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Värde Views: The Echo is Getting Louder
With a sharp acceleration in negative pressure across almost all parts of the financial markets, Värde Partners' CIOs Ilfryn Carstairs, Giuseppe Naglieri and Brad Bauer reflect on the significant likelihood of an "Echo Cycle" and what it means for the credit opportunity set.
Verdant Commercial Capital Obtains $75 Million Subordinated Debt Facility Provided by Värde Partners
CINCINNATI — Verdant Commercial Capital announced it recently closed on a $75 million subordinated debt facility provided by Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm.
This capital will augment Verdant's existing financing, allowing the company to further expand its balance sheet and help fuel Verdant's rapid growth. Ultimately, this financing will help dealers sell more equipment by providing more access to equipment financing and make financing options more flexible for their customers.
"Additional capital helps support Verdant's significant growth forecast these next few years as we continue our mission of helping our partners sell more equipment through flexible financing solutions," said Mike Rooney, CEO of Verdant Commercial Capital. "Our new relationship with Värde is an important component to our long-term growth prospects."
In under five years, Verdant has grown to be one of the top 10 independent equipment finance companies in the United States, with six divisions powering its growth: Industrials; Manufacturing; Specialty Vehicle; Golf, Sports & Entertainment; Renewables & Energy Efficiency; and Technology & Office Automation. Securing this additional capital is an endorsement of the Verdant platform that we believe efficiently originates exceptionally performing assets through its relationships with Tier I OEMs, dealers, distributors, and sellers of capital equipment.
"We found the flexibility of the Värde facility, including the ability to draw down on the line as we continue to expand, the most efficient vehicle for us," said Robert Moskovitz, CFO of Verdant Commercial Capital. "This facility adds to our capital base fueling Verdant's growth and building our balance sheet."
"Verdant is increasingly establishing itself as a leader in equipment financing and we welcome the opportunity to support the company's successful growth story," said Aneek Mamik, Partner and Global Co-Head of Financial Services at Värde Partners. "Across the non-bank sector, lenders are increasingly able to provide faster and more flexible financing solutions that are better suited to individual customer and business needs. We see a significant and scalable investment opportunity to provide the alternative capital necessary to drive the continued growth of the non-bank sector."
Värde Partners has more than 20 years of experience investing in consumer and commercial credit. The firm currently manages c.$2 billion of financial services debt and equity investments across a variety of underlying asset classes including secured and unsecured consumer loans, commercial equipment finance, billboards, residential housing and consumer and commercial credit cards.
About Verdant Commercial Capital
Verdant Commercial Capital is one of the top ten largest independent equipment finance companies in the United States. Verdant provides financing solutions for the acquisition of critical equipment and software in six industries: Industrials; Manufacturing; Specialty Vehicle; Golf, Sports & Entertainment; Renewables & Energy Efficiency; and Technology & Office Automation. Verdant brings partners the ability to fund business with transaction sizes from below $25,000 up to $100 million. The company is headquartered in Cincinnati and has offices in Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. Verdant was named a 2022 Top Workplace by The Enquirer Media. For more information, visit www.verdantcc.com.
About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $90 billion since inception and manages over $13 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm's investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde has offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.
American Homes 4 Rent and Värde Partners Enter Into $500 Million Land Banking Facility Agreement
Partnership to support acquisition and development of land in American Homes 4 Rent's markets
CALABASAS and MINNEAPOLIS – American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-quality single-family homes for rent, and Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced that they have entered into a land banking facility agreement. This facility provides $500 million in initial capacity to acquire and develop new land opportunities as part of American Homes 4 Rent's internal development platform. The two firms have recently closed their first six land transactions into the facility, representing total acquisition and development costs of over $150 million, and due diligence is underway on additional sites.
"We are excited to combine Värde's extensive experience in U.S. housing with American Homes 4 Rent's reputable homebuilding and development platform," said Brendan Bosman, Senior Managing Director at Värde Partners. "The demand for high-quality single-family rental homes has never been higher despite a persistent shortfall in supply, creating opportunities to invest in segments that we believe are well-positioned for growth. We look forward to working with American Homes 4 Rent to capitalize on these trends and the strong dynamics in their core markets."
Värde has 28 years of experience investing in real estate, with substantial equity and credit investments in residential land development and homebuilding transactions. This partnership further expands the firm's U.S. housing footprint in its target markets.
"Our facility with Värde Partners will enable us to continue the strategic expansion of our development pipeline while also maintaining our commitment to a best-in-class investment grade balance sheet and reducing long-term risk," said David Singelyn, Chief Executive Officer of American Homes 4 Rent. "With a continued focus on our disciplined underwriting process and a robust pipeline of development opportunities, we are well-positioned to execute our three-pronged growth strategy in our diversified portfolio footprint while driving value for shareholders."
About American Homes 4 Rent
American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and resident satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2022, we owned 57,984 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states. Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com.
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $90 billion since inception and manages over $13 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm's investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde has offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit https://www.varde.com.
Värde Partners Agrees to Sell Stake in Lamda Malls for €109 Million
LONDON and ATHENS – Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced it has agreed to sell its 31.7% stake in Lamda Malls S.A. to the company's majority shareholder, Lamda Development, for €109 million. Lamda Malls owns two major shopping centers in Greece, the Golden Hall in Athens and Mediterranean Cosmos in Thessaloniki.
Värde Partners initially bought its stake in 2017 for €61.3 million. Since that time, the company has executed a series of value creation initiatives, including securing a long-term extension of Mediterranean Cosmos' ground lease and completing a substantial redevelopment of Golden Hall's western wing to add approximately 11,500 square meters of gross leasable area.
"Over the last five years we have worked closely with Lamda Development to successfully unlock value and help the assets realize their potential," said Tony Iannazzo, Senior Managing Director at Värde Partners. "Despite the significant challenges shopping centers faced during the Covid pandemic the centers have continued to perform well, reflecting their enduring strength as prime shopping destinations."
Both shopping centers remained close to full occupancy throughout the pandemic, with footfall and retail sales data rebounding strongly after Covid-driven lockdowns.
Golden Hall is the second largest shopping center in Greece, with a gross leasable area of 52,500 square meters, while Mediterranean Cosmos is the third largest with approximately 46,000 square meters.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022 and is subject to customary approvals.
Värde Views: The Covid Echo Cycle
As the delayed impact of the unprecedented policy response to Covid plays out and concerns around stagflation take hold, exacerbated by the severe economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, Värde Partners' CIOs Ilfryn Carstairs, Giuseppe Naglieri and Brad Bauer reflect on the emerging possibility of a rapid "Echo Cycle" and its implications for the credit opportunity set.
Atlanta's Capital on Tap Secures $200 Million Funding Facility to Fuel Continued Growth
ATLANTA and LONDON – Capital on Tap has secured a $200m funding facility with HSBC and Värde Partners to support their continued US growth.
Capital on Tap launched in 2012 and has provided access to over $5 billion of funding for more than 125,000 small and medium-sized businesses across the U.K. and U.S. Recognized by Forbes as one of the U.K.'s fastest growing businesses, this new investment offers Capital on Tap the opportunity to bolster its impressive expansion in the U.S. The Capital on Tap Business Credit Card, issued by the lender WebBank offers leading employee spending controls, reporting, and rewards.
Capital on Tap made Atlanta its American home when it launched the Capital on Tap Business Credit Card in March, 2021, helping small and medium-sized businesses recover following the pandemic's harsh economic downturn. With 50 employees currently sitting in the Atlanta office and actively recruiting more than a dozen more, Capital on Tap is poised to provide leadership and opportunity for Atlanta's elite tech community.
Alan Hart, CFO, Capital on Tap, commented: "With the closing of this facility we are looking forward to expanding our ability to provide access to essential funding for small businesses across the United States. We are thrilled to be joined in this mission with Värde Partners as well as extending our already international relationship with HSBC."
Aneek Mamik, Partner and Global Co-Head of Financial Services, Värde Partners said: "We are pleased to establish a partnership with Capital on Tap as they continue successfully expanding by making available faster and simpler working capital and payments tools to empower business owners. We see this as a good example of an emerging substantial investable opportunity set for us, providing capital solutions to digitally oriented non-bank companies that are providing access to financing the needs of businesses investing in their products and customers."
About Capital on Tap
Capital on Tap is a privately held, financial technology company that provides access to funding to small and medium-sized businesses in the U.K and U.S. Founded in 2012, Capital on Tap has core offices in London, Atlanta, and Cardiff and has provided access to over $5 billion of funding to businesses. For more information visit www.capitalontap.com.
Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $85 billion since inception and manages approximately $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm's investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde has offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit https://www.varde.com.
HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2.958 billion at 31 December 2021, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations.


