Tempers flared, not over the constitution, executive privilege, immigration, or even the war in Iraq. Tempers flared over the most sacred ritual on Capitol Hill: slicing up the pork. I'm not making this up. Threaten to take away a member's funding for pet projects -- what we've come to call "earmarks" -- and you might as well have set off armageddon. It happened on Tuesday when one member tried to kill off an earmark of money sought by another member for a housing program for native Hawaiians. The offended congressman seemed almost to threaten fisticuffs. We're learning a lot more about earmarks because of the diligence and vigilance of some people you're about to meet. They call themselves Taxpayers for Common Sense. Look out Congress - there's a bird dog on your trail and he's trying to sniff out how you're spending our money.
STEVE ELLIS: Nobody wants to see their dollars wasted. Nobody. I don't care whether you're liberal or conservative. And if you show directly to people that their members of Congress are wasting their taxpayer dollars or worse, feathering their own nest, then that starts getting people's attention.
BILL MOYERS: Steve Ellis was once a sailor at sea -- a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. Now he works for the public interest group, Taxpayers for Common Sense.
STAFFER: Very nice to meet you.
STAFFER: A few rules that we do have are that you can't photocopy them. You also may not take pictures of them.
BILL MOYERS: Do you ever get the impression they're trying to make it hard for you to do your job?
BILL MOYERS: For years, Ellis and his colleagues have been trying to pry open the secret of how Congress uses earmarks to pass out money. Think of earmarks as individual pipelines of public funds allowing members of congress to designate money for whatever purpose they choose, without hearings or oversight. For a long time they could do it anonymously. A single member could add a few words to a bill -- without attaching a name -- and bingo! Hundreds of millions of dollars go barreling down the pipeline to a waiting recipient. No debate, no scrutiny. And remember all that money flowing through those personal pipelines to favored causes is public money. Your money.
STEVE ELLIS: You could even have an earmark, for instance -- there was one in the Defense Authorization this year. Seven members of Congress requested ten additional C-17s, the big cargo aircraft, $2.4 billion, so it's a big-ticket item.
BILL MOYERS: That's an earmark?
BILL MOYERS: And they can do this without a hearing, without consulting with the Executive Branch?
BILL MOYERS: One Senator calls earmarks the "trading currency" of Congress, used to entice members to vote for a bill they wouldn't otherwise support. If you back my earmark today, I'll back yours tomorrow.
STEVE ELLIS: There isn't a good rationale. Now, what the members of Congress will argue is, is that, hey, they know better what their district needs than some bureaucrat in Washington, and so therefore they should be able to dictate where the funding goes, this way or that way. And that's been the argument now for years that we've heard.
BILL MOYERS: Lawmakers like to say the money is going to worthwhile local projects -- bridges, colleges, public agencies. But look at this analysis of the 2005 budget. It says most earmarks went to defense spending, taxpayer's dollars delivered without competitive bidding.
STEVE ELLIS: I mean, what we're having here is instead of having a process where we're picking projects for funding on the basis of actual merit, it's being done by political muscle. And so you have members of Congress who have either decided that this is their pet issue or they have campaign contributors who care about these, or other issues that are directing the funding to these particular projects.
BILL MOYERS: That's how earmarks travel -- one favor at a time. Example: Congressman Don Young is Alaska's only representative in the House. Alaska is thousands of miles from Florida. So what is he doing earmarking ten million dollars for this proposed I-75 interchange at Coconut Road, near Fort Myers, Florida? Ten million dollars from an Alaskan congressman for a highway project in Florida that the county there didn't even want. The Naples Daily News discovered that Young had earmarked the money shortly after receiving more than $40,000 in campaign contributions raised by a developer who owns 4,000 acres along Coconut Road. When The New York Times updated the story last month, Young dismissed it as old news, and he answered the reporter's questions with an obscene gesture. But for obscene gestures it's hard to beat "the bridge to nowhere." $223 million dollars earmarked for a bridge to a small local airport and fewer than 100 constituents living on an island in Alaska. Taxpayers for Common Sense dug up the story and turned it over to the press. The earmark had been the work of Alaska's representative Young (then head of the House Transportation Committee), and his colleague in the Senate, Ted Stevens (then chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.) They figured they had the political clout to push their earmark through.
STEVE ELLIS: Then Katrina hit and people started realizing that federal spending has consequences. That if you don't spend the money wisely, if you spend it frivolously in places where you don't need it, you often don't spend it where you actually do -- like levees in New Orleans.
TOM COBURN: It is my understanding this amendment is going to be vigorously opposed, I understand, by the home State Senators.
BILL MOYERS: The earmark for the bridge in Alaska was now the symbol of spending priorities grotesquely out of whack. But the message on the floor of the Senate was entirely different -- don't mess with the gentleman's pork.
BILL MOYERS: No one had to call 9-1-1. The move to shift the funds to Louisiana was turned down, although all the controversy put construction of the bridge on hold. Don Young is still shocked -- shocked! -- that anyone would think he wasn't acting in the noblest tradition of pork barrel politics.
DON YOUNG: I was not going to say anything, but when you referred to the bridge to nowhere as a scandal, when you voted for it four times, most of the people in this room voted for it four times. It was always transparent. I was always proud of my earmarks. I believe in earmarks, always have, as long as they are exposed. But don't you ever call that a scandal.
BILL MOYERS: This summer Jeff Flake took on the man often called the king of earmarks: the powerful democrat, John Murtha. Murtha's district in Pennsylvania has blossomed with earmarks, and he keeps coming back for more.
JEFF FLAKE: This amendment would strike funding for the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure. The center is to receive one million dollars in taxpayer funding in this bill. When searching on the Web, my staff and I were unable to find the center's website. I'm not sure whether the center currently exists or whether this earmark creates the center. I would appreciate if the sponsor of this earmark would clear that up.
PETE VISCLOSKY: At this time, I do not know, but if it does not exist, the monies could not go to it.
STEVE ELLIS: There's a lot of these small business incubators, and that's exactly what this is. It's a popular children's book called The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree. The author is from Spruce Pine. And so they've now got a bunch of artists who make Christmas tree ornaments, plates, books, all sorts of stuff that are located there. But once you start talking about spending taxpayer dollars to try to encourage the business here you start losing sight of where our money should be going. And then essentially, why is this project in Spruce Pine better than a project in another town? In Ohio, or in Texas?
JEFF FLAKE: Perhaps the most frequent justification for the contemporary practice of earmarking is that, quote, "members of Congress know their districts better than some faceless bureaucrat in Washington." But, let's face it: when we approve congressional earmarks for indoor rainforests in Iowa or teapot museums in North Carolina, we make the most spendthrift faceless bureaucrat look frugal.
BILL MOYERS: In 1996 there were 300 earmarks attached to the Federal Budget. By 2006 there were 12,000. There are now -- get this -- 32,684 earmark requests up for approval in the House of Representatives.
