text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Glass.Mapper.Sc.RenderField;
using NSubstitute;
using NUnit.Framework;
using Sitecore.Data.Managers;
using Sitecore.Globalization;

namespace Glass.Mapper.Sc.Tests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class GlassHtmlFixture
    {

        #region Method - RenderImage

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithParametersWidth_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new  {Width = 380, W=240};
            var model = new {Image = image};

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_AlternativeQuotationMarks_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { Width = 380, W = 240 };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            GlassHtml.QuotationMark = "\"";

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);

            //reset GlassHtml
            GlassHtml.QuotationMark = "'";

        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithParametersWidth_RendersCorrectHtmlNoWidthHeight()
        {    //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { Width = 380, W = 240 };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, false);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithNullParameterForWidth_RendersCorrectHtmlWidthSentHeight()
        {    //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { Width = 380, W = (string)null };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, false);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithParametersHeight_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 150;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new  { Height = 450, H=450};
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithParametersClass_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new  {Class = "someClass"};
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithWidthAndStretch_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new  { Width = 900, As = true};
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_MaxWidthWhereWidthIsAboveMaxWidth_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { mw = 100, As = true };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, false);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_MaxWidthWhereWidthIsBelowMaxWidth_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { mw = 300, As = true };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, false);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithWidthHeightAndStretch_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var parameters = new { Width = 900, height = 300, h = 300, w = 900, As = true };
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithClass_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.Class = "AClass";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, null, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithBorderHSpaceVSpace_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.HSpace = 10;
            image.VSpace = 15;
            image.Border = "9";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var model = new { Image = image };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, null, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }
        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithBorderHSpaceVSpaceW_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.HSpace = 10;
            image.VSpace = 15;
            image.Border = "9";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var model = new { Image = image };
            var parameters = new {w = 400};
            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithLanguageFromItem_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.HSpace = 10;
            image.VSpace = 15;
            image.Border = "9";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            image.Language = LanguageManager.GetLanguage("af-ZA");
            var model = new { Image = image };
            var parameters = new { w = 400 };
            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_ValidImageWithLanguageParameterOverride_RendersCorrectHtmlWithParameterLanguage()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.HSpace = 10;
            image.VSpace = 15;
            image.Border = "9";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            image.Language = LanguageManager.GetLanguage("af-ZA");
            var model = new { Image = image };
            var parameters = new { w = 400, la="en" };
            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, true);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderImage_RemoveHeightWidthAttributes_RendersCorrectHtml()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            scContext.Config = new Config();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var image = new Fields.Image();
            image.Alt = "someAlt";
            image.Width = 200;
            image.Height = 105;
            image.HSpace = 10;
            image.VSpace = 15;
            image.Border = "9";
            image.Src = "~/media/Images/Carousel/carousel-example.ashx";
            var model = new { Image = image };
            var parameters = new { w = 400 };
            //Act
            var result = html.RenderImage(model, x => x.Image, parameters, true, false);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        #endregion

        #region Method - RenderLink

        ///
        /// Test for issue:https://github.com/mikeedwards83/Glass.Mapper/issues/112
        ///
        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkHasHashBang()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();

            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "http://www.seek.com.au/jobs/in-australia/#dateRange=999&workType=0&industry=&occupation=&graduateSearch=false&salaryFrom=0&salaryTo=999999&salaryType=annual&advertiserID=&advertiserGroup=&keywords=sitecore+developer&page=1&displaySuburb=&seoSuburb=&isAreaUnspecified=false&location=&area=&nation=3000&sortMode=KeywordRelevance&searchFrom=filters&searchType=";

            var model = new { Link = link };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        ///
        /// Test for issue:https://github.com/mikeedwards83/Glass.Mapper/issues/112
        ///
        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkHasHash()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "http://www.seek.com.au/jobs/in-australia/#dateRange";

            var model = new { Link = link };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        ///
        /// Test for issue:https://github.com/mikeedwards83/Glass.Mapper/issues/112
        ///
        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkHasQuestionMark()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "http://www.seek.com.au/jobs/in-australia/?dateRange=test&value1=test2";

            var model = new { Link = link };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        ///
        /// Test for issue:https://github.com/mikeedwards83/Glass.Mapper/issues/112
        ///
        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkHasQuestionMarkAndAnchorAtEnd()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "http://www.seek.com.au/jobs/in-australia/?dateRange=test&value1=test2#anchor";

            var model = new { Link = link };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkWithNoAttributes()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";

            var model = new {Link = link};

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkWithAllSetProperties()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";
            link.Anchor = "aAnchor";
            link.Class = "myclass";
            link.Query = "temp=fred";
            link.Target = "_blank";
            link.Title = "mytitle";

            var model = new { Link = link };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkWithMixedPropertiesAndParameters()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";
            link.Anchor = "aAnchor";
            link.Class = "myclass";
            link.Query = "temp=fred";
            link.Target = "_blank";
            link.Title = "mytitle";

            var model = new { Link = link };
            var parameters = new NameValueCollection {{"anchor", "anOther"}};

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link, parameters);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkWithClassAndQuery()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "hello world";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";
            link.Query = "temp=fred";

            var model = new { Link = link };
            var parameters = new NameValueCollection { { "class", "myclass" } };

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link, parameters);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_LinkWithCustomContent()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected = "my other content";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";
            link.Query = "temp=fred";

            var model = new { Link = link };
            var parameters = new NameValueCollection { { "class", "myclass" } };
            var content = "my other content";

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link, parameters, contents: content);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        [Test]
        public void RenderLink_WithMultiParametersRepeated_ReturnsAllParamters()
        {
            //Arrange
            var expected =
                "my other content";
            var scContext = Substitute.For<ISitecoreContext>();
            var html = new GlassHtml(scContext);
            var link = new Fields.Link();
            link.Text = "hello world";
            link.Url = "/somewhere.aspx";
            link.Query = "temp=fred&temp=fred2&temp=fred3&temp1=jane";

            var model = new {Link = link};
            var parameters = new NameValueCollection {{"class", "myclass"}};
            var content = "my other content";

            //Act
            var result = html.RenderLink(model, x => x.Link, parameters, contents: content);