"Open-access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder." (Peter Suber, A Very Brief Introduction to Open Access).
All images are Creative Commons (CC by 2.0). Image credits: What is Open Access, via Wikimedia Commons; Open Access mandates, via Pixabay; Publishing in Open Acess, via Pixabay; Open Access Content, via Pixabay.


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Lawsuit: South Carolina prison guards left stabbing victim to die in yard
By Zack Budryk - 04/18/19 04:54 PM EDT
A South Carolina woman reportedly filed lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections Thursday, alleging that after her son was stabbed in his cell, correctional officers dragged him to the yard and left him to die.
In the lawsuit, Debra Capers Dickson claims personnel at Turbeville Correctional Institution allowed Allen Capers to bleed to death on New Year's Eve 2017. Surveillance footage released by the family's attorney depicts Capers repeatedly struggled to rise to his feet with correctional officers approaching him several times without giving him medical treatment, according to CNN. Capers was not given medical attention until several hours later, the lawsuit says.
In a Thursday news conference, an attorney for Dickson claimed inmates were able to obtain keys from a correctional officer, after which they opened Capers's cell and stabbed him several times in the head, neck, stomach and hand. The wrongful death lawsuit reportedly claims that in addition to gross negligence, the Department of Corrections did not place an appropriate number of correctional staff in the facility, and staff were not properly trained to recognize medical emergencies.
"It's not a death sentence just because you go to prison," Dickson said. "You go to prison, you get reformed and you come back into society."
"There are just far too many problems that have been neglected to be addressed for far too long," added Dickson's attorney, Justin Bamberg, who is also a state representative. "Things like safety, things like changing out the locking system, things like having a proper staffing — all of these would have prevented this from happening to Allen Capers."
South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesperson Chrysti Shain told CNN that both the incident and the officers involved were under review.
"More should have been done to render aid and help this offender," Shain said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


To navigate to these settings, type Ctrl-W to bring up the Edit Settings... dialog then with the Interface tab selected, click on the subpanel title under Edit Interface to Master.
Packet Type. The default packet type is TCP (since Socket is the default interface). You would normally select RTU if you are using a serial interface, and TCP if you are using a socket interface. You may have to use ASCII for some legacy serial interfaces or devices. It is possible to use RTU or ASCII packets over a socket interface - this is non-standard, but can be useful for software testing. It is also possible to use TCP packets over a serial interface, but there is no good reason to do so (and there would be no error-checking of the packets).
Interface Type. The Socket interface is the default selection and the settings panel for the socket interface is displayed beneath it (i.e. the Host and Port fields). Selecting a different interface changes the panel beneath. Select Serial for a RS232/485 serial interface. If the selection of a new interface type is the only change, remember to press Apply.
As mentioned, when the Socket interface is selected the socket options host and port are displayed.
Host. If you enter a host name or IP address of a network interface on the machine running ModSlaveSim, then ModSlaveSim will only accept connections via that network interface. For example, if you enter localhost (or 127.0.0.1) then ModSlaveSim will only accept connections from processes running on the same machine. If you leave this field empty, then ModSlaveSim will accept connections via any network interface.
Port. Enter the port that ModSlaveSim should listen on for connections. The standard Modbus port number is 502, but this is a "privileged" port and you will not be able to listen on this port on a Unix/Linux machine unless you are "superuser". This is not normally advisable, so it's better for testing purposes to use a non-privileged port (above 1023).
The Serial interface panel is displayed when Serial is selected.
Port. Name of the serial port that ModSlaveSim should use to talk to the master. Select from the list of ports found, or enter the port name if the desired port is not in the list. If (during testing) the connection between the master and slave is between two serial ports that are both on the same machine, then you must obviously use different port names for each. Don't forget to connect the two ports with a cable!
Parity. It's usual to use no parity, since the CRC in RTU packets is a good error check on its own, but some devices may require it.
Stop Bits. Usually 1, but some legacy devices may require 2. The serial specification actually specifies 2 stop bits if parity is not being used, but this requirement is normally ignored.
RTS Control. The default setting of High will be OK for most purposes. Selecting Flow Control will enable hardware flow control ("handshaking") using RTS and CTS. Since Modbus messages are short, flow control is not normally necessary. Selecting RS485 will use RTS to control a RS232 to RS485 converter: ModSlaveSim will raise RTS when it is transmitting data, and lower RTS to receive data. Note that the lowering of RTS may be delayed by the operating system, and this may cause loss of data. For this reason, we recommend the use of RS232-RS485 converters that do not require RTS control.
Press Apply to apply the changes.


The United States is among the most ethnically diverse nations on the planet. By the year 2010 it is expected that 35 percent of the U.S. population will consist of people ordinarily categorized as ethnic "minorities." This diversity itself translates into a social and cultural richness of immense proportions. Yet such diversity also provides occasion for a multitude of challenges in terms of the provision of satisfactory medical care.
Well, it is now 2013, so we have surely surpassed that goal. It is most important to realize that people from different cultures react in different ways when approached in the personal way that practicing medicine requires. It is important for each patient to realize that they are respected as individuals. If it is at all possible, the clinic will administer culturally competent medical care to each and every patient.
In order to assure that each patient feels comfortable when receiving care, the main element needed is good communication. This is needed when first starting to review a patient's situation so that their background is thoroughly understood. Next, it is necessary to help them to understand any procedures required to make a good diagnosis. After the diagnosis is made, the need to have the patient understand what must be done when it comes to taking care of the health matter. This can be a very complicated.
The taking of medicines at specific times, the interaction of medicines with different foods or beverages, all have to be understood. some cultures have never taken modern medicines. If there is a wound involved, the concept of keeping the site sterile may be something that they have never considered, at least not according to the standards followed in the U.S.. Translation must go beyond just the words, but into the concept that is necessary here. The need for follow-up, the watching for signs of problems developing, all have to be carefully explained and understood. We have case managers that are assigned to each patient, but sometimes, making this a family affair is needed so that all will understand.
If you wish to learn more about our clinic, our opportunities for learning more about our programs for health screenings and health maintenance, contact us.