STEVE ELLIS: It was a couple different factors that I would say you could look at it. One was Mikey Likes It. Originally Republicans had decried the Democrats' use of the purse. But once they got their hands on power they decided, "This isn't too bad. We maybe want to do a little bit more of this." And then, Speaker Gingrich, at the time, noticed that this was a good tool to help protect endangered incumbents. And that essentially they could direct earmarks to not just the politically powerful, which has been done before, but actually to those that are politically vulnerable to try to help keep them in office.
BILL MOYERS: Something else: lobbyists have swarmed to Washington in ever increasing numbers - more than doubling since the year 2000. But it's hard to know which comes first: the lobbyist or the largesse.
STEVE ELLIS: It's become a vicious cycle where you start getting more earmarks. Well, that's like chum in the water for lobbyists. And you get more lobbyists which are then pushing for more earmarks, which then gets more lobbyists. And so we've created this feedback loop that is essentially feeding this increasing number of earmarks in the parochial pork barrel spending. Every member of Congress walks around with a Blackberry now. Lobbyists and special interests had real-time communication with members of Congress and were able to push and notice whether they got their funding or not.
BILL MOYERS: When Democrat Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House in January, she put earmark reform on the agenda. She's called for cutting the number in half. And the House has now approved new rules: members must put their names on each earmark; they must disclose the beneficiary and purpose of the earmark; they must declare that they and their spouses have no financial stake in the project; and earmarks must be open for public inspection. But this transparency is still opaque. For one thing, the information is not posted on the Internet.
STEVE ELLIS: If you happen to be a constituent that lives in Peoria or in Texas or in California, you were gonna have to hop on a plane to get that information from your members of Congress.
BILL MOYERS: In each committee office -- the rules for accessing the information can be different.
BILL MOYERS: We were allowed to film when Steve Ellis called on the House Transportation Committee, but because exact copies of this public information are forbidden, we were required to blur the text. Only the House Appropriations Committee hands out copies of earmark requests attached to its bills.
RYAN ALEXANDER: The undisclosed earmarks -- is there a lot in this bill?
BILL MOYERS: Sometimes they strike pay dirt. Ellis' colleague Erich Zimmermann helped The Los Angeles Times analyze the record of Representative Ken Calvert who was angling last year for a seat in the ear-marking factory known as the Appropriations Committee. Zimmermann spotted $5.6 million dollars earmarked for a transit center in Corona, California. When he looked closer, he found that the Congressman owns seven nearby commercial properties that stood to benefit.
STEVE ELLIS: Well, what that happened to be was to do a dredging project on the Dog River in Mobile Alabama, which also happened to be in the back yard of Sonny Callahan, Republican Congressman, chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee which has got control over the Core of Engineers. And so, essentially, he was directing the Core of Engineers to dredge the river in his backyard, and so, we did a little more research. And lo and behold, there's even a memo within the corps and it says, "This is Congressman Callahan's personal initiative. The dot on the map below represents Congressman Callahan's residence in relation to the project. I mean, so this is a case of where a member of Congress was essentially hiding his tracks -- of getting funding for a project that was literally in his back yard.
BILL MOYERS: Sometimes it's all in the open. Democrat Charles Rangel, of New York, has been upfront about wanting a $2 million dollar earmark for a center in Harlem to steer "low-income and minority students into politics." As chairman of the all-powerful House Ways and Means committee it should be easy. But he wants the center named after a prominent U.S. Congressman -- himself. And that doesn't sit well with some of his colleagues.
CONGRESSMEN CAMPBELL: And so, you don't agree with me, or see any problem with us, as members, sending taxpayer funds in the creation of things named after ourselves while we're still here.
CHARLES RANGEL: I would have a problem if you did it because I don't think that you've been around long enough that having your name on something to inspire a building like this in a school -- it might be that it would be in order for you to get publicity and to get reelected. But since I've been here 38 years and have not really had any opposition from the other side, it doesn't serve any function for me, except to try to encourage people to participate with government, local government, teachers, in order to keep our kids in school. So, I am proud of the fact that they're using my name in order to create this.
BILL MOYERS: Yes, Democrats do it too, and they'll be doing more of it now that they're the majority. In fact, of the 309 earmarks in the Defense Appropriations bill now being considered in the Senate four of the top five earmarkers are Democrats. That's just one committee in the Senate. Over in the House, remember, there are more than 32,000 earmarks to consider. And that has Chairman Dave Obey of the Appropriations Committee is pulling his hair out, frustrated by the process of vetting them.
BILL MOYERS: So Steve Ellis and the self-proclaimed geeks at Tax Payers for Common Sense, their work is never done. Another day, another hunt. Do you have to be a geek to do this?
STEVE ELLIS: You have to have -- I guess so. I mean, you certainly have to have a passion. And I think even more importantly than being a geek is actually being committed to democracy. To actually deciding that you want to have transparency in government because you really believe what the Constitution said about a government for the people and by the people. And the best way to do that is to let people know where their dollars are being spent.
BILL MOYERS: But now, at last, Congressman Flake can claim an earmark victory - his very first. Out of those thousands and thousands of requests this year, he has persuaded his colleagues to kill one -- The Perfect Christmas Tree project -- saving taxpayers $129,000 dollars. Speaking of Christmas, you can't blame Don Young and Ted Stevens for thinking Santa Claus has come early. For all the controversy it now looks as if Alaska is free to use the $223 million dollars for the bridge to nowhere.
Do you know where your tax dollars are going? How about to build 10 multi-million-dollar military cargo planes that the Pentagon hasn't asked for? What about to fund the "Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree" in Spruce Pine, North Carolina?
These congressional pet projects, sometimes referred to as pork barrel spending, are these days more commonly called earmarks. They are provisions inserted into bills that allocate funds directly to colleges, local agencies, or private businesses, without public hearing or oversight.
And since so many recent scandals and ethics inquiries have surfaced that revolve around congressional favors and earmarks, the Jack Abramoff affair perhaps the most infamous and widespread, many watchdog groups have been reading the fine print and publishing earmark information so taxpayers can see exactly how their representatives are spending their money.
Taxpayers for Common Sense is a congressional watchdog group that creates a database for all earmarks as soon as bill is introduced. The group then analyzes the information, paying particular attention to signs of earmark abuse.
Responding to exit polls from the 2006 midterm elections, where U.S. voters named "corruption" one of the biggest factors in their ballot-casting, Speaker Pelosi helped to push through various ethics reforms, vowing to cut earmarks in half, and forcing representatives to put their names on earmarks, defend their purposes, and declare that they and their spouses have no financial stake in each project.
On the forefront of the battle against earmarks in Congress is Representative Jeff Flake (R – Ariz.), who recently challenged veteran Democrat Jack Murtha, after he inserted a $1 million earmark to fund an organization that Flake believed may or may not even exist.
"When we approve congressional earmarks for indoor rainforests in Iowa or teapot museums in North Carolina, we make the most spendthrift faceless bureaucrat look frugal," remarked Rep. Flake in a recent speech on the House floor.
Flake was able to declare his first victory against earmarks recently, persuading his colleagues to kill "The Perfect Christmas Tree Project," saving taxpayers $129,000.


