your enemies can change in ways that render them no longer as enemies. You're not friends, but neither is there a need to go to war. There's instead a healthy understanding of how the other operates and co-operation is recognised as delivering bigger benefits than war and confrontation. One thing it could tap in order to sell this is the Separatist crisis. Of course Sidious had no interest in peace and was running both sides for maximum war, but still, could work with careful handling.
The new enemy? I think it most likely to be the Sith because it's now too well-established that red lightsaber = Sith. It's too strong an association for there to suddenly be a new bunch of red saber wielders. A Sith army requiring a galactic Republic and Empire team-up response so inverting the PT? Could work.
Lisa: The Empire should not remain the primary antagonists of the Sequel Trilogy. The story is done on the rise and fall of the Empire. It is not out of the realm of possibility for the Empire to still be present though and a part of the story. Twenty or thirty years after war people can still be in the process of rebuilding and establishing a foothold for the new government so I'd like to see some parts of how the New Republic is operating and how there is still some struggling on worlds throughout the galaxy.
I agree with those that have said the antagonists are going to be the Sith. I have a hard time imagining Star Wars on the big screen without the Sith being the ones trying to take down Luke and the rest of the Jedi. The NJO made it work, but I don't see that translating well on the big screen without people thinking it isn't enough like Star Wars and it is too much like Star Trek. That said how do they top the two most powerful Sith?
The progression of the expanded universe made sense. The X-Wing series aptly showed the real progression of 'winning a war' and the rebuilding process that goes on after that. If the Sequel Trilogy were set closer then it would make sense to show things like this, but with the distance I think it makes more sense to move on and create a new threat to the Galaxy for this new generation.
I'm also interested in seeing a female bad guy. The EU had used several with varying successes but more recently the Clone Wars did a good job of using Ventress (Sith, female) as an antagonist for Anakin Skywalker. The Empire does not accept women in positions of power any easier than it does nonhumans, even in the Expanded Universe. I have to say I like Ben's idea of teaming up the remnants of the Empire with the New Republic and having them take on an Sith Army.
Mike: We all seem to at least be in agreement on the subject of the Empire still existing in some form, whether or not they're still the bad guys. But that raises another question I've always been on the fence about—if the Empire isn't the bad guy, should it still be around at all? Was it a mistake (either in-universe or out-of-universe) to leave the Imperial Remnant intact?
They're great, certainly, as a little extra color to the Post-RotJ galaxy and as a way to keep characters like Fel and Pellaeon around without losing their edge, but I can't help but think narratively, having the New Republic sign a peace accord that left part of the galaxy under even nominal Imperial governance isn't really a total victory—it feels like a tacit admission that the Imperial bureaucracy had at least some good aspects, which okay, there may be truth to that logically speaking, but I don't know that it feels right on the scale of storytelling the film saga is supposed to be doing.
Is a New Republic that doesn't comprise the entire known galaxy really a new Republic? Jay, would you rather see a peaceful Imperial Remnant in Episode VII, or no Empire at all?
Ben: If you go by the films, the Empire likely shouldn't be around but if the EU can have an entire species redeemed, in the form of the Vong, why not a system of government?
Plus, a large part of the Zahn-Stackpole EU work was on how the Empire came to continue to hold sway over the galaxy by a set of publicly declared ideals, of public service and order – it's practically a form of authoritarian social contract! Hand over your freedom and you will be entirely protected, but you may be asked to contribute to the state that supplies your protection. Legacy's Empire goes and formalizes this with the Emperor and Imperial Knights' relationship in a respect.
Lucas: I think it's a necessary storytelling concession. The Empire is such a huge part of the Star Wars films; if it goes away entirely, the EU loses a big, distinctive chunk of the universe — stormtroopers and Star Destroyers and TIEs and all that. The preservation of the Imperial Remnant as a rump state, which has reformed to the point where, if politically distasteful, it is no longer repressive and evil, allows the Imperial elements to continue making up part of the fabric of the Star Wars universe while still letting the New Republic win and holding out the possibility of both team-ups and new threats from within the Empire. Star Wars can't let go of something so iconic, and the Remnant and later the Fel Empire are the best way of preserving the Empire without changing the fact that the Empire lost.
As far as the ST goes, it would probably be unnecessary to show the Empire in the films. It could be there as a remnant if they want to use it, but nothing would be hurt by just strategically ignoring the relatively small part of the galaxy it controls and leaving casual fans to assume it's been entirely defeated, while leaving the option for it to be used later if they want to.