Lighting is responsible for creating the overall feel of a space. Are you looking for a space that is beautiful, functional, relaxing, productive, or one that draws people together? Did you know the type of lighting you choose can achieve all of those?
Let's talk about commonly asked questions from our Mountain Lighting customers.
1. How much light do I need in each room?
This is a great question that we are glad gets asked. Good design brings the needed light levels and mood of your space together. Lighting is one of those things that you don't really notice until there is a lack of it in the spaces that really need it. At Mountain Lighting we recommend making sure that the task areas of your home have plenty of light. With that being said, more light isn't always the best choice when choosing a fixture. Think quality versus quantity. We recommend placing light where it is really needed and keeping mood lighting elsewhere. Think a brightly lit kitchen verses a lamp in your living room. Both have purpose and can create an inviting environment. Different rooms throughout your house need to feel differently. That is what will create that homey feel that will make you want to stay and others to visit often.
Have you heard of layered lighting? The American Lighting Association suggests that the most aesthetically pleasing and effective way to light a room is to have three layers: overall, task and accent.
Depending on where and how some fixtures are used, they could be any type of lighting. For example, pendants might be considered overall lighting or task lighting, even accent if small and in a corner. The important thing is to layer the lighting so that appropriate illumination can be achieved for the activity taking place. Don't forget to take into consideration the natural light you will have when designing your space.
How can I add personality to my home?
Mountain Lighting offers lighting options that aren't just on your ceiling. Using accent pieces can add drama and decoration to your space. We love when customers add in wall sconces and lamps as a source for their lighting. Think about plugging in a wall sconce to fill up that spot on your wall that could use an accent to draw attention. Little additions can make a huge impact in the overall feel of your space.
What if I don't have one specific style of light I'm drawn too?
We love a little contrast too! Lighting trends show that mixing styles is completely fine! Don't be afraid to choose what you love and not just what you feel is safe. Matchy-matchy isn't always the best way to go. You can choose fixtures that compliment and bring a cohesive feel to your home without only shopping "collections". The fixtures do not have to match exactly, but having one or more design element that is common to all of the fixtures is a good idea.
Do all the finishes on my fixtures need to match?
Absolutely not. Mixing metals is totally in! Make the space yours! Do what you love. I recently remodeled and was worried about mixing older with newer fixtures. Let me just say, there is nothing like a new piece of lighting to completely transform a space. If you are on a budget and need to start updating slowly, changing out even one fixture at a time is okay! This is a great time as far as lighting trends go to make that easily happen and still have your home look amazing. In today's design climate, it is very appropriate to mix and match styles and finishes.
What kind of lights are going to be "in" in the next few years?
One of the biggest trends we think we will see is the influx of LED lighting, clean lines, slimmer profiles and more creative outdoor fixtures. Homeowners will continue to be drawn towards the simplicity of design.
At Mountain Lighting we are happy to help with any questions you might have in choosing the perfect lighting for your home.


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Franziska Schläpfer (* 13. April 1945 in Altstätten als Franziska Anderegg) ist eine Schweizer Kulturjournalistin und Autorin.

Leben
Franziska Schläpfers Mutter hatte portugiesisch-indonesische Wurzeln, der Vater solche aus appenzellischem Bauernstand. Sie wuchs im Rheintal und in Herisau auf, heiratete jung einen Witwer mit zwei Kindern und bekam selbst zwei Kinder.

Von 1981 bis 1984 absolvierte sie eine Buchhändlerlehre in St. Gallen und begann anschliessend beim St. Galler Tagblatt zu arbeiten. Zunächst  war sie Assistentin des Chefredaktors und von 1987 bis 1989 Redakteurin im Ressort «Leben». Von 1989 bis 1996 war sie verantwortliche Redakteurin der einzigen schweizerischen Fachzeitschrift für die Buchbranche, «Der Schweizer Buchhandel», herausgegeben vom Schweizer Buchhändler- und Verlegerverband.

Seit 1996 ist sie als freischaffende Journalistin tätig. Ausserdem ist sie Autorin und Herausgeberin zahlreicher Bücher. Diese gelten u. a. dem Schriftsteller Franz Fassbind, dem Musiker Rudolf Baumgartner, der Schauspielerin Trudi Gerster, den Elektrizitätswerken des Kantons Zürich und der Schweizerischen Rettungsflugwacht.

Seit 2011 unterrichtet sie als Dozentin im Lehrgang «Literarisches Schreiben» an der Zürcher Schule für angewandte Linguistik (SAL). Sie ist mit dem Philosophen und Publizisten Ludwig Hasler verheiratet und lebt in Zollikon.

Bücher

Als Autorin
 Aus Pflicht zur Leidenschaft. Franz Fassbind – Leben und Werk. Walter Verlag, Olten 1997.
 Rudolf Baumgartner. Ein Musiker mit Unternehmergeist. Comenius, Baar 2003.
 Schweizer Lexikon der populären Irrtümer: Missverständnisse von Alpenklübler bis Zwingli. Pendo, Zürich 2004.
 Politikerin ohne Mandat. Franziska Schläpfer über Barbara Hug. In: Bruno Glaus, Karl Lüönd (Hg.): Läufer, Mietmaul, König. Anwälte an der Schnittstelle von Recht und Macht. 17 Porträts. Orell Füssli, Zürich 2005.
 schön schräg. Schweizerinnen der besonderen Art. Diederichs, München 2007.
 Zürcher Freizeit Box. Zum 100-Jahr-Jubiläum EKZ. Orell Füssli, Zürich 2008.
 1414. Die Erfolgsgeschichte der Rega und ihre Gesichter. Wörterseh, Gockhausen 2011.
 Trudi Gerster. Ein facettenreiches Leben. Stämpfli, Bern 2016.
 Die Liebe ist ein schreckliches Ungeheuer. Illustre Schweizer Paare. Hier und Jetzt, Zürich 2020.

Als Herausgeberin
 Mit Katrin Eckert. Das Buch der Schweiz. Die klügsten Köpfe, die besten Ideen. Pendo, Frankfurt a. M. 2006.
 Schweiz fürs Handgepäck. Unionsverlag, Zürich 2008.
 Tessin fürs Handgepäck. Unionsverlag, Zürich 2009.
 Innerschweiz fürs Handgepäck. Unionsverlag, Zürich 2011.
 Teufen. Verlagsgenossenschaft, St. Gallen 2014.
 Auftritt Schweiz. Das Lesebuch. Scheidegger & Spiess, Zürich 2014.
 Auftritt Appenzell. Scheidegger & Spiess, Zürich 2018.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Journalist (Schweiz)
Autor
Literatur (Schweiz)
Literatur (Deutsch)
Sachliteratur
Schweizer
Geboren 1945
Frau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