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Non-Profit Renaissance Fair Set to Welcome West Michigan Families
Lauren Gordon
Lauren Gordon Published: November 7, 2022
Lauren G-TSM/Canva
UPDATE: Due to this weekend's Winter Storm Warning the Spirited Seas Renaissance Faire has be rescheduled for January 21-22, 2023. I'm sure I speak for many when I say my fascination with the medieval and renaissance faires all started when Heath Ledger starred in the 2001 action/adventure film A Knight's Tale. Jousting never looked better!
I have yet to visit Medieval Times outside of Chicago yet, but I have visited the renowned Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, MI-- and yes, of course, I dressed the part! However, if you missed the Michigan Ren Fest this summer you're in luck as a new set of royalty is set to make its way to Battle Creek.
Spirited Seas
The Spirited Seas Renaissance Faire is set to transport families and individuals of all ages back in time the weekend of November 19-20, 2022 [January 21-22, 2023]. Says Spirited Seas,
Come see what we have instore for the whole family. Pirates, King and Queen, Knights, Fairies, Mermaids and so much more! Ever jumped in a puddle with a Queen? What about meet a real life mermaid in her natural habitat? You can experience all this and more...
Now, Spirited Seas is more than just a renaissance fair. Not only does this group provide a great learning experience and fun outing for the family, but it's Spirited Seas' mission to give back to the community.
Lauren G/TSM
Spirited Seas is in fact a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping others. According to their website,
Spirited Seas was created to helping those...who may need assistance. We are more then a renaissance faire we are a group of individuals...wanting to give back...We strive to bring awareness in a fun and educational way that is easy and better to understand for all ages
This year the group is collecting toys for Toys for Tots and will offer discounted admission to those who bring an item for donation. All military, active or inactive, and veterans get in for half off as well.
A fun and educational renaissance fair that has a mission? That's a win-win in my book! More event details including location, vendors, and ticket pricing can be found here.
Read More: New Immersive Disney Exhibit Coming to MI
Michigan's Winter Beer Festival 2022
The state's most popular beer festival finally returns after Covid delays.
Source: Non-Profit Renaissance Fair Set to Welcome West Michigan Families
Filed Under: Armed, battle creek, holly, Renaissance Faire, Spirited Seas, toys for tots
Things To Do in West Michigan This Weekend: January 27-29, 2023
Battle Creek's Post Cereal Is Suing Rock Band 'Ok Go!' Over Their Name
No Fans Allowed At Battle Creek Central Games Against Loy Norrix and K-Central
Great Concerts and Events Coming to West Michigan in January
Great Concerts and Events Coming to West Michigan in December
Things To Do in West Michigan This Weekend: November 18-20, 2022
Great Concerts and Events Coming to West Michigan in November
Former Hot n' Nows of Michigan: What Are They Now?
Battle Creek's Kellogg's Is Making Eggo Flavored Eggnog Booze This Year