            //Assert
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
        }

        #endregion

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


>What is a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)?
The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), a unique ID consisting of 20 characters, enables the European regulators to identify the counterparties to a transaction, aiming to enhance the transparency of markets in financial instruments and to identify potential issues of market abuse.
The LEI is published in a publicly accessible database ( >Global LEI Index ) which can be seen as a global register and which is supposed to create more transparency on financial markets.
>Why do I need a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)?
The European directive MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) – an amended version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC – MiFID I) adopted in 2007– as well as the European regulation MiFIR (Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation) oblige NORD/LB to increase transparency on and beyond trading venues. Concluded transactions in derivative financial instruments will thus be reported to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
This report requires the Legal Entity Identifier to explicitly match legal entities on financial markets.
>What is the regulatory background?
After the financial market crisis, the G20-Heads of State and Government decided to improve financial market transparency in order to strengthen the financial system and to make it more resilient for the future. To improve transparency and functioning of the internal market for financial instruments, a new statutory framework was created that specifies harmonized requirements for the transparency of transactions within the financial markets. The particularities of transactions with financial instruments shall be reported to the competent authority in order to enable the detection of potential cases of market abuse as well as to monitor the fair and proper functioning of markets.
underlying asset is an index or basket of financial instruments that is traded on a trading venue.
The reporting obligation applies irrespective of whether the transaction with one of the listed financial instruments was executed on a trading venue or not. New orders, amendments to existing transactions and the sale or early termination of a financial instrument will be reported.
>What happens if I do not report my LEI to NORD/LB?
Kindly note that the provision of a valid LEI is a necessary pre-requisite to conduct any financial instrument transactions with the Bank. This applies not only to new contracts but also to changes to and the disposal of a financial instrument.
>How do I have to report my LEI to the NORD/LB?
Please also include your customer number when communicating your LEI to us.
All our customers who need an LEI received a letter asking them to report their LEI to NORD/LB. If you have not received this letter, please contact our customer support via the >contact formular or by phone: +49 511 361–4032.
>Why does my authorized representative need to report his/her LEI or National ID to NORD/LB?
If transactions are to be concluded on your behalf by a third party representative, please also provide us with such agent's LEI.
The document mentions a so-called CONCAT which is a combination of the first five letters of the name and surname as well as the date of birth. If the CONCAT is the National ID of your authorized representative, it is necessary to report the name, surname and the date of birth of the representative and your NORD/LB customer number. Please use the aforementioned e-mail address to provide us your LEI (and the LEI or NID of your agent) besides your customer number.
>Where do I apply for an LEI?
Associated charges can be found on the provider's website. Please note that the LEI has to be renewed after one year. This is connected to further charges of the respective provider.
>How long is the LEI valid?
The LEI is valid for 12 months after the initial application. After these 12 months it is necessary that the owner confirms the correctness of the authentication data to renew the LEI validity. Some providers will remind you by e-mail to renew your LEI prior to the expiration date. Please note, that the NORD/LB will not inform you about the LEI expiration date.
>What are companies in terms of MiFIR?
Companies as set forth under MiFIR relates to any legal entity in the European Union that is engaging in business or entrepreneurial activities and consequently competes with other market participants. This holds true irrespective of any specific structure, i.e. regardless of whether the addressee of the Regulation is organized in a certain legal form, is entered in the Commercial Register or is a natural person. However, entry in the Commercial Register is an indicator of entrepreneurial activities, particularly with respect to natural persons.
>Which is the LEI of NORD/LB?
The Legal Entity Identifier of NORD/LB is "DSNHHQ2B9X5N6OUJ1236".
If you wish to contact the responsible NORD/LB project, please send an e-mail to the MiFID2-Customersupport via the >contact formular or call +49 511 361 – 4032.