On a site that includes SEO in its domain name, you will excuse me for turning to a completely different topic, but equally important in your business strategy – the topic of marketing for photographers and specifically your photography pricing template.
Marketing for photographers is a huge subject and covers so many areas – we've covered many photography marketing topics on the PhotoProSEO.com blog, but today I want to focus on one specific area of marketing – your sales literature and specifically the photography pricing template you present to your potential clients.
As a wedding photographer in Scotland I was targeting the higher end of our local marketplace (for local I mean Scotland as a geographic area).
It was important, therefore, that my entire marketing message was focused on delivering a "high end" brand perception to our potential bride and groom. A perception that had to match the high end brands that were part of their overall wedding experience.
From the bridal gowns, to the jewellery, to the wedding venue, couples come in contact with brands with potentially much higher marketing budgets that even the most successful photographer might have access to. Therefore, as photographers, we need to punch above our weight so that as a brand we are seen as equal partners alongside the designer gown manufacturer and the five star hotel.
Our marketing materials have to match the high end wedding venues we aspire to work in.
Equally, if we are to price our product much higher that our local competitors, then the wedding couple must see value for that additional cost.
Price perception, branding and quality of sales literature are all at play here and vital for your success.
Think of every place that your potential client sees your brand – everything must portray the quality of your brand.
From the simplest of things like what your company is named and the quality of your logo, through to the entrance to your business premises and the quality of paper you print your contract on.
A few years ago I attended a portrait photography sales training course run by my good friend Kenneth Martin – Kenneth is one of Europe's top photographers and a fantastic businessman.
Kenneth paid equal importance to what I describe above, referring to it as "The Value Chain" and saying how every single step in the chain from initial the point of contact with your customer through to the eventual sale, had to represent value to your customer.
"Allow one step in your value chain to falter and your sales would suffer", he would tell me.
Our portrait photography studio in Stirling has a monthly target of 64 shoots per month – I can almost always attribute a drop in average sales figures to some area of our value chain where we may have weakened our brand and marketing position.
Of course the value chain and our whole marketing strategy is a huge topic which we can't cover in a single blog post. However, I do want to focus on an area that many photographers tend to ignore or forget purely because we live in a digital world. They have forgotten the value of printed literature.
Specifically, I want to talk about "The Pricing Guide" or your pricing brochure.
For many of you, you will instantly tell me, "Yes that is on our website".
And so it may be, but I want you to think about the last time you made a large purchase.
Think about the last time you bought a new car.
The last time you visited a new model showhome for a new housing area being built locally.
Or if you are married, the visits you had to local wedding venues.
In each case (and depending on the quality of the brand) you would have most likely left with a high quality brochure providing details of the benefits of making your purchase and (in most cases) clear details of the costs involved.
Now, many of you would simply get home and the brochure might be cast aside – but it left an impression with you.
And an assurance that this was a company worth doing business with.
Now. Think of your Wedding Photography client.
Their spend with you is a "large" purchase. You need to back that up, not only with a quality product, but also with a quality brand and quality literature.
When a client comes to meet you to discuss their wedding photography requirements. How do you present your costs?
Do you simply print a sheet of paper with your prices?
Think about the impression that gives your customer?
Or do you present the prices electronically on screen – a very "green" approach, but the presentation will soon be forgotten when they sit in front of the next photographer.
You need something that portrays the quality of your brand.
Every wedding client (and portrait client for that matter) is presented with our Price Guide – this is a stunning, luxury bound brochure that would be equally at home as a brochure for the finest of hotels.
It exudes quality and demonstrates immediately to the client the care and thought that we put into our photography and our business.
It provides an immediate confidence boost to them knowing that they are dealing with a real business and if the quality of our photography matches the quality of our brochure, they know they are getting value for money.
Here is the pricing brochure we present to our Wedding Photography clients.
Does presenting a wedding photography brochure like this really work?
Yes, without a doubt. I believe in strong photography marketing. I started as a wedding photographer in 2009 with just 5 weddings. By 2010 we had 45 weddings and were already totally dominating the Scottish Wedding Photography search results. Each year we would raise our prices and by 2012 we were doing 6 figures averaging over £2000 per wedding. This past year our averages were over £2500 per wedding whereas some of our local competition struggle to achieve £750 for a wedding. Marketing is a necessity for photographers – ignore it at your peril.
What does a wedding photography pricing template of this quality cost?
These prices are based on local UK pricing, so your own local market may differ. Depending on your volume of print run, the brochure printing costs are between around £1.50 and £3.00. We used to print these in small runs of 50, so that any tweaks or image changes could be incorporated fairly quickly. The company we used for these was Solopress and each brochure cost us just £2.33 plus VAT (Sales Tax). Less than 0.1% of our actual average sale. The design costs of such a marketing brochure however are much higher. We were fortunate to have an in-house graphic designer in our studio team, but even then this took a lot of man hours to design and layout. Outsourcing something like this to a local graphic designer would probably cost in the region of £1500-2000 – although you could use offshore designers on sites like Upwork.com, but that is of course not without its own challenges.
Well today, you can! I would like to give you this £1500 value design for FREE. Yep, ZERO COST. Nada. Nowt. Hee Haw. (That's a bit of Scot's slang for all you foreigners 😉 ) All we ask is that you replace our logo and colour scheme with your own branding, and use your own images of course. You can even use our own sales text, but I suspect you will want to put your own voice to this.
Well those of you that know me personally will know that we are retiring from wedding photography and took our last booking earlier this year. Our portrait photography studio has grown so well that we have found that wedding photography is actually stifling our growth as a business. Plus the fact that I'm not getting any younger LOL – wedding photography is hard physical work. Of course, it's not a decision we took lightly of course – wedding photography is a huge revenue line in our accounts, but we are confident that the growth in the portrait studio will take up the slack and more. So rather than throw away all this good design work, I thought I would put it out there to help other wedding photographers.
How do I use the Marketing Brochure Template?
Click the button below, complete the form and the download link will be sent to you immediately via email.
Your side of the bargain!
I've spoken about Wedding Photography pricing before. I teach it at seminars that I am invited to speak at and the subtle mechanics of your pricing are incredibly important to ensure you achieve the prices you are aiming for.
Download the pricing brochure and read it alongside my McDonald's principle article and hopefully it will make a lot of sense.
So go ahead – start raising your photography marketing game today.
Download this wedding photography pricing template and produce a brochure worthy of the wedding venue that you most aspire to photograph in. By doing so, I think you will soon find yourself working there as a high end wedding photographer.
P.S. If this article has been useful to you, please do us a favour by liking our page on Facebook and sharing one of our articles with your photography friends – that would really be appreciated!
« Is Social Media Taking Too Much Time Out of Your Photography Business?
Alan, love the article. Have been playing at the starting point of £1500 for entry wedding package and am frustrated with both the reward and the clients. Want to add another £1000 but need to spruce all my material up. Your templates will be great.
I really hope this will be a game changer!
I previously used powerpoint to share my princing!