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Editing is one of the awards that is presented annually at the Blue Dragon Film Awards by Sports Chosun, which is typically held at the end of the year.

Winners and nominees

References

General references

External links

Blue Dragon Film Awards
Film editing awards

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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George Monke, Duke of Albemarle
Battle of Newburn Ford, 1640
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II. He was born at Potheridge, near Great Torrington, in Devon, second son of Sir Thomas Monck, a gentleman of a good Devon family but in straitened financial circumstances. Having assaulted the undersheriff of the county in revenge for a wrong done to his father, he was forced to go abroad. Becoming a soldier, he served as a volunteer in the expedition to Cádiz (1626), and the next year fought well at the siege of the Île de Ré (an abortive attempt to aid French Protestants in the city of La Rochelle). In 1629 Monck went to the Netherlands, then a centre of warfare, and there he gained a high reputation as a leader and a disciplinarian. In 1638 he threw up his commission in consequence of a quarrel with the civil authorities of Dordrecht, and returned to England. He obtained the lieutenant-colonelcy of Newport's regiment. During the operations on the Scottish border in the Bishops' Wars (1639–1640) he showed his skill and coolness in the dispositions by which he saved the English artillery at the Battle of Newburn (1640), though he had little ammunition. At the outbreak of the Irish rebellion (1641) Monck became colonel of Lord Leicester's regiment under the command of Ormonde. All the qualities for which he was noted through life—his talent of making himself indispensable, his imperturbable temper and his impenetrable secrecy—were fully displayed in this post. The governorship of Dublin stood vacant, and Leicester appointed Monck. Charles I, however, overruled the appointment in favour of Lord Lambart, and Monck with great shrewdness surrendered the appointment without protest. The Duke of Ormonde, however, viewed him with suspicion as one of two officers who refused to take the oath to support the Royal cause in England, and sent him under guard to Bristol. Monck justified himself to Charles in person, and his astute criticisms of the conduct of the Irish war impressed the king, who gave him a command in the army brought over from Ireland during the English Civil War. Taken prisoner by the Roundheads at the Battle of Nantwich in 1644, he spent the next two years in the Tower. He spent his imprisonment writing his Observations on Military and Political Affairs. During the confusion which followed Cromwell's death on 3 September 1658, Monck remained silent and watchful at Edinburgh, careful only to secure his hold on his troops. At first he contemplated armed support of Richard Cromwell, but on realising the young man's incapacity for government, he gave up this idea and renewed his waiting policy. In July 1659 direct and tempting proposals were again made to him by the king. Monck's brother Nicholas, a clergyman, brought to him the substance of Charles's letter. He bade his brother go back to his books, and refused to entertain any proposal. No bribe could induce him to act one moment before the right time. That right time came when Gen. John Lambert declared against the Rump Parliament. On 23 October 1659, Monck at once took measures of active opposition against this move. Holding Lambert in play without fighting until Lambert's army began to melt away for want of pay, Monck received the commission of commander-in-chief of the parliamentary forces on 24 November 1659. He entered the capital on 3 February 1660. In all this his ultimate purpose remained mysterious. At one moment he secretly encouraged the demands of the Royalist City of London, at another he urged submission to the existing parliament, then again he refused to swear an oath abjuring the house of Stuart, and further he hinted to the Rump of the Long Parliament the urgent necessity of a dissolution. He forced the dissolution of the Rump Parliament, while at the same time breaking up, as a matter affecting discipline, the political camarillas that had formed in his own regiments. He was now master of the situation. Though he protested his adherence to republican principles, it was a matter of common knowledge that the new parliament would have a strong Royalist colour. Monck himself, now in communication with Charles II, accepted the latter's Declaration of Breda, which was largely based on Monck's recommendations. The new parliament met on 25 April 1660, and on 1 May voted the restoration of the monarchy. Soldier though he was, he had played the difficult game of politics in a fluid and uncertain situation with incomparable skill. That he was victor sine sanguine, i.e., "without blood", as the preamble of his patent of nobility stated, was generally applauded as the greatest service of all, especially after the violence of the Civil Wars. Charles II rewarded Monck suitably for his services in restoring him to his throne. He was knighted, invested with the Order of the Garter, and made Master of the Horse in the King's household. Charles also raised him to the Peerage as Duke of Albemarle, Earl of Torrington, in the County of Devon, Baron Monck, of Potheridge in the County of Devon, Baron Beauchamp, of Beauchamp in the County of Devon, and Baron of Teyes, in the County of Devon, and he received a pension of £700 a year. He entirely concurred in the disbandment of the New Model Army, and only the regiment of which he was colonel, the Coldstream (Guards), survives to this day, one of the oldest military formations in the world and the last representing the army of the English Civil War. As a further token of Charles II's gratitude, in 1663 Albemarle was named one of eight Lords Proprietors given title to a huge tract of land in North America which became the Province of Carolina, the present-day American states of North and South Carolina. The town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina is named after him. His last military services to England were rendered in the Second Anglo-Dutch War when he was appointed commander-in-chief of the English fleet. [3] After that war's dismal conclusion,[4] he returned to private life (although he officially served as First Lord of the Treasury). He died of oedema on 3 January 1670, "like a Roman general with all his officers about him".[citation needed] He is buried in Westminster Abbey. His titles were inherited by his only son, Christopher, Earl of Torrington (1653–1688), on whose death they became extinct.
lisby1
What does this mean? Public Domain Mark
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/3967654250/