text:
Europe Review
Scotland's European and International Policies
Time for a Strategic Approach
Kirsty Hughes | 26 June 2019
© 2017 SCER
Across the EU institutions and member states, Brexit is falling down the agenda, as other priorities come ever more to the fore. The EU27 are currently embroiled in political bargaining over who will get the top EU jobs in the next five year cycle – notably the presidents of the Commission and European Council. Major challenges within and beyond the EU – from reform of the eurozone to dealing with the challenges to democracy and rule of law in several member states to climate change and the unstable geopolitical environment are all under the spotlight.
Yet, while the Scottish government has a Brexit strategy – a much clearer one than the current UK government – it lacks a genuine European strategy or fully-fledged wider international strategy. There are elements of such a European strategy to be found in particular policies and initiatives, likewise on the international front. But while EU member states are busy setting out what they want the EU to do in the next five years, no such strategic statement of interests is currently on offer from the Scottish government. Yet Brexit or not, where the EU goes next, with what priorities and goals is of fundamental importance to Scotland (and indeed to the UK).
This policy note, therefore, considers Scotland's European interests and policy approaches and whether and how Scotland could build a more strategic European and international policy[1]. There are, of course, significant constraints for Scotland in terms of devolved powers, and the reserved nature of foreign policy. But at the same time there is considerable scope for smaller states and regions, given the nature of today's internationalised world, to engage across multiple dimensions and issues. Terms including 'soft power' and 'para-diplomacy' have been coined to illustrate how sub-state actors (including regions, local government, cities, non-governmental actors) can and do engage internationally both in their areas of devolved competence and beyond[2].
On the Brexit front, neither the Scottish government nor Scottish parliament have held back in challenging the Brexit process as a whole, given Scotland's remain vote and the chaotic UK politics of the last 3 years, rather than focusing only on devolved areas of competence. To put this Brexit politics into the wider context of the EU's future strategic direction, not least when it is in Scotland's wider interests to retain and deepen existing EU relationships, looks timely. More generally, while the UK has been – and remains in – the EU, the Scottish government and officials have long engaged in a range of ways with UK government ministers and officials on EU policies and strategies, including through the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe).
Whether Brexit goes ahead or not, Scotland can benefit from having a wider European strategy – whether to underpin its direct interaction with EU institutions, member states and other European actors and/or to underpin its interaction with the UK on its European strategy. At the same time, as Michael Keating has pointed out, if the UK does leave the EU, its future relations with the EU will come under the heading of foreign policy. This means current structures for Scotland to engage in the UK's EU policy will no longer exist: "Brexit could lead to a recentralisation as the UK uses its monopoly over foreign policy to intrude into devolved competences"[3].
The chaotic process of Brexit has also reinforced calls for another independence referendum, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying she would like such a referendum by late 2020. If Scotland did become independent, it would obviously then have more scope for its own European and international strategies. But independent or not, Scotland's strategic European interests can surely be identified now and used as a coherent framework for policy and for political debate – whether over Scotland's European interests, the UK's current policies, devolved powers and/or independence[4].
Scotland's EU and International Approach
The Scottish government has what it terms an international framework[5] or agenda with two main aims – firstly: "to create an environment within Scotland that supports a better understanding of international opportunities and a greater appetite and ability to seize them" and secondly: "to influence the world around us on the issues that matter most in helping Scotland flourish."
Amidst lots of good intentions and goals, this framework boils down to prioritising trade and investment opportunities, building relationships (in a broad sense) and cultural relations, and also has a particular emphasis on research and international research networks. Rather than a separate European strategy – or building up its international strategy from the core of an EU strategy – the Scottish government instead subsumes the EU within its international framework and emphasises the reasonable wish on the EU front " to continue to contribute meaningfully to collective goals".
The Scottish government has a small network of EU and international offices including a long-standing office in Brussels and newer 'innovation and investment' hubs in Berlin, Dublin, London (too) and Paris[6]. There are also offices in Beijing, Ottawa, Toronto and Washington DC as well as 30 Scottish Development International offices (of which the European ones are in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland). Alongside this, there are international engagement strategies for Canada, China, India, Pakistan and the US.
Overall, it's a somewhat eclectic mix – though there is a clear emphasis on larger players in the EU (notably France and Germany) as well as nearer neighbours, and larger global players. Yet for a government that calls for the UK to hold another referendum on Brexit and for the UK to remain in the EU, and that calls for Scotland to become independent in the EU, it is notable that Scotland's European interests and role are not at the centre of this international approach. This may, in part, reflect the fact that Scotland is a country but not a state and is constrained by its devolved powers. The focus on trade and investment promotion and on cultural relations may also encourage, to some extent, an apparent focus on bilateral relations around the world, albeit alongside engagement with the EU and UN. There is an open question as to what strategy and focus the new European hubs will and should adopt – including how much they focus on bilateral issues per se or centre their strategies within a wider EU strategy and focus on EU issues.
In comparison to Scotland, it is notable that smaller European states tend to put their EU strategies and alliances front and centre, recognising that much of their wider international interests and strategies can be pursued through the EU and in cooperation with European partners. Scotland is not currently an independent state and cannot develop a foreign policy distinct from the UK[7]. But there are surely lessons to be learnt from the approach of smaller EU member states. And there is much in the detail of existing Scottish government policies that once pulled together could form the basis of an overarching EU strategy.
On the foreign policy side, where the UK's foreign policy may go if it leaves the EU is, for now, an open question. Conservative ideas of 'global Britain'/Empire 2.0 look less than half-baked – and if Brexit goes ahead, the UK will have ever less influence on the European and international stage which will impact on to Scotland too. But despite this uncertainty and the backward-looking, wishful thinking on global Britain, there is still room for Scotland to outline its own European priorities. After all, for a Scottish European strategy to emphasise tackling climate change, tackling poverty within and beyond the EU, or creating a new 21st century European industrial and trade strategy in the context of sustainable development priorities cannot for now be said to contradict overt UK foreign policy. At the same time, with a new prime minister soon to take over, there may be more neuralgia from Downing Street over Scotland expressing its own views. Jeremy Hunt's petty withdrawal[8] of FCO support to Nicola Sturgeon's foreign visits if she is, in part, 'campaigning' for independence (which appears to mean mentioning it), does not suggest an open mind-set.
Scotland's interests in Europe are clearly multiple – economic, social, political, cultural and democratic. The EU is Scotland's largest international market for exports. And Scotland has dense networks across the EU – whether business, NGOs, unions, researchers, media, cultural, youth, educational and more. As a small European country, Scotland can best pursue its priorities and goals, including on wider global issues (from climate change and development to peace, security and human rights) together with other European countries in the EU context. And even if Brexit goes ahead, Scotland (and the UK) will still have strong interests – if much less influence – in the EU. The EU's climate change policies, its regulatory framework for the single market, its stance on human rights, its foreign and security policies, and so on, will all remain of central importance to Scotland.
This is not to say that smaller European countries cannot pursue other bilateral relations around the world in the context of an international strategy – of course they can and do. But influencing the EU and wider European context should remain central to Scotland whether from inside or outside the EU – and that means working with partners (whether states or non-governmental actors) at all levels. So rather than subsuming European policy within an international framework, a more strategic approach for Scotland would be to develop a clearer, more comprehensive European policy and put that at the heart of its wider international strategy.
While Scotland's EU interests are multiple and not only economic, its economic and trade interests do also point clearly in the EU direction. In 2017, Scotland exported £14.8bn to the EU, while its next largest market – some way distant – was the US at £5.5bn (this is without including Scottish exports to the rest of the UK (also, obviously, currently in the EU))[9]. Over half of Scotland's exports go to the EU and other European countries (46% to the EU, 53% to the EU and other European countries). Exports to North America count for 18.9% of Scottish exports – important but not of the scale of the European relationship.
