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Air-Inclusive
Independent Travel
River and Canal Cruising
viatours@yahoo.com
Book Travel Now
Romantic Britain & Ireland (Summer 2019)
A wealth of history, dramatic scenery, sacred sites, legends and traditions all come together, invoking a sense of romance on this escorted journey.
Authentic Dining
Stratford-upon-Avon: Get to know you fellow travellers as you join your Travel Director at a local pub for your Welcome Dinner.
Ballindalloch: Visit one of the few remaining inhabited castle's of Scotland and be treated to a Farm-to-Table Scottish Tea and Scones.
Dublin: Before it opens to the public, visit the Guinness Storehouse to learn about Ireland's national drink. Experience a private masterclass and learn to pour the perfect pint.
Killarney: There's nothing quite as homely as the English tradition of a Sunday Roast, served with all the trimmings.
Killarney: Choose from a fine selection of local restaurants on your Dine-Around Evening.
Torquay: Blend a little wine with great cuisine and good company for a rousing end of tour Celebration Dinner.
Dining Summary: 19 Breakfasts (B), 1 Afternoon Tea (AT), 5 Dinners (D) and 3 Dinners with Wine (DW) all with tea or coffee.
Insight Experiences
Belfast: Meet Hilda, a true Belfast local, having lived in the same house her entire life. During your panoramic tour, hear the history of the city and learn why Hilda is proud of its progress and current prosperity. You'll also see the City Hall, Queen's University, Parliament Building at Stormont and murals in different locations indicating political sentiments of local residents.
Stay in Style
Stratford-upon-Avon: The Stratford is an award-winning boutique hotel in the centre of this historic town.
York: The Hilton York is situated within the city walls, close to the York Minster and the best this city has to offer.
Edinburgh: Located in a Georgian terrace in the heart of the city, the Crowne Plaza Edinburgh – Royal Terrace is a short walk away Prince's Street.
Inverness: The traditional Columba Hotel provides enviable views over the River Ness and Inverness Castle.
Isle of Skye: Boasting an incredible location by Broadford Bay, The Dunollie Hotel is set at the base of outstanding mountains.
Glasgow: The Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow features award-winning architecture, boasting a stunning atrium and rooms with wall-to-ceiling windows.
Belfast: The Europa Hotel is located in the heart of Belfast City Centre and offers elegant décor, a contemporary bistro and a relaxing piano bar.
Limerick: The George Hotel Limerick is a modern, centrally-located boutique hotel and provides the perfect base for exploring what wonders Limerick has to offer.
Killarney: In the heart of the town centre, the Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa overlooks Killarney National Park and is the perfect location to enjoy the stunning scenery and the local 'craic.'
Waterford: Dooley's Hotel Waterford has been family-run for generations and is conveniently located inside Waterford's City Centre.
Cardiff: Clayton Hotel Cardiff is located in the heart of the city on St. Mary Street, just a short walk from Cardiff's premium sporting facility, Millennium Stadium.
Torquay: The Imperial Torquay is perched on a cliff top overlooking the English Channel and was a favourite haunt of Agatha Christie, who wrote about it in several of her novels.
Top Rated Highlights
Edinburgh: A hush descends and eyes turn to the castle. The skirl of the pipes rises and drums crack the night air as a tide of tunics and tartan flood from the drawbridge. For a limited time in August, witness the incredible spectacle of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Oxford: See the dreaming spires and colleges of this world-famous university town.
Stratford: Visit the timber-framed building where Shakespeare was born and grew up.
Lincoln: Visit Lincoln Castle and admire one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta, which is over 800 years old.
York: Your Travel Director will show you the York Minster, the city walls and the medieval Shambles during you orientation of the city.
Grasmere: Learn about the life of the poet William Wordsworth and visit his grave.
Edinburgh: Explore the city with your Local Expert as you travel along Princes Street to see the Scott Memorial, the neoclassical Adam facades of New Town and the official Scottish residence of the Queen, Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Edinburgh: Walk with a Local Expert inside the walls of Edinburgh Castle to view the Scottish Crown Jewels, Stone of Destiny and Mons Meg.
St. Andrews: Visit the town where Prince William met Kate Middleton. See the Old Course where golf was invented.
Pitlochry: Visit this town, famous for its salmon leap.
Inverness: See the River Ness, Inverness Castle and take in the scenery around you as you hear about the beauty and history behind Inverness.
Loch Ness: Soak up the scenery and hear intriguing tales of Nessie during a cruise.
Eilean Donan: Stop for a photo of this gorgeous castle.
Fort William: Enjoy an excellent view of Ben Nevis from the World War II Commando Memorial.
Glasgow: During your orientation with your Travel Director, drive past the civic buildings and St. Mungo's Cathedral.
Dublin: You Local Expert will show you famous O'Connell Street, Dublin Castle and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Galway: An orientation with your Travel Director will show you the Lynch Memorial, Church of St. Nicholas, Spanish Arch and Eyre Square.
Cliffs of Moher: Stop by the Exhibition Centre and look out over the Wild Atlantic Way from these majestic cliffs.
Limerick: See King John's Castle and St. Mary's Cathedral.
Killarney: Enjoy hearing of the history of Killarney during your city orientation.
Ring of Kerry: Ven…
Day 1 Welcome to London.
Day 2 London, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Day 3 Lincoln and York.
Day 4 The English Lakes to Edinburgh.
Day 5 Scotland's Capital of Culture.
Day 6 St. Andrews and Inverness.
Day 7 Across the Sea to Skye.
Day 8 Loch Lomond and Glasgow.
Day 9 Across the Irish Sea to Belfast.
Day 10 Dublin city sightseeing.
Day 11 A pint of the 'Black Stuff'.
Day 12 Galway, the Cliffs of Moher and Limerick.
Day 13 The Dingle Peninsula to Killarney.
Day 14 Ring of Kerry Experience.
Day 15 Blarney Castle and Waterford.
Day 16 Across the Irish Sea to Cardiff.
Day 17 The Roman Bath and Glastonbury.
Day 18 The Cornish Coast.
Day 19 Salisbury Plain and Stonehenge.
Day 20 Homeward Bound.
Located in eastern Northern Ireland on Belfast Lough, an inlet of the north channel of the Irish Sea, Belfast is the captial and largest city in the country.n Population is around 320,000.
Edinburgh, (èd´n-bûr´e) capital city (1991 pop. 421,213) of Scotland and royal burgh. The city is divided into two sections: the Old Town, on the slope of Castle Rock, dates from the 11th century; the New Town spread to the north in the late 18th cent. Edinburgh is a government, finance, and tourist center. Most industry, which includes brewing and distilling, publishing, and paper milling, is situated near the city's port, Leith. Edinburgh grew up around its 11th-century castle and became Scotland's capital in 1437. It blossomed as a cultural center in the 18th and 19th century, with such figures as David Hume, Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott. It remains a cultural and educational hub and hosts an annual international arts festival.
Galway is located on the western coast of Ireland. Stunning beauty, world class cuisine and Irish music are found in abundance here.
"Glasgow town never brought me down," Paul McCartney sang in 1973, and Greenock, gateway to the dynamic city of Glasgow, Scotland, is sure to please you too as a jumping off point for some terrific exploration of the land of the Scotch. If you like castles and lochs (personally, we prefer bagels and lochs), you'll love this fairy-tale kingdom.
More ancient and considerably larger than Scotland's capital of Edinburgh, Glasgow is a multilayered and rich historical experience, easily accessible to visitors. Statue-filled George's Square, red-brick People's Palace, and other main buildings like the central railway station north of the river Clyde, are the obvious places to start. The ancient mass of Glasgow Cathedral sits at the city's heart; around it, the wide streets of Buchanan Street, Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street have all been pedestrianized and must be savored on foot.
Known as the "West End," the westernmost half of the city boasts the refined, handsome proportions and prosperous townhouses of the island's finest Victorian city, along with the old and new buildings of Glasgow University. Public parks and gardens help to dignify the southern outskirts. Finally, you'll find their tourist information office about the most helpful on the island!
The Loch Ness Monster is only one of many fairy tales you'll be enchanted by after visiting this storybook corner of Scotland. From the castle near Inverness where Macbeth reputedly murdered King Duncan to the mesmerizing beauty of the Scottish highlands, you'll see why so many people for so many centuries have gone out of their way to come here.
Killarney – Ireland's most vibrant town. Located in the Southwestern region of Ireland, in County Kerry, Killarney is a renown stop on the famed "Ring of Kerry" journey. The town itself is set near the beautiful Killarney National Park, by the shores of Lough Leane and in the shadow of Ireland's highest mountains. The mystic beauty of Killarney's lakes is wonder to behold. From clubs and pubs, to ancient sites and historical places, Killarney is a perfect blend of past and present.
On the Shannon River in southwest Ireland, Limerick is noted for its fine laces.
Restless, enduring and wonderful, London is Europe's largest city. And surely, if you have the choice to visit only two or three cities of the world in your lifetime, by all means make one of them London.
The Romans started it all. The city they developed was "the square mile," – and Londoners still hunt for Roman relics in the Thames. History is everywhere you look in London, yet today the city is as modern and metropolitan as any city on earth.
By day, London is buzzing with the frenetic pace of commerce not even Dickens could have imagined. By night, the excitement and glitter of theatres, cinemas, pubs and restaurants beckons throngs of travellers from around the world. But there is another London, a peaceful London of cool museums, quiet tea rooms, immaculate gardens and hushed churches.
There is Royal London – ancient pageantry in a modern kingdom – with its palaces, pomp and precise manoeuvres at the Changing of the Guard. And there's outrageous London, the urban gathering ground for Cockney pitchmen, "fringe" theatre and the city's youth, with their own distinctive style.
London, this extraordinary city of contrasts, holds a stunning abundance of hidden-round-the-corner surprises. You owe it to yourself to explore them all. Here, then, is the London you'll come to know and remember.
Waterford is 85 miles south of Dublin, on the southernmost tip of Ireland. Arriving at Waterford is spectacular. It is a big event for this small town and the people warmly welcome you. Tour its famous crystal factory and watch how it's done. Or, enjoy a drive across Ireland's scenic countryside.
York, located in Northern England, is considered the gateway to the North. A stronghold throughout history, York is a quaint and picturesque and is well preserved.
Tour prices and dates are correct at the time of the website going live, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking. Prices displayed reflect available discounted rates such Early Payment Discount or Red Hot Deal (discounts are not combinable). Discounts may be withdrawn at anytime, book early to confirm space.
Via Tours
4159678088 • viatours@yahoo.com