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La Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (acronimo inglese UNIA-ACL o semplicemente UNIA) è un'organizzazione internazionale creata da Marcus Garvey a Kingston, in Giamaica nel 1914. Si tratta di un'organizzazione pan-africanista il cui motto è "un dio, un oggetto, una destinazione." L'organizzazione è conosciuta anche con la sua sigla in inglese.

L' Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)

ebbe l'obiettivo del superamento del razzismo, dell'auto sufficienza economica dei popoli di colore e della formazione di una nazione nera in Africa, e si rivolse primariamente al bacino della popolazione di colore degli Stati Uniti.

Nata in Jamaica, la sua influenza fu però sentita nelle principali aree di colore delle città statunitensi negli anni 20 dello scorso millennio.

Nonostante il forte richiamo che ebbe sulle popolazioni colorate povere dei ghetti urbani, fu contrastata dai leaders dei vari movimenti neri statunitensi che considerarono il fondatore Garvey un impostore,  in particolare quando Garvey annunciò la fondazione dell'Impero d'Africa con lui presidente provvisorio.  Ne nacque una battaglia legale, che terminò per altri motivi quando Garvey fu accusato di frode dei fondi destinati alla causa della sua associazione. Nel 1927 il presidente Coolidge lo perdono'  ma lo fece espellere dagli USA come straniero indesiderabile.

Da quel momento l'associazione, pur rimanendo in vita ,  non riuscì a raggiungere più un livello significativo , si divise in due componenti separate,  ed ebbe tutta la storia dettagliata riportata qui di seguito. In ogni caso nella prima fase la sua influenza raggiunse molti colorati sui due lati dell'Atlantico , e in qualche modo fu una delle cause latenti di origine del movimento Black Nationalism sorto e sviluppatosi dopo la seconda Guerra mondiale.

[Fonte Britannica]

Secondo il preambolo della sua costituzione del 1929 e successive modifiche, l'UNIA è una società amichevole, umanitaria, caritatevole, educativa, istituzionale, costruttiva e vasta, fondata da persone che desiderano fare il massimo per l'emancipazione del popolo africano e delle persone di discendenza africana in tutto il mondo. I membri si impegnano a fare tutto ciò che è in loro potere per preservare i diritti della loro razza e rispettare i diritti di tutti gli uomini. Credono nella fratellanza tra gli uomini e nella paternità di Dio.

La vastità della missione dell'UNIA-ACL ha portato alla creazione di numerosi organi ausiliari, tra cui la Universal African Legion, un gruppo paramilitare, la African Black Cross Society, le infermiere della Croce Nera (Black Cross Nurses), gli Universal African Motor Corps, i Black Eagle Flying Corps la Black Cross Trading and Navigation Corporation e la Negro Factories Corporation.

Nome
In un articolo intitolato The Negro's Greatest Enemy pubblicato in Current Hystory nel settembre del 1923, Gravey spiegava così l'origine del nome dell'organizzazione:

Storia
All'età di 23 anni, Garvey partì per un viaggio in America Centrale e in seguito si trasferì per un po' in Inghilterra. Durante i suoi viaggi si convinse che unire i neri era il solo modo per migliorare la loro condizione. Al fine di perseguire la sua idea, il 14 giugno 1914 ripartì per la Giamaica. In agosto fondò l'UNIA, con lo scopo di unire tutta l'Africa e le persone che da lì provenivano in "una grande gerarchia razziale". In seguito viaggiò negli Stati Uniti e inaugurò la divisione UNIA di New York, che contava 13 membri, nel 1917. Dopo tre soli mesi, i membri dell'organizzazione erano già 3500.

Il 17 agosto 1918 venne fondato il settimanale Negro World, per esprimere le idee dell'organizzazione. Garvey scriveva un editoriale ogni settimana in cui trattava le posizioni dell'organizzazione su diversi temi relativi alle persone di ascendenza africana e all'UNIA. Conteneva inoltre una pagina dedicata alla lettrici donne. Il settimanale veniva stampato in molte lingue, raggiungendo una tiratura di 500000 copie. La pubblicazione cessò nel 1933.