Jay: I'm torn. If it's not there as an antagonist, it's better that it not be used at all UNLESS the central thrust of the film / new saga is that former Rebels and Imperials should work together to rebuild the galaxy. If it's not a central player in that sense, the Empire's remnants should be left for supplemental material and not distract focus from whatever new direction the films are taking. I still hope that the primary antagonist isn't the Sith though — I feel that the Sith are best left ultimately defeated at the end of ROTJ, while the secular Empire that they created ought to function as the antagonist. But if it's a new antagonist altogether, then I guess I don't have any opinions on that until we get more information.
Finally — my big thing with the Empire is that it's the legitimate galactic government. If it's no longer that, then I have relatively little interest in or time for remnants that are wasting their time fighting a losing war. But I'll leave it at that, since I could write a whole article on that matter.
Lisa: "The legitimate galactic government" is a bit of a stretch. Being granted emergency powers in the first place and then just deciding through fear tactics and destruction to never step down is not the same as being a legitimate galactic government.
I do agree, Jay, that it is going to be difficult to stomach the Sith being brought back considering how powerful the Emperor and Vader were but I just can't imagine Star Wars on the big screen without an epic lightsaber duel between a red blade and green/blue/purple blade. We've seen the Legacy comics work with the Sith taking over without a government entity behind them so I'm not sure the Empire is needed.
Mike: Aaaand I think I'm going to leave it there. Look for Not A Committee to reconvene with a new topic sometime next month. In the meantime, please stay tuned to the comments section below where Jay and Lisa will likely resume their debate any minute now.
9 thoughts to "Antagonism: The Next Generation"
Jay Shah says:
Lisa — I could argue the point at length, but instead I'll let personal heroes of yours, as well as heroes of the Rebel Alliance do the arguing for me:
Corran Horn: "I mean, my friends, we're part of a military unit that's involved in an illegal insurgency against a government that controls the vast majority of planets in the galaxy." X-wing, Rogue Squadron
Wedge Antilles: "[T]he Emperor's death was the end of an era. They've all joined before the New Republic was established. Before that, we were outlaws fighting the legitimate government. Now we're a movement that is bringing freedom to countless worlds." — X-wing, Rogue Squadron
Corran Horn, internal monologue: 'The other half might admit there were problems, but they would shy away from accepting open insurgency against the legitimate government as a solution to them.' — X-wing, Wedge's Gamble
Wedge Antilles: "In a sense, we've becoming the Empire and the Warlords are becoming the Alliance. We've become a legitimate government [. . .] the galaxy has turned upside down since the Emperor died." — X-wing, Wraith Squadron
There are other quotes, of course, that say similar things in those books, but I thought Antilles and Horn would be the best example. The X-wing series is primarily useful for this because it involves a discussion that takes place after the Emperor's death and after the declaration of the New Republic, but while the Empire still controls most of the galaxy. Even then, the leading heroes of the Rebel Alliance admit and acknowledge that the Galactic Empire is the legitimate galactic government.
Lisa Schap says:
I think it is important that we don't act as if these characters are infallible. I know there are multiple instances in which Corran Horn has been wrong even in the very books you're quoting from. We, as the reader, know more than the characters. I find it hard to take the word of a fighter jock 20-some years after the fact when, in universe, history is written by the winners. Stackpole even showed us how turned around history can be with Horn's scenes on Coruscant in Wedge's Gamble.
Let's look at the facts.
Chancellor Palpatine was granted Emergengy Powers
He never gave back the "Emergency Powers"
He declared himself Emperor
The argument is not about if the Republic is legitimate so discussing that is pointless and distracting from the real topic. The legitimacy of the Empire and why it even needs to be included in Episode VII. I'm saying that the Empire was never legitimate and therefore really has no place in the future of the galaxy. I think it would be weird for it to completely be wiped out, but in our history it isn't that uncommon for whole civilizations to have been wiped out by the victors so it could happen in the Star Wars Galaxy where they've blown up entire planets before and in the EU wiped out a whole star system (see Dark Apprentice by Kevin J Anderson).
It isn't what the Expanded Universe fans are used to, but I think it might be something we need to prepare ourselves for.