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Little Bill Glover
Nick Carraway
Beth Smith
Jay Gatsby
Julia (Sesame Street)
Bob the Builder (2015 Series)
Eternals (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
in: Male, Video Game Heroes, One-Man Army,
Tricksters
Determinators
Pawn of the Villain
Crossover Heroes
Heroic Criminals
Friend of a Villain
Fortune Hunters
Provoker
Super Power Beat Down
Global Protection
Heroic Liars
Protector of Innocence
Strategists
Thrill-Seekers
Selfless
Animal Kindness
Localized Protection
Nurturer
Possessed/Brainwashed
Comedy Heroes
Heroic Jerks
Dreaded
Egomaniacs
Nathan Drake
Hero Overview
Nathan Morgan
Kid (by Sully)
Cowboy (by Elena)
"Legend" (by Rafe)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Orphan at the Saint Francis' Boy's Home (formerly)
Underwater salvage specialist (in A Thief's End)
Co-owner of D&F Fortunes (after A Thief's End)
Very High Intelligence
Encyclopedic and historical knowledge
Peak Human Condition
Skilled Marksmanship
Master Combatant
Skilled Free Runner
Skilled Climber
Weaponry Expertise
Vehicular skills
Skilled Tactician
Expert Thief
Stealth mastery
Master Swimmer
Searching for treasure.
Bantering with Elena, Sully, Chloe, and Sam.
To locate El Dorado before Gabriel Roman and stop Atoq Navarro from selling the mutagen inside as a weapon on the black market (Drake's Fortune).
To find Shambhala and later save the world from Zoran Lazarević (Among Thieves).
To discover the Atlantis of the Sands before Katherine Marlowe and stop her from harnessing the power of the Djinn (Drake's Deception).
To locate Henry Avery's treasure in Libertalia and rescue his brother from Rafe Adler (A Thief's End) (all succeeded).
Unnamed father (status unknown)
Cassandra Morgan (mother; deceased)
Sam Drake (older brother)
Elena Fisher (wife)
Cassie Drake (daughter)
Vicky (pet dog)
Unnamed father-in-law
Unnamed mother-in-law
Elena Fisher (love interest)
Victor Sullivan (mentor and best friend)
Chloe Frazer (former love interest)
Jeff Wynis (deceased)
Karl Schäfer (deceased)
Charlie Cutter
Evelyn (deceased)
Marisa Chase
Father Ryan Duffy
Nadine Ross
Rafe Adler (formerly, deceased)
Harry Flynn (formerly, deceased)
Eddy Raja (formerly, deceased)
Rika Raja (formerly)
Jason Dante (formerly, deceased)
Vargas (formerly, deceased)
Atoq Navarro (deceased)
Eddy Raja (deceased)
Gabriel Roman (deceased)
Harry Flynn (deceased)
Zoran Lazarević (deceased)
Katherine Marlowe (deceased)
Talbot (deceased)
Rafe Adler (deceased)
Nadine Ross (formerly)
Jason Dante (deceased)
Roberto Guerro (deceased)
Daniel Pinkerton (deceased)
The Doughtys (deceased)
Mykola Rusnak (deceased)
Draza (deceased)
Rameses (deceased)
Gustavo (presumably deceased)
Shambhala Guardians
Smoking Gods
Tragic Fortune Hunter
Adventurous Thief
One-Man Army
" Oh, crap! "
~ Nathan's catchphrase.
Nathan "Nate" Drake (born Nathan Morgan) (born 1976) is the main protagonist and playable character of the Uncharted video game series. He is an American treasure hunter, fortune seeker, and action pro who became obsessed with the famous English explorer Sir Francis Drake at a young age, to the point of adopting his last name as his new one.
As an adult, Nathan is voiced and motion-captured by Nolan North, who also portrays Peter Hastings in Pretty Little Liars and voices Vashryon in Resonance of Fate, Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series, Edward Richtofen in Call of Duty zombies, Superboy in Young Justice, The Prince in 2008s titular game, Smokescreen in Transformers Prime, Hades in 2005s God of War, Blaze in Blaze and the Monster Machines, The Fish in 2003's The Cat in the Hat video game, The Hero of Bower Lake in Fable II, Sideswipe in Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen video game, Deadpool in numerous media and games, Alex Mason in Call of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified, The Boss ("Nolan North" voice) in Saints Row IV and Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, and Superman in Young Justice: Legacy.
As a teenager, he is voiced and motion-captured by both Britain Dalton (who will portray Lo'ak in Avatar 2 and Avatar 3) and Billy Unger (who also portrays Chase Davenport in Lab Rats and Lab Rats: Elite Force).
In the 2022 film, he is portrayed by Tom Holland, who also portrays Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Arvin Russell in The Devil All the Time, Cherry in the 2021 film of the same name, and Todd Hewitt in Chaos Walking, and voices Walter Beckett in Spies in Disguise, Jip in Dolittle, and Ian Lightfoot in Onward.
1.1 Childhood
1.2 Cartegena
1.3 Treasure Hunting
1.4 Panama
3 Skills, Abilities, and Weaknesses
5 Known Games
7 Appearances/Actors
10 Navigation
Nathan Morgan was born in 1976 to an unnamed father and Cassandra Morgan, an archeologist, and is the younger brother of Samuel Morgan.
In 1981, Cassandra had been suffering from an unknown terminal illness, which led her to commit suicide. Following her death, Nathan and Sam's father decided to give up his hold of his sons, and both were entrusted to a Catholic orphanage, the Saint Francis' Boy's Home. In addition, their father sold their mother's possession, including her archeological work and was never heard from again.
The brothers spent the next few years in the orphanage, during which Nathan took interest in books and was taught Latin by the nuns, and learning how to free-run and climb from Sam. During his time at the orphanage, he grew to dislike most of the staff, notably Sister Catherine, but he became fond of Father Ryan Duffy. Around this time, Sam was kicked out of the orphanage due to participating in criminal activities. Sam would support himself and Nathan by getting a job, and would keep in touch with his brother.
By the late 1980s, Nathan was teased by an older boy named Edward, who insulted his parents, and the two later fought. Nathan was suspended from a retreat with the rest of the orphanage, and received a lecture from Sister Catherine. After she left, Nathan noticed lights signs by Sam, and the brothers left the orphanage as Sam informed Nathan that he was leaving for at least for a year due to his new job. Nathan was shocked and angered by this. Sam decided to cheer up his brother by revealing he tracked down their mother's possession, and the two decided to steal them.
The brothers broke in the house to retrieve their mother's possessions, and were confronted by the owner, Evelyn. After she learned that the two were Cassandra's sons, she revealed herself to be their mother's friend and former employer. Cassandra told them of a theory Cassandra had that they were the illegitimate heirs of Sir Francis Drake, and additionally of her research on Henry Avery. However, Evelyn had called the police due to their break-in. Evelyn attempted to call off the cops, but soon died from heart failure, prompting them to escape.
Afterward, the brothers decided to honor their mother on her theory on being Francis Drake's heirs, changing their names to Samuel and Nathan Drake. The two would protect each other in the following years and get each other out of jail, and the two would continue researching Henry Avery and Sir Francis Drake. According to Sam, Nate would through a "magic phase" where he went by "Nate the Great", and would do magical tricks.
Around 1991, Nathan went to Cartegena, Columbia to find Sir Francis Drake's ring, which was on display at a museum. Nate witnessed a man copy the display's case key lock before being thrown out by guard, and decided to follow the middle-aged man to see what he was up to. Nate climbed across a building to see the man receive a fake key to open the display, and later pick-pocked his wallet to get it. Nate was caught by the man, and gave him his wallet, but secretly took the copied key from the wallet.
Once it was evening, Nate returned to the museum, but was confronted by the man whose name was Victor, and his employer Katherine Marlowe. Nate refused to give Marlowe the ring, and escaped from her agents with the aid of Victor. Afterward, Nate and Victor introduced themselves, and became partners. Victor told Nate to call him "Sully", and the former would later meet his brother, who didn't see "eye to eye" with him.
With his brother and Sully, Nate become a capable treasure hunter and adventurer, and would befriend other individuals such as the Indonesian pirate Eddy Raja and treasure hunters Harry Flynn and Jason Dante, all who would become his enemies later in life. According to Eddy, he holds a grudge against Nate since he double-crossed him on a job, but Nate justifies this by saying Eddy was planning on double-crossing him. In addition, Nate met Chloe Frazer during his career, and began a relationship with her before breaking it off.
Towards the late 1990s, Nate and Sam met with Rafe Adler, who wanted part in their search for Henry Avery's treasure. The group used Rafe's wealth to bribe Vargas, the warden of a Panamanian prison to find a clue from Joseph Burnes' cell. During his time in prison, Nate would fight a notorious inmate named Gustavo, and fought him once to get to Burnes' cell by Vargas. Nate climbs his way to Burnes' cell, and finds the cross of Saint Dismas, and noticed that it was hollow and half-broken. Nate returned to Vargas, lying that he didn't find anything, and told him to find blueprints to the prison. Nate reunited with Sam and Rafe, and Sam reveals that there is a Saint Dismas cathedral in Scotland, which was Avery's last known location.
The trio were confronted by Gustavo and his friends, which led to a short fight where Gustavo was beaten by Vargas. The Saint Dismas cross was discovered by Vargas, and decided to take the trio to his office to discuss their lies. Rafe kills him when he tries to blackmail them to get part of the cut, and the trio are forced to run away from the guards. During the escape, Sam is shot by the guards, leading Nate to cry in grief, and reluctantly leave with Rafe. The two continued to work on finding Avery's treasure in Scotland, but Nate found it fruitless due to Sam's "death" and not finding anything on Avery. Nate decided to leave the quest, and decided to not mention Sam's "death", but continued searching for Sir Francis Drake.
In the game Drake's Fortune, Drake's main firearm is the PM-9mm, later on he switches to the 92FS-9mm, both guns will actually appear in cut-scenes with Drake. Towards the end of the game Drake is either restricted to an SAS-12 or M4.
In Among Thieves, Drake's main firearms are the .45 Defender and the 92FS-9mm. Drake can be seen with a Tranquilizer Dart Gun and an M4 during cut-scenes. In the game his default assault rifle is the AK-47.
The Para 9 is his main weapon in the game Drake's Deception. The game is still in development so it's possible for this to change. Drake also uses the silenced pistol in two chapters, when going through the underground hideout in London and fighting Marlowe's men at their airfield.
Drake's signature weapon in A Thief's End appears to be a handgun however it's impossible to know the make and model of the weapon until the game comes out. His signature weapon in the game is the Para.45, and the HS39 appears to primary assault rifle, since if the player starts a chapter without playing the previous, it will be his primary weapon.
Skills, Abilities, and Weaknesses
" I don't fumble, I improvise. "
~ Nate to Chloe.
Even when he was a teenager Drake was an incredibly skilled free runner and climber. He is able to jump from high distances without any harnesses or security and possesses massive upper body as well as tolerance for pain. He was able to climb a derailed train despite the fact that he was shot and confused of his surroundings, though his gunshot wound was clearly hurting him he was strong enough to not let go. As he was a thief since he was only a teenager, Drake is a skilled pickpocket, able to steal Victor Sullivan's wallet from him; however, Sully noticed but Drake was able to swipe the key he was searching for in the first place.
Another example of his thieving skills was when he and Harry Flynn broke into an Istanbul museum without any of the guards noticing until Flynn revealed his treachery and purposefully shot a glass case to attract the guards. Despite his "shoot first, ask questions later" persona Drake is also skilled with stealth takedowns and chokeholds, being able to overpower and knockout multiple security guards without killing them. He normally stealthily snaps his enemies necks while creeping up on them, and his allies trust him when going into situations where they can use stealth.
Drake is very capable when it comes to unarmed fighting, close to being a One-Man Army. He is able to overpower Navarro's mercenaries, Lazarevic's soldiers, Marlowe's agents and Nadine's soldiers despite their militaristic background and training, this also includes much larger and stronger despite the fact that they are combatively advanced than he is. He is also surprisingly intelligent, thinking up the theory with the help of his older brother that Sir Francis Drake faked his death when he was only a teenager and is bilingual, able to speak fluently in Latin and Spanish. He also deduced that Lazarević, who he believed was searching for the Cintamani Stone, was actually looking to drink from the sap of the Tree of Life which would make him invincible. In A Thief's End, he came up with a theory that Avery was recruiting wealthy pirates, which prove to be true after solving numerous puzzles. Additionally, Drake has shown himself to be clever and quick-thinking, such as taking Cutter's notes from Talbot in Yemen, or using the resin to defeat Lazarević.
Drake's main proficiency is with guns. He possesses a trained hand and a very good marksman, he himself even remarks, "damn, I'm a good shot!" He is good handguns, semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and as it's revealed crossbows. He is also good with grenades and other explosives, and is even capable of wielding heavy machines guns in Drake's Deception and A Thief's End.
Drake's greatest abilities are his luck and indomitable will, as he has survived many incidents that are deemed impossible. Though luck is not a ability, Drake is considered lucky by both his allies and enemies, with a Shoreline enemy noting that Drake should "count his blessings". When at near death, he often tells himself to push on, which proved to be successful in surviving in the desert for at least two days, or survive the train incident.
However Drake is not invincible and can also be overwhelmed or overpowered an opponent an example was in the Rub Al' Khali when he was pinned down by countless of Talbot's agents, Drake, for a moment, believed it was the end for him. He can also be injured or ambushed an example is when Harry Flynn was able to shoot him on-board a train while he was arguing with Chloe Frazer. Though he was able to tolerate the pain from the gunshot wound he slowly succumbed to it because of the harsh conditions, and nearly died in the desert due to the heat and dehydration. His improvised and self-made fighting style, while effective against most opponents, can be overcome by more trained and smarter combatants such as Nadine who quickly defeated Drake in a one-on-one fight in their first encounter. He was also close to being killed by Rafe, and only survived due to Sam giving him a sword and cutting the tight rope holding Avery's treasure.
" Y'know, people are always telling me how lucky I am. But the truth is, everything I touch turns to shit. "
~ Nathan claiming that he's not as lucky as people believe.
Nathan possesses the "every-man" persona; Nate has a dry humor, is quick to help others, but can also be temperamental and indifferent to violence and death. He is focused mainly on his work but will help others of their lives are at risk. He has demonstrated the abilities to read Latin and Spanish. Aside from being quirky at times, Nate can be surprisingly tactical. He will scan an environment and use stealth if the odds are stacked against him before charging headfirst into a gunfight. A prime example is when Zoran Lazarević augmented himself with sap from the Tree of Life. As he became too powerful to attack head-on, Nate used the sap around the area, which was explosive, to wound him and bring him back to his mortal state.
Nate is very protective of his friends and loved ones, he is quick to help those who he cares about when they are in need. He shows great loyalty, as he didn't fall for Marlowe's manipulations on Sully, and later carried Jeff across Nepal despite barely knowing him. He is famously quick-witted, finding humor in many of the dangerous situations he finds himself in. Even Nate's own mistakes earn his pronounced chuckles before finding a way around them. Despite being desensitized to killing, Drake is moral and takes no pleasure in murdering people. but at the same time, it is entirely unavoidable and the people he is forced to kill are bad in their own right.
A defining trait of Nate's, as noted by many of his friends and allies, is that he is unbelievably lucky; the whole reason Sully ends up opting out of the search for Shambhala is because he doesn't have Nate's luck, and he is constantly shown to survive hectic situations without any permanent damage. Nate, however, strongly disagrees with this, claiming that if he really was as lucky as everyone says he is, then all the crazy situations he gets into wouldn't happen to him in the first place.
Nate tends to remain emotionally unaffected by the increasing number of men he kills throughout his adventures, but still finds it unethical for himself and others to be killed in cold-blood. Despite the body count he has stacked up over the years (albeit always in self-defense), Drake is able to maintain a surprisingly light-hearted personality. That said, Nate seems to prefer to avoid killing if he can help it, and draws the line at killing innocent people such as security guards.
As his adventures are both dangerous and often criminal, Drake tries to remain armed and ready for opposition, and has adapted quickly to a large assortment of weaponry. Because of this, he can hold his own in both firearm and hand-to-hand combat, even against trained soldiers. Drake's past has not been shown to have given him any professional military training, but he does demonstrate great proficiency when fighting, this may well have been just picked-up throughout his travels. Drake's climbing skills are considered unmatched and has stated more than once that his line of work is never easy, but that he is driven more by the thrill of the hunt rather than the promises of treasure.