text:
3 Children Kidnapped After Good Samaritan Stopped To Help Suspect In Car Accident
FILE IMAGE – Police officers in Memphis block Central Ave. where a power line across the road went down on February 3, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Brad Vest/Getty Images)
Police in Memphis are looking for a kidnapping suspect after three children were driven off in a vehicle by the suspect on Friday, September 2.
Police say the children have been found safe, but the suspect is still wanted.
The kidnapping reportedly happened after a car accident and the children were in the car with a man who stopped to offer help.
"I was watering my flowers and suddenly I heard a 'Bam!' and my daughter's car is parked in the street and I thought they hit her car, so I ran outside and I saw the man jump out of the white SUV, and I asked him if anything had happened," witness Mary Carpenter told FOX 13 in Memphis.
Shortly after, she said the man involved in the crash had actually asked her for a ride.
FOX 13 Memphis reports that another man happened to be driving by at the time and also witnessed the crash. Just before 5pm local time, he stopped to help.
As the Good Samaritan got out, the man who crashed the white SUV jumped into the Good Samaritan's car and left — with three more children in the vehicle, FOX 13 reported.
The suspect dropped the children a few minutes later a few blocks away, police said. Police say the suspect is still wanted and has a large cut on his forehead.
"I stopped to help and lost almost everything", the good Samaritan told WMC Action 5 News. "We need to stay closer because everything could be gone in the blink of an eye."
WMC reported that the children were aged 2, 4 and 6 – and that the white SUV the suspect had crashed into had been reported stolen.
RELATED: Who is Eliza Fletcher? Memphis teacher kidnapped during morning jog
Police in Memphis are investigating another high-profile kidnapping that also occurred on Sept. 2.
A 34-year-old teacher has not been seen since she went jogging early that morning. Police say she was "abducted and forced into a medium-sized, dark-colored SUV" around 4:30 a.m. local time.
This story was reported from Detroit.
News Tn U.S


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Talking Heads in Government Agencies as Farmers and Their Families Suffer Hunger
Bicol Street Journalist 8 years ago 4:38 am (UTC/GMT -8 HRS) 6 Sep , 2011
The face of a farm worker in a woman, who spent her youth, adulthood, and perhaps the last of her breath tilling the soil in support of her farmer-parents, then farmer-husband.
The most wonderful thing about our government agencies is that they are full of talking heads. Take for instance the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of Agriculture, choice ranges from the national office in metro Manila, or in Bicol or in the provinces. Information, misinformation, half-truths and the blatant attempt to deviate attention out of the prevailing true state of the rice supply, its availability and the predicament of farmers, also become part of the job.
Camsur NFA provincial manager Edna de Guzman said that although eight rice producing municipalities were heavily affected by the floods, "no shortage of rice is being anticipated" with 700,000 bags of rice still in their warehouses. A statement more to settle their own discomfort but not to assure rice supply will stay in a surplus level for a long time.
Rice harvest was greatly diminished in the six Bicol provinces with the final blow brought about by recent typhoon Juaning on July. Loss was estimated at 29,023.47 metric tons of rice from cultivated 30,915.07 hectares. The DA regional office in Pili confirmed the value of the blown by the wind rice yield to P85.58 million.
DA regional executive director Jose Dayao said that despite those disasters, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) reported that the region posted a 17.3 percent palay production growth rate in the first semester of this year.
An estimated 23,170 farmers many of whom are in CamSur and Albay lost their crops to the typhoon. Many of these farmers will also have a hard time recovering from the loss because financing was sourced from institutions or individuals who will not forego with the scheduled payment of loans despite their present predicament. Farmers deal with institutions which are ruthless, which are more into recovery of their capital and the accompanying interest earned, no matter what.
The silver lining, if the farmers can call it, was the announcement that the NFA has 4,000 sacks of certified seeds ready for distribution to these same hapless Bicol farmers. But these seeds will not come free of charge.
Also, rice farmers will have to start all over again while on the lookout for a source of capital infusion to finance the harrowing of fields, the germinating and planting of rice seedlings, the minnowing, the fertilization, etc. A cyle that more than many times compound the poor farmers' predicament and forever till the land they are pegged unto without any hope for alleviation from poverty and hunger.
There might be enough rice supply to carry us (consumers) over to the next harvest season. But what about the farmers? Meantime that the harvest season has come and gone without any rice harvest, the farmers have to fend off the hunger of their families from loan sharks as a long list of daily needs are tabbed on the nearby sari-sari store. Or sometimes, they have to eat one meal a day, if at all.
Don't lie now, very soon, the talk about urgent rice importation program may soon become a significant agenda, as always.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Economy, POVERTY, poverty. Bookmark the permalink.
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2 thoughts on "Talking Heads in Government Agencies as Farmers and Their Families Suffer Hunger"
Elnora Brocales says:
this terrifying fact on rice surplus was already discovered! you only have to pay all NFA stockrooms a visit and tons and tons of stinking rice are kept inside… but the irony is… filipinos are starving. we should not really blame typhoons and other calamities before they hit the country imported rice were already delivered and many more are coming, let us hope the AQUINO GOVT. would end this paralysis.
Cebu provincial jail warden resigns amidst controversies
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Bicol gears for Tropical Storm 'Karen' as stranded passengers increase
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Poor Bicolanos get unsafe drinking water from ground wells- DSWD
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TORONTO—The Board of Directors of the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) is pleased to welcome Caroline Brereton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective June 4, 2018.
Ms. Brereton joins the OCA after her most recent tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) and Vice Chair of the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC) Board of Directors, where she collaborated with multiple partners to help drive our province's health care system transformation to integrated, patient-centred care.
OCA President Dr. Ken Brough says Ms. Brereton's expertise in healthcare management, proven ability to build relationships in the health sector, and skill at delivering strategic focused results will be a tremendous asset to the OCA.
"This is an exciting time for chiropractic care in Ontario, and Ms. Brereton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that makes her an ideal choice for this important leadership role," said Dr. Brough. "Given our focus on the continuing integration of our profession through collaborative care to tackle Ontario's musculoskeletal (MSK) challenges, we are very pleased to have her join our team."
"Chiropractors play a vital role in in getting Ontarians pain free and mobile through evidence based, patient centred care, and the OCA is an important part of that story," said Ms. Brereton. "I am looking forward to leading this team and continuing our work to further integrate chiropractors into our health care system to help patients get the right care, at the right time in the right place."
She has contributed to the delivery of quality health care in Ontario in an impressive range of progressive roles ranging from nursing to leadership. She moved to Trillium Health Centre (now Trillium Health Partners) in 1998, where she held several senior level positions, from Director, Medical Health Systems, to Vice President, People, Corporate and Clinical Support Services. At Trillium, she applied a new leadership philosophy and accountability framework to initiate customer service models that improved patients' experience and outcomes. She was also honoured to lead the implementation of the University of Toronto's Mississauga Medical Academy and the Shared Service West Organization transformation, on behalf of four organizations.
Ms. Brereton is a Registered Nurse with an MBA. She participates in a number of not-for-profit boards and is active in her community.