If the very people fighting against the government admit its legitimacy, what basis do you have for challenging that? You act as if legitimacy were some brooding omnipresence in the sky, capable of being discerned through — what, exactly? If the idea you allege is unknown or non-existent in-universe, what point does it have?
You say "let's look at the facts" — so I'll offer some too:
I. The Galactic Senate is the lawful governing body of the Galactic Republic.
II. The Galactic Senate elected Palpatine as Supreme Chancellor.
III. The Galactic Senate granted Palpatine emergency powers.
IV. The Galactic Senate acclaimed him as Galactic Emperor.
You state that Palpatine declared himself emperor, but this is inaccurate — the HoloNet News transcript of the Emperor's official comments confirm that the Galactic Emperor was chosen by the Senate, and the Dark Empire Sourcebook corroborates the idea that selection by the Senate was the correct method of bestowing the imperial dignity on a person.
It is really no different than from when, by a Sénatus-consulte organique de la Constitution du 28 floréal an XII, the French Senate imbued Napoléon Bonaparte with the imperial dignity. It's the establishment of a government by the passage of a law it is empowered to enact.
The laws of the Republic allowed for the creation of the Galactic Empire, and those fighting it concede its legitimacy. You allege that it is not legitimate for unknowable and undeclared reasons, reasons that somehow controvert the testimony of in-universe characters. The only basis you propose is that the characters might have been wrong and that the viewers know more — you attack the sufficiency of the evidence without providing any evidence of your own to support your allegation that the Empire was not the legitimate government.
(edit: as far as history being written by the winners, I'll remark that that the "winners" in this case are making statements that are against their own interests. In other words, the probative value of their statements is higher because if anything, bias would work in the other direction)
Michael Lind says:
It would seem that poor Michael Arndt is a really tough place. He's been asked to outline parts seven, eight, and nine to a story that really only goes up to part six. Even worse, a large cadre of people have spent the better part of thirty years tossing out every even moderately viable idea to fill that void up already.
The ST will inevitably be a major tentpole series, and major tentpoles in this day and age live and die by their buzz. The fate of the ST will be decided long before it hits the theaters, and the people doing that deciding will be industry insiders and the sliver of obsessed fans who pay attention from the very outset. In this particular case, that happens to be a group of people capable of comparing whatever antagonist is utilized up against every major EU production that has occurred.
Considering that, it almost seems a pity that the desire to involve the original cast has everyone assuming a timeline placement somewhere in the 30 ABY range. A Dark Empire redux might possibly have been the easiest way for the ST to go. Certainly Dark Empire is flawed enough that a drastic revision of the same would probably have been accepted.
While producing a better version of a storyline already utilized in the EU is not necessarily an especially difficult challenge, depending on the choice in question, it is a hurdle to overcome.
Lucas Jackson says:
The issue with doing Dark Empire is that the Lucas line that Dark Empire is what his sequel trilogy would have been like is based on the original plan for the sequels having Luke tempted by the Emperor and finding his sister who was someone other than Leia, and all that, and ROTJ would have been something else entirely. When all those ideas got condensed down into ROTJ because Lucas didn't want to do another trilogy, we sort of lost that moment where "the Dark Empire storyline" would be viable as a followup. Because now the ST would be in the same position Dark Empire was — of being an "Oh, lets do ROTJ all over again, but this time slightly different" story. Lucas threw those ideas into ROTJ, and now that they've been used, using them over again doesn't work.
Nick Adams says:
With some variation, I do think that Dark Empire is the one EU work that, with some moderate changes, could work. For starters, the goal of a reborn Emperor wouldn't be to corrupt Luke. It would be his offspring, or perhaps the any offspring of Han & Leia. That allows for focus on the new cast, while also offering a dilemma for the old cast. Granted, I would rather see something entirely new altogether, but I do think that if handled properly parts of Dark Empire could be fantastic in the ST.
I had another thought on this. In each of the trilogies we've had some sort of armored trooper (Clone Troopers and Storm Troopers). A large part of the active fan base adores these characters. Can the ST survive without something like this? Will they use the Mandalorians as antagonists to fill this need if the Empire isn't utilized in the ST? I would personally like to see new characters and species used but I do think they're going to include a new type of trooper or the Mandalorians in the ST.
Weren't the Mandos in the plans at some point instead of the clones for the PT, way, way back when too? Have a hazy notion of them having lightsaber-resistant weaponry thus big battles….