One of Drake's flaws is his obsession with treasure hunting and thrill-seeking, which makes most his allies that he's trying to prove something. Despite giving up the life of treasure hunting in A Thief's End, he stills seeks his former life, and reluctantly decides to return to it when Sam returns to his life. However, Nate has shown how to contain his obsession with treasure hunting, as he decided to leave the search for El Dorado after Sully's apparent death, and decided to leave Libertalia after realizing how much he has put at stake. He also has shown himself to possess a bit of a hair trigger, which is shown when a bully insulted his mother, or when Flynn insulted Sully in front of him.
Known Games
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Uncharted: Drake's Trail
Playstation All-Star Battle Royale
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (mentioned only)
" You make it sound so dirty. Besides, I thought you didn't believe me. "
~ Nathan to Elena, his first words in the series.
" Well, history can be wrong, you know. "
~ Nathan to Elena, on Sir Francis Drake not having children.
" Sic parvis magna, 'Greatness from small beginnings'. "
~ Nathan Drake.
" Okay... you just jump, count to five, and you pull the cord. How hard could that be? Oh, crap! Aaaaagh! Onetwothreefourfive! Aaa-ha-hagh! Huagh! Ah, crap crap crap crap crap crap!!! "
~ Nate when preparing to jump out of the plane.
" Adios, asshole. "
~ Nathan to Navarro before the latter's death.
" Yep, that's my blood... that's a lot of my blood... "
~ Nathan in the opening of Uncharted 2.
" Kitty got wet! "
~ Nathan in combat.
" I will kick you to sleep! "
" Great, power's out, and a girl's trapped. I swear to God, if there's a Zombie around the next corner... "
~ Nathan Drake, referencing the Descendents from the first game.
" Haha, fish outta water! "
~ Nate to Chloe after leaving the pool after playing to Marco Polo.
" Tenzin! RPG? RPG! What's Tibetan for RPG? "
~ Nathan while fighting in the village, attempting to destroy the tank.
" There's not actually a stone. It's the resin, the sap... from the Tree of Life. "
~ Nate to Elena and Chloe.
" Maybe not...but they do. "
~ Nathan to Lazarević before the Guardians kill him.
" Oh, careful now - wouldn't want you to melt. "
" It means, be careful what you wish for. It might just get you. "
~ Nathan to Sully.
" Time to end this, you son of a bitch! "
~ Nate before killing Talbot.
" Hey, we weren't fighting! Huh? Right, little guy? {...} Hey, give me a call when you're tall enough to ride the rides! "
~ Nathan mocking Gustavo.
" Looks like a fox. It's like a... fox in jeans. "
~ Nathan while playing Crash Bandicoot.
" Lady, you're lucky I'm a gentleman, cause if I weren't, I would- "
~ Nate to Nadine during their fight.
" Well, let's see here... I ruined my marriage. Drove my best friend away. Got two psychos and their army after me. And now my brother's gone missing. But, on the bright side, there's no one around to tell me I'm an idiot. "
~ Nathan on the island.
" You're just like the rest of those worthless thugs who serve in that pathetic mob you call an army. "
~ Nate to Rafe.
" We're done here. I'm taking my brother and we're leaving. You want to stay and burn with this ship, you be my guest. "
~ Nathan to Rafe, defeating him in the duel.
" You want the treasure, Rafe? It's all yours. "
~ Nate to Rafe, before killing him.
" As thrilling as the next adventure may be, in the end, you're always left with that same feeling. "
~ Nate to Sam after their adventure.
" You know what? The sun is up. Boat's ready. Wind is just right. You wanna continue the story? I say we do it on the water. C'mon. "
~ Nathan to Cassie, deciding to tell her his past adventures.
Appearances/Actors
Drake is voiced by Nolan North (5 games, 1 internet game, 1 motion comic and 1 novel)
Other Media/Adaptations
Uncharted: Eye Of Indra
(motion comic prequel to Drake's Fortune)
Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth
(novel, non-canon)
(now-defunct web game for promotional purposes, non-canon)
As a teenager, Nathan was voiced by Billy Unger, who also portrays Chase Davenport in Lab Rats, while as a pre-teen, he was portrayed by Britain Dalton, who will portray Lo'ak in James Cameron's Avatar 2 and Avatar 3.
Nolan North stated in an interview that Nate is an orphan, Amy Hennig also revealed in a twitter post that he doesn't have any close family. This is confirmed to be the case in Uncharted 4, which shows him in an orphanage.
In the internet game; Drake's Trail, Nate's home address is seen as: 160 Guard Ave, Apt. 3, Key West, Florida. A portion of this address appears in Nate's journal in Among Thieves, although the city and state are obscured (see image here).
Nate shares his initials with Naughty Dog, the developers of the Uncharted series. NDI is written on the back of Nate's gun holster, which stands for Naughty Dog Industries or Incorporated.
In Drake's Trail, Nate's e-mail address is ndrake@privateer.com.
Nate shares some similiarties with a previous Naughty Dog character (Crash Bandicoot) as:
They are heroes.
They have sidekicks.
They have brothers.
They have two blondies as love interests.
They have father figures.
Nate's date of birth is mentioned in Drake's Trail as being January 11, 1982. From this date of birth, he would be 25 in the first game, 27 in the second, and would be 29 in the upcoming third game, assuming each game is two years apart. However, this date of birth may be inaccurate as the canon of Drake's Trail is disputed. It was also stated by Amy Hennig in an interview that Nate is in his mid-thirties, but this could be seen as a joke as it could've been a sympathetic remark for the interviewer who was in his mid thirties. [1]
Nate claims to have Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
In Uncharted 2, when Flynn catches Nate after he jumps onto a ledge, he remarks that he has put on some weight and that he should lay off the doughnuts, which appears to be a reference to the 'Doughnut Drake' skin. It may also refer to how Nate has bulked up slightly in the time passed between Drake's Fortune & Among Thieves. Amy Hennig confirmed in an interview that Nate was skinnier than intended in the first game.
Nate has a large scar on the right hemisphere of his forehead.
To date Nate has the most skins out of all the characters, with a total of 7 different skins and 33 limited edition skins.
In both games, Nate chooses about midway through the game to give up. However, he is always talked out of it, or is shown something that keeps him going. In Drake's Fortune, Elena talks Nate out of leaving by showing him that Sully is still alive. In Among Thieves, Nate and Tenzin find Schafer's expedition, showing what harm the Cintamani Stone could do.
Nate is 6 feet, 1 inch(es) tall, based on Nolan North's own height. Height appears to be based off the voice actor's own height. Elena would be 5'4, Chloe 5'8, and Flynn would be around 6'5.
Nate and Zoran are the only characters to have Doughnut character skins.
Nate came 16th on the Top 50 favorite game characters in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records.
Nate is a very good artist. If you flip through all the pages of his journal near the end of the game, you will find many expertly drawn images of items and objects he encounters during the story. He also makes parodies of some things; such as the Angry Eddy RIP drawing. It is a picture of one of the huge gargoyle-like faces in "Path of Light" saying "I kill you, Drake!" It is believed that he drew it in memory of Eddy Raja, who was killed by a Descendant in Drake's Fortune.
Nate, along with Elena and Sully, appeared in Gamer's Heart Japan for a few seconds of footage. He wore his Uncharted 3 outfit.
Nate fought Lara Croft from Tomb Raider in DEATH BATTLE, but lost.
Nathan Drake at the Uncharted Wiki
Nathan Drake on Wikipedia
Combatants
Big Daddy | Dante | Cole MacGrath | Emmett Graves | Fat Princess | Isaac Clarke | Kat & Dusty | Kratos | Jak & Daxter | Nathan Drake | Nariko | PaRappa | Raiden | Ratchet & Clank | Sackboy | Sir Daniel Fortesque | Sly Cooper | Spike | Toro Inoue | Zeus
Carmelita Fox | Buzz | Dollface | Hades | Patapon | Songbird | Suzuki
Alister Azimuth | Ashelin Praxis | Athena | Captain Qwark | Carmelita Fox | Chloe Frazer | Curtis the Panda | Elena Fisher | Eucadian Soldier | Hades | Instructor Mooselini | Jasmine | John Carver | Kai | Kat | Keria Hegai | Kiya | Kuro | Lil | Little Sister | Lucy Kuo | Murray | Nathan the Koala | Pierre Yamamoto | PJ Berri | Poseidon | Preacher | Raven | Ricardo Velasquez | Sackbots | Samuel Rodrigues | Syd | Sydney Cutter | Tag | The Professor | Victor Sullivan | Villagers | Yunica | Zeke Jedediah Dunbar | Zoni
Aki | Armor King II | Avalon Centrifuge | Beard Burger Master | Bentley | Boxxy Boy | Clive Handforth | Dante | Chop Chop Master Onion | Eddy Gordo | Gade | General Potter | Hairdresser Octopus | JACK | Jin Kazama | Jinpachi Mishima | Katy Kat | King | Lady | Lammy | Larry Da Vinci | Ling Xiaoyu | Lucia | Marshall Law | MC King Kong Mushi | Miguel Caballero Rojo | Milton Finch | Mokujin | Monroe Finch | Natalie | Nathan Hale | Nero | Nina Williams | Pecker | R. Suzuki | Raven | Ricky | Salim | Samos Hegai | Sebastian Wolfe | Sergai Dragunov | Sparda | Sunny Funny | Trish
Video Game Heroes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
New Helmet Technology Is Helping Decrease Incidences Of Head Trauma
Jamie Michael Hemmings had the pleasure of interviewing Shawn Springs. Shawn is the CEO of Windpact, an impact technology company leveraging its patented…
Jilea Hemmings
Jamie Michael Hemmings had the pleasure of interviewing Shawn Springs. Shawn is the CEO of Windpact, an impact technology company leveraging its patented padding technology to improve impact performance in helmets and protective gear for sports, recreation and military. Shawn is a former college and professional football player, having played 13 seasons in the NFL — and was selected to the 1998 Pro Bowl.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your "backstory"?
Most people know me from playing 13 years in the NFL, and before that I played football at Ohio State. While I'm considered a retired professional athlete, I stay busy through my fascination for technology and how it continues to shape our society and future, so I'm always keeping up to date with the latest technology news. When I was drafted to the Seattle Seahawks in 1997, I was put in an atmosphere full of big businesses such as Starbucks and Amazon that were starting to incorporate technology, changing the game as we know it. Being around people who were always thinking about how technology could change the world and the future is what inspired me and what made me want to be a part of that industry and environment.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I was visiting Geekwire in Seattle about a year ago and someone asked me the story of Windpact and how it got started. People always seem surprised when a big football guy like me starts talking about the intricacies of technology and safety, and I always find it funny when I really get going on the granular details of it all — it always throws people for a loop!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think what makes us different is the community that we have supporting Windpact. Our network of medical professionals, advisors and those we interact with daily have come together in so many great ways to foster continued growth and development for Windpact. On the product side, our patented Crash Cloud technology is one of a kind. Our products in development will absorb energy as they compress and dissipate energy through release vents before rapidly re-inflating. We aren't a helmet manufacturer, but instead we provide the inserts for the helmet manufacturers making the technology applicable across sports, recreation, military and more.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now?
We've got a ton of exciting new projects coming up in the future. We have 15 products in the pipeline that are expected to come out this year, and more specifically, what we're working on in the realm of baseball is really special. We look forward to sharing more later this year!
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
As a CEO, it's all about the team effort. It's important to constantly motivate and share your vision with employees as that motivation and vision will translate directly into selling a product to businesses and consumers. Equally as important is to make sure team members feel valued and are recognized for their achievements. At Windpact, we are all on same page — we are trying to help others.
Also, don't be in a rush to become a CEO. Take the necessary time beforehand to just listen and learn. Sometimes you think you have all the answers, but what you actually need to do is just listen. In the business world you are dealing with people from all walks of life all the time. Realize that you don't know everything and that it's important to spend time listening to people and their ideas instead of thinking you know everything or finding all the answers yourself.
For me, that person would be Mike Millegan, one of my advisors. When I was playing in Seattle, Mike gave me a free cell phone in exchange for talking to his marketing team at Verizon. I was curious why a marketing team would want to hear from a football player, but Mike told me he wanted me to share my work ethic and passion for my job as a professional athlete with his team, as that was applicable for any field. He also mentioned this type of networking is key to expanding my vision and goals from a business sense. He's always encouraged me to motivate people and stay motivated — he knows when to speed up the process or take a step back and re-evaluate. He's the guy that I've looked up to for years and continue to look up to.
So many people in our country idolize professional athletes. NFL players do a great job in taking part in charitable foundations, starting their own foundations and sponsoring homes to give back to the community, which is really important. With Windpact, I feel like I'm coming full circle as I still get to give back to the community, but just in a different way. Windpact is all about safety and making sure the community is equipped with the best products, and I'm confident that once we get these products out on the market, you'll see people of all age groups, demographics and backgrounds wearing them.
I also hope to change the fact that young black men in tech don't have any black men in tech to look up to. It's so important to continue diversifying the tech industry, making sure black men in tech have role models and people who pave the way for them to be successful. As a black man, we don't have too many role models looking to be disruptive and innovative, and that is something I strive to do through my work at Windpact. At Windpact, we want to disrupt the market while providing a necessary service to others, and ultimately that's what this industry is all about.
Can you share the top five lessons that you have learned from your experience as a "Black Man In Tech"? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Regardless of the color of your skin, you must be comfortable with yourself. It's important to go through whatever inner soul searching and digging that it takes for you to be comfortable with yourself, as that will exude confidence.
2. You must be very dedicated. To borrow from a lesson, I learned throughout my sports career, deliberate practice is crucial. For example, if I am bad at catching the ball, all I will do is practice that to get better at it — so dedication, and more specifically deliberate practice, is key.
3. Everything in life requires passion. You have to be passionate about what you do and love what you're working on so you can fully put your heart behind it. You know what they say — "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life," and I truly believe that.
4. Get outside of your comfort zone and know that it's okay to be uncomfortable. It's important to be able to see the bigger picture and not be set in your own ways or mindset.
5. Always be willing to learn and stay curious. Ask yourself constantly, "Why is this like that?" or "How do we make this better?" I'm always curious about what things we can do to speed up the process in making the world a better, safer place.
I once heard Jeff Bezos say, "aspire to be different," and that has always stuck with me. The world is full of societal norms and stereotypes that we all encounter and see on a daily basis, so what's the harm in being different? Different people, different views and different feelings are what make the world a better place.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
Elon Musk is someone I regularly dream about having a meal with. He's so inspiring and I look up to him so much. He has such a strong and well-respected vision for the future of not only this country, but the world, and it's amazing to see all that he has done so far and continues to do.
Jamie Michael Hemmings President & Co-Founder of Best Tyme. He is running a series highlighting Black Men In Tech.
black culture,
Brain Health,
Challenge,
Digital Health,
Entrepreneur,
Jilea Hemmings is a staunch believer in the power of entrepreneurship. A successful career revamping Fortune 500 companies was not enough for her entrepreneurial spirit, so Jilea began focusing her passion into her own projects—beginning with the formation of her own consulting agency, Eshe Consulting, and the development of the innovative meatless entrée line for kids, Greenie Tots.
Her passion for entrepreneurship and technology continues to flourish with the development of Leaf Tyme, a tech solution that connects dispensaries, brands, and medical clinics to customers within the Cannabis industry. With the Leaf Tyme App customers connect to licensed dispensaries and brands, learn about the cannabis laws in every state, and explore how Cannabis can help with common health conditions. Leaf Tyme supports business to business growth within the cannabis industry through streamlining the appointment setting process between brands and dispensaries.
Jilea is also an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is an influential speaker promoting the important role of women in technology. She believes that there should be no boundaries—neither class, race, nor gender—that should stand in the way of being able to use one's purpose, passion, strengths, and talents to fuel entrepreneurial endeavors.
NFL Legend Peyton Manning: "Pressure is something you feel only when you don't know what you're doing"
by Yitzi Weiner
// September 5, 2018
Treat Your Employees Like Entrepreneurs, Not Employees
by Jilea Hemmings
// August 29, 2018
How AI Technology Is Improving The Restaurant Industry