In the Brexit context, there is inevitably a question of bandwidth and resources, both in terms of political attention and civil service resources, in developing a fuller European strategy. Yet it is, in fact, in some of the series of Scottish government policy papers on Brexit that elements of a clearer Scottish European policy can be found. In one recent paper, the Scottish government emphasised its wish to "act in solidarity with our neighbours in relation to security and justice, climate change, and other global challenges", noting this will be undermined by the UK government's Brexit approach to a free trade agreement[10]. In other papers, an emphasis is placed on the goal of remaining part of European and international research networks, making Scotland an attractive place for researchers, scientists and others to live and work, and making the positive case for migration[11].
All of this makes sense in terms of looking to limit damage from Brexit. And there are a range of Scottish government activities beyond Brexit – such as developing intergovernmental relations and policies with respect to the Arctic, and emphasising Nordic and Baltic relations. But widening this out, to consider where the EU needs to go next and what Scotland can contribute to that strategic thinking and debate, would be a step up. There are multiple advantages from developing these European priorities and issues and putting them into a clearer European rather than Brexit framework. And there is much to be learnt from other EU member states' approaches to setting out their priorities (and too from their choices and strategies on alliances within the EU).
Smaller EU Member States' Strategies
Smaller EU member states operate with a range of strategies, policy positions and alliances. At a moment such as the present one, where the European Parliament has just been renewed for the next five years and the leadership of the Commission and Council is about to be renewed too, large and small member states do tend to set out their priorities on the strategic agenda for the coming years and feed them in to the dialogue at EU level.
At its June summit, the European Council agreed a strategic agenda for the next five years but more work will be done on this (with much debate around it) once the new presidents of Commission and Council are in place in the autumn. Four broad priorities were agreed: protecting citizens and freedoms; developing a strong and vibrant economic base; building a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe; promoting European interests and values on the global stage[12].
Looking at how different smaller member states set out their policy priorities on future strategy, there is much similarity in the headings adopted – the devil often being in the detail. For instance, Sweden emphasises under its migration heading, the importance of "creating more legal pathways to the EU", something that would be anathema to some other states (or at least seen as politically too hard to say)[13]. On eurozone reform, the northern 'Hanseatic' group of smaller countries is focused on a neoliberal defence of eurozone policies while others, large and small, such as France and Portugal, are more keen to see a centralised fiscal function and common eurozone budget.
In its headline priorities, Sweden emphasises six issues: a democratic, well-functioning and responsive EU (including gender equality, rights and the rule of law); the EU as a leader in climate transition; a competitive EU for sustainable growth and more and better jobs; a legally certain, humane and sustainable migration policy; and security in a safe world. These headlines are clearly fleshed out in a concise 3 page document.
Ireland has similar priorities but chooses to lay them out more fully in a 17 page document[14]. Dublin emphasises an EU that is: prosperous and competitive; safe, peaceful and secure; sustainable; socially responsible; and equipped for the future. These headings draw on questions put to a series of citizens' dialogues in Ireland. In the detailed explanation in the paper, a range of priorities and goals are set out – from transport infrastructure to the digital single market. Ireland even states that it is open to paying more for projects that "advance the European ideal". Dublin also publically acknowledges who some of its key allies are and the importance of its European partnerships: "As we prepare for an EU without the UK, we are recalibrating and intensifying our partnerships. We are by far the smallest member state with embassies in all other EU capitals. In a variety of policy areas, we share common approaches with many of them, in particular the Nordic-Baltic member states and the Netherlands."
For its part, the Netherlands lays out five priorities[15]: migration; security; a strong and sustainable economy that offers protection; climate policy, and protecting values and interests abroad. It adds to this a 'future proof' effective governance and functioning of the EU. It reinforces these with a series of six policy papers on these issues.
And even outside the EU, Norway has also contributed to this strategic discussion with a detailed paper in 2018[16]. As a member of the European Economic Area, it is clearly in Norway's interests to make a contribution even though it is not a member state and not at the European Council table. Norway's paper also leads on to a detailed annual work programme for its ministries.
Rather than a small number of priorities, the Norwegian European vision runs through a long sequence of headings but these cover many of the areas emphasised by others including: security and defence; climate change; an open, international economy; cooperation in justice and home affairs; rights and freedoms and the rule of law; natural resource management, and a comprehensive approach to migration. It is also interesting to note how Norway approaches influencing the EU, given its outsider status. The paper states: "Norway needs good channels for communicating our views to EU institutions and member states. Given that Norway is not a member of the EU, we often have to use alternative channels and resources to seek to influence and participate in the European cooperation. Some of these channels are available to us through our agreements with the EU; we have to develop other channels ourselves."
Overall, smaller EU member states clearly engage in depth in these fundamental discussions that are so important to the future direction the EU will take in the coming years. These strategic contributions also give a coherence and framework to each country's detailed policy and diplomatic work done across the gamut of EU issues.
Elements of a Strategy for Scotland
A European strategy for Scotland would set out clear priority areas and issues, together with a strategic approach to partnerships and alliances, networking, communication and influencing.
The order of priorities will, however, depend in part on the ability to influence an issue or at least participate in debate and discussion. And that will, in turn, depend both on whether, and in what form, Brexit happens and on constitutional questions. But in the end, priorities such as urgently tackling climate change, or cooperating to create and defend a democratic and secure Europe, will be there for Scotland, whatever happens with Brexit, devolved powers or independence. What changes is the ability to influence them.
A list of major priority areas for a Scottish European strategy could include the following goals for the EU:
Tackling climate change, committing to an early net-zero target;
Protecting human rights, including social and economic rights
Tackling challenges to democracy within the EU and defending the rule of law, promoting solidarity within the EU
A green new deal strategy for the EU that brings together economics, trade and competitiveness policies with climate change, development, inequality and inclusion goals. Rethinking industrial strategy for the 21st century (including AI, digital).
Developing a fair, more open EU migration policy
A global EU that is promoting and defending multilateralism, fulfilling its SDG goals, strengthening its neighbourhood policy, and ensuring its security (including cyber security challenges)
An economic policy that drives sustainable, fair and inclusive growth.
These seven goals could form the basis for a more detailed and comprehensive strategy, taking account of Scotland's current constitutional status (i.e. within the UK and within the EU) and the current UK opt-outs from key EU policies (notably Schengen and the euro).
How the Scottish government might then promote these goals – and work with others both politically and with civil society – is another key question. The EU hubs in Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, London and Paris provide one starting point. Deciding how to develop these hubs strategically, once strategic European priorities are clearly identified, would need more detailed work. This would include identifying likely upcoming actions (new laws, regulations, strategic initiatives) at EU level. And it would involved identifying where Scottish policy interests and contributions align with those of other EU and EEA countries. It would also require in-depth consideration of how para-diplomacy and soft power strategies could be deployed in the current context.
It has been suggested[17] that Scotland could benefit from imitating the Irish government which has undertaken a set of bilateral audits of some of its bilateral EU relationships. Such audits could follow on from the first stage proposal of identifying key allies and potential alliances and networks. Anthony Salamone also suggests initiating a series of citizens' debates on Europe – as has been done by Ireland, France and several other countries.
A step further could be to focus part of the citizens' assembly proposed by the Scottish government onto the question of Europe's future[18]. And, in parallel, an independent commission, bringing together experts, to address Scotland's European options, interests and challenges could also be fruitful. All of these could contribute to the drawing up of a clear, overarching European strategy and vision for Scotland.