Nel 1919 l'UNIA acquistò la prima delle sue numerose Libery Halls. L'edificio, che si trovava ad Harlem, aveva 6000 posti a sedere e ospitava gli incontri settimanali dell'UNIA, che si tenevano la domenica sera. Lo stesso anno, l'associazione organizzò la prima delle sue due compagnie di navigazione a vapore.

Costituita nel Delaware come una società nazionale il 27 giugno 1919, la Black Star Line, Inc. (BSL) venne capitalizzata a 10 milioni di dollari. Le azioni erano vendute a 5 dollari l'una, sia per i membri dell'UNIA, sia per chi non ne faceva parte. Il ricavato delle vendite venne usato per comprare due navi, una delle quali è stata prima usata per le gite estive e le escursioni, e poi affittata ad altre organizzazioni. In seguito, la BSL acquistò una terza nave, più piccola, progettata per il trasporto da un'isola all'altra delle Indie occidentali.

Primo convegno internazionale

Nel 1920 l'associazione aveva ormai 1900 sezioni in oltre 40 Paesi. La maggior parte si trovavano negli Stati Uniti, ma c'erano uffici anche in diversi paesi caraibici, in particolare a Cuba. C'erano uffici anche a Panama, in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, India, Australia, Nigeria, Namibia e Sudafrica.

Durante l'intero mese di agosto del 1920, l'UNIA tenne la sua prima convention internazionale al Madison Square Garden di New York. Il 13 agosto i 20.000 membri partecipanti promulgarono la Dichiarazione dei diritti dei negri del mondo (The Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World) ed elessero i leader dell'UNIA "leader dei negri del mondo".

L'organizzazione portò avanti un programma basato sulla dichiarazione dei diritti dei negri nel mondo, facendo diventare l'associazione un vero e proprio movimento nazionalista. Tra le altre cose, proclamarono la bandiera rossa, verde e nera stendardo ufficiale della razza africana e designarono la canzone "Ethiopia, Thou Land of Our Fathers" inno ufficiale dell'Africa e degli africani, in patria e nel mondo. Garvey venne inoltre eletto "presidente provvisorio dell'Africa", titolo più che altro cerimoniale.

La sfilata di apertura partì dalla sede centrale dell'UNIA, sulla 135ª ovest. Era aperta da quattro poliziotti a cavallo e dai capi della Black Star Line e della Negro Factories Corporation, seguiti da automobili che portavano Garvey, il sindaco di Monrovia (capitale della Liberia) e altri funzionari dell'UNIA, dal Black Star CLine Choir, a piedi, e da contingenti provenienti dall'America, dalle isole caraibiche, dal Canada e dalla Nigeria, tutti con i loro stendardi. Facevano parte della sfilata anche altre 500 automobili, in coda. Altre parate simili ebbero luogo nel 1922 e nel 1924. Anche dopo che Garvey ebbe lasciato Harlem, l'UNIA organizzò delle parate in agosto durante tutti gli anni venti, portando un ritratto del loro leader. I membri sfilavano in uniforme, il che aveva un grande impatto sulla folla.
Anche la Negro Factories Corporation venne costituita nel 1919, capitalizzata a 1 milione di dollari. Diede lavoro a circa 700 persone, che erano occupate in tre negozi di verdura, due ristoranti, una lavanderia, una sartoria, una stamperia e un negozio di bambole. Tuttavia, la maggioranza chiuse dal 1922.

Con l'aumentare dei suoi membri e i vari guadagni derivanti dalle sue imprese, l'UNIA comprò altre Liberty Halls negli Stati Uniti, in Canada, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Giava e in altri Paesi. In più, comprò anche delle fattorie in Ohio e in altri Stati e della terra a Claremont (Virginia) con l'intenzione di fondare la Liberty University.

Programma liberiano
Nonostante l'UNIA non fosse un movimento per il ritorno in Africa, l'organizzazione lavorò per organizzare la migrazione degli afroamericani che volevano andarci. Nel 1923, una delegazione ufficiale dell'UNIA che comprendeva Robert Lincoln Poston e Henrietta Vinton Davis si recò in Liberia per trovare potenziali aree in cui stanziare i migranti e per valutare le condizioni del Paese dal punto di vista dei membri interessati a vivere in Africa.

Nel 1924 il Giudice capo della Liberia, J. J. Dossen, scrisse all'UNIA per trasmettere il supporto del governo:

Circa due mesi dopo, però, il presidente liberiano ordinò inaspettatamente a tutti i porti della Liberia di rifiutare l'ingresso a qualunque membro del "Movimento di Garvey". Inizialmente la Liberia intendeva concedere il terreno all'UNIA facendoglielo pagare un dollaro all'acro (247 $ al km²), ma in seguito ci fu un accordo con la Firestone per la concessione dello stesso terreno di un milione di acri (circa 4000 km²) per 99 anni. L'accordo commerciale con Firestone fu un duro colpo per il programma di rimpatrio dell'UNIA.