text:
'The public has a right to know': Buildings identified in cladding audit kept secret
A list of South Australian buildings that could contain highly-flammable cladding will remain secret after the State Government refused to release information through Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
The SA Government has refused to release a list of buildings with cladding in the state
The Victorian Government has announced $600 million to help fix cladding issues
It follows the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell Tower fires in 2017
The ABC applied for access to the information from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) in October, amid significant international concern over the use of the material in high–rise buildings.
However, DPTI has refused to provide the list of buildings identified through a statewide audit, citing among its concerns the impact on the department's "business affairs".
While South Australia has refused to release information about buildings containing aluminium composite cladding, the Victorian Government has moved to address public concern over the dangerous material.
Today, it announced a $600 million package to fund major works to "keep Victorians safe".
It follows a similar audit undertaken by the Victorian Government, which found there were more than 1,000 buildings considered as "high risk", with 51 buildings issued with emergency orders for urgent work.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews called on the Federal Government to help fund the rectification works.
"Combustible cladding is a national problem and we want the Federal Government to be part of the solution here in Victoria," Mr Andrews said.
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is one of four high-profile buildings in SA containing aluminium composite cladding. (ABC News: Chris Lawless)
SA Best MP Frank Pangallo said information on buildings containing potentially-dangerous cladding needed to be released by the South Australian Government under its duty of care to the public.
"The public has a right to know — we cannot just say it's not in the public interest to tell you," Mr Pangallo said.
"This Government has promised to be open and transparent and here they are closing the door."
The refusal to release the information comes despite Infrastructure Minister Stephen Knoll's release of a list of four high-profile buildings in the CBD containing aluminium composite panels, with another release in May 2018 of a list of some public buildings identified during the audit.
The high-profile buildings included the newly-built Royal Adelaide Hospital, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide Convention Centre and Adelaide Oval.
The Government said all four buildings were assessed as having a "low or moderate risk" in the case of a fire.
In its refusal to release the documents, DPTI referred the ABC to a website that explained that the statewide audit began two years ago and had been in an "investigation" phase since March 2018 to determine whether cladding posed a risk to life.
According to the website, the Government and councils were yet to start "phase three", which included the removal of aluminium composite panels and installation of additional alarms, escape points or sprinklers to increase safety.
Minister Knoll said the Government was continuing to identify buildings that could pose a risk.
"In South Australia we have managed … public buildings to make sure that the risk is quarantined and (are) also working with councils right across the state to identify private buildings that may be at-risk and work through those risk assessment processes," Mr Knoll said.
"To date we are lucky that we don't see anywhere near the number of issues that Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are seeing."
Cladding caused 72 deaths in fire
The South Australian audit followed the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell Tower fires in London in June 2017.
In May, the UK Government said it would pay 200 million pounds ($AU368 million) to help repair private buildings covered in flammable cladding.
The exterior of the Lacrosse apartments in Docklands caught on fire in November 2014. (Supplied: Wade Savage) (News Video)
There have been three blazes in Melbourne attributed to aluminium composite cladding — including a 2014 fire in Melbourne's Lacrosse tower and a 2019 fire in the CBD.
Insurance companies have now stopped giving surveyors personal indemnity coverage for properties containing cladding.
The building industry has been pleading with the Federal Government for a national response to the problem.
The next Council of Australian Governments meeting is in August.
government-and-politics,
states-and-territories,
disasters-and-accidents,
vic,
melbourne-3000,
canberra-2600