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The Engine that Powers the World • 2015 • Time Shift
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Time Shift • 2015 • 1 episode •
The Engine that Powers the World
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NOVA PBS • 2015 • Technology
The Bionic Man
From brains to eyes, hands to legs, and deep down to the internal organs; implants, prosthesis and rehabilitation are entering a new era potentially creating a new type of human being - The Bionic Man- in reality, not on retro TV. But what ethical concerns arise as we mix technology with biology?
5/6 • The Age of Robots • 2016 • Technology
Predicting the Future
By finding hidden patterns in big data, computers powered by a new form of artificial intelligence can predict the future with amazing accuracy.
S2E5 • Breakthrough National Geographic • 2017 • Technology
From the Stone Age to the Silicon Age, materials have helped drive forward our civilisation. By manipulating materials we have been able to transform our world and our lives - and never more so than in the past century when we have discovered and designed more materials than at any other time in human history. (Part 3: Ceramic) Professor Mark Miodownik traces the story of ceramics. He looks at how we started with simple clay, sand and rock and changed them into pottery, glass and concrete - materials that would allow us to build cities, transform the way we view our world and communicate at the speed of light. Deep within their inner structure Mark discovers some of ceramics' most intriguing secrets. He reveals why glass can be utterly transparent, why concrete continues to harden for hundreds of years and how cooling ceramics could transform the way we power cities of the future.
3/3 • How It Works • 2012 • Technology


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Bev S. 28.5.08 1 comment :
I used to cringe when hearing of British shows being adapted for U.S. TV until I was pleasantly blown away by the American version of "The Office." So I am actually looking forward to the prospect of an HBO rendition of the U.K. prison series "Bad Girls," especially since Alan Ball of Six Feet Under will be involved in the project. Bad Girls ran for 8 seasons in the U.K. The first three seasons featured a steamy relationship between Moroccan-descended / Scottish-accented prison warden Helen and butch inmate Nicki, and were carried by LOGO here in the states. My friends and I bought region-free DVD players so we could enjoy the mischievously diabolical antics of prison officer Jim Fenner and inmate Shell Dockley during subsequent seasons. The series' writers consulted extensively with prisoner rights groups so there was social consciousness to be derived amidst the campy melodrama. I hope the U.S. creators are able to do the show justice, so to speak.
anxiously awaiting this series!!- bailey


Tampico is located in Whiteside County, Illinois. It is the birth place of Ronald Reagan, the only president born in Illinois as well as the birth place of Adm. Jos. Mason Reeves, Commander-in-Chief of U. S. Naval Fleet (served 3 wars & 1st football helmet was made for him), and hometown to Ruth Shaheen, also known as Mrs. Hugh Downs.
Our historical society encompasses parts of Whiteside and Bureau counties, with a focus on Tampico, Hume, Hahnaman/Deer Grove in Whiteside County and Yorktown & Thomas in Bureau County, IL. We have a very interactive Message Board which is monitored daily and offers help with your local research. By proximity & default, we often catch Walnut & Prophetstown as well.
.. .'You do a great job with your Whiteside website. It is truly one of the best I have seen, and I see lots of them.
I stumbled upon your Tampico Area Historical Society site and found it remarkable. My sincere compliments on a job MORE then well-done!! I've been looking at sites for ideas for our local Historical Society and have found nothing else that comes even close to what you have done. Your commitment is apparent. It makes me wish my ancestors had settled in your area.
In February, 2009, I was contacted by a Mr. Jeff Ullian. After perusing our TAHS website and learning about the on-going project to raise enough funds to have a statue of Ronald Reagan erected in Reagan Park, he expressed an interest in helping to fund the Reagan Statue project. I referred him on to Shirley Lester who has since talked with Mr. Ullian and will be meeting with him on March 25, along with the artist who will be doing the statue work to discuss plans in more detail. A separate website will be established for the project and for people to make tax-deductable donations towards the project. The special site will allow contributors to make donations with a credit card. Contact Joan Johnson for updates on this project. It should be noted that this is one more example of how beneficial our TAHS website is to our area, since that is how Mr. Ullian discovered this project!
FYI: The TAHS archives hard copies of all the years that the Tornado was published - 1876-1966.
TAHS member, Joni Schatti is offering to donate photos that include: The Center church, several of classes of Aunt Dorris Rosene and Aunt Helen's classes, a few pictures of the Parents, one of the Howlett reunion from 1927, and books from reunions of the Johnsons', Rosenes' and Howletts'. THANK YOU Joni.
Shirley Lester is firming up her plans to produce another Murder Mystery Dinner as a fund raiser for the TAHS. It will again be held in the Community Building, April 24, 2009. The seating capacity is only for 90, so people will want to get tickets in advance, if possible. The cost for the dinner and play will be $15. Menu will be published at a later time. Area actors will be presenting the play, "Last Train to Paris."
The annual Tampico Memorial Day Cemetery Walk will be held on Monday, May 25. Suggestions are still being accepted for people to honor in the Tampico Memorial Cemetery and the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. Dr. Temple and Kermit Branson are being considered for the TMC. Suggestions are still needed for the St. Mary's Cemetery. Please contact Denise McLoughlin at 815-590-2143.
November 1, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010 - Open by appointment. Contact: Joan Johnson, coordinator @ 815-622-8705, or Shirley Lester @ 815-438-7447. Please call in advance during these months so that we may accommodate your visit. Thank you.
* March 29, (Sunday) - Taco Dinner, sponsored by the Giving Tree. Held in Community Bldg., W. Market St.
* April 4, (Saturday) , 1-2p.m., Tampico Lions Club annual Easter Egg Walk. Tamplco Elementary School. Contact: Ron Church, 815-438-3442 or Tim McLoughlin 815-590-2065.
* April 4, (Saturday) - Annual Tampico Fire Dept.'s FISH FRY - held in the Fire Dept. Bays, 4-7:30p.m.
* April 8, (Wednesday), 7p.m. - Tampico Historic Preservation Advisory Committee meeting in Historical Society Bldg.
* April 24 - Murder Mystery Dinner held in Community Building, W. Market St., Tampico. Limited seating. Tickets: $15. Contact: Shirley Lester, 815-438-7447.
This concludes our new entries for March. Melva has sent in a new batch of obits for us, so stay tuned. Volunteers are always needed to help clean, file, arrange displays, story boards, work on committees, etc. I need help on the Program committee - Do you have an idea for a program speaker? Also, we need help designing the TAHS brochure. Margaret Glassburn and Ethel Rosene said they could help with the history, but now we need someone with a little bit of computer savvy to design the layout. I need physical help getting all of the filing & sorting completed upstairs and getting all of the photographs put in albums or files. Once these tasks are complete, I would like to start a genealogy night (or more) in the family history library/research center. Members will have access to our subscription to Ancestry.com. and other perks, such as viewing the Tampico Tornado newspapers pub. 1876-1966. Microfilm/fische readers are now available!
My home computer is fried, so I am not able to upload unless I go to the historical society. Whoa is me.... but, I'll work as fast as I can when I am there! Big THANK YOUS to our helpers, Les Niemi and Melva L. Taylor. Another THANK YOU TO THEWISP for their I-net services and to the Village of Tampico for paying for our website.


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The scudetto (Italian for: "little shield", ) is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous season. The scudetto was created in the 1920s to honour the winner of the national association football league (in 1929 rebranded as Serie A) and the first team to wear it was Genoa C.F.C. in 1924. Later, it was adopted by the teams of other sports.

The word scudetto is also used to indicate the Serie A trophy; "winning the scudetto" is a synonym of "winning Serie A".

Origin

Sources generally agree that the inventor of the scudetto was the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio. In his youth, D'Annunzio was a keen follower of football and in 1887 he bought in London a leather ball from the same manufacturer that supplied the Football League and would play football with his friends on the beach of his native Pescara.

In 1920, the former Austro-Hungarian city of Fiume (now the Croatian Rijeka) was annexed to Italy, D'Annunzio proposed that the local football team acknowledge supporting the Italian sovereignty over the city with a tricolored shield of green, white and red on their jerseys.

In 1924, the Italian Football Federation approved the decision to honour the defending champions allowing them to wear the scudetto on their jerseys. The Italian rugby union championship which started in 1928 became the second league which adopted the scudetto on a team's jersey to indicate a title holding team. Since then, the scudetto has become the symbol of the defending champions of every sports league in Italy.