Brexit has led to economic, political and social damage to Scotland and the UK. It has also led to a narrowing of horizons as the political crisis, and chaos, that is Brexit unfolds. But other big and urgent issues have not gone away. Engaging with those wider issues more comprehensively through building a European strategy for Scotland, and placing it at the heart of a wider international strategy, can open out our horizons again and give more weight to all the ways Scottish actors – government, political, business, civil society, cultural and more – continue to engage in Europe and the world.
[1] For a comprehensive analysis of current EU challenges and Scottish interests, see our recent SCER report, Hughes, K, ed. (2019) The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change
[2] See, for example, Wolff, Stefan (2007)"Paradiplomacy: Scope, Opportunities and Challenges" The SAIS Europe journal April; Tavares, Rodrgio (2016) "Forget Nations: Cities Will Transform the Way We Conduct Foreign Affairs" UNU https://unu.edu/publications/articles/forget-the-nation-state-cities-will-transform-the-way-we-conduct-foreign-affairs.html
[3] Keating, Michael (2019) (2019) "Scotland in Europe: Future Prospects" in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
[4] Hughes, Kirsty (2019) "Europe's Future in the Face of Systemic Challenges" in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
[5] https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-international-framework-9781788514033/
[6] For a fuller discussion of these hubs, see Salamone, Anthony (2019) "Small States and Regions: Evolving Strategies in EU Politics" in in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
[7] Kenealy, Daniel (2019) "The EU's Foreign, Security and Defence Policies in an Unstable World" in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
[8] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/25/jeremy-hunt-pulls-foreign-office-support-nicola-sturgeon
[9] "Export Statistics Scotland 2017" (2019), Scottish Government, January
[10] Scottish Government (2018) "Scotland's place in Europe: our way forward", October https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-place-europe-way-forward/
[11] Scottish Government (2018) "Scotland's place in Europe: science and research", November https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-place-europe-science-research/pages/6/
[12] European Council (2019) "A New Strategic Agenda 2019 – 2024", annex to European Council conclusions 20th June https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39922/20-21-euco-final-conclusions-en.pdf
[13] Swedish Government (2019) "A responsive European Union benefiting the citizen: Swedish priorities for the legislative period 2019–2024" https://www.government.se/49e036/contentassets/e88f91d191784dcdb9b7eddce8b05c1a/a-responsive-european-union-benefiting-the-citizen.pdf
[14] Irish Government (2019) "National Statement on the European Union: Ireland's contribution to the European Union's Strategic Agenda 2019 – 2024"
[15] Government of the Netherlands (2019)"Dutch priorities for the EU for 2019-2024" https://www.permanentrepresentations.nl/latest/news/2019/05/03/dutch-priorities-for-the-eu-2019-2024
[16] Government of Norway (2018) "Norway in Europe. The Norwegian Government's strategy for cooperation with the EU 2018–2021", 9 May https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/eu_strategy/id2600561
[17] Salamone, Anthony (2019) "Small States and Regions: Evolving Strategies in EU Politics" in in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
[18] Hughes, Kirsty (2019) "Europe's Future in the Face of Systemic Challenges" in Hughes, K, ed. The Future of Europe: Disruption, Continuity and Change  Scottish Centre on European Relations
Kirsty Hughes |
Scottish Centre on European Relations
Dr Kirsty Hughes is Director of the Scottish Centre on European Relations. She is a researcher, writer and commentator on European politics and policy, and she previously worked for a number of leading European think tanks.
Published under Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Ten Questions People Most Frequently Ask Bone… The Interview!
Bone has been in many tough situations in his life; he can handle tough questions. Here he rests on top of a saguaro cactus in Arizona looking for border control agents. His lack of official papers, or even a birth certificate, can cause problems at times.
Q: Do you really talk? We're speaking ethics here, Bone. Blogging is about transparency. That means honesty.
A. Are you crazy? Have you ever heard a bone talk? Of course I don't talk. I just think out loud.
Q: Curt sometimes refers to you as he. Does this mean you are a male bone?
"Just cut a small chip off of it!" Outrageous! I am not some it to have chips cut out of. Besides, I lead a rich fantasy life and have no desire to know whether I am male or female. Call me she, he, or Bone, but never it.
Q: You have travelled all over the world and met thousands of people. How do they usually react to you?
A. With befuddlement. You should have seen the look on the face of the customs agent in New Zealand who tried to seize me as 'animal matter.' But emotions run the gamut. There was a Japanese man who got off a tour bus at Yellowstone National Park and wanted to hold me for good luck. Soon there were 40 other Japanese handing me around, oohing, and taking photos. I was thrilled. On the opposite side, I know a woman who refuses to touch me, like I have cooties. "I don't know where Bone has been," she states primly. Not surprisingly, there is also jealousy. "I want to be you and travel the world," a good friend in Sacramento told me.
A. Visit graveyards; there are lots of old bones there. My favorite grave is Smokey Bear's in Capitan, New Mexico. I once stood on his tombstone for ten minutes trying to communicate but all I could get was something about 'growling and a prowling and a sniffing the air.' A close second is the grave of Calamity Jane in Deadwood, South Dakota. What a woman! These are difficult choices, though, when you toss in the likes of Hemingway, Daniel Boone and Billy the Kid. On the light side I once visited Ben and Jerry's graveyard of discarded ice cream flavors in Vermont. My spookiest experience was a visit to the Capela dos Ossos, the Chapel of Bones, in Evora, Portugal. Those folks definitely have a skeleton in their closet, lots of them.
Bone has a special fondness for unusual graves. Here he hangs out with Billy the Kid in New Mexico. Has he been in a shoot out? Is that blood on his vest?
Q: So, what's your second most favorite?
A. Too hard; I am a dilettante dabbler, but here are a few.
Wandering, of course, anywhere and everywhere and by all modes: bikes, kayaks, rafts, skis, backpacks, sailboats, planes, helicopters, trains, cars, RVs, etc.
Visiting wild, remote and beautiful natural areas. I started life wandering the Sierra Nevada Mountains, John Muir's Range of Light.
Seeking out the strange such as ghosts and aliens (I've been to Roswell four times).
Attending unique events like Burning Man but I also have a fondness for any type of fair.
Meeting weird people like Tom.
Bone backpacking on the John Muir Trail.
Tom being eaten by a bony desert monster.
Q: Speaking of Tom, he and Curt 'discovered' you in 1977 and you have wandered extensively with both. Which do you like best?
"I was in deep trouble in Tombstone. Wyatt Earp had arrested me for robbing a bank and Doc Holiday was checking me for weapons.
My life as Bone was in serious jeopardy.
Odds were I was going to end up on Boothill, along with Billy Clanton.
But then the ever brave Eeyore came to my rescue! I hopped on his back and we went riding off into the sunset while leaping over large rocks.
Q: Which of your journeys has been most memorable?
A. I would have to say traveling the length of Africa in the back of a truck from the Sahara Desert in the north to Cape Town in the south. Almost falling off the back of a riverboat into a piranha infested section of the Amazon River would have to be a close second. I was perched on the back railing doing a photo shoot. And then, of course, there was the 10,000-mile bike trip.
Q: You are often seen scrambling over rocks in remote sections of the Southwestern United States. What's that all about?
A. I've developed a fondness for Native American Rock art. It resonates with my bone-like nature. It's also another excuse to go wandering around in the outdoors. Plus, some those places might be haunted and it is a great place to look for UFOs. Some of the petroglyphs look amazingly like aliens. Finally, wandering in the desert is known to be good for the soul. Ask the Prophets of yore.
How can this guy and his strange dog not be aliens?
Here I am making tracks across White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. It's a great place to watch out for UFOs.
Q: Ah, being a born-again bone, do you have any insights into the great unknown?
Q: Finally, and this may be a little sensitive, but do you always run around naked?
A. What kind of a question is that? Do you think I am uncivilized? For shame. I am the epitome of haute couture! A bow and arrow toting, card-carrying NRA member in Montana has designed and made me two leather vests. What's more, an 80 plus year old woman in Kansas going on 20 with a crush on Johnny Depp and a room devoted to the Egyptian gods has made me a kilt and several other outfits. Then there is the horse woman actress in Ohio whose husband is an ex-secret service agent who has promised me an outfit and the artist head of a PR firm in the Bahamas who has promised me another. Face it; I am hot stuff, clothed or naked. I may take up a modeling career.
So… now you have heard from Bone, do you have any questions you would like to ask him? He promises to answer.
Friday: The stunning temples of Burning Man.
Monday: Bandon by the Sea. It's back to the Oregon Coast.
Black Bears are much smaller than either brown or grizzly bears, but this doesn't mean they aren't scary. This one was cruising our neighborhood in Oregon and tipped over the heavy Webber Grill on our porch. Our daughter, Tasha, was sleeping in the bedroom next to the grill. "Curtis!" she screamed. Later, our neighbor captured the bear's photo on a surveillance camera.