text:
Aging Conditions
Zinc Deficiency Linked to Aging and Diseases
Author: Oregon State University
Synopsis: Zinc deficiency can lead to immune system decline and inflammation associated with many health problems - includes food with high zinc levels chart.
A new study has outlined for the first time a biological mechanism by which zinc deficiency can develop with age, leading to a decline of the immune system and increased inflammation associated with many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes.
Urinary Tract Infections and People with Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia
Werner Syndrome: DNA and Human Aging
The Stigma Attached to Alzheimer's Disease
FULL LIST of Related Aging Conditions Publications
Zinc is an essential mineral that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Intake recommendations for zinc and other nutrients are provided in the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (formerly National Academy of Sciences).
The research was done by scientists in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences.
It suggests that it's especially important for elderly people to get adequate dietary intake of zinc, since they may need more of it at this life stage when their ability to absorb it is declining.
About 40 percent of elderly Americans and as many as two billion people around the world have diets that are deficient in this important, but often under-appreciated micronutrient, experts say.
The study was published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, based on findings with laboratory animals.
It found that zinc transporters were significantly dysregulated in old animals.
They showed signs of zinc deficiency and had an enhanced inflammatory response even though their diet supposedly contained adequate amounts of zinc.
When the animals were given about 10 times their dietary requirement for zinc, the biomarkers of inflammation were restored to those of young animals.
"The elderly are the fastest growing population in the U.S. and are highly vulnerable to zinc deficiency," said Emily Ho, an LPI principal investigator and associate professor in OSU School of Biological and Population Health Sciences.
"They don't consume enough of this nutrient and don't absorb it very well."
"We've previously shown in both animal and human studies that zinc deficiency can cause DNA damage, and this new work shows how it can help lead to systemic inflammation," Ho said.
"Some inflammation is normal, a part of immune defense, wound healing and other functions," she said.
"But in excess, it's been associated with almost every degenerative disease you can think of, including cancer and heart disease. It appears to be a significant factor in the diseases that most people die from."
As a result of this and what is now know about zinc absorption in the elderly, Ho said that she would recommend all senior citizens take a dietary supplement that includes the full RDA for zinc, which is 11 milligrams a day for men and 8 milligrams for women.
Zinc can be obtained in the diet from seafood and meats, but it's more difficult to absorb from grains and vegetables - a particular concern for vegetarians.
"We found that the mechanisms to transport zinc are disrupted by age-related epigenetic changes," said Carmen Wong, an OSU research associate and co-author of this study.
"This can cause an increase in DNA methylation and histone modifications that are related to disease processes, especially cancer. Immune system cells are also particularly vulnerable to zinc deficiency."
Oysters have the highest zinc content of almost any food. (Photo by Lynn Ketchum, courtesy of Oregon State University)
Research at OSU and elsewhere has shown that zinc is essential to protect against oxidative stress and help repair DNA damage.
In zinc deficiency, the risk of which has been shown to increase with age, the body's ability to repair genetic damage may be decreasing even as the amount of damage is going up.
Medical tests to determine zinc deficiency are rarely done, scientists say, and are not particularly accurate even if they are done.
The best approach is to assure adequate intake of the nutrient through diet or supplements, they said, especially in the elderly.
Even though elderly people have less success in absorbing zinc, the official RDA for them is the same as in younger adults. That issue should be examined more closely, Ho said.
Levels of zinc intake above 40 milligrams per day should be avoided, researchers said, because at very high levels they can interfere with absorption of other necessary nutrients, including iron and copper.
Cite This Page (APA): Oregon State University. (2012, October 1). Zinc Deficiency Linked to Aging and Diseases. Disabled World. Retrieved January 21, 2022 from www.disabled-world.com/health/aging/zinc-deficiency.php