Other countries including Portugal and Turkey also have their reigning champions wear a national symbol on their chests.

See also
 Cockade of Italy
 Crest (sports)
 Star (football badge)

References

National championships in Italy
Sport in Italy
Sports symbols
Sports terminology
Gabriele D'Annunzio
National symbols of Italy


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La conférence de Spa des , appelée par Fritz Fischer , est la seconde des quatre principales rencontres entre différents responsables politiques et militaires du  impérial ; elle se tient entre les deux grandes offensives allemandes de la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale, au printemps et à l'été 1918. Réunis à Spa autour de l'empereur Guillaume II, les participants réaffirment les objectifs poursuivis dans le conflit qui en est alors à sa cinquième année. Les derniers partisans d'une paix de compromis encore présents au gouvernement du  sont désavoués par l'empereur, et leur principal représentant, le secrétaire d'État Richard von Kühlmann, se voit obligé de démissionner. Parallèlement, le commandement suprême de l'armée allemande (l'OHL) prépare sa dernière offensive du conflit, après les coups de boutoir infligés aux Alliés au printemps. Tenue durant les derniers jours de préparation de la , cette conférence constitue la dernière occasion, pour les responsables allemands, d'affirmer leur croyance ferme en la victoire du .

Contexte

Depuis le début de l'année 1918, les Allemands enregistrent des succès importants sur le front de l'Ouest ; ceux-ci, non décisifs, voient leurs effets remis en cause par l'absence de projets offensifs sur les autres fronts ; ces succès ne constituent pas les victoires décisives dont rêvent les stratèges allemands pour imposer une paix conforme à leurs aspirations impérialistes.

Cette absence de succès décisifs pousse le gouvernement du , confiné à un rôle de plus en plus décoratif, à rechercher une certaine indépendance à l'égard des buts de guerre poursuivis par les chefs militaires de l'OHL ; ainsi, depuis le début de l'année 1918, le gouvernement tente de recouvrer une part d'autonomie, au grand mécontentement des responsables militaires du. Partisan d'une paix de compromis, Richard von Kühlmann apparaît fragilisé par la révélation de détails compromettants sur sa vie privée dans la presse pangermaniste soumise aux Dioscures, Hindenburg et Ludendorff, alors à la tête du grand état-major général.

Contexte politique : le discours du

Ainsi, conscient de l'impasse militaire et économique grandissante dans laquelle se trouvent le  et ses alliés, Richard von Kühlmann, alors secrétaire d'État aux affaires étrangères tente depuis des mois de préparer l'opinion allemande à une paix de compromis avec les Alliés.

La recherche des conditions de cette paix lui vaut la haine des militaires, Erich Ludendorff le premier. Le , Kühlmann, visiblement fatigué, officialise sa position en prononçant un discours au , dans le cadre du vote des crédits de son ministère ; à cette occasion, il exprime son scepticisme quant à la victoire du , appelant de ses vœux une paix de compromis.

Haï depuis des mois par les milieux pangermanistes et impérialistes, Kühlmann, qualifié par la presse bavaroise de , déclenche avec ce discours la curée qui aboutit à son éviction du gouvernement dans les jours qui suivent : la majorité du , notamment les nationaux-libéraux, menés par Gustav Stresemann, se détache de lui. Dès le lendemain, Paul von Hindenburg fait connaître au chancelier du  Georg von Hertling la possible réaction des soldats face aux positions du secrétaire d'État. Soutenu alors par les partis de gauche favorables à une paix de compromis, Richard von Kühlmann se voit cependant obligé de se dédire dès le lendemain, sous la pression des militaires : il ne parvient alors qu'à faire douter ses soutiens, tandis que la majorité de droite ne lui sait pas gré de sa reculade.

Parallèlement à ce contexte allemand, les négociations entre le  et l'Autriche-Hongrie semblent au point mort, les représentants de la double monarchie étant en effet parvenus à vider de leurs substances les accords conclus par les deux empereurs au printemps précédent.

Attente de la victoire du

Durant le mois qui précède la conférence, les responsables politiques du  multiplient les déclarations appelant à l'ouverture de négociations de paix, mais, ces pourparlers doivent débuter après une victoire éclatante sur les Alliés. Ces déclarations se heurtent aux souhaits de Hindenburg et Ludendorff, partisans de la signature d'une paix de victoire.

Pour imposer des conditions de paix conformes aux buts de guerre du , Erich Ludendorff, principal porte-parole des jusqu'au-boutistes allemands, partisans de la réalisation du programme des buts de guerre, souhaite mener la grande bataille d'anéantissement dont rêvent les stratèges allemands depuis le déclenchement du conflit à l'Ouest, la rupture devant être obtenue par des troupes de choc et leur exploitation tactique et stratégique illimitée une fois le front allié rompu.

Le , lors de la célébration du trentième anniversaire de son avènement, Guillaume II, souhaitant mobiliser les Allemands pour la nouvelle bataille annoncée et destinée à être décisive, affirme que la victoire du  est à portée de main et marquerait un changement de civilisation. Ces positions sont relayées par une partie importante de la classe politique représentée au  : le Centre catholique, les nationaux libéraux et les pangermanistes.

L'occupation de vastes portions de territoires des puissances alliées, ainsi que les paix victorieuses imposées à la Russie à Brest-Litovsk et à la Roumanie à Bucarest, confortent les officiels allemands dans leur politique, mais les trompent sur la réalité du rapport de force : l'arrivée massive de soldats américains sur le front de l'Ouest inverse en réalité ce rapport de force en défaveur du  et de la quadruplice.

Contexte militaire

Depuis des mois, les responsables militaires multiplient les tentatives pour parvenir à emporter la décision sur le front de l'Ouest. Après l'échec du mois de mai, Erich Ludendorff se montre partisan de lancer une offensive contre l'armée britannique.

Cependant, les succès rencontrés par les troupes des puissances centrales laminent les effectifs et contribuent à la crise de moral que subissent les unités allemandes depuis le début de l'année 1918 ; en effet, le caractère non décisif des succès remportés depuis le mois de  déçoit les soldats du front, ainsi que leurs officiers. Cette déception transparaît dans les rapports parvenant aux dioscures, qui rapportent les propos échangés par des soldats dans les trains, insistant sur l'aspiration des soldats à la conclusion de la paix.

Enfin, le laminage des effectifs oblige les stratèges allemands à déployer en première ligne des hommes de plus en plus jeunes ou de plus en plus âgés, et tous de moins en moins motivés. Les jeunes hommes sont parfois contraints à monter au front, tandis que les soldats âgés, membres des unités déployées pour l'occupation des territoires conquis, ne montrent aucun enthousiasme pour le service en première ligne.

Contexte économique

Depuis près de trois années, les puissances centrales souffrent d'un blocus allié de plus en plus contraignant, pesant sur l'approvisionnement en nourriture et en matières premières de l'économie de guerre du  et de ses alliés.

Pour connaître l'état des réserves de matières premières stratégiques du , les ministères économiques lancent le  une grande enquête, dont les résultats parviennent aux commanditaires le . Les enquêteurs insistent sur la réalité du contrôle exercé par les Alliés sur le commerce de matières premières et sur les conséquences de ce contrôle sur l'effort de guerre du .