Matthew the Hutt says:
Well there is the fact that Stackpole was not allowed to do a Mando Arc back when he wrote X-Wing, so maybe there was more planned for them in the PT initially.
Star Wars and Genre: The Crime Story
The End of Illusions: Part 1: Not Really Liking the Big Three All That Much!


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[Update: Now available for all users] Commuters in Melbourne can now add their Myki card to Google Pay
Hagop Kavafian
Update 1: 2019/03/29 1:39am PDT
Public Transport Victoria has officially rolled out the program to the masses. All Full Fare, Senior, Child or General concession Myki users will be able to use Google Pay for
According to one of our tipsters, Google Maps now displays the remaining Myki balance directly within the app when viewing public transport directions. We're not sure if the feature was
Google Pay is aiming at becoming a true virtual wallet by gathering payment and loyalty cards in a single application. Since last year, commuters in Las Vegas, Portland, and the West Midlands have also been able to save their transit tickets in their phones, allowing them to leave their wallets at home. Melburnians, and more generally Victorians, can also use their handsets as their transportation pass now, as Google Pay just added support for Myki, the region's transit card — not the password manager we reviewed.
Commuters with an NFC-enabled Android device running version 5.0 or higher and a full-fare, child, senior, or general concession Myki card can sign up to the trial, which is currently open to 4,000 testers before it rolls out to a broader audience. Once accepted in the program, you'll be able to add a new Myki Money or Myki Pass card to your Google Pay account and top it up with any Visa or Mastercard card. Besides saving the card information and letting you hop on public transport, Google Pay also displays your trip history and remaining balance in the application, so you don't have to use other software to check them out.
As this is still a trial program, Google hasn't updated its official support page yet, but we hope Myki will appear on it very soon.
Update 1: 2019/03/29 1:39am PDT by Hagop Kavafian
Public Transport Victoria has officially rolled out the program to the masses. All Full Fare, Senior, Child or General concession Myki users will be able to use Google Pay for their commutes, provided they have an NFC-capable Android phone with Lollipop or higher. PTV also mentioned a Visa or MasterCard card is required to use mobile Myki,
Update 2: 2019/04/08 2:22pm PDT by Hagop Kavafian
According to one of our tipsters, Google Maps now displays the remaining Myki balance directly within the app when viewing public transport directions. We're not sure if the feature was there from the start or if it's just been added, but either way, it's a neat addition that saves you the trouble of going through the gates with an empty balance.
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Croatia deserves to have its efforts rewarded in June. Bernd Posselt MEP
EPP Group in the European Parliament
"The European Parliament today voted on the Swoboda Report on Croatia, in which it supports this June 2011 as the target date to conclude accession negotiations. This wording was based on amendments tabled by EPP Group Spokesman on Croatia, Bernd Posselt MEP, in the Foreign Affairs Committee, and defended by a majority of the European Parliament against efforts of the Green Group to delete this date.
As main speaker of the EPP Group, the biggest Group in the European Parliament, Posselt underlined: "Croatia is running the last metres of EU accession negotiations." He recalled the country's long way towards European integration. "It is now more than twenty years since the building of democracy in Croatia. One year later, on 28 June 1991, there was the brutal attack of the Yugoslav People's Army on Vukovar. I was in Vukovar when this flowering small model of Europe was destroyed and thousands of people lost their homes and lives."
Posselt stated that he had accompanied Croatia along the path for a long time, and it has undergone enormous efforts. "This Report means fairness for Croatia - not privileges or discounts, but fairness. Croatia is ready for accession. We stand by the fact that criteria must be kept, but we urge for fair treatment and against artificial obstacles."
"Croatia belongs in an historical context with Slovenia and Hungary, but for certain facts, it should have been taken into the European Union at the same time, as a country of Central Europe", concluded Posselt.
Bernd POSSELT [1] MEP, Tel: +33-3-881-75232
Lada Jurica [2], EPP Group Press & Communications Service, Tel: +32-476-330383
Lasse Böhm [3], EPP Group Press & Communications Service, Tel: +32-484-656897
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 265 Members.