text:
Garcinia humilis (ant. Rheedia laterifolia) , conocido comúnmente como achachairú es un árbol perteneciente a la familia Clusiaceae.

Descripción
Es un árbol de seis a siete metros de altura, su tronco es recto, liso y de color negro; posee ramas horizontales; hojas persistentes entre ovales y elípticas; y flores blancas. Su fruto es una baya comestible.

Distribución y hábitat
Crece de manera natural únicamente en la región de las llanuras aluviales de Bolivia. Al municipio boliviano de Porongo se lo denomina la 'capital del achachairú' del país por la importancia y cantidad que se cosecha en este lugar.

Plumier describió por primera vez una especie de este género con el nombre de Van Rheedia , fue descrita por Linnaeus en 1753. Es un árbol emparentado con el mangostán (Garcinia mangostana) y el madroño (Garcinia madruno). Se cultiva tradicionalmente en Bolivia, pero recientemente se ha plantado en una escala comercial en Burdekin , Australia . La fruta se llevó el tercer lugar en los Premios a la Innovación Fruit Logística 2017, celebrada en Berlín.

Fruto
El fruto del achachairú tiene un color dorado intenso que llega al anaranjado rojizo cuando está maduro. Tiene forma oval y llega a tener, hasta 6 cm de largo por 4 cm de diámetro. Suele tener una semilla grande de color café, en un fruto más grande pueden hallarse dos semillas . Como cultivo de fruta ecológica , que no ha atravesado cientos de generaciones de cría selectiva , cada fruto tiene sus propias características, frecuentemente con algunas pequeñas irregularidades y marcas en su piel, que añaden interés a su apariencia, pero no afectan a su calidad.

El fruto crece hasta alrededor de seis centímetros de largo y tiene una superficie de color naranja brillante alrededor de la pulpa blanca comestible , que a su vez contiene una o dos semillas de color marrón . El sabor es descrito tanto amargo como dulce.
La cáscara es dura y amarga y se puede dividir con un cuchillo o con los dientes de la parte comestible de la fruta adherida a la semilla.
El Departamento de Agricultura , Pesca y Silvicultura de Queensland ha encontrado que el fruto se conserva bien durante cuatro a seis semanas , siempre y cuando se mantenga fuera de la nevera . Se recomienda almacenar la fruta en un rango de 15 a 20 grados centígrados, con una humedad relativa alta . Si no se cumplen estas condiciones , el fruto se marchitará .  A pesar de que algunas personas han encontrado que su almacenamiento en la canasta de huevos de una nevera no daña el fruto de ninguna manera.

Estación
El fruto del achachairú puede cosecharse entre diciembre y mediados de marzo. Es decir, sólo en época de verano

Salud
A pesar de que no hay ninguna prueba médica, los usos tradicionales de las partes no comestibles de la fruta Garcinia humilis (semillas, corteza, etc) incluyen:
En Bolivia las cáscaras se utilizan como un supresor del hambre.
La miel resultante se utiliza con fines medicinales. En Bolivia se vende por 10 veces el precio normal de la miel.
El interior de la piel se utiliza para frotar en las marcas (tales como verrugas) en la piel para reducirlos.

Taxonomía
Garcinia humilis fue descrita por (Vahl) C.D.Adams y publicado en Phytologia 20: 312. 1970.

Véase también
 Planta medicinal
 Fitoterapia
 Usos medicinales de las raíces
 Terminología descriptiva de las plantas
 Anexo:Cronología de la botánica
 Historia de la Botánica

Referencias

Enlaces externos
http://www.sicsantacruz.com/sic/index.php/fruticultura/188-cultivo-del-achachairu
http://ibce.org.bo/images/estudios_mercado/perfil_mercado_Copuasu_AchacairuCB08.pdf