Participants

Lors de cette réunion, présidée par l'empereur Guillaume II au siège de l'OHL à Spa, l'hôtel Le Britannique accueille des civils et des militaires acteurs de la politique allemande de guerre. Cependant, les dioscures font rapidement savoir à l'empereur et au chancelier du  leur souhait de ne plus participer au conseil de la couronne, si le secrétaire d'État, Richard von Kühlmann, est présent.

Civils
En plus de Guillaume II, la conférence réunit le chancelier, Georg von Hertling, le sous-secrétaire d'État à la chancellerie, Wilhelm von Radowitz, le ministre impérial chargé de la marine, Eduard von Capelle, et le représentant de l' auprès de l'OHL, Friedrich Rosenberg.

À ces représentants du gouvernement impérial se joint Hermann von Stein, ministre de la guerre prussien.

Militaires

Sont aussi présents les Dioscures, Paul von Hindenburg et Erich Ludendorff, assistés de leurs principaux collaborateurs, Paul von Bartenwerffer, Erich von Oldershausen et Detlof von Winterfeldt.

Décisions

Lors de cette conférence, les responsables allemands de la gestion du conflit définissent la politique du  alors qu'une offensive de grande ampleur, la dernière, est planifiée par les dioscures pour le milieu du mois.

La démission de Kühlmann

Décidée la veille, le , lors d'une réunion entre le haut-commandement, principalement Paul von Hindenburg et Erich Ludendorff, et le chancelier Georg von Hertling, la démission du secrétaire d'État Kühlmann est annoncée à ce dernier : en effet, celui-ci est lâché dès le lendemain par l'empereur et le chancelier devant l'ampleur de la polémique déchaînée par son discours du  devant le . Le , lors d'une entrevue entre Guillaume II et son secrétaire d'État, l'empereur, totalement subjugué par les dioscures, annonce de manière laconique à son ministre son renvoi.

À la suite de ce départ, la politique étrangère du  est confiée à un fervent partisan de la réalisation des buts de guerre, Paul von Hintze, rappelé pour l'occasion de son poste d'ambassadeur au Danemark ; cette nomination confie à un nationaliste convaincu la réalisation des objectifs décidés lors de la conférence. Le nouveau secrétaire d'État reçoit le soutien de la majorité du  lorsque, le , il défend devant cette assemblée une hausse des crédits de guerre, rejetée par les seuls membres de l'USPD.

Cette démission suscite de nombreuses réserves de la part des principaux membres du cabinet du  : le chancelier Georg von Hertling et le vice-chancelier Friedrich von Payer pressentent de  à la suite de ce renvoi. Ainsi, le , le SPD, par la voix de son principal orateur, Philipp Scheidemann, rappelle dans un discours la situation de la population du , puis appelle de ses vœux la conclusion d'une .

Réaffirmation des buts de guerre

Les buts de guerre du  sont réaffirmés, alors que leur réalisation semble à portée de main : le programme oriental apparaît sur le point d'être atteint ; les buts de guerre occidentaux sont réaffirmés.

Ainsi, la Belgique doit être placée sous strict contrôle allemand, occupée militairement, voire annexée partiellement. Le royaume  est promis à une partition entre la Flandre et Wallonie, toutes deux intégrées dans l'union douanière allemande, tandis que les chemins de fer belges doivent être cédés à l'administration des chemins de fer prussiens ; certaines portions de son territoire, une zone allant de la frontière allemande à la région de Liège notamment, sont promises à une annexion directe au , tout comme le bassin ferreux de Briey, revendication constante de l'Empire allemand depuis le déclenchement des hostilités.

À l'Est, l'Ukraine est indépendante de la Russie et fournit aux puissances centrales des denrées alimentaires.

Lors de cette conférence, nouvelle occasion de définir les buts de guerre du , les participants actent l'arrêt des pourparlers avec le gouvernement américain, entamés par des voies détournées au printemps par le secrétaire d'État, tandis que les demandes de précisions américaines ne reçoivent aucune réponse.

Notes et références

Citations originales

Notes

Références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

Articles connexes

Liens externes

Spa 1918 07
Relations internationales en 1918
1918 en Europe
1918 en Belgique
Spa
Juillet 1918


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Last Updated: Monday, 8 March, 2004, 19:31 GMT
'More than one' Jack the Ripper
Mr Marriott has spent a decade investigating Jack the Ripper
More than one person probably carried out the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper, a former detective has claimed.
Former murder squad detective Trevor Marriott pointed to the "double event murders"- where both victims were found within 12 minutes of each other.
"It is highly unlikely that the murderer would have stopped a second time to murder a second victim in such a short space of time," he said.
Mr Marriott made the comments during a presentation in Londonderry on Monday.
He added: "My findings suggest that there may well have been two other similar murders after the police closed their file."
'Unworthy' suspects
Mr Marriott, who used to work for Bedfordshire police, has spent 10 years investigating the murders of five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London more than 100 years ago, attributed to Jack the Ripper.
In his speech, at the University of Ulster's Magee campus, he also questioned the feasibility of the majority of suspects named by Ripper enthusiasts over the years.
He said: "Most of the main suspects put forward aren't worthy of being classed as suspects.
"Some of them have been hyped up by publicity and media over the years to suit their own means."
One such suspect was Francis Tumblety, a US "quack" doctor, arrested for gross indecency at the time of the murders.
He has been linked to the killings because he was alleged to have kept a collection of female organs.
It is highly unlikely that a member of the Royal Family and an heir to the throne would be allowed to set up home in the East End of London
Trevor Marriott
A number of the Ripper victims were mutilated and had body parts removed.
But Mr Marriott ruled him out on the basis of his known homosexual tendencies.
He said: "A lot of people would say that people who have such tendencies would kill members of the same sex."
Mr Marriott also ruled out Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor - who was rumoured to have lived with his mistress in the East End.
He said: "It is highly unlikely that a member of the Royal Family and an heir to the throne would be allowed to set up home in the East End of London.
"The other thing that rules the Duke of Clarence out is that the Royal Diary shows that at the time of the murders he wasn't even in London. "
Mr Marriott said he did not have a prime suspect but that there were "other lines of inquiry" to pursue and he would love to solve the case.
"It would be one of the greatest breakthroughs in criminal history.
"But I am not setting myself on a pedestal and saying I am going to go out and solve it tomorrow."
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In his new organization the Irish army will consist of two large brigades instead of three now.
Ireland on Tuesday, July 17, 2012, announced details of a reorganization plan of its permanent defense forces (PDF), in which it will consolidate the current three army brigades into two larger brigades to ensure an appropriate balance between the infantry and supporting elements.
The purpose of the reorganization was "to retain the capacity of the PDF to fulfil the roles assigned to the greatest extent possible within the strength ceiling of 9,500 and the significantly reduced resource envelope resulting from the fiscal difficulties of the country," said a press release from the Irish government.
No reduction in the strength of the Irish Armed Forces will result from the reorganization plan announed on Tuesday, July 17, 2012.
A central element of the reorganization was "to reduce the number of personnel engaged in headquarters, administrative and allied support tasks and to redeploy posts to 'front line' operational units," said the press release.
Ireland closed four barracks in March 2012. According to Alan Shatter, minister for justice, equality and defense, no further barrack closures were being considered in the context of this reorganization program.