Era post-Garvey
Dopo la condanna e la detenzione di Garvey per frode postale nel 1925 e la sua deportazione in Giamaica nel 1927, l'organizzazione iniziò ad assumere un carattere diverso. Nel 1926, George Weston succedette a Garvey e divenne il secondo presidente dell'UNIA. Questo fece arrabbiare molti dei sostenitori di Garvey, e si generarono di conseguenza alcuni gruppo rivali, come i "Garvey Club" e altre organizzazioni che si basavano su diverse interpretazioni degli obiettivi dell'UNIA.

Di conseguenza, l'UNIA continuò ad essere nota come Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League ed emerse una rivale "UNIA-ACL agosto 1929", capeggiata da Marcus Garvey.

L'UNIA Inc.

L'UNIA Inc, dopo la partenza di Garvey, ha continuato ad operare a New York fino al 1941. I presidenti eletti, dopo Weston, sono stati: Frederick Augustus Toote (1929), Clifford Bourne (1930), Lionel Antonio Francis (1931–1934), Henrietta Vinton Davis (1934–1940), Lionel Antonio Francis (1940–1961), Captain A L King (1961–1981) and Milton Kelly, Jr. (1981–2007). Con una storica decisione della Corte suprema del Regno Unito, nel 1939 il presidente Francis venne riconosciuto come erede della tenuta di sir Isaiah Emmanuel Morter in Belize, perciò la sede dell'UNIA, e di conseguenza anche il presidente, vennero trasferiti in Belize nel 1941.

Alla sua morte nel 1961, durante l'Uragano Hattie, la presidenza tornò a New York e venne affidata a King, già presidente della divisione centrale dell'UNIA di New York.

L'UNIA-ACL 1929 of the World

L'UNIA 1929 capeggiata da Garvey continuò ad operare in Giamaica fino al 1935, quando Garvey si trasferì in Inghilterra. Lì istituì un ufficio dell'UNIA 1929 e continuò a tenere i contatti con tutte le divisioni. I congressi dell'UNIA 1929 si tennero in Canada nel 1936, 1937 e 1938.

Garvey si ammalò a gennaio del 1940, e morì il 10 giugno dello stesso anno. I membri dell'UNIA di tutto il mondo parteciparono a processioni e cerimonie commemorative in suo onore. La segretaria generale Ethel Collins si occupò di gestire gli affari dell'UNIA 1929 da New York fino a quando venne nominato James R. Stewart come successore. Nell'ottobre del 1940 a Cleveland cominciò la pubblicazione di New Negro World.

La casa madre a Monrovia
Stewart si trasferì a Monrovia nel 1949. Prese la cittadinanza liberiana e trasferì lì anche la casa madre dell'UNIA. In seguito, con la famiglia, si trasferì più all'interno del Paese, a Gbandela, dove costruì un ospedale, una scuola e una fattoria. Steward guidò l'UNIA come presidente generale fino al 1964, anno in cui morì di cancro. Dopo la sua morte, la casa madre venne ri-trasferita e tornò negli Stati Uniti, a Youngstown (Ohio), con James A. Bennett come presidente. Alla sua morte, gli successe Vernon Wilson.

Wilson morì nel 1975, e al suo posto venne eletto Mason Harvgrave. Nell'agosto del 1987 Harvgrave testimoniò alla commissione di giustizia a proposito a Marcus Garvey e alle accuse di frode postale mosse nei suoi confronti anni prima. La commissione di giustizia ritenne Garvey innocente, e sottolineò che negli anni venti era stato ritenuto colpevole a causa del clima sociale del periodo.

Anni recenti
Dopo la morte di Hargrave, nel 1988, tutti i suoi documenti e altro materiale della casa madre sono stati consegnati in custodia alla Western Reserve Historical Society di Cleveland (Ohio) per la custodia. Dal 1988, l'attuale presidente generale è Cleo Miller Jr.

Membri famosi

Dusé Mohamed Ali
Thomas W. Anderson
Norman Burton
Eliezer Cadet
Shirley Chisholm
Henrietta Vinton Davis
William H. Ferris
Arnold Josiah Ford
Timothy Thomas Fortune
Amy Jacques Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Hubert Henry Harrison
Thomas Watson Harvey
James Haynes
Samuel Alfred Haynes
Zora Neale Hurston
Joseph Robert Love
Cleo Miller
Hugh Mulzac
Robert Lincoln Poston
Thomas Vincent Ramos

James Robert Stewart
Eric D. Walrond

Note

Voci correlate
Panafricanismo

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Panafricanismo
Storia afroamericana tra emancipazione e movimento per i diritti civili


text:
Thubten Kunphel (, 1905 – 1963), commonly known as Kunphela, was a Tibetan politician and one of the most powerful political figures in Tibet during the later years of the 13th Dalai Lama's rule, known as the "strong man of Tibet". Kunphela was arrested and exiled after the death of the Dalai Lama in 1933. He later escaped to India and became a co-founder of the India-based Tibet Improvement Party with the aim of establishing a secular government in Tibet. He worked in Nanking after the attempt to start a revolution in Tibet failed, and returned to Tibet in 1948.