Source URL: https://pr.euractiv.com/pr/croatia-deserves-have-its-efforts-rewarded-june-bernd-posselt-mep-90750
[1] http://bernd.posselt@europarl.europa.eu
[2] http://lada.jurica@europarl.europa.eu
[3] http://lasse.boehm@europarl.europa.eu


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The Blue Lagoon
By Lindsay Moore March 1, 2002
Six thousand feet under Iceland's surface, geothermal activity heats water to 320°F. In the 1970s, the country's leaders sought to find a way to use this water as a central heating source for homes and buildings. But because of the close proximity to the ocean, saline and other minerals from seawater have seeped in, making it unsuitable for direct central heating. In 1976, however, the Suournes Regional Heating Corp. discovered an answer: The geothermal water could be used to heat natural spring water, which can be used for central heating.
After the geothermal water heats the spring water, it is drained in the surrounding lava fields. However, in one area, the lava proved too dense and the water collected to form a warm pool, providing an unanticipated and surprising benefit for Icelanders. High levels of blue-green algae and minerals, such as white silica, formed a light, natural sediment on the pool's bottom, giving the pool a milky blue color. In 1981, one of the power plant's workers, plagued with chronic psoriasis, began soaking in the waters. Within weeks, his condition greatly improved, and word of the "healing lagoon" spread. A few years later, it opened to the public so that everyone could benefit from the skin-conditioning properties of the water.
The Blue Lagoon, open year round, is conveniently located between Keflavík International Airport and Reykjavík, so travelers who have a layover in Iceland can take advantage of these healing waters. In 2000, the Blue Lagoon played host to 318,000 guests, and it is currently slated for development as a spa. The silica mud provides a wonderful exfoliant and leaves the skin soft and refreshed. It is common to see visitors soaking in the warm waters and rubbing the white mud on their skin. The Blue Lagoon also accommodates the Clinic for Natural Treatment of Psoriasis, a facility benefiting people from all over the globe.
From September through May, the Lagoon is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Wednesday, and until 9 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. During the summer, hours are from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. every day. The fee is about $10 for adults, $5 for teens and free for children under 12. Visit www.bluelagoon.is. for more information.
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The Value of Manhood - I
Guest: Dr. Bill Bennett
The Value of Manhood - II Audio
The Book of Man (book) Website
Bill Bennett Website
December Devotionals Website
Radio talk show host Bill Bennett joins Dr. Dobson to address the profound value of manhood and how feminism and popular culture have delivered a double punch to true masculinity. Tune in today to find out how true manhood, as God designed it, can be reclaimed in this generation.
William J. Bennett is one of America's most important, influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and education issues. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Bill Bennett studied philosophy at Williams College (B.A.) and the University of Texas (Ph.D.) and earned a law degree from Harvard. He is the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, & a CNN Contributor. He is also the chairman of Americans for Victory over Terrorism, a project dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public opinion as the war on terrorism moves forward.
Dr. Bennett is the host of a nationally broadcast radio show from 6:00-9:00 a.m. (EST): Bill Bennett's Morning in America.
During the 1980s, Dr. Bennett emerged as one of the nation's most prominent political figures.
He served as President Reagan's chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1981-1985) and Secretary of Education (1985-1988), and President Bush's "drug czar" (1989-1990). In his various roles, he was perceived -- even by his adversaries -- as a man of strong, reasoned convictions who spoke candidly, eloquently, and honestly about some of the most important issues of our time.
Dr. Bennett has recently completed a two-volume history of the United States, entitled: "America: The Last Best Hope," Volumes 1 & 2--both New York Times Best-sellers. Bill Bennett has accomplished a rare feat: since leaving government, he has achieved an even greater impact on our national political debate. Dr. Bennett has written for America's leading newspapers and magazines and appeared on the nation's most influential television shows. He has also written and edited 16 books, two of which -- The Book of Virtues and The Children's Book of Virtues -- rank among the most successful of the past decade. The Book of Virtues has been made into an animated series that airs on PBS in the United States and Great Britain and has been seen in over 65 countries. Dr. Bennett was named by focus groups and leading analysts the "Best Communicator of 2002," the most well-received public commentator on the issues of "pride, patriotism, faith, and moral conviction." In April of 2005, the Sunday New York Times named Dr. Bennett the "leading spokesman of the Traditional Values wing of the Republican Party."
Although he is a well-known Republican, Dr. Bennett often has crossed party lines in order to pursue important common purposes. He has worked closely with Democratic leaders to fight the decline of popular culture and to end worldwide religious persecution, and he is the co-chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America with former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.
Thanks to his writings and speeches, William Bennett has extraordinary influence on America's political and social landscape. He, his wife Elayne, and their two sons live in Maryland.