I've been re-blogging older posts while my laptop is at the doctors with memory problems. Today it's time for another Sierra Trek Tale. Next week, I'll get back to the first Sierra Trek but today we are jumping ahead five years to the first trek I led into the back country of Yosemite where bears rule.
Bears like me, or at least they haven't eaten me. They've had numerous opportunities over the years. It goes with the territory of backpacking throughout North America for over four decades. My scariest encounters, as it turns out, were also my first.
My friends Ken Lake and Tom Lovering joined me on the first three days from the Yosemite Valley floor to Tuolumne Meadows. Day one found us climbing several thousand feet out of the Valley and camping above the Little Yosemite Valley. The bears dropped by for a visit on our first night in the Park.
Half Dome, Yosemite. Little Yosemite Valley is on the other side.
After carefully hanging our food bags from a cable provided by the park service and burying the left over fake freeze-dried raspberry cobbler (it was made from apples), we trundled ourselves off to our sleeping bags. The problem was we buried the food a little too close to Lake. I think Tom may have been up to his usual mischief.
The next morning, a very excited Ken asked if we had seen the bears in our camp the previous night. Neither of us had and we attributed his sighting to an overactive imagination. Believe me, if a bear had been digging up food next to my head, my two companions would have known about it, immediately.
Day two was tough. What I hadn't counted on was the amount of snow still left on the ground. We spent most of out time slipping, sliding and slogging through it. By three in the afternoon, Tom was ready to set up camp right in the middle of a snowfield. Ken and I threatened to leave him with the bears and he committed to another hour. Fortunately, that night was bear free. They would have found little resistance from the three of us.
Eventually, we made it into Tuolumne Meadows where I was faced with another challenge: hiking over 70 miles of snow-covered trails by myself while Ken and Tom returned to Sacramento and work. The journey was fraught with opportunities for breaking a leg, or losing the trail, or being washed away when crossing streams raging with water from melting snow. None of the above was a desirable outcome for someone hiking alone.
Tuolumne Meadows in the summer.
My other option was to return to Sacramento with Ken and Tom, which was not acceptable. I had a week off to wander in the woods and I was going to wander in the woods for a week. I compromised by heading back over the mountains toward Yosemite Valley. My fractured logic concluded that it was better to break a leg and get lost where I had been than where I was going. I also promised myself to be really careful. This included keeping my food from bears.
Hiking out of Tuolumne Meadows took me back around Cathedral Peaks shown here.
The first day was non eventful and the second idyllic. I was exploring new country, doing what I most love to do. As evening approached, I found a delightful campsite on the Cathedral Fork of Echo Creek. Amenities included a babbling brook to put me to sleep, a flat space for my sleeping bag and a great food-hanging tree with the perfectly placed limb. A hot dinner topped off by tea spiced up with a shot of 151-proof rum and I was ready for sleep.
I carefully hung my food bags at the recommended 12 feet off the ground and 9 feet away from the tree trunk and then snuggled down in my sleeping bag. As was my habit at the time, I slept out in the open, only using my tent when rain threatened.
It was somewhere around 4 am and very dark when I awoke with a pressure on my chest. I couldn't see very far but I didn't have to. Approximately five inches away from my face was a long black snout sniffing at me. It was filled with grinning teeth and topped off by a pair of beady eyes that were staring at me with a hungry look.
I let out a blood-curdling scream and vacated the premises.
As I flew in one direction, the equally surprised young bear that had been standing on me flew in the other. I don't even remember getting out of the bag. The next thing I knew I was standing up, yelling and shining my flashlight into the woods where not one, but two pairs of orange eyes were staring back at me. I lost it. Never have so many rocks been hurled with so much vigor in such a short period of time. The bears wisely decided to head off over the mountain.
But the damage was already done. My camp was a disaster area. My carefully hung food was scattered all over the ground with literally every meal torn open and sampled. All I had left was a chunk of cheese and it had one large bear bite out of it. I hid the cheese under a heavy rock.
As a further insult, one of the bears had chomped down on my plastic rum bottle and all of the rum was gone. I couldn't even drink. With that option eliminated, I policed the area, crawled back in my bag and went back to sleep. When I awoke in the morning it was obvious that the bears had come back into camp to clean up anything they had missed. Once again the previous night's trash decorated my campsite. At least the bears let me sleep this time. And they had missed my cheese.
NEXT BLOG: A return to my photo series on Burning Man.
Even the birds are sound asleep. Tom argues it's six AM, not the five my watch is showing. "Arizona does not honor Daylight Savings Time," he primly informs us. He's right. Adjusting my watch adjusts my attitude… a little.
Adding injury to insult, something akin to Folgers has been sewn up in burlap, thrown in boiling water, and called coffee. Oh well, it's a hot, it's brown, and we have a beautiful day of floating down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon ahead.
Tom is our boatman of the day. He checks to make sure our toenails are painted and then lets us board. The wind is still blowing but it has lost its ferocious bite. A mile down the river we pass Ten Mile Rock, a prominent landmark that has fallen from the cliffs above and now juts up out of the river. Made of Toroweap Sandstone, it was laid down in shallow seas that covered the area some 250 million years ago.
Ten Mile Rock on the Colorado River. I thought it should have a more impressive name.
"I love rowing," Tom tells us– and it is obvious he does. It is more than the heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping moments of major rapids where the boatman's knowledge and skill is matched against the tremendous power of the river with its dangerous rocks and grasping holes. And it is more than the opportunity to enjoy incredible beauty of the Grand Canyon that rowing provides. Tom enjoys the rhythm and the hard work. He even liked the backbreaking challenge of rowing against the wind.
House Rock Rapid demonstrates one of the more serious. The river is at its low point. More rocks are exposed and a massive hole lurks downstream from the largest rock. Even the most skilled boatman will be challenged to avoid it. We all land and climb off our boats to scout the rapid. Tom is eager to move on. Steve is adamant about waiting for more water. After a long discussion between the boatmen, a decision is made to take the more cautious approach.
Tom's fist bonks me on the head when we are halfway through. One of his oars has popped out. I look left and all I can see is churning, raft-eating water. We are poised on the edge of the hole… about to be sucked in. Tom becomes a virtuoso of one-armed madness. Ever so slowly, like about a thousand years, the boat decides to go where he wants. We land, and for one of the few times in his life, my ever-talkative friend is silent.
We looked to the left and saw we were poised on the edge of a massive hole.
The next day, Megan Stalheim, Dave's niece, is our boat woman. This is Megan's first time rowing a raft and her first time rowing through the Grand Canyon. It would seem insane except Megan is a world-class kayaker. She is an expert at reading water. The problem is that our large, fully loaded rafts do not move like feather light kayaks… picture driving an 18-wheel Mack Truck with a Ferrari 458 attitude. We have some adventures.
Megan keeps the messy side up, however, as rafters say. (The non-messy side is the smooth bottom of the raft.) So it's all good. Megan, like me, has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. When she gets off the river she is heading for Tanzania where she will work with a women's craft co-op.
Beyond our "kayaking" experience with Megan, the big news on day three is that we began our side-trips. Almost all journeys down the Canyon include stopping off to see the sights. Some are quite beautiful and others provide unique challenges, as if our daily challenges of negotiating rapids aren't enough.
A raven stopped by to visit and checked out the "Captain's Chair" on Steve Van Dore's boat. These large birds are one of the primary reasons food needs to be carefully stowed.
I didn't get a photo of our group members leaping but this is what they leapt off of into the muddy water below. Water was splashed on the rock slide from a pool behind the lip to make the slide more smooth. Or so they said.
Next we stopped off at Paradise, as in Vasey's Paradise. A beautiful waterfall shoots out of a Redwall cliff and creates a Garden of Eden at it base. It is worthy of the name.
The waterfall shooting out of the Red Wall at Vasey's Paradise, Mile 32.
Dave Stalheim and his niece Megan perched on a rock at Vasey's Paradise in the Grand Canyon.
A view of the Grand Canyon looking upriver from the Redwall Cavern.
In my next post we visit an ancient Anasazi storage facility high on the cliffs above the river and play in the beautiful Little Colorado River.
Preparation for our 18-day raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon quickly taught me that eating was going to be a central part of our adventure. This is the back of my 22-foot travel van after a trip to Safeway in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Great adventures start with the mundane. For example, did you cancel the paper? Common sense (and probably your mother) admonish that devious burglars have nothing better to do than to cruise the streets looking for rolled newspapers in front of your home.
More importantly, what about the cat?
Once upon a time Peggy and I had a cat named Effie. Vacations meant I would carefully measure out twice as much food and water as she could possibly eat or drink and four times the kitty litter she might use. The likelihood of her pooping all over the house was much greater that the likelihood of her starving. As a reward for my thoughtfulness, she would shed enough fur in our absence to fill a dump truck.