Rise to power

Kunphela was born as Dechen Chödrön in a "taxpayer" serf family in Nyemo in 1905. At the age of 12, he was sent to Lhasa as a servant in the palace of the 13th Dalai Lama. His intelligence gained the Dalai Lama's attention, and subsequently he became a household servant, and then the favorite personal attendant, known as jensey. In the 1920s, he oversaw a series of construction tasks including the renovation of the Potala Palace and the expansion of Norbulingka. In 1931, he became the head of Trapchi Electrical Machine Office, in charge of several mints and munition factories that were considered the most modern ones of Tibet at the time.

In 1932, he successfully persuaded the Dalai Lama to allow him to establish a Trongdra Regiment under his control. The soldiers were recruited from middle-class families, and the equipment and training far exceeded other Tibetan troops.

By 1933, Kunphela had gained the authority of appointing and dismissing government officials. He also controlled the importation and distribution of arms and ammunition. Kunphela issued orders without the need of confirmation of the Kashag or the Dalai Lama, and his orders were obeyed as much as those from the Dalai Lama himself. He was known as the "strong man of Tibet".

Downfall

After the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in December 1933, Kunphela's status became unclear. Initially, Kunphela was confident of his position because of his control of the Trongdra Regiment. He held the power to organize the construction of the Dalai Lama's tomb, and a large part of lay officials present in the National Assembly, composing of government officials and abbots of key monasteries, supported him to become regent even though the position was traditionally for an incarnate lama.

In the meanwhile, Lungshar, one of the parties vying for control after the 13th Dalai Lama's death, conspired to accuse Kunphela of playing a role in the sudden death of the Dalai Lama, and gathered the support of a large number of abbots and monks. The charge was also given support by several Lungshar's friends in the Kashag, who confirmed that only Kunphela accompanied the Dalai Lama all the time. In the meanwhile, Lungshar took advantage of the Trongdra soldiers' dissatisfaction and successfully persuaded them to mutiny. On the third day after death of the Dalai Lama, the entire regiment demonstrated before the Norbulingka and demanded its own disbandment. The regiment was then disbanded on the Kashag's order.

After the desertion of the Trongdra Regiment, Kunphela was arrested and confined in the Sharcenchog prison. Lungshar sought to inflict death or mutilation on Kunphela, but the suggestion was opposed by the Assembly. Eventually, Kunphela was only convicted of failing to deliver prompt notification about the Dalai Lama's illness, and sentenced to exile for life to Kongpo. He was banished in public on the second day before the Tibetan New Year, the most inauspicious day of the year. All his property and that of his relatives was confiscated. Kunphela's father was sent back to serve as a serf in Nyemo.

Founding of Tibet Improvement Party

Kunphela fled to India in 1937 together with Canglocen, a well-known poet and ex-official who was exiled because of supporting Lungshar. In Kalimpong, they met Pandatsang Rapga, a Khamba nationalist and intellectual, and started the Tibet Improvement Party in 1939. According to Pandatsang, the primary goals of the party were "liberation of Tibet from the existing tyrannical government," and a political and societal revolution in Tibet for a secular government under the Republic of China.

In 1946, the activities of Gendün Chöphel, a leading figure in the party, were discovered in Tibet. Under pressure from the Tibetan Government, the Government of India placed Kunphela under surveillance after 1946 and deported him to China one year later. At the time, Varanasi University offered him a position as a lecturer which would have allowed him to legally remain in India. Kunphela refused the offer and left for Shanghai in 1947.

Later life

After the deportation, Kunphela lived in poverty in Shanghai and Nanking for a while, but was eventually able to work for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission following an invitation.

In 1947, Kunphela discovered that the ex-regent of Tibet, Reting Rinpoche Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen was appealing to the Kuomintang government to overthrow the Taktra Government in Tibet. Thubten Sangbo, the Tibetan Government's representative in Nanking, was informed. The news soon reached Lhasa, and led to Reting's arrest. Kunphela was allowed back to Lhasa in 1948, obviously because of his role in the Reting affair. According to Sampho Tenzin Dhondup, Kunphela's motive was a conflict from the time Kunphela worked for Reting's trade company in India: Kunphela made several purchases in Bombay, but was not reimbursed for his loss even though Reting's company was far from short of funds.

In 1952, Kunphela was one of the staff members of the Grain Procurement Bureau, an newly established institution under the Kashag for resolving the problem of grain shortage. In 1956, Kunphela became the deputy director of the Bureau of Geology under the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region (PCTAR). He attended the 8th anniversary celebrations of China in Beijing, and was received, along with other Tibetan visitors, by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. Kunphela became vice-director of the Executive Office under the General Office of the Preparatory Committee. He died in Lhasa on December 22, 1963, aged 58.

Notes

References

K
K
Tibetan politicians
K


sophistication needed to enter into contracts with adults.
reasonable time after becoming an adult.
the value of the consideration paid by the minor.
the loss of the adult's property.
of life (food, clothing, shelter) for their children.
enforceable under the quasi-contract theory.
dealing with a person lacking capacity.
consumed and the ability to hold the intoxicant.
3. Sabbath Laws. Blue laws or Sunday laws.
beliefs of the particular judge.
common law unfair competition laws, e.g. palming off.
to a contract from tort liability.
1. Illegal contracts are void and unenforceable by the courts.
The court will leave the parties as it finds them.
law which made the contract illegal.
other, that it they are not in pari delicto.
act to save a person from unwise or unprofitable deals.
manifestly unfair that they are unjust.
enforce the rest of the contract.
to avoid the unconscionable result.


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