Plantas medicinales
Árboles frutales
Frutas
humilis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Рубрика: Analysis
The rhetoric of time: the old narrative through the prisms of the new point of view
Zeigam Azizov
Abilsaid Atabekov. Battle for the Square. 2007. Still from video
Zeigam Azizov Born in Azerbaijan. Artist. Had numerous exhibitions, publications. Teaching in Central St. Martin's College, London University of Arts. Form 1992 lives in London.
The most creative people never took the classification of artistic evolution into periods so seriously; it is interesting as far as it is helpful to understand and to contemplate things. We know times when being contemporary or avant-garde or modern played the role of having a strategic position. In order to maintain the stronger position in different times, many forms were excluded or postponed, left-out waiting for their right time to return. The narrative is one of the categories that have been periodically subjected to exclusion, but despite this it is also the category debated most widely. In our days we come to terms to realize that the role of an artist is no longer simply manipulating different forms and ideas, but also making sense out of forms and ideas to narrate, to say something. In this context an interesting phenomenon haunting the territory of art in the former Soviet Union poses some questions. The phenomenon is described as the 'return to the narrative'. The term 'return to the narrative' has been suggested by Viktor Misiano and for the purpose of this short text I will refer to it as a new narrative.
This effort made by artists working in the 'post-soviet' reality is motivated by the current situation in contemporary art. The situation is the dissatisfaction with the language of contemporary art in the East and in the West. After the perestroika, when their Western colleagues very enthusiastically started recycling the radical forms of post 1968 culture carefully avoiding it's political content, in order to be able to sell their products (radicalism as fashion and glamorous entertainment), in the former Soviet Union artists made an attempt to introduce these radical forms only to inform the recent historical past of the West, elements of which strongly invaded the territory of the former socialism by rapidly replacing it with the capitalism. The culture imported from the West, at the time of perestroika reached its most decadent form. Time imposed new questions after the disillusion with the glamour of decadence culture, giving the chance to the most thinking artists to take on real issues. In the conjecture of the disillusion mixed with the confidence artists turned to tell stories emerged from within the circumstances known as a result of embracing the 'planet lost'.
In this situation to tell the story means to go back to the history, which was 'thrown out of the ship of modernity' by the Russian avant-garde in the early 20th century. This time through the stories of artists it is history turned into image and 'looking' at the critical situation of our days from the distance. The distance, the gap made between history and modernity as a result of modernism's strategy of "cutting-off" with history, transformed into the big picture. The need to bring this big picture to the view has emerged from the crisis of representation in contemporary art.
Let's take a brief intermediary excurse to this 'crisis' which creates the need for post-soviet artists to 'return to the storytelling'. The complexity of modern narrative and its rhetoric reflects a general rebellion against the historical heritage. But the style chosen by most of the artists associated with modernism is also ideologically motivated. The silent performance, the broken image, the blank canvas, the empty gallery space, the bicycle wheel etc. deliberately confusing mixture of elements of simplicity with the complexity of experiments-all this appears to be consciously designed to render modern artists attempt to be accessible to any critical technique based on ideological principles different from their own. In our days, in the condition of 'neo-liberalism' these radical gestures have lost their meaning, which they had in the particular historical conjecture of avant-guard, although it doesn't mean that adopting these gestures for the specific context is meaningless.
The strict division of 'fact' from the figure, or the documentary from 'fiction' following the persuasive theory of spectacle insisted that facts have replaced images, what was considered the fiction in the previous age has become the fact of reality. Theories of 'everyday life' in their turn suggested that history would be collapsed into the events of the everyday. Some theories engaged with the new media believe, that elements of new media, such as the database as the genre of new medium with specific narrative capacities, have replaced the old. In some cases the narrative is expressed by means of the surface, because of the total collision of fiction with the real, which leaves no room for the story. For some it is the documentation which becomes the basic of any narrative. With the documentation of events and considering the facts of reality as they absorb into themselves the images of the past, the narrative is inevitably returns to history, because documenting means perceiving facts and events in their relation to beginnings.
In addition to these tendencies we have described above there is also the curious turn towards effects of cinema. It needs to be understood as the spectacular expansion of the visual art forms and a shift made from the formal homogeneity towards heterogeneity in representation, as in the cinema, which is able to tell stories by mixing together elements of painting, music and literature. For Henri Bergson the cinema as a technical means of representing 'reality' was the means of projecting the present into the past, present into the future, as well as holding together the most eminent forms of narrative by mixing together painting, literature, music and other forms. Ideologically speaking, Vladimir Lenin's statement 'among all arts the cinema is the most important of all' had a particular significance in the context of the Soviet history. The aura of cinema has invaded the cultural universe. The dynamic energy depicting workers life, the speed intensifying the progress of the everyday, the positive energy overcoming and replacing the negative energy are motives disseminated in any work of art adopting cinematic effects. This effect mostly resided in the panoramic life demonstrating the "open-endedness" of the society.
The greater reason resides within the ideological endeavors. In the climate of 'neo-liberalism' 'giving the voice' to the larger population to narrate, to tell their own stories by using new artistic and technological means widely practiced in the media. Yet only slight knowledge of this kind of 'freedom' helps us to understand the liberty to speak is nearly the same thing as delivering the message of power. Because previous radical gestures very quickly became institutionalized and adopted for the purpose of ideological operations of power in terms of the control of people's right to speak. Neo-liberalism is characteristic for this feature: it seems that everyone is free to speak at the same time the degree of control is also increased. The forms and styles of radical art movements are now disseminated elsewhere in the spectacular society, the illusion that the contemporainity is everywhere, yet the internal dialectic is consistently takes back to the past. In order to have an access to the history of this spectacle the epistemological playground needs to be built and art is, of course, such an alternative.
The rapid spread of new technologies gave rise to the rapid spread of the popular narrative the result of which is the populist use of 'radical' means invented by artists. After Althusser we could review this paradox of subjectivication by saying that 'subjects speak by themselves', because the political message interpellated in the birth of the contemporary person. It is also called biopolitics. If 'subjects speak by themselves' that means that power is "shifted" from the governmental houses to population's mind, as if their bodies are possessed by the message of power. The condition of surveillance is internalized and entered into the way of perception. The critical effort or at least one of the chances seems to find the way of telling the story, which is not restricted to the old or the new, but the story told to offer the choice to see events of our days from the distance.
Socially peripheral, but symbolically central form of creativity, such as art takes on the responsibility to define the point-of-view in order to regain its symbolic power. The collapse of representation with the cinematic effect created by media is the conjecture for the possible critic. Like cinema, in order to gain the symbolic insight returned to the epos, sagas etc., the return to the past through the cinema inevitably leads to the formation of new narrative in art. So the task is not to end up making films, as it is often happens, but to take history seriously, like cinema did. Because in our highly contradictory age of globalization if 'the world is a planet', the history also seems 'snapped to grid' and turned into the panoramic image: past-present-future.
The complexity of the situation in the global landscape and in Russia today underlies the urgency to re-discover the past in order to understand the present. One of the specific reasons is that Russia's past has not been fully understood yet, and in the international context it has been analyzed as far as communisms failure goes. On the one hand the past was repressed by the communist regime, on the other hand outside Russia its culture mostly understood for being repressed. The distance, the repression, the paradoxical stories made in spite of temporality, time and history and the need to return to what has been 'left out' takes us to the point that the celebrated age which attracted millions of bright intellectuals, namely the history of modernity is the history of repression! It is a particular repression through liberation, inclusion through exclusion, the stubborn silence over the invitation to speak. At this point it is appropriate to mention that in recent decades, the diverse forms of artistic production provided the ground for the critic by deconstructing the history through the 'inclusion' of its repressed other. All debates around the post-colonial past, totalitarian regime, racism, sexism, gender and feminism and other forms of subjectivity brought the subject of history back to the present. The place for the means which manifests this subject is the narrative. The subjectivity is the capacity of the narrator to posit him/her as "subject". It is through narrative one constitutes oneself as a subject in its reality, which is that of the being.
Return to the old 'story telling' by artists coming from the territory of the former USSR is the challenge to modernity's obsession with abandoning of the historical narrative in favor of relativistic amalgamations that desperately seek to relate artistic forms to the political events. Different from this kind of relativism, the new narrative is sharply directed towards the events taking place from the fissure opened by the distinction of modernity from history. The distinction between the past and the present and the effort to create this distinction by modernity ended in realizing that history is not the message anymore, but it is the medium, which offers bundle of possibilities for the new narrative.
We are in history and while we understand the history as a discourse, then we are in this discourse. What art takes on for the innovation by scrutinizing time is what the discourse offers. In this process 'the thing itself is unreachable, but its phenomenon can be apprehended through the structure of thought' (Kant). The rhetoric provides the way of telling a new story which arose from the distinction on the one hand and embeddedness in the history, therefore in the discourse on the other. In this dichotomy an artist doesn't look for the 'ground', but rather for the 'space' in order to position ideas. The rhetoric (or metalanguage) formed at this conjecture provides a very good possibility not to fall prey to nostalgia and not to privilege the present, but to enter into the dialogue with time through the combination of the past and the present, history and modernity.
It is the effort to locate ideas and to invent, to find the place for the different story. The ground for this kind of approach is of course provided from the recent art itself, yet the problems are different. At this point we could mention artists like Kabakov's turn to the Russian classics, such as Gogol in order to identify his 'hero's with their own biography that is resided in the past. Inevitably in the work of younger generation of artists, like Gutov the connection with the 'past' (Soviet Marxism, as well as Socialist realism) is made for reasons emerged in our days: it is not totalitarian regime is questioned, but the retrieval and return of elements of totalitarianism, however fragmented. The notion of 'connectivity' and search for connecting points of different times is one of the elements of this new narrative. Instead to cut off with everything past, here we notice the return to it, as far as the storytelling provides the chance for an expression.
The components of this new narrative ranges from the classical Russian culture of story telling via the 'the most important art of all', the film culture, to the Marxism, as well as the 'myth of the West' and the internationalism of Soviet through its 'russified' forms. The use of medium is also diverse, since in the story telling not the medium matters, but the way of telling the story. The stories built around these questions are based on contemplation of the former Soviet architectural edifices built for the reasons of communist ideology and now re-used for new times of business, the everyday life of the post-soviet reality, the connections and disconnection between the former official culture, such as socialist realism and culture born after the perestroika as a mixture of fragments of previous 'underground' culture with the culture imported from the West. The storytelling is evolved into the metanarrative linking different aspects of history and event through the rhetoric of time and elaborating the tropes of event. An example of it is the work by Dimitry Gutov and his 'return' to the Soviet past and his investigations into the Soviet Marxism. It is also true of Olga Chernycheva's deconstrucionial panoramic views of the image of VDNH.
This kind of transformation of image is also visible in the impact of the Soviet past on the so-called post-Soviet circumstances. Highly influenced by already hybrid 'russified' forms of translation of culture in the former Soviet republics artists are creating the narrative close to their colleges in Moscow. In other words the meaning produced by the break-down of the USSR is disseminated and now gathered together by the fragmented image of the past and its present made of these fragments. The work by artists from Kyrgyzistan Murat Djumaliev and Gulnara Kasmalieva build up their work on the 'russified' present through the old narratives of Kyrgyzistan. There is an interesting attempt to elaborate the absent space of the Second world, which is lost in-between the First and Third Worlds through the concept of 'imagined communities' (borrowed from Benedict Anderson) in 'statements' by Yevgeniy Fiks.
The cross-circulation of knowledge and the hyper-transformation of image within the previous decade in art had an impact on making a shift from the previous formalism. This shift made possible to consider the 'past' not as an obsolete entity, but as the rich material for understanding of the present. An important move from modernism's consideration of actuality as a given moment, the circumstances have provided a possible ground for looking at time and actuality on the plane of past-present-future. The narrative formed in this sphere of consideration is the 'return of the repressed' as the psychoanalytical language would like to call it, which in its turn gives to the narrative the role of the 'socially symbolic act'. Having a choice to use tools and ideas, which are proliferated as a result of modernist consideration of multiplying, creates not one but many narratives. The result of this proliferation is the chance to see different forms and stories as co-existing side by side.
The return to the 'old story telling' is not the return to the old as such, but an attempt to return to forms, which are considered as obsolete. Any new narrative is actually the 'return' to the old narrative. Yet no return is the same, since each return is leading to the new point of view. The return is the retrieval. Because of this it is not the return to the old times, which is impossible, but the possible choice working with old forms. In these circumstances two aspects are important to note in order to understand why there is a need to contemplate, to create a new viewpoint out of the old forms. First it is the refusal to be associated with the political 'pigeon-hole' system, what happened with the artists of post-colonial kind and instead to have an ambivalent point of view. Second, is realizing that modernism's collapse happened because it's tendency to cut-off with anything 'old', ignoring huge possibilities of the historical narrative and to reduce entire existence into the new, as if the life has started with the birth of modernity. The storytelling, fabulation and motives from the 'grand narrative' are adopted by artists, who see in the narrative of the forgotten past a "tool box', material that can be adopted and made anew for our days.
Leonid Tishkov. Divers from the Heaven. 2005–2006. Installation
The newness of this kind of narrative is resided in its basic; it is neither the symbolic code (such as written story) nor the iconic code (the narrative created by image) but their intermingling, their articulation what may be called the hyper-transformation of image. For example if artist like Kabakov had to turn to Gogol in order to speak about the transformation of literary hero into the reality which he considered, in the work of artists named above (Gutov and others) it is the everyday reality and the structure of the everyday reality at the basis of the narrative. The stories found their embodiment in images surrounding us, where the text and image transformed into one. When we look at these surrounding visual forms we are not asking questions about their origins, they are perceived as a normal state of affairs, as if they always been there. The epistemological inquiry made into their origins by artists makes us look at them again, differently. Because the images surrounding our world are telling stories, which were previously told only in literary texts and mythological fables. In the tension of time these fables slipped from the pages of books, TV screens, films into our streets, buildings and other public spaces dominating our reality. But like the stories, the reality is also transforming, giving the way into another reality, leaving the past behind as the rich material for narrating. Iconic forms absorbing into the symbolic codes to allow them to be decoded and encoded for the fabulation. Understood in the Bergsonian sense, the fabulation is the form of narrative able to have the signs of past-present-future without separating them from each other, in order to see history as a discourse and contemporeintity as a negotiator of this discourse. What is hyper-transformational here is that the code resided within the forgotten past is hyperbolized now and returned as a new narrative embracing forgotten dimensions in the ubiquitous images here and now. The 'return' happened due to the cross-circulation of the image in this way and what artists do is to grasp this 'return' to create the fabulation.
This kind of fabulation is necessarily encourages to have a viewpoint. For artists engaged in this practice the responsibility to narrate means the responsibility to represent the critical moment. If for these artists there is the return to old forms, to epics and poetics in order to represent their ideas, there is also the clear-cut refusal to become didactic and overtly traditional. One of the reasons is that compare to moralistic demagogy which has emerged from the pseudo-radicalism of network culture, in the work of 'new narrative' this particular thing, having a point of view, taking a position is motivated by the turbulence of gaze. Because of this the position artist has taken here is not within or outside the situation they represent but it is always above, below, beside and elsewhere, in order to see and to show different angles of the situation. This also puts the 'new narrative' in the historical context, when turning to everyday reality doesn't end in the newspaper article, but becomes the part and parcel of historical time itself. Criticism takes on the significant role, because of the symbolic power associated with the way of seeing and representing. Perhaps it is true that before to have a critical approach, an artist needs to regain this symbolic power of artistic form itself. But what kind of position would allow a criticism for an artist "before the infinite play of the world is traversed, intersected, stopped, plasticized by some singular system (Ideology, Genus, Criticism) which reduces the plurality of entrances, the opening of networks, the infinity of languages"? This is what we would repeat here again after Roland Barthes, who asked this question some 50 years ago.
Today documenting images and making files is characteristic for the cultures elsewhere, in the media, the network culture, the electronic database etc. Yet it is clear that this kind of archiving was a methodological feature of all times and the difference is in the use of different means. For art the concern doesn't end in the confrontation and use of means and technologies but also finding a position in order to be able to say anything at all. In the complex ideological, economic, as well as aesthetic circumstances, such as ours, the role of the artist today is to consider what is left out, forgotten and to contemplate them and to tell another story. The point is to regain the status of art as something good to think with and once it regains its status of 'thinking' and 'speaking', it can also offer the sense and the meaning, powerful communicative tools for the dialogue. What is needed now is the big picture, the clear concept, the sharp view and in short, the good story to help to figure out the "name of the game".
London, January, 2007
Николай Олейников
Арсений Жиляев


Sebastian Vettel says it is "quite silly" to accuse Ferrari of deliberately hitting the Mercedes drivers after Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton clashed in Formula 1's British Grand Prix.
Raikkonen locked up and turfed Hamilton into a spin on the opening lap at Silverstone, two races after Vettel made a mistake at the start of the French GP and wiped out Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton recovered to second, beating Raikkonen, but referred to "interesting tactics" from Ferrari on the podium and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said they had questioned whether the incident was "deliberate or incompetence".
Asked to comment on the suggestion it was intentional, British GP winner Vettel said: "Why? Things can happen.
"It's quite silly to think that anything that happened was deliberate. I, at least, would struggle to be that precise and take somebody out.
"In France I lost my wing, so I screwed my race. I think it's easy to attack and have a great move and easy to have an incident.
"I only saw it briefly but I don't think there was any intention and I find it a bit unnecessary to even go there."
Raikkonen also dismissed the suggestion as nonsense, saying: "Funnily enough you start blaming us but I locked up a wheel and unfortunately we touched.
"That's how it goes sometimes. It's easy to say after the last couple of races but we've been hit plenty of times in the past."
Vettel's mistake in France was punished by a five-second time penalty that was not enough to drop him behind Bottas, who had to limp back to the pits for a new set of tyres.
Raikkonen was eventually beaten by Hamilton but his own 10-second penalty did not actually drop him behind the Mercedes during the race.
Asked to elaborate on his "interesting tactics" comment, Hamilton said: "All I'd say is it's now two races one of the Ferraris has taken out one of the Mercedes.
"A five-second penalty and a 10-second penalty doesn't appear to feel…ultimately it spoils the race.
"There's a lot of points there that Valtteri and I have lost in those two scenarios.
"We've just got to try to position ourselves better so we are not exposed to the red cars because who knows whether that's going to happen again.
"We've got to work hard as a team to try to lock out the front row and make sure we're fully ahead of these guys."


text:
Carrots and Sticks in Taiwan
May 15, 2019 | Multi-Asset/Alternatives
SENIOR ANALYST, DYNAMIC ALLOCATION STRATEGIES TEAM
by Aaron Balsam, CFA | May 15, 2019 | Multi-Asset/Alternatives, z_Active Never Rests, z_SICAV
In Asia, much of the spotlight has been on the interplay between North Korea, China, and the United States—but that may be shifting as Taiwan's elections approach. And that is creating potential headwinds and tailwinds we'll need to monitor.
The Key Issue: Independence vs. Reunification
We analyze multiple game theaters across the globe to better understand potential investment implications from macro developments, so I spent some time in Taiwan on a research trip this spring to better understand how Taiwan fits into our Asia security and trade-oriented game theater.
As I explained in a previous post, China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and would like it to be part of the mainland, but Taiwan wants independence. And the various shades of gray to that mega-institutional question will soon be on display as primaries for Taiwan's January presidential election get underway.
The effect on our Asia game theater and, thus, our portfolios is the direction and magnitude of change of the low probability but potentially large tail risk of Taiwanese sovereignty becoming a question.
In the last election, which took place in 2016, a significant change occurred: The mainland-friendly Kuomintang party (KMT) was defeated by Tsai Ing-wen of the more populist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That spurred a response from China, which demanded that the U.S. Congress back off new laws that would strengthen the U.S. relationship with Taiwan.
And since then, it seems there has been a marginal shift away from independence. A long-running Election Study Center survey has asked Taiwanese voters how they feel about independence vs. unification. While the wide majority favors "status quo," there has been an uptick in "move toward unification."
Both sides have considered time as being on their side. The mainland thinks, "As time goes on, we'll get bigger, and it will be natural for Taiwan to be a part of us." And Taiwan thinks, "As time goes on, we'll become increasingly more sovereign and less connected to China."
New Elections, New Possibilities
But that may change, with all eyes once again on Taiwan as elections approach. Will the candidate who wins the 2020 election favor or frown upon unification, and how will that candidate be treated by Beijing and the United States?
The incumbent, President Tsai Ing-wen, is running again in the DPP primaries, and the incumbent is rarely challenged—but that is not the case this time. Taiwan's former premier, the pro-independence William Lai, will challenge her.
A number of candidates are also running or likely to run in the primaries for the KMT: Eric Chu, incumbent mayor of New Taipei, who ran against Tsai in 2016 and lost; Terry Gou, the Taiwanese tycoon who is the founder of Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics; and Han Kuo-yu, mayor of Kaohsiung—an area the DPP usually wins. Beijing has already offered some agricultural deals to Han, so he seems to be, at the other extreme, Beijing's preferred candidate.
Lastly, Taipei City mayor Ko Wen-je may also run, perhaps as an independent.
Currently, it looks like the KMT has the momentum. Late last year, the KMT significantly outperformed the DPP in local elections, which are litmus tests for the upcoming national elections. But a lot can happen between now and January—and we're keeping an eye on what many think of as a trend toward anti-establishment sentiment. Such sentiment has been increasing since around 2011, with less direct party association and more draw to the cult of personality.
Key Risks
The tail risk will fall if China's favored candidates are more popular with Taiwanese voters. If that's the case, we may see Beijing extend some carrots toward its relationship with Taiwan (like the agricultural deals it offered Han). That could be a short-term positive for Taiwan, removing some tail risk.
But that scenario could flip, for example, if Lai wins the primary for the DPP. In this case, China would be very uncomfortable. In the past, it has tried to influence the head of the election with threats (which typically have the opposite of the intended effect). We could also see China run some ships through the Taiwan Strait. These moves are more symbolic than impactful, however.
The United States is the other player in this game theater. The U.S. Navy sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait on April 28, a move the U.S. Navy said demonstrated a commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
That marks at least seven times in about eight months the United States has sailed through the international waterway that separates Taiwan from China. Before that, such operations were considered relatively rare, occurring at a pace of about once a year.
And these moves are angering China. "The Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-U.S. relations," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang.
Portfolio Implications
We begin by determining long-term fundamental value and then monitor potential headwinds and tailwinds that may influence the direction of prices either away from or toward fundamental value. Currently, our portfolio exposure is flat to Taiwan equity and short to the Taiwan dollar (TWD), but these exposures may change as we get more information on the primaries.
Aaron Balsam, CFA, is a senior analyst on William Blair's Dynamic Allocation Strategies team.
ChinaTaiwan
Three Conflicts to Watch in China
Challenges to China's Growth
China Opening Up
Security in Asia: China (Mostly) Wins


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If an asset is acquired for the purpose of making vatable supplies in a VAT registered enterprise, the VAT input tax paid should be able to be claimed back from SARS. When the asset is sold, a portion of the selling price must be paid to SARS as output VAT.
On the other hand, if an asset is acquired for the purpose of making VAT exempt supplies, the input tax cannot be claimed and the subsequent sale of such asset will not give rise to output VAT.
The question then arises as to what happens when there is a change of intention. If an asset is acquired to make vatable supplies in the VAT registered enterprise, one claims the input tax but, if thereafter, the asset is used for the purpose of making VAT exempt supplies, that fact has to be disclosed to SARS and output tax paid to SARS based on the open market value of such asset.
Many property developers and property dealers acquired property for the purpose of resale. The property could have been land on which a residential dwelling or block of flats was to be erected and thereafter sold. On the other hand, it could have been a straight purchase of a residence or block of flats for the purpose of resale. In both cases, input tax would be able to be claimed back from SARS. If, however, those same assets had been acquired for the purpose of letting out such residences on a long term basis, such letting would be exempt supplies and therefore the input tax paid on the acquisition of the property would not be able to be claimed back from SARS.
Many people in such positions were caught when there was a downturn in the economy. Property acquired for the purpose of resale was not able to be sold and the property owners decided to let out the residential properties on leases ranging from 1 to 3 years but with the clear intention that, as soon as the market improved, they would sell the property. If there was a permanent change in use from selling to long term letting, output tax was payable on the open market value at the time of the change of intention.
Approaches were made to Government because many such property owners did not have the cash flow to pay back the input tax they had previously claimed.
SARS therefore introduced a concession and said that, in such circumstances where a residential property which was available for sale was temporarily let for residential purposes, the VAT did not have to be paid back to SARS for a period of relief of 36 months but not later than 1 January 2015. The idea was that, within that period, the property would be sold as was the original intention.
3 year relief period which expires on 1 January 2018.
It is essential to realise that, whether intended or not, the 36 month rule is still applicable. In other words, although the period of relief has been extended for 3 years, in respect of each property, if the property has not been sold within 36 months from the time when the residential letting commenced, VAT would have to be paid to SARS on the open market value.