Now we have food to worry about. Lots of it. Tom Lovering, the trip leader, his wife Beth and their friend Jamie Wilson arrived in Flagstaff three days in advance of our Colorado River trip. Their car was packed to the brim with empty ammo cans and other watertight boxes waiting to be filled with food and the miscellaneous paraphernalia of river trips.
The Department of Homeland Security delayed their journey at Hoover Dam. The Agency is paranoid about mad bombers. Its normally low sense of humor dropped to zero when the agents saw all the ammo cans. The whole car had to be unpacked.
Tom Lovering, our trip leader, has been running rivers since the 70s. I first met him in 1974 when I persuaded him that his outdoor/wilderness store, Alpine West, should sponsor a hundred mile backpack trip I was organizing for the American Lung Association in Sacramento.
Tom is even more paranoid about food than DHS is about terrorists. In addition to being a highly experienced rafter and trip leader, he's an old restaurateur who had spent months planning the menu. Each dish has been tested several times and quantities have been measured down to the teaspoon. Recipes are spelled out in minute detail. We will eat gourmet on the trip… or die. The options are clear.
Beth, Peggy and I are dispatched to Sam's Club with marching orders. We fill seven large shopping carts with food. Think of it this way. There are 16 people going on an 18-day trip and eating three meals a day. This equals 864 individual meals.
When we arrive back at the motel, Tom and Jamie have set up a staging area. Food needs to be organized by meal and day and then stuffed in the appropriate containers. The containers will then be assigned to rafts. It's important that we know where to find the beer.
We have yet to shop for perishables and more food is coming from Sacramento. Our room, we discover, is to be the recipient of most food. There is barely space to sleep.
One of our participants obviously felt that tequila and oranges needed to be stored together.
Our bedroom was packed with food. Personal gear is on the bed.
Food organization took place outside of our motel rooms.
The next day is more relaxed. Other trip members begin to arrive and Peggy and I assume airport shuttle duty. Tom takes time for a makeover into something resembling an English Punk Rocker from the 70s with green and purple hair. Homeland Security was right to be suspicious.
Tom is 50% businessman, 30% adventurer, and 20% character. Or maybe I have the percentages reversed. Here he is having his hair bleached for the trip. You will see the results in future posts.
Next blog: Three days and 39 miles: The Journey Begins.
The morning of the adventure has arrived. Everything we have packed… our food, personal gear and rafts are stuffed into this truck in preparation for our drive to the takeoff point, Lee's Ferry.
Today I begin my series on rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Since it happened a couple of years ago, I am traveling back in time. In fact I kicked off this blog with the trip, some 181 posts ago.
This series will encompass more than my trip down the river, however. It is meant to be a celebration of the Grand Canyon, possibly the greatest natural wonder in the world. I have been back to the Canyon repeatedly in a time span that dates back over forty years.
Peggy takes a photo looking down into the Grand Canyon. Three feet forward and she will have a thousand feet to learn to fly.
I have wandered the South and North Rim, camped in all of the Rim campgrounds, and stayed at the magnificent El Tovar Hotel. Once I spent Christmas week at Bright Angel Lodge with a view overlooking the Canyon. I've been into the Canyon by mule, on foot and helicopter… as well as raft.
Several times I have explored the inner Canyon on weeklong backpack trips. I will feature one in this series.
Our Grand Canyon river adventure started with a phone call. Tom Lovering left an urgent message. I had to immediately stop whatever I was doing (Peggy and my three-year road trip around North America) and climb on-line to sign up for the Grand Canyon Colorado River permit lottery.
Apparently the permits are hard to obtain, somewhat harder than walking out of a casino with a million dollars.
I am immune to Tom's last minute schemes but the charming Peggy who loves water, loves rivers, and loves sunshine immediately jumped on-line and did the necessary clicking. Early the next morning we received an Email from the National Park Service saying we had won. It took me a lot longer to persuade Tom than it did for the NPS people to inform us.
I am not, by nature, a white water man. I put running rapids right up there with dangling on rock cliffs, playing Kamikaze on ski slopes, and riding the latest death-defying roller coaster at Four Flags. My approach to outdoor adventure is more in the nature of planned risk taking than thrill seeking. Consequently, I had only been on two real white water rafting trips.
The first was with Tom on the Mokelumne River in California in the 70s. Within five minutes he had dumped us into something known as Dead Man's Hole. "Paddle!" he screamed. River rats love to give their favorite rapids scary names such as Satan's Pool and Suicide Bend. They can wax eloquently for hours over the qualities of these death-dealing anomalies. Our detour "was a learning experience," Tom explained as we emptied the water out of the raft and lungs. "Next time you'll paddle harder." Yeah, yeah.
My second white water trip was on the Middle Fork of the American River. This time I was travelling with Mark Dubois, his wife Sharon Negri and a friend, Bonnie Holmes.
Mark, sometimes known as the Gentle Giant, once chained himself to a rock in the bottom of the Stanislaus River to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from flooding the canyon with water. He also co-founded Friends of the River, an organization dedicated to saving the wild rivers of the west.
Our trip was rather mellow up until we came to a large rapid. Mark was having us do such things as close our eyes and lean backwards out of the raft with our hair touching the water so we could 'listen' to the river. He's a spiritual type guy, one with nature. Apparently Nature had rejected me.
And that's how I classify our trip down the Colorado, a learning experience. But I know it will be more. Every time I have visited the Grand Canyon over the years, I have come away with a feeling of awe and reverence. How could a trip through the Canyon's inner core be any different?
So please join my friends and me over the next few weeks. I think you'll enjoy the ride.
Here I am. They actually let me row. It had something to do with the lack of any nearby rapids.
This is how Jamie, one of our experienced boatmen, handled that section of the river.
Here are some of the folks that travelled with us on our 18 day trip down the Canyon. In this photo they have reversed their life preservers to look like giant diapers and are floating down the beautiful little Colorado River, one of many scenic stops along the way. They are about ten feet away from going over a waterfall.
And our fearless leader Tom Lovering. Are you brave enough to spend 21 days on the river with this man?
Even this Grand Canyon fish was amazed by our choice of leader.
And leap from high places.
Whimsical always wins me over. This is one cool cat… or is that cat woman. I had to travel far out on the Playa to find the cat sculptures.
Face it; I am frustrated. It is impossible to cover all of the art featured at Burning Man. In fact with over 300 works of art scattered over the seven square miles that constitutes Black Rock City, it was impossible for me to even get around and admire each piece. Maybe if I had devoted 24/7… but Burning man provides many distractions.
All I can offer is a tantalizing sample… and a recommendation: if you enjoy this art and you have never been to Burning Man, put the event on your schedule for the future.
A final note before I jump into photographs: this year featured regional art from groups that are organizing local Burning Man activities from around the US and world. I will cover this art, and its fiery demise, in my next blog.
Another photo of the denizens of the outer Playa at Burning Man. One gets a sense of how far out they are by the lack of people in the background.
Imagine cycling across the desert and seeing in the distance a partially sunken 16th Century Spanish galleon. It's almost unbelievable but at Burning Man you learn to expect the unusual. Artist Matthew Schultz headed up this project.
What amazed me even more was the attention to detail, right down to the masthead. The story behind the sunken ship is that it crashed into the pier.
Further attention to detail, plus a sense of humor, was found below decks. Note the long fingers and the modern coffee cup.
The pier, without the ship, was a very popular sculpture in 2011.
It is difficult to be an artist, or a writer… or even a blogger for that matter, without a little ego. This is a big one.
Since the artist, Laura Kimpton, and I are both somewhat dyslexic, I thought I would reverse the E.
Replicas of 10,000 trophies went into creating EGO.
Wall Street, photographed here from the Man, was another major installation at Burning Man 2012. Otto Von Danger is the artist.
Buildings were given such names as the Bank of UnAmerica and Chaos Manhattan. The Greek front is a replica of the NYSE.
Like in many urban settings, graffiti was rampant. But we can all dream our financial institutions will become a little less greedy and a little more responsible. Wall Street was burned but not the American flag.
This sculpture by artist Kate Radenbush is called Star Seed. I thought of it as 'fantasy arising from the dust.' And why not. Participants are expected to put their own twist on Burning Man art.
I did wonder whether we are seeding the stars or they are seeding us.
If you look closely, you will note that this man's skin is made completely of watch parts. I also liked the see through quality as you look up at the sky over Black Rock City.
One sculpture featured a series of quotes. I found these two by Albert Einstein and Danny Kaye particularly appropriate for closing my blog on Burning Man 2012 art.


1974. Rosenberg, Lewis I. This digital raster graphic (DRG) is a composite raster image of two scanned 1974 USGS topographic maps including the collar information, georefere... Lew Rosenberg, Consulting Geologist.


July 10, 2017 – The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) today announced it is accepting applications for the Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Grant program. Proof of Concept and Early-Stage Capital and Retention applications are due September 8.
Proof of Concept grants are open to Colorado research universities, federal labs located in Colorado, and other labs with valid technology transfer offices. These grants are for pre-commercialization research and commercialization preparation. Grants up to $150,000 will be awarded.
Early Stage Capital and Retention grants fund companies commercializing innovative technologies to create viable products that meet a market need and can be created or manufactured in Colorado and exported globally. Grants up to $250,000 will be awarded.
Past recipients include Colorado companies and universities with technologies that could improve 3D printing, doctor/patient interactions and farming. Applications are reviewed by committees of business, technical and financial experts, as well as by an industry-specific reviewer.
The AI Accelerator Program was created in 2013 to promote growth and sustainability in Colorado's advanced industries by helping drive innovation, accelerating commercialization, encouraging public-private partnerships, increasing access to early stage capital and creating a strong ecosystem that increases the state's global competitiveness.
The application process for infrastructure grants will open on February 1, 2018 and applications will be due on April 1, 2018. Infrastructure grants provide state funding to collaborative projects that will have a broad industry-wide impact across one or more of Colorado's advanced industries.
For more information about the Advanced Industries Accelerator Program, including upcoming informational sessions, guidelines and grant cycles, click here.
Questions can be directed to Katie Woslager at 303-892-8760 or katie.woslager@state.co.us.


text:
De Verenigde Staten namen deel aan de Olympische Zomerspelen 1908 in Londen, Engeland. Het land eindigde na het gastland op de tweede plaats in het medailleklassement.

Resultaten per onderdeel

Boogschieten

Namens de Verenigde Staten deed één boogschutter mee. De 19 jaar oude Richardson had vier jaar eerder op de Olympische Zomerspelen 1904 brons gewonnen in het teamonderdeel. Hij won tijdens deze spelen opnieuw brons, nu individueel op het onderdeel York. Hij deed ook mee aan het onderdeel Continentaal, waarin hij als 15e eindigde.

Atletiek

Amerikaanse atleten domineerden net als vier jaar geleden in het atletiek; ze wonnen twee maal zoveel gouden medailles als het gastland.

Hardlopen

Sprongnummers

Werpnummers

Wielersport

Schoonspringen

Namens Amerika namen twee springers deel. Gaidzik eindigde gedeeld derde op de drie meter plank.

Kunstrijden

Jeu de paume

In het jeu de paume won Gould het goud. Sands werd uitgeschakeld door de latere zilverenmedaillewinnaar.

Schieten

Zwemmen

Touwtrekken

Worstelen

Land op de Olympische Zomerspelen 1908
1908

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia