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Home » Jack Ginsberg, Artists' Book Collector Par Excellence
Jack Ginsberg, Artists' Book Collector Par Excellence
South African Jack Ginsberg has assembled a world class collection of artists' books over the last 40 years and has created an online archive of South African artists' books http://www.theartistsbook.org.za/ He was interview by Christine Mullen Kreamer in Johannesburg on March 21, 2013.
Christine Mullen Kreamer: You've been collecting artists' books for many years. How did you start and what led to your interest in this genre?
Jack Ginsberg: I started collecting artists' books more than forty years ago. The genre only started in the mid-1960s with people like [American] Ed Ruscha and [German-Swiss] Dieter Roth. So I was really in there right at the beginning. I was brought up in a home surrounded by books, but not artists' books, obviously. I had the collecting gene in my blood, no doubt about it. Before I started collecting artists' books, I collected many other types, such as pop-ups, limericks, books about freedom of speech and censorship—the latter were during the dark years—which were eventually lodged at the university, and art monographs. I was particularly interested in African sculpture.
When I saw the first artist's book, it was a kind of fusion of the art monograph (art) and the physical object (sculpture) as it was a three-dimensional thing. I knew I was hooked. Artists' books certainly encompass all the graphic techniques, such as etching, silkscreen, lithography, and monotypes. They even encompass the non-graphic techniques like watercolor and pencil drawing, which are unique books—although there are people who have done watercolor books in editions, if you can believe such a thing. If the artists are sufficiently competent, they can reproduce a watercolor twenty times in a small edition.
I was always interested in art history and bibliography, too. The whole thing fell together. It was much more interesting to catalogue an artist's book than a book. It's not just title, author, publisher, and dates. It has as much to do with the structure, the means of making the book, the techniques, the binding, the stitching, the marbling, and the paper. Sometimes in a book you can have twenty collaborators. In my digital bibliography[1] I name all twenty of them. One can search a name and might come up with the person who made the paper in a book and only that. But possibly more. That's how I got started on artists' books, but certainly before I came to artists' books, I was already a bibliomaniac. A bibliophile is the polite term.
CMK: Tell us about the evolution of artists' books—how they began and how they have changed over the years?
JG: When I say the genre of artists' books started in the 1960s that's basically when I started collecting such artists as Dieter Roth and Ed Ruscha. Of course there are precursors such as livres d'artistes from the 1900s: Bonnard, Joan Miró, all the contemporary artists of that time, including Picasso. They all made books which in some way are artists' books, but usually what differentiates them is that they were commissioned by a publisher. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Picasso's dealer, would commission Picasso to provide the plates for some existing text like Aristophanes' Lysistrata. The Limited Editions Club commissioned Matisse to illustrate Joyce's Ulysses as late as 1935.
But an artist's book is really an artwork in the book format by an artist. Although it can be a collaboration, usually it is made by the artist; they are seldom produced by an outside publisher. Then there are people who make artists' books by finding a paper-maker here, a typographer there, an illustrator here, a poet there, and put them all together; that could still be an artist's book. Kaldewey Press in the U.S. is a good example of this collaboration. But the editions are usually small—seldom over fifty and quite often less than twenty. Because the graphic techniques are so time-consuming, if you've got original etchings, screenprints, lithographs, or drawings, it is going to take a long time. But there are thousands of people now making a living producing artists' books.
In the 1960s when the genre started, setting aside the precursors, people like Ed Ruscha in America and Dieter Roth in Germany began by making what today might be called photo books: cheap and nasty almost. They were simply a collection of photographs. These works were distributed by the artist without an intermediary, thus challenging the gallery system. They were giving their books away. Ed Ruscha used to charge less than a dollar and even then he couldn't sell them. Those 25¢ books are now selling for $2,000 and more! But they were conceptual artists working in the book format. In many cases they wanted people to follow their sequence. They did not want a curator to hang their pictures in the curator's sequence.
One of the definitions of a book, I think, is its sequentiality rather than a portfolio where you can shuffle the deck. Of course there have always been people making beautiful and expensive books rather than the 25¢ democratic multiple. Johanna Drucker's The Century of Artists' Books (1994), one of the major academic writings on the subject, calls them auratic books, that is, books of distinctive quality or presence.
Top artists like Jasper Johns, Jim Dine and others made expensive auratic books, but these were most often distributed by publishers rather than through their gallery, and collectors thereby got a better bargain. There are very few people who are handling every aspect of their books—doing the printing, binding, illustrating, papermaking, and even writing their own text for a book. There are exceptions such as Walter Hamady and Robbin Silverberg, but then they are papermakers.
When you get to the likes of Picasso, Johns, or Miró, all they are really doing is the illustration, and they are finding craftspeople to make the physical book object, including the substrate, the paper, the marbling, the book binding, all that technical stuff. Although the artists' books developed from the livres d'artistes, it became much more democratic before finding its way back to the beautiful object. At the recent Codex International Book Fair in San Francisco in 2013, there were plenty of all these types of books priced from $100 to $10,000 and more. But for democratic multiples under $100, rather try Printed Matter Inc. in New York.
I think the reason why artists' books have taken off in the last thirty years and particularly in the last ten years is because many of the art schools are now teaching what they call the book arts. They teach papermaking and basic binding, typography, and printmaking. Keith A. Smith has written a dozen textbooks on the book arts, which circulate widely. I keep a stock here in Johannesburg, because everybody who visits wants to own them. And I say "Well, okay, I've got a set." I usually order about ten at a time. And because this is now taught in the schools, people are more interested in artists' books. I think that it has just mushroomed and there are dozens of books on the subject, both practical and academic. I get people here—fine artists, graphic artists, architectural students, advertising people, binders, and people interested in typography and design.
The art schools are beginning to teach marbling, which is the easiest thing in the world to do badly. So there is terrible marbling all over the place which students have done. But at least they know how it's done! If you've never seen marbling done, you'll never have any idea how unbelievably complicated and messy it is. Likewise, if you've never made an etching, you're never really going to appreciate an etching. You need to get your hands full of ink and actually see how it works to really appreciate it and to look at the thing and not just think "Well, that happened somehow."
CMK: You mentioned the livres d'artistes, the illustrated book. Do you think for example Pippa Skotnes' Sounds from the Thinking Strings is an example of that? The artist illustrated book versus an artist's book?
JG: Not really. I think hers is an artist's book; she was the publisher and it is really made largely by her in a very small edition. She used some of the old presses and letterpress housed at the Katrine Harries Print Cabinet at the University of Cape Town. But I would certainly consider that an artist's book.[2]
If you want to get into the definition, there is the website PhiloBiblon[3] where there must be more than 40,000 pages of controversy about what an artist's book is and what an artist's book isn't. What it really comes down to is the Duchampian definition of art. Art is what an artist says is art. It is almost the same for the artist's book: An artist's book is an artist's book if a book artist considers it to be an artist's book. It's crazy, but it's so sweeping that there's no easy definition.
CMK: What type of artists' books appeal to you the most? Or are your tastes ecumenical?
JG: Very eclectic. Most people who collect artists' books are collecting in one genre or the other. Not many people who are collecting top-end expensive books are also interested in democratic multiples from the 1960s. I am particularly interested in conceptual books. I consider some of the very earliest conceptual books are those by Dieter Roth and Ed Ruscha. There are lots of artists who are still making conceptual books, and those are often not the auratic type whereby you look at them and think "Oh, beautiful." You're more likely to look at them and think "Oh, how interesting! How is their mind working? How out of the box are they working?" I'm very eclectic in collecting just about everything. Maybe that's part of my bibliomania.
As soon as I started collecting artists' books, I started collecting books about artist's books as well. At the time I thought, "How many books can there be? Thirty? I had never really seen a book about artist's books. As soon as you start collecting in any subject, it doesn't matter what it is or how peculiar or eccentric, you discover how much there is. Forty years later, I've now got 2,500 books about artists' books, particularly in the history of how the genre developed. I became interested in finding the books which were mentioned in these histories and that's how I started, not only going forwards but also backwards.
CMK: But for your personal taste, you prefer the more conceptual, outside-of-the-box approach?
JG: I like conceptual books very much, yes. I like the very beautiful books too, but if it comes to a decision to get ten books at $500 or one $5,000 book, I'd probably go for the former. Occasionally I fall for the latter, but you have to have a budget.
CMK: Have you noticed any particular themes or approaches that strike you as particularly appropriate for artists' books? Or, put another way, have you noticed any trends in artists' books over the years that you've been collecting?
JG: That's difficult to say because you can talk about artists' books for hours and never mention the content as such. The original press books, private press books, which I don't consider artists' books, are usually letterpress and beautifully printed; they are often collections of poetry or short stories. Here the content is quite important but often just reproduced. With artists' books the content is less important or it can be significant. For instance, William Kentridge has done a wonderful book Receiver by Wislawa Szymborska. When Anne Kentridge comes here to look at artists' books, and as she's very interested in poetry, I say to her, "Anne, you cannot read these poems here. If you want to read the poems, buy the Penguin paperback. We are now looking at an object, a sculpture, a work of art. We can look at the binding, the paper, and especially the illustrations. The text is important, but there is not enough time today to read the book." So content is less important in an artist's book, especially if it has also been published elsewhere.
Structure is incredibly important. Materials and the media are really important. I've got books made of glass, aluminum, cork, plastic, and everything you can imagine. People are using incredible materials to make artists' books these days. And they are using every kind of print technique that you can imagine, including polymer plates to replicate letterpress. As to trends in artists' books, there are many people making books which attempt to show some kind of illustrative technique in a particular sequence. With photo books, the people are graphic artists who want to get their books out into the world in a different way.
It is seldom that print collectors also collect artist's books. There seem to be two totally different mind frames. Even though graphic artists can certainly earn more by selling a single print than they can by selling an artist's book full of prints, they are very much more interested in the genre of artists' books than they used to be.
CMK: Is there something about the technology, materiality, or the look of the artists' book that has evolved over the years? Or has it been a part of the universe of possibilities?
JG: The codex and possibly leather-bound codex used to be the definition of the livres d'artistes. There wasn't much else. Now, I would say, a large number of people are using accordion fold, so they can display the book in its entirety when it's unfolded. There are people using pop-ups, gate folds, double-gate folds, flaps or flags, books which unwrap, uncircle, hang, the possibilities are infinite, and people are trying everything with new innovation all the time. So much so that you may even end up with a sculpture, what they call a BSO—book sculpted object—which is basically a sculpture which looks like a book, and it might not even have any pages.
CMK: That's like Abdoulaye Ndoye from Dakar, who has created accordion folds with images on both sides, but he's strung them in such a way that they become wonderful sculptural forms.
JG: Yes. A book is a three-dimensional object just in itself. In fact I've gotten a little code in my bibliography which says 2D or 3D. 2D turns out to be art and 3D turns out to be mostly books (or sculpture).
CMK: Are there particular countries or regions of the world that are especially strong with respect to the production and reception of artists' books?
JG: It's hugely wide these days. Originally when I started collecting artists' books, I decided to stick to English-speaking countries, because although the text was perhaps secondary, it was useful to read it. Even if only to read the colophon. But I soon just abused myself of that. There are fantastic centers of artists' books in South America, and such organizations as Codex on the West coast of the U.S. are collaborating with the Mexicans, the Columbians, and others. The largest centers are still America and the United Kingdom, but there's not a single European country that doesn't have a huge artists' book industry.
At the Codex International Book Fair, for instance, I was really fascinated to see Italian books, German books, and French books. And then in the East, of course, there's the long bookmaking tradition in Japan, but the country in Asia which has really taken to artists' books is Korea. They have one of the world's biggest artists' book fairs every year; they invite people from all over the world to come and exhibit. It's quite extraordinary when you meet artists' book people, and they've all been to Korea!
So it's really universal now, even in South Africa where there is not an artists' book industry. Going back to letterpress is very complicated, because there is very little letterpress in this country. Most of the monotype and letterpress fonts, which used to exist and from which people used to print books in the early twentieth century and prior to that, are now in the hands of book artists. Nobody prints letterpress today except book artists. There are many letterpresses in Europe and America that have found their way into the hands of book artists, including the small presses on which most artists print their books.
In South Africa one of the few people who used letterpress was Egon Guenther, who was very influential in the art world and had his own gallery in Johannesburg. He did some of the most spectacular South African artists' books which have ever been made. When I show them to people overseas or to visitors here, they actually can't believe it. They say, "How was this done in South Africa?" And I say, "Well, a German immigrant, although he had been here 50-60 years and is now in his eighties, just had the patience and the skills to do it in South Africa. Now of course the book arts have sort of proliferated in South Africa. There are now hundreds of people making artists' books, but it's still very small compared to other countries. But nevertheless probably the largest in Africa. My collection of artists' books is really the only one that I know of in Africa apart from perhaps the Alexandria Library in Egypt, which collects artists' books in quite a big way and has had many artist book exhibitions and puts out some wonderful catalogues. But between Egypt and Johannesburg, it is barren. There are people making artists' books, but I don't know anyone collecting them, so that is quite interesting.
CMK: How would you describe the evolution of artists' books in South Africa?
JG: I think starting off with the universities—in Cape Town the Michaelis Art School at the University of Cape Town has the Katrine Harries Print Cabinet. They printed Pippa Skotnes' books and have the wherewithal to do letterpress printing and the binding, etc. That was followed by Keith Dietrich at Stellenbosch University where they have facilities for making artists' books although these days they are largely digital like everything else.
Ross Kreamer: Does a digital book qualify as an artist's book?
JG: Oh, it can. I was skeptical at first about digital books. And I didn't approve of the whole idea of just printing out something from your computer, but it has taken off in such a way that you can't ignore it anymore. There are incredibly beautiful artists' books being made digitally. Keith Smith, the big guru of artists' books instruction who has written more about artists' books than anybody else, is now making spectacular digital books, although he used to make letterpress books. You can't ignore the digital book anymore. It's at least as important as other graphic techniques.
CMK: Would you say digital is the new direction in artist's books?
JG: I would say so. Although people are making wonderful digital books, there are huge numbers of incredibly hideous photo books which have no reason to be books. No sequential logic. There's a picture of somebody's cat, then their mother-in-law, and then a landscape. It's like just sending all those snaps to Lulu (an online self-publishing resource) or one of those book-binding services, and coming back with a book. That is not an artist's book. Maybe it is an artist's book, but just an incredibly bad artist's book. But somebody will say it is an artist's book, and I'm not going to quarrel with them on that. It's just an artist's book which you don't want to own.
CMK: Many South African artists' books belong to the fine art press tradition that employs high-quality paper, typography, and beautiful bindings. Axeage Private Press, Artist Proof Studio, and The Artist Press come to mind. Why do these types of work predominate in South African artist book production?
JG: I think because South Africans think of artists' books in that way rather than democratic multiples, although zines, which are certainly democratic and often free, are certainly democratic! So they are not all private presses from the universities, and there are lots of artists working on their own, like Stephan Erasmus, who is not connected to a university. They are simply working in their own studios and turning out books. A top artist like William Kentridge is doing collaborations which he does with everybody. He finds the top presses in the world to make the paper and to collaborate with him to turn out expensive, beautiful things.
CMK: What do you think is the appeal for some of these people who are just doing these simple folded books and practically giving them away?
JG: Quite often they are propagandistic in some way. They've got a drum to beat, either political or artistic in one way or the other. They simply want to spread their ideas rather than make something incredibly beautiful. It is simply a means of getting the word out there.
CMK: Do you think the democratic multiples have taken off very much here in South Africa? We are under the impression that they have not.
JG: I guess you're right. Although I'm sure we can come up with a few.
CMK: Why do you think that is?
JG: The democratic multiple started off in the middle to late 1960s. People are still making them. If you go to PS1 during the New York Art Book Fair there are thousands of these things, mostly lying in piles in corridors and you can just pick them up. They are usually gay, feminist, green, republican, democrat; they've got some kind of political issue to sell. Some of them I certainly would call artists' books. You can go to Printed Matter in New York and find thousands of these things. Out of the thousands they have on their shelves, I usually manage to find a dozen conceptually of interest with more than just a text of some sort.
South Africans weren't interested in artists' books in the 1960s. By the late 1980s when they started making artist books, democratic multiples were no longer in vogue. Although they still existed, artists became really interested in providing an object for which they could charge more than a pittance and make a living and which had some kind of integral beauty or concept that they were selling. You can't charge much for democratic multiples. Ed Ruscha never made more than a dollar or so, and the fact that some dealer is now selling it for $2,000 doesn't help the Ed Ruscha of the 1960s.
CMK: What's the impact of digital on artist book production in South Africa?
JG: Like everywhere else people are using their computers to make books, often using PhotoShop. The problem is: are they any good? If they are really talented like Keith Smith and a few others, they can be fabulous digital books. But the majority of digital books that people are making are really awful.
CMK: How has scholarship on artists' books changed?
JG: Are you talking about the content and the text or are you talking about the people who are studying the subject?
CMK: I meant the latter, but I'd be interested in your thoughts also on the content, too.
JG: Certainly content is less important, but there are wonderful collaborations in artists' books when somebody who is not an artist but a writer interested in a subject, collaborates with an artist who's looking for a fabulous text. Maybe the subject is too esoteric to get a publisher to take it on. But if the text is really important, it may be quite difficult for somebody who's interested in that text to obtain a copy of the book. For instance, Walter Hamady printed one of the major books about printing, but unfortunately the book costs $2,000 and there are only forty-eight in the world. So that may become problematic. If it's a success, they could go to Chronicle Books in San Francisco, and they'll put out a trade edition for $25.
There are lots of people researching in the field of artists' books. The whole academic interest in artists' books has taken off. And that's what I have to deal with: these mad academics that make their way to this house and want to pull out every book in the library! Now I've got an assistant, Rosalind Cleaver, helping me because I just couldn't cope. Sometimes after a visit by somebody of that ilk, it would take me a week to put the books back in the right place. A public library such as the Library of Congress may bring you twelve books and when you're finished, you give them back; they return them to the depths of the inner stacks where they store these things. Then they'll give you another twelve. But they're not going to give you 2,000 to look at and allow you to mix them all up and leave somebody to sort through them again.
CMK: So scholarship has really taken off. You're seeing a lot more people researching.
JG: Right, go on the web and you see how many people are writing theses on the subject. It is extraordinary.
CMK: Are there artists who do not currently make artists' books but who you would encourage to do so. Someone you think, "Wow, why doesn't he or she try artists' books?"
JG: Yes, I'd love to have artists' books by wonderful contemporary South African artists. Maybe they're not interested. Some of them have made conceptual books, but they're often what are called altered books, which are a subgenre of artists' book. They take a bound book and then manipulate that book, somebody else's book, by either drawing on the pages or sculpting the pages into something else. So that's definitely an artist's book and could easily be by a sculptor rather than a printmaker.
Most artists are not making artist's books. Although the definition has become so wide that, as I've said, even some sculptural things can be considered artists' books. People who are interested in printmaking are not necessarily interested in artists' books because of the binding difficulties. It takes something more than being a printmaker to make an artist's book, and artists often need some help. For instance, if you take a bundle of prints to a binder and ask him to bind them into an artist's book, he is going to refuse. A binder needs a fold through which to stitch. If you have pieces of paper like that which are printed with images across an A4 sheet, there is no way of making that into an artist's book. A bunch of illustrations is not an artist's book. An artist's book is a sequential construct which means something as a whole. It's not just a collection of bits. You need to have images printed in such a way that they cater for the fold necessary for binding. You've got the recto and the verso with a stitch gutter in between to make it into a book. Most artists don't realize that. They think they can just make a whole lot of images and call it an artist book, but that's not what an artist book is. That is a collection of images which have been put into a folder.
CMK: Some of the books I saw at your friends Joshua and Phyllis Heller in Washington, DC, had this wonderful sense of empty space on a page, which complimented the choice of colors of the type font, which in turn complimented the image on the opposite page Or even putting the text very close to the fold, deliberately so. Almost like creating a tension in a way, beautifully composed.
JG: The amalgamation of the typography and the image and the structure is all important. Not all artists, however good a graphic artist they may be, can make an artist's book. They might employ somebody who does collaborative artists' books to make one aspect of an artist's book, maybe to do the illustrations while someone else is employed to do the typography, the binding, and the papermaking. There are many of those kinds of presses in America which will simply find great people to collaborate on an artist's book, but I don't really know of any in South Africa.
RK: Which book is of the higher order? The single artist doing all of the functions? Or the collaborative?
JG: Oh, both. It doesn't really matter. The single artist is always more interesting because they really need to be multi-talented and are doing everything.
[1] Artists' books in South Africa http://www.theartistsbook.org.za/
[2] Pippa Skotnes had to fight a legal case as to whether Sounds from the Thinking Strings was legally required to be deposited at the South African National Library. The Library claimed that as a book, the author was required to deposit a copy in the SANL. Skotnes argued that it was a work of art and therefore was not subject to the legal deposit law. She won her case: the book was indeed a work of art.
[3] PhiloBiblio http://www.philobiblon.com/


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PROPOSED TAX REFORM 2021
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC ITEMS
DISCLAIMER: THIS SUMMARY IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY, APPLICABILITY, FITNESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SUMMARY. ONLY CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSALS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS INFORMATIONAL SUMMARY. IT IS LIKELY THAT DURING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, AMENDMENTS, DELETIONS, AND ADDITIONS WILL BE MADE TO THE ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSALS AND THAT THE FINAL ENACTED LAW COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE PROPOSALS MADE BY THE ADMINISTRATION ON MAY 28, 2021 AND SUMMARIZED BELOW. WE WILL UPDATE THIS SUMMARY UPON PASSAGE OF THE BILL.
On May 28, 2021, the Treasury Department issued its "General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals". Treasury's Explanations, referred to as the "Green Book", provides details of the Biden Administration's tax policy proposals (the "Proposal" or "Proposals"). The full text of the 2022 Green Book can be found at:
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/tax-policy/revenue-proposals
This summary will focus on those proposals that we consider to have the greatest impacts on our clients. We will only briefly touch on certain aspects of the proposal, such as foreign tax considerations. We will also comment on the proposed changes, including noting various provisions of the tax law that were rumored to be targeted for repeal or change, but are not included in the Proposals. Remember - these are only proposals and the final changes in the law will not be effective until voted on by the House and Senate, and allowed to become law (either through signature or inaction) by the President. While no one can predict what the final law will be, the one prediction of which we are 99.9% confident is that the final changes will be different than the Proposals made by the Administration.
Noticeably absent from the Proposals are the following, which had been identified by Biden as possibilities for amendment or repeal during the 2020 campaign and on into early 2021:
(1) No reduction of the federal estate tax per person exemption - currently $11,580,000.00. Note - the exemption sunsets at the end of 2025 without further action by Congress, with the result being a return to pre-2017 exemption amounts.
(2) No repeal of the 20% business income deduction under Code Section 199A.
(3) No repeal of the state and local tax deduction limitation ($10,000.00);
(4) The elimination of miscellaneous itemized deductions continues; and
(5) The increased personal exemption amounts taking effect in 2017 also continue.
Although the above items are absent from the Proposals, it is possible that one or more of these items will be considered prior to final passage. For example, just yesterday, June 15, Senator Ron Wyden announced that he would propose an income limitation to the Section 199A business income deduction for pass through entities. His proposal calls for the phaseout to begin at $400,000 of income at the individual level, with a total elimination of the deduction at $500,000.
The below summary will focus in order on those Proposals we feel will have greatest impacts on our clients:
Corporate Tax Rate Increase
The corporate tax rate would increase from 21% to 28%. The increase would apply only to entities taxable as "C" corporations under the Internal Revenue Code. The 2017 Act eliminated brackets for corporate income and imposed a flat tax at 21%. The Proposal would simply increase this flat rate to 28%. The Proposal would be effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021. For fiscal year corporations with tax periods in both 2021 and 2022, the tax rate would be 21% plus 7% of the portion of the taxable year that occurs in 2022.
Individual Income Tax Rate Increases
For married filing jointly filers and for single filers, under current law, the maximum rate of 37% applies to income over $628,300 and $523,600, respectively. The 37% maximum rate sunsets in 2025 and returns to 39.6%. The Proposal calls for a 39.6% rate to be applied to taxable income in excess of the 2017 top bracket thresholds, which are $509,300 and $452,700 for married filing jointly filers and single filers, respectively. The proposed effective date is January 1, 2022. After 2022, the thresholds would be indexed for inflation.
COMMENT: Though not addressed in the Proposal, presumably the thresholds for the lower brackets would be reduced to 2017 levels as well.
Taxation of Capital Gains
Current law taxes long term capital gains and qualified dividends at a maximum rate of 20% (23.8% if the taxpayer is subject to the 3.8% net investment income tax - referred to as the "Obama Tax"). The Proposal would tax long term capital gains and qualified dividends to the extent a taxpayer's taxable income exceeds $1 million ($500,000 for single filers) at the maximum ordinary income tax rate, currently 40.3% (this rate includes the 3.8% net investment income tax) - would be increased to 43.4% under the Proposals. Thus, for example, a taxpayer who has $700,000 in earnings and $400,000 in long term capital gains would pay the tax at the preferential 23.8% rate on $300,000 of the gain and up to 43.4% on $100,000 of the gain. The Proposals identify an effective date of the "Announcement" - which would be April of 2021 and therefore retroactive. However, if passed, it is more likely the effective date will be the date of enactment OR January 1, 2022.
Partial Repeal of the Basis Step Up Rules of Code Section 1014
Of all the Proposals made by the Administration, this Proposal could possibly have the greatest effect on the largest number of individual taxpayers on a going forward basis. Under current law, upon the death of a taxpayer, that taxpayer's heirs are entitled to increase the tax basis of property inherited from the deceased taxpayer to its fair market value as of the date of the taxpayer's death. This basis step up rule has been a fixture of US tax law for over 100 years. The Proposals call for the following:
A functional repeal of the basis step up rules - with a $1 million per person exclusion. The exclusion is calculated on the basis of the fair market value of the property.
The repeal of Code Section 1014 would be replaced with a system that taxes built in gains (and allows losses) upon (1) the death of a taxpayer; (2) upon the gift of property by a taxpayer; and, (3) in the rare case, where property has not been subject to a gain recognition event for 90 years or more. Thus, for example, if a single taxpayer donated $2 million of appreciated land to his or her children, and the land had a basis of $800,000, the total gain would be $1.2 million - but the taxpayer would be entitled to exclude $1 million of that gain from recognition; and thus, gain income would be recognized on the $200,000 balance. The $1 million exclusion would be a lifetime exclusion and could be used only once.
The Proposal would exclude tangible personal property and personal effects.
The Proposal would call for a 15-year payment plan if the asset donated or inherited is an interest in a family owned and operated business.
COMMENTS: First, this Proposal would probably affect the largest number of taxpayers out of all the proposed changes in the Administration's plan. Attempts to repeal the step up in basis rule failed in 1976 during the Carter administration and during the Obama administration. There are many unanswered questions regarding the application of the Proposal, and enforcement would be a daunting task for the IRS. Expect to see either major changes or failure of this proposal to become law.
Net Investment Income Tax and Payroll Taxes - Pass Through Entities
Under current law, the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) is due on investment income of taxpayers who have taxable income in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers). The NIIT does not apply to self-employment earnings. Self-Employment earnings are subject to social security taxes of 12.4% on such income (capped at $142,800) and the 2.9% Medicare tax that is not capped. Under current law, S Corporation income is not subject to the NIIT, social security taxes, and Medicare taxes. The Proposal calls for S corporation distributive share income to be subject to either payroll taxes or the NIIT. The measure is the "material" participation of the shareholder in the business of the Company. The same rule would apply to limited liability companies taxable as partnerships. The Proposals would apply only to taxpayers with income over $400,000. The effective date would be January 1, 2022.
Repeal of Like Kind Exchanges
The 2017 Act repealed like kind exchanges for tangible personal property, with exchanges in real estate continuing. The Proposal eliminates the ability to enter into a like kind exchange for real estate. There would be a $500,000 per person annual exemption ($1 million for joint filers) - this exemption is calculated on the basis of the fair market value of the exchanged property. The effective date of this proposal would be January 1, 2022.
Miscellaneous Proposals
Out of the Proposals made by the Administration, we considered the above Proposals to be of the greatest interest to our clients. Below is simply a listing of these proposals - please visit the Green Book if you are interested in further detail -
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/tax-policy/revenue-proposals:
Carried share of partnership interest taxable as ordinary income as opposed to long term capital gains.
Repeal and elimination of long standing tax preference items for the oil and gas industry, including the expensing of intangible drilling costs, percentage depletion for royalty owners, and enhanced oil recovery credit.
The creation of numerous alternative energy credits (zero emission vehicles, sustainable aviation fuel, and nuclear power credits.
The creation of various low-income housing credits.
Increases in individual credits, such as the earned income tax credit, dependent care assistance credit, and the child tax credit.
Foreign Tax System Changes, including the revision of Global Minimum Tax Regime, the disallowance of deductions attributable to exempt income, and limit inversions, the elimination of preferences in the taxation of foreign fossil fuel income, the repeal the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income, the replacement of the base erosion anti-abuse tax (beat) with the stopping harmful inversions and ending low-tax developments (shield) rule, the limitation of foreign tax credits from sales of hybrid entities; the restriction of deductions of excessive interest of members of financial reporting groups for disproportionate borrowing in the united states; the provision of provide tax incentives for locating jobs and business activity in the united states and remove tax deductions for shipping jobs overseas
Minimum Tax on Large Corporations. For C corporations with annual book income in excess of $2 billion, there would be a minimum tax of 15% on that book income, as opposed to taxable income. It is a minimum tax, meaning if a Corporation's regular tax exceeds the minimum tax, no additional tax is due.
If you have any tax related questions, please contact tax partner Jay Lobrano.
Francis J. "Jay" Lobrano
Belle Chasse, LA
147 Keating Drive
Belle Chasse, LA 70037
lobrano@carverdarden.com
Carver Darden Koretzky Tessier Finn Blossman & Areaux LLC
Covington, LA
417 West 21st Avenue
recept@carverdarden.com
© 2017 Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman & Areaux L.L.C. | Legal Disclaimer | Employee Access

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I will definitely consider it! I'd like to give people a few more days to get offers in if you don't mind.
Thats fine, let me know!
Hey aurorous, I didnt hear back from you on this, just wanted to check if the muckbird has been traded. Thanks!
Oh gosh I totally forgot to get back to you! Muckbird has not been traded. I'm at FC right now so I'm super busy. Once I'm home and organized I'll do trading inventory and get back to you!
I like your mossy, care for anything of mine?
ShiverBug wrote: I like your mossy, care for anything of mine?
Your babies are lovely Shiverbug, but unfortunately nothing is catching my eye.


Council workers, including the chief executive, have signed up to mentor Aberdeen school pupils.
Angela Scott is one of 17 workers from Aberdeen City Council to enlist in the Career Ready Initiative.
The project links S5 and S6 pupils from 12 secondary schools across the north-east with staff from more than 30 businesses, including the Evening Express, in the aim of introducing them to the world of work.
As well as the mentoring service, which will last for two years, S5 and S6 pupils will be given a paid four-week internship, a look behind the scenes at their assigned workplace and a series of employment-related masterclasses.


text:
AROUND-TOWN
City utilizes text message alerts
During a recent boiled water alert, many Mt. Pleasant citizens knew the news via text or email alert within minutes after the announcement. In the previous boiled water alert, the standard news transmission methods meant at least a day's delay before the majority of citizens saw or heard the alert in traditional media.
"We listened to the citizens of Mt. Pleasant who wanted a more timely way to receive news," said Mt. Pleasant city manager Michelle Williams. "We are now a mobile society, and as citizens learn about our text and email alerts, more and more are signing up so they are able to quickly receive important news about events and news."
The email alerts were implemented first last year, and 150 citizens have signed up for it to date. More than double that number have signed up to receive text alerts. The program notifies those who are enrolled about city events, detours, public notices, emergency information and safety notifications.
"We will continue to use the most modern technology to allow our citizens rapid and full access to all important news and events," Williams said.
Mt. Pleasant's city website was launched in January 2012, and since that time, the number of citizens accessing information electronically has continued to shoot up. So far in 2013, there have been 1,346 page loads with 567 first-time visits.
Citizens can log on to the website www.MountPleasantTN.org and be added to the alert.
To enroll for text alerts, text 36000 and message MPCITY. While on the site, citizens can check out the calendar of local events, read minutes of the city commission meetings and find city department contact information.


text:
/Institutes & Divisions/Diagnostic Imaging/Carotid Ultrasound
Carotid Ultrasound Menu
Overview Diagnosis & Tests Management & Treatment Prevention Education and Videos
Management & Treatment
Education and Videos
What Is a Carotid Ultrasound?
The brain uses glucose as its major energy source. It is supplied by the paired (left and right) carotid arteries which originate from the aortic arch. The brain uses a disproportionate amount of glucose compared to the rest of the body, so the flow of blood through the carotid arteries must not be compromised if cerebral perfusion is to remain normal. Atherosclerosis, the deposition of plaque on the arterial walls, is a systemic disease that affects arteries throughout the body. Atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries can result in symptoms of ischemia from blockage; thrombus formation can also develop over the atherosclerotic lesion with the risk of separation and embolism that will cause transient ischemic attacks (TIA) or stroke.
There is collateral blood flow where the left and right circulations ultimately mix in the brain at the circle of Willis, and this protection from compromised flow in one of the carotid arteries depends on the adequacy of this collateral circulation
Duplex ultrasound, the combination of B ("brightness" mode) for structure and Doppler assessment of blood flow, offers the least invasive method for both screening for carotid disease as well as for an initial approach to diagnosis.
The B mode takes advantage of the different tissue densities that reflect back high-frequency sound waves to construct a picture of arterial structure and plaques within, while the Doppler ultrasound bounces sound waves from red blood cells to depict blood flow.
There are several ways to image the internal environment of the carotid arteries, but ultrasound offers the safest, easiest, and least expensive.
Diagnosis of a Carotid Ultrasound
In considering carotid ultrasound, blockage of these arteries is the prime focus. Initially a history and physical exam will assign risk factors that indicate a need for further testing via imaging.
An in-depth history can tally a list of risk factors:
Recent cognitive changes, syncope, dizziness, or TIAs (transient ischemic attacks)
Dyslipidemia (hypercholesterolemia and high triglycerides)
Family history of atherosclerosis, dementia, or early cardiac death
Auscultation: besides the typical vital signs that include blood pressure and pulse, listening over the carotid arteries with a stethoscope has been the crucial first clinical step in suspecting carotid disease. Any narrowing or partial obstruction will produce blood flow turbulence, heard through the stethoscope as a "bruit," the term for this chaotic flow. Worse is hearing nothing at all, indicating the possibility of complete occlusion.
Blood tests will offer no diagnostic advantage for the detection of carotid disease or its severity, but may help explain the conditions that caused it and offer strategies for prevention of its progression.
Carotid Imaging
Evaluation of the flow of blood through the carotid arteries can be from several different approaches:
Cerebral angiography: This is the definitive method for investigating carotid artery narrowing, but it is invasive and has a small risk of neurologic complications such as stroke.
Carotid artery duplex ultrasound: It is non-invasive, but its accuracy declines the less narrowing of the artery there is. This makes it best for severe cases.
Magnetic resonance angiography: It is non-invasive, but is very expensive and time consuming. It is best for severe disease, becoming less accurate for moderate disease.
CT angiography: It is accurate, but it is invasive, especially risking those with kidney disease due to the necessity of intravenous contrast.
Because of invasiveness, cost, or the time-consuming nature of more advanced testing, carotid ultrasound to assess arterial disease is usually best as a screen from which to select out those individuals for further testing with one or more of the other techniques. In cases where carotid disease is a certainty due to the presence of bruits associated with a suspicious history, ultrasound also serves as the first step in diagnosing carotid disease.
Management of Diseases Caught by a Carotid Ultrasound
Medical Management in Asymptomatic Carotid Disease
Because the risk of stroke with carotid narrowing (~50%) is very low in patients who have had no signs or symptoms of cerebral ischemia or TIAs, medical management is used to control the risk factors and mitigate disease progression:
blood pressure control, lifestyle alterations, statin therapy for cholesterol abnormalities, smoking cessation, weight control, aerobic exercise, and dietary modifications. For those who progress to >80% stenosis or who have or develop symptoms, invasive surgical measures are indicated.
Surgical Management of Progressive or Symptomatic Carotid Disease
Reestablishing carotid blood flow–revascularization–is indicated for any symptomatic disease (TIAs, monocular blindness, or stroke) and also for asymptomatic disease for which medical management has failed to halt progression.
Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA): Because of the lower risk of stroke or death, carotid endarterectomy has emerged as the treatment of choice.
Carotid Artery Stenting(CAS): Placing a patent tube into the artery. This is recommended if the carotid artery is not surgically accessible, if there has been radiation-caused stenosis, or if the patient is not cardiac-stable for surgery.
The choice between CEA and CAS is more complicated than this and relies on other intangible factors such as surgeon experience, patient preference, likely compliance with follow-up, etc. As such, it is individualized in a risk-vs-benefit formula that involves both physician preference and patient health status.
Prevention of Diseases Indicated by a Carotid Ultrasound
In the subject of prevention as related to the applications of carotid ultrasound, prevention is for the disease for which carotid ultrasound is indicated: atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis involving the carotid artery can cause plaques and thrombus-formation that narrow the lumen and alter the flow of blood to the brain and/or release thrombi to distal arterial branches to cause ischemic stroke.
Prevention involves discerning and managing risk factors for the etiologies of carotid disease:
Treat hypertension with weight loss, diet, exercise, and anti-hypertensive medication.
Treat metabolic syndrome with weight loss, diet/nutrition consultation, and exercise.
Treat dyslipidemia (elevated LDC-cholesterol, low HDL-cholesterol, and elevated triglycerides) with statin drugs.
Strict glycemic control in diabetics.
Scrupulous surveillance of those with carotid disease, history of TIAs or stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and those with a family history of cardiovascular disease.
Smoking cessation.
Prevention of Carotid Disease Progression
Carotid ultrasound screening for those with carotid disease, history of TIAs or stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and those with a family history of cardiovascular disease.
Medical management.
Surgical management with carotid endarterectomy or carotid stenting.
Postoperative carotid ultrasound.
Find more Diseases & Conditions topics
Venous Venography
Renal Artery Ultrasound
Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) Ultrasound
Venous Ultrasound
Aortic Aneurysm Ultrasound
Non-Invasive Ultrasound Lower Extremity
Arterial Angiography


text:
Ravi Parikh
Ravi is a student at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also co-chairs the Crimson Care Collaborative, a Harvard network of student-run clinics that serves patients who have limited access to primary care. His opinion pieces have been published in the Huffington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Herald and Tampa Bay Times. He enjoys basketball, going home to Florida, and spending time with his now-fiancé.
Author's Posts
XLV Diagnostics Improves Portability of Diagnostic Images
August 2nd, 2013 With the rise of electronic health records, improving the portability of medical information has become a new focus in health care. Technological gaps, however, make this a problem in low-resource settings. For example, over 600 million women living in developing countries have inadequate access to breast screening for early cancer...
Cambridge Consultants Helping to Teach Old Drugs New Tricks
July 25th, 2013 As previously blockbuster drugs are scheduled to go off-patent over the next 5 years (e.g. Cymbalta, Crestor), devising innovative uses for such drugs is a priority in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, the consulting group Cambridge Consultants has collaborated with Clinigen Group, a specialty global pharmaceutical products and...
Using Technology to Teach Coping: Interview with Reimagine CEO Steve Robinson
July 25th, 2013 Although medical care for cancer is constantly advancing, the social, emotional and spiritual challenges, which are equally important, are not often addressed sufficiently by clinicians. Reimagine, a startup company based in Los Angeles, is launching one of the first online tools that provide broad access for this critical "other...
BluePrint Health Announces 4th Class of Startups
July 19th, 2013 We've previously reported on BluePrint Health, a New York-based health tech accelerator, and its recent graduation of startups. BluePrint recently announced its fourth class of startups. According to partner Mathew Farkash, the competition was stiff, and only 2.5% of applications were selected. The companies span from across the US, half...
Respiratory Motion Releases New Data on ExSpiron Pulmonary Monitor
July 15th, 2013 Last year we told you about ExSpiron, a continuous minute ventilation monitor developed by Respiratory Motion Inc., a company out of Waltham, MA. The ExSpiron respiratory monitoring system is the first to provide continuous, non-invasive minute ventilation data in non-ventilated patients. The technology continuously and...
FDA Approves New Hepatitis C Genotyping Test
June 24th, 2013 Hepatitis C is one of the most common blood-borne infections in the world. Often called the "silent killer", Hep C infects about 3.2 million people in the U.S and kills 15,000 people annually. It commonly leads to liver failure, is the leading indication for liver transplants -- and the problem is that no vaccine exists for...
Researchers Working to Create Wireless-based Artificial Pancreas for Diabetes
June 24th, 2013 Nearly 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes. More than 15,000 children and 15,000 adults are diagnosed each year in the U.S. A significant concern for those living with this disease is slipping into dangerously low blood sugar levels, particularly in their sleep. One of the "holy grails" of diabetes research is development of an...
AugMI Labs Seeks to Digitalize the Physical Exam, Wins Coveted Prize
June 10th, 2013 Last year we covered the Glove Tricorder, a non-invasive, glove-based technology developed by AugMI Labs (Augmented Medical Intelligence Labs). Briefly, the glove uses advanced tactile technology and data analytics to quantify, digitize and analyze important physical exam parameters in the setting of telemedicine. Founded by two...
Mobile Health from a Global Perspective: Q&A with Yuk Tae-sun, Executive Vice President of Korea's SK Telecom
May 28th, 2013 We at Medgadget have covered a lot of mobile technologies related to health care, primarily in the US and European markets. However, it is also interesting to note how mobile health is progressing in other countries as well. To explore this, we spoke with Yuk Tae-sun, Executive Vice President and Head of New Business Division of SK...
Brainbow Gets a Significant Upgrade, New Pics Available
May 22nd, 2013 We have previously covered Brainbow, a collection of one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system obtained through the use of unique color fluorescing proteins. Professors Jeff Lichtman and Josh Sanes, leaders of the Brainbow initiative, taught this author neurobiology at Harvard. I...
Harvard Researchers Develop Novel Imaging Technique to Look at Embryo Formation, Find New Surprises
May 7th, 2013 A team of researchers led by Sean Megason, Harvard Medical School assistant professor of systems biology, has shown through a novel imaging technique that our classic understanding of cell differentiation may be flawed. In a paper published in the April 25th issue of Cell, Megason and colleagues developed a data analysis...
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Mitochondrial Transplantation to Treat Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Interview with Dr. Alexander Schueller, CEO of cellvie
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"VRx": A Medgadget Book Interview with Author Dr. Brennan Spiegel
MissionGO and MediGO Complete Successful Organ Deliveries in Unmanned Flights
PREVENA RESTOR AXIO•FORM Negative Pressure Wound Therapy: Interview with Dr. Ronald Silverman, 3M's Chief Medical Officer


text:
NFL TO SHUT DOWN BY 2020
By Frank Lake on November 15, 2013
The NFL announced that due to injury lawsuits and President Obama's latest initiative, it will shut down in 2020.
President Obama has formed a task force whose goal is to end the National Football League by 2020. "The President feels that the NFL has become too violent and feels that it is unsafe for players," said a source in the White House. "The President feels that the game now appeals to Americans baser instincts and wants to encourage sports that are competitive, but non-violent."
It's all part of of President Obama's War on Violence. The President hopes to end violence in America by the time he leaves office in 2016.
Though the President has often tossed a football around for fun, he doesn't care for the game. He prefers basketball and would like to see basketball become American's top sport.
"Football players keep getting faster, stronger, bigger and the President feels that it's only a matter of time before a player dies on the field," said a source close to the NFL. "The President feels that American will get over their obsession with football and embrace other sports… like Women's Soccer."
NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, said that he will do everything in his power to stop the United States government from abolishing the NFL, but he feels that it may be a losing battle. "The government has just ordered us to ban tackling. They want to turn the NFL into flag-football."
Football fans are up in arms… but they will have to lobby the President and Congress to stop the inevitable.
543621 Replyhttp%3A%2F%2Fweeklyworldnews.com%2Fheadlines%2F54362%2Fnfl-to-shut-down-by-2020%2FNFL+TO+SHUT+DOWN+BY+20202013-11-15+05%3A16%3A22Frank+Lakehttp%3A%2F%2Fweeklyworldnews.com%2F%3Fp%3D54362
Categories: Headlines, TopStory
Tags: 4934s, Baltimore Ravens, barack obama, basketball, concussions, hard hits, Manti Te'o, National Football League, NFL, obama, Obama sports, Ravens, ray lewis, Roger Goodell, shut down the NFL, super bowl, united states, violent sport, white house, women's soccer


text:
What to Expect in an Opioid Treatment Program in Dayton, Ohio
Drug Addiction Treatment, Medication Assisted Treatment, Opioid Addiction Treatment, Substance Abuse Treatment May 6, 2022
By BrightView BrightView Meet The Editorial Team Published: May 6, 2022 Updated: June 9, 2022 If opioid use has taken control of your life, you may be curious how an opioid addiction treatment program works. It is normal to be hesitant to get treatment when you have no idea what…
Signs You Need an Opioid Addiction Treatment Program
Blog, Drug Addiction Treatment, Substance Abuse Treatment April 24, 2021
By BrightView BrightView Meet The Editorial Team Published: April 24, 2021 Updated: April 24, 2021 Since the 1990s, when the opioid OxyContin was approved by the FDA and marketed with erroneous claims to be non-addictive, addiction to pain-relieving drugs has hit crisis levels in the United States. At BrightView, we…


"AMD supports industry-standards like UVM that improve interoperability while reducing cost and effort. Industry UVM tools and methodologies are now widely used across AMD to drive consistency across IP test benches, reuse from IP to SoCs, affordable third-party VIP (Verification Intellectual Property), and improved documentation while also increasing our ability to readily hire experienced methodology engineers. The contributions of key industry domain experts have resulted in a high-quality UVM standard with broad industry adoption. Moving the UVM standard to the IEEE will stabilize and mature the standard for even broader implementation."
"The rapid growth of UVM is a result of strong collaboration among the working group members and the electronics community. Cadence was honored to serve a leading technology role in the working group during the UVM standard development in Accellera. We will continue to actively participate in this user driven activity as it transitions to the IEEE P1800.2 working group."
"Congratulations to Accellera and the UVM Working Group for reaching this pinnacle. UVM's global adoption has truly unified verification to become the dominant method to advance verification productivity. We are pleased to see ongoing maintenance and standardization move to the IEEE as a natural part of UVM's evolution by Accellera. The move to the IEEE will boost its global adoption and support. Further, it will drive stability to promote greater interoperability."
"NVIDIA is pleased that UVM will become an IEEE standard. UVM is already an important part of the verification landscape. Bringing it under the IEEE umbrella will ensure its stability and longevity, and provide the global visibility needed to take its place as the de facto platform for simulation-based verification."
"Synopsys applauds Accellera's continued efforts to standardize verification methodology on SystemVerilog. Accellera's interest in contributing its UVM standard to IEEE 1800.2 is a clear indication of the maturity of the standard and of the global collaboration within the verification community. As a founding member of Accellera's UVM effort and a leading contributor for the past six years, Synopsys will continue to support these efforts through the active participation of our verification methodology experts."
--Yatin Trivedi, Director of Standards and Interoperability Programs at Synopsys, Inc.


text:
Q: How to wrap text with an element where you don't have control over markup? So I'm working on a feature where I don't have control over the markup. I want to add padding to some text but the problem is that it doesn't have a container element that I can target. If I target the .content-header and add padding it pads all the content within that div which is not what I want. Markup looks like this. How can I wrap the text with a
 element?

  "Text that I want to wrap in an element"

A: You can use .contents() to get all nodes; then, filter the non-empty text nodes and wrap that:
$('.content-header')
  .contents()
  .filter(function() {
    // we're only interested in text nodes that are not empty
    return this.nodeType == 3 && $.trim(this.nodeValue).length;
  })
  .wrap('
');

Demo

A: You can just filter a text (nodeType=3) and then wrap it in a p tag.
See below:

$('.content-header').contents().filter(function(){
   return this.nodeType === 3;
}).wrapAll("
");
.red { color: red; }

  "Text that I want to wrap in an element"
  Another text in span

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package cubicchunks.converter.lib.convert.cc2bigCubeCc;

import com.flowpowered.nbt.CompoundMap;
import com.flowpowered.nbt.CompoundTag;
import com.flowpowered.nbt.StringTag;
import com.flowpowered.nbt.Tag;
import com.flowpowered.nbt.stream.NBTInputStream;
import com.flowpowered.nbt.stream.NBTOutputStream;
import cubicchunks.converter.lib.Dimensions;
import cubicchunks.converter.lib.convert.LevelInfoConverter;
import cubicchunks.converter.lib.convert.data.CubicChunksBigCube112Data;
import cubicchunks.converter.lib.convert.data.CubicChunksProtoBigCubeData;
import cubicchunks.converter.lib.util.Utils;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;

public class Cc2BigCubeCcLevelInfoConverter implements LevelInfoConverter<CubicChunksBigCube112Data, CubicChunksProtoBigCubeData> {

    private final Path srcDir;
    private final Path dstDir;

    public Cc2BigCubeCcLevelInfoConverter(Path srcDir, Path dstDir) {
        this.srcDir = srcDir;
        this.dstDir = dstDir;
    }

    @Override public void convert() throws IOException {
        Utils.createDirectories(dstDir);
        CompoundTag root;
        try (NBTInputStream nbtIn = new NBTInputStream(Files.newInputStream(srcDir.resolve("level.dat")));
                NBTOutputStream nbtOut = new NBTOutputStream(Files.newOutputStream(dstDir.resolve("level.dat")))) {
            root = (CompoundTag) nbtIn.readTag();

            CompoundMap newRoot = new CompoundMap();
            for (Tag<?> tag : root.getValue()) {
                if (tag.getName().equals("Data")) {
                    CompoundMap data = ((CompoundTag) root.getValue().get("Data")).getValue();
                    CompoundMap newData = new CompoundMap();
                    for (Tag<?> dataTag : data) {
                        if (dataTag.getName().equals("generatorName")) {
                            String value = (String) dataTag.getValue();
                            String newValue;
                            if (value.equalsIgnoreCase("default")) {
                                newValue = "VanillaCubic";
                            } else {
                                newValue = value;
                            }
                            newData.put(new StringTag(dataTag.getName(), newValue));
                        } else {
                            newData.put(dataTag);
                        }
                    }
                    // put isCubicWorld at the end to overwrite previously existing data, if any
                    newRoot.put(new CompoundTag(tag.getName(), newData));
                } else {
                    newRoot.put(tag);
                }
            }
            Files.createDirectories(dstDir);

            nbtOut.writeTag(new CompoundTag(root.getName(), newRoot));

            Utils.copyEverythingExcept(srcDir, srcDir, dstDir, file ->
                            file.toString().contains("level.dat") || file.toString().contains("cubicChunksData.dat") ||
                                    Dimensions.getDimensions().stream().anyMatch(dim ->
                                            srcDir.resolve(dim.getDirectory()).resolve("region2d").equals(file)
                                                    || srcDir.resolve(dim.getDirectory()).resolve("region3d").equals(file)
                                    ),
                    f -> {
                    } // TODO: counting files
            );
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home / Europe / Cyclades Islands / Mykonos / Sifnos to Mykonos Ferry
Prices can rise for your Sifnos - Mykonos trip as departure time approaches
Up to 14 sailings a week
Crossings from 2 hours 15 minutes
Sifnos to Mykonos Ferry
The Sifnos Mykonos ferry route connects Cyclades Islands with Cyclades Islands and is currently operated by 2 ferry companies. The SeaJets service runs up to 7 times per week with a sailing duration of around 2 hours 15 minutes while the Golden Star Ferries service runs up to 7 times per week with a duration from 5 hr 40 min.
So that's a combined 14 sailings on offer per week on the Sifnos Mykonos route between Cyclades Islands and Cyclades Islands. Compare now and get the best fare at the time that you want to travel.
Sifnos - Mykonos Ferry Operators
7 Sailings Weekly 2 hr 15 min
Sifnos Mykonos Average Prices
Sifnos Guide
The Greek island of Sifnos is one of the Cyclades islands, and lies between the island of Serifos and the island of Milos. It is located to the west of Delos and Paros and around 130 km from Port of Piraeus on the Greek mainland. The island's capital is Apollonia, sometimes called Hora, and was built over three hills in the centre of the island in the shape of an amphitheatre. The town is characterised by its whitewashed houses in the typical Cycladic architectural style. The island's Folklore Museum is based in Apollonia, in Hiroon Square - which means Square of Heroes. One of the most popular visitor attractions on the island is the medieval castle located around 3.5 km from Apollonia. It was built on top of the island's ancient capital and still has the original characteristics of a Venetian fortification. It was established by the Da Corogna Dynasty in around 1635.
The town of Kamares is home to the island's port and during the summer there are ferry services operating to Piraeus, to other Cycladic islands like Serifos, Folegandros, Kythnos, Ios, Santorini and also to Crete.
Mykonos Guide
The Greek island of Mykonos is one of the Cyclades group of islands and is famous for its unique glamour and typical Greek personality. The island's capital is Mykonos Town, or Hora, and is the hub of the island's tourist industry. Exploring the town, visitors will find its charming old port ferry quay, the bustling Taxi Square, many tavernas located along the shoreline, museums, expensive shops and typical Greek whitewashed houses, especially in the Little Venice quarter. Despite all that Mykonos Town has to offer, perhaps the island's biggest draw for tourists are its many beaches, with golden sand that are generally easy to reach. However, during the peak summer holiday season the beaches can become very busy and generally aren't large enough to provide any sort of seclusion.
There are two ports on the island. The old Mykonos Harbour is where all passenger ferries arrive and the New Port of Tourlos which is mostly used by cruise ships. Ferries from Mykonos depart to Piraeus and Rafina on the Greek mainland and to the other Cyclades islands, the Dodecanese islands and to Crete. Conventional and high speed ferries operate to and from the island.
Location: Mykonos, Sifnos to Mykonos Ferry


text:
Shortlist revealed for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020
June 9, 2020 by Jen Lucas
THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2020:
INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST REVEALED FOR CRIME WRITING'S PREMIERE PRIZE
Oyinkan Braithwaite | Helen Fitzgerald | Jane Harper
Mick Herron | Adrian McKinty | Abir Mukherjee
harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com | #TheakstonAward | @HarrogateFest
Harrogate, Tuesday 9 June 2020: The shortlist for the 16th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been announced, taking the reader on an international crime spree from New York to Calcutta, London to Lagos via Glasgow and the Australian outback.
Chosen by a public vote and the prize Academy, the titles in contention for this most prestigious of prize's – which feature five Theakston award alumni and one debut novelist – showcase exceptional variety and originality, including spy espionage, historical crime, gallows humour, outback noir and serial killing siblings.
The news coincides with updated lockdown reading research from Nielsen Book showing that the genre is continuing to soar in popularity, a trend led by younger readers and men. Alongside an increase in the overall number of crime and thriller novels in the bestseller charts, even more people are turning to the genre in lockdown, particularly younger readers (18-44). Of the three quarters saying that their fiction interests have changed, 26% say that crime and thriller has become their genre of choice.
Marking a meteoric rise since being selected by Val McDermid as a spotlight author in the 2019 Festival's highly respected 'New Blood' panel, Oyinkan Braithwaite remains in pursuit of the coveted trophy with the Booker nominated My Sister, the Serial Killer. Based in Nigeria, Braithwaite is the only debut author remaining, and one of the youngest ever to be shortlisted. Inspired by the black widow spider, Braithwaite turns the crime genre on its head with a darkly comic exploration of sibling rivalry, exploring society's feelings towards beauty and perfection.
The remaining five authors on the shortlist are all previous contenders hoping 2020 is their year to claim the trophy. The legendary Mick Herron, likened to John Le Carré, has picked up a fifth nomination with Joe Country, the latest in his espionage masterclass Slough House. A former legal editor, Herron's commute from Oxford to London led to the creation of this much-lauded series, which is currently being adapted for television with Gary Oldman taking on the iconic role of Jackson Lamb.
Scottish-Bengali author Abir Mukherjee is vying for the title with Smoke & Ashes, described by The Times as one of the best crime novels since 1945. Accountant turned bestseller, Mukherjee was shortlisted in 2018 for the first book in the Wyndham & Banerjee series set in Raj-era India, The Rising Man. Smoke & Ashes – the third instalment – is set in 1921 in Calcutta, where Mukherjee's parents grew up and where he spent six weeks each year during his childhood.
Authors making it through to the shortlist for the first time include Glasgow's Helen Fitzgerald for Worst Case Scenario, which marks her first appearance on the Theakston list since The Cry, adapted into a major BBC drama starting Jenna Colman, was longlisted in 2013. Packed with gallows humour, Worst Case Scenario takes inspiration from Fitzgerald's time as a criminal justice social worker in Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison, alongside her experiences with depression and going through the menopause.
Despite receiving international recognition, before Belfast's Adrian McKinty started writing The Chain – for which he picks up his second Theakston nod – he had been evicted from his home and was working as an Uber driver to make ends meet. Persuaded to give writing one last go, McKinty started on what would become the terrifying thriller that sees parents forced to kidnap children to save their own, and for which Paramount Pictures has acquired the screen rights in a seven-figure film deal.
The final title on the shortlist is The Lost Man by former journalist Jane Harper, who was previously longlisted for her debut The Dry in 2018, for which the film adaption starring Eric Bana is due to be released this year. Inspired by the beautifully brutal Australian environment, The Lost Man explores how people live – and die – in the unforgiving outback and is a moving – particularly topical – study in the psychological and physical impact of isolation.
The full shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020 is:
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books)
My Sister, the Serial Killer is a blackly comic novel about how blood is thicker – and more difficult to get out of the carpet – than water…
Oyinkan Braithwaite is a graduate of Creative Writing and Law from Kingston University. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo and has been freelancing as a writer and editor since. She has had short stories published in anthologies and has also self published work. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top ten spoken word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam.
Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books)
Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow's worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he's published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero – and a poster boy for Men's Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary's care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam's daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice … with devastating consequences.
Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Ash Mountain is the second title published with Orenda Books, after Worst Case Scenario. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband.
The Lost Man by Jane Harper (Little, Brown Book Group, Little, Brown)
He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death. Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart. They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…
Jane Harper is the author of the international bestsellers The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man. Her books are published in more than 36 territories worldwide, and The Dry is being made into a major film starring Eric Bana. Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and now lives in Melbourne.
Joe Country by Mick Herron (John Murray Press)
In Slough House memories are stirring, all of them bad. Catherine Standish is buying booze again, Louisa Guy is raking over the ashes of lost love, and new recruit Lech Wicinski, whose sins make him outcast even among the slow horses, is determined to discover who destroyed his career, even if he tears his life apart in the process. And with winter taking its grip Jackson Lamb would sooner be left brooding in peace, but even he can't ignore the dried blood on his carpets. So when the man responsible breaks cover at last, Lamb sends the slow horses out to even the score. This time, they're heading into joe country. And they're not all coming home.
Mick Herron's six Slough House novels have been shortlisted for eight CWA Daggers, winning twice, and shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year three times. The first, Slow Horses, was picked as one of the best twenty spy novels of all time by the Daily Telegraph, while the most recent, Joe Country, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Mick Herron was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now lives in Oxford.
The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)
YOUR PHONE RINGS. A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD. TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD. YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM'S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN: YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN.
Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1970s and 1980s. His father was a boilermaker and ship's engineer and his mother a secretary. Adrian went to Oxford University on a full scholarship to study philosophy before emigrating to the United States to become a high school English teacher. His books have won the Edgar Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award and have been translated into over 20 languages. Adrian is a reviewer and critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times and The Guardian. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
India, 1921. Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. But Wyndham finds himself in a tight spot when he stumbles across a corpse in an opium den. When he then comes across a second body bearing the same injuries, Wyndham is convinced that there's a deranged killer on the loose. However, revealing his presence in the opium den could cost him his career. As Wyndham and Sergeant 'Surrender-not' Banerjee set out to solve the two murders, Wyndham must tread carefully, keeping his personal demons secret, before someone else turns up dead…
Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj-era India. His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017, was a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month, and Waterstones' Thriller of the Month. His second novel, A Necessary Evil, won the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of 2018, and was featured on ITV as a Zoe Ball Book Club pick. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in London with his wife and two sons.
Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: "Seeing the huge variety and originality within this shortlist, it comes as no surprise to hear that crime fiction is dominating our lockdown reading habits. Offering both escapism and resolution, these exceptional titles transport readers around the world and I can't wait to see where we settle on 23 July when one of these extraordinary authors takes home the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier cask."
The award is run by Harrogate International Festivals and supported by T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith and the Express, and is open to full length crime novels published in paperback from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 by UK and Irish authors.
The shortlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd, the Express, and WHSmith, alongside a public vote.
The shortlist will be promoted in a dedicated online campaign from WHSmith, digital promotional materials will be made available for independent bookstores, and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival's online community – You're Booked – features exclusive interviews and interactive content. This forms part of the Harrogate International Festival virtual season of events, HIF at Home, which presents a raft of live music, specially commissioned performances, literary events and interviews to bring a free festival experience to your own digital doorstep.
The public vote for the winner is now open on www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com, with the champion set to be revealed in a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday 23 July marking what would have been the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The legendary gathering – which formed part of Harrogate International Festival Summer Season – was cancelled, with much sadness, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The winner will receive £3,000 and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain's last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.
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2 thoughts on "Shortlist revealed for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020"
I've just bought The Chain for my husband and I have Smoke and Ashes and The Lost Man on my to-read shelves. I did like Muckherjee's first novel The Rising Man and am told that Smoke And Ashes is even stronger. Do you have a favourite amongst this pile?
Jen Lucas says:
Mandie would be time between Abir's book and my fave, Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald. I loved that book. I've always wanted to read Mick Herron though I've just not got round to it yet.


Ground Zero /web/books/ground-zero Far. Why are people obsessed with that word? Marco Polo took a long journey from Venice to the Mongol country. The mountaineers risked their lives to conquer the peak. Also obsessed with the word "far", this bohemian traveller gave his all for a grand journey around the world. He snuck into the forbidden land of the Himalayas. He resided in the mysterious Kashmir, he became a witness of a conflict- ing war and laughter. It all started with a dream. This was his strug- gle to find meaning. After such a long journey, the traveller returned, kneeling by her mother's bed.
Home /web/books/home Paris, May 1968. In the midst of students revolution in Paris, Dimas Suryo, an Indonesian political exile met Vivienne Deveraux, a French student who joined a rally against the French government. At the same time, Dimas heard the news from Jakarta: Hananto Prawiro, his best friend was taken by the military and died. Dimas was worried and nervous. Along with tens of Indonesian journalists and artists he couldn't go back to Jakarta for their passports had been revoked?by the Indonesian government.
Honesty is Bravery /web/books/honesty-bravery What would you do if you cheat once and no one knows? Draco the little dragon had just won the World's Fastest Dragon Contest. In addition to being popular, something which of course a dream of every skinny and small dragon, he also got a lot of big presents. At first, he was really happy. Now those who doesn't even care is being nice to him. But it seems that the truth keep him away from peace and joy. He's the only one who know why. Because… he did not win the contest in an honest way!
Horrible Tooth Fairy /web/books/horrible-tooth-fairy Jake never expects that he'll experience the worst thing in his life. It's all because of Susan, the new student at his school. At first, Jake was very glad to make Susan the object of his ridicule. Yes, Susan's teeth are very strange. Jake even embarrassed her on her birthday by wearing fake false teeth to imitate the way Susan talks. But turns out he can't take the false teeth out. They're stuck permanently! What's more, the store where Jake bought them mysteriously vanishes. The horror can no longer wait to eat Jake alive!
How the Earth Stop Spinning /web/books/how-earth-stop-spinning What is death? Why can't sister walk? Why is mother leaving father? Why is brother hospitalized? Why do I have to move to a foreign place? Children cannot be separated from negative emotions like grief, shock, sadness, and shame. Emotionally draining events can also happen in a family. As parents, we should not ignore it, or even consider that it should be disclosed or exaggerate it. Parents are required to provide support for their children. This book helps children understand their feelings; reminding them that they are not alone.
Humorous Animals /web/books/humorous-animals Let us LEARN ABOUT NUMBERS! We can learn English by reciting rhymes, coloring, and playing with stickers.
I Love Books: Reading Books Is Exciting! /web/books/i-love-books-reading-books-exciting Reading books does not need to be boring. In this book, our friends, Nonit, Gea, Aryo, Deo, and others will share their stories about a lot of things. Among others the excitement they have in visiting a library, reading and trying out e-book facilities with cook animation, making srapbook for surprise presents, performing stage book for flood refuge children, meeting with famous writers and asking for their autographs, and opening free reading house. It is all so exciting! You can also try to do these with your friends. Books are the windows of the world. Reading a lot will make you smarter!
I Love You Mom /web/books/i-love-you-mom This bilingual book consists 10 inspiring stories about mother's love such as The Flower Seller's Daughter, Mother's Letters to Her Daughter, Our Simple House, and many more. The lovely stories in this book have been beautifully illustrated by talented illustrators. Children and mothers would surely love this keepsake collection.
Indonesian Classic Folklore: The Frog Prince /web/books/indonesian-classic-folklore-frog-prince Long ago the Balinese neglected the ritual offerings to the gods. The gods became angry and punished them with a long drought. Life was difficult, the people suffered and they became selfish. Rangda, the ruler of evil and suffering, was ready to take over Bali, when a young prince, Putu Oka, was willing to sacrifice himself for the welfare of the people. Rangda turned Putu Oka into an ugly frog. He would not become a man again, unless he could find a girl who truly loved him.


Qualcomm Incorporated and Sesame Workshop have joined forces to explore augmented reality experiences for children that encourage learning and imagination.
The collaborative project explores the use of a tablet with a traditional playset to make children's' playtime more fun and educational. The prototype playset includes traditional elements such as common household objects, as well as figurines of classic Sesame Street characters Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie. Additionally, the demo includes a tablet and an application that uses Qualcomm's newly branded Vuforia™ augmented reality platform. When the tablet is pointed at the playset, the pieces and the play environment come alive through the tablet's camera, transforming the playset into an interactive experience. The application was demonstrated at International CES, Jan. 10-13.


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18 December 2015: International migrants day
Public services welcome migrants and refugees, build resilience of communities
"The world today faces an escalation of human displacement, with millions of people forced to leave their homelands as a result of conflict, human rights violations, violence and climate disasters," says Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary of Public Services International.
According to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2014, an estimated 59.5 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide due to conflict and violence. This is a dramatic increase from previous years and the figures are expected to rise as conflict continues in many parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. Syria alone has generated 7.6 million displaced people and 3.88 million refugees at the end of 2014. This is followed by refugees from Afghanistan, with 2.59 million, and Somalia with 1.1 million.
Alarmingly, over half of the world's refugee population are children. While a majority of these refugees are hosted in camps along neighbouring countries, a substantive number of them have taken on dangerous routes to seek protection in Europe. According to the International Organization for Migration, in 2015, 809,266 people have travelled to Europe through various transit routes across Africa, Asia or the Middle East. Many have lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea and those who managed to cross are stuck at Europe's borders, many were received in the reception centres and others were given protection.
Public service workers are at the frontlines in these situations of migrant and refugee flows, delivering public services such as emergency response, registration, security, food, shelter, health care, child care and social services. Together with local authorities, they provide the services that are critical for the well-being and integration of migrants, including providing education for the children, social care, job-placement, and skills training, among others.
"On International Migrants Day, we call for unity and solidarity as we deal with people on the move, may they be migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, including those who are internally displaced. We need to transcend the rhetoric of fear of migrants and fight xenophobia and intolerance. These people have fled from violence and they need our protection and support. Moreover, States must abide by their obligations in international human rights and humanitarian law in providing coherent solutions to migration and asylum. The UN Migrant Workers Convention and the ILO Conventions on Migrant Workers C97 and C143 provide the rights-based framework for the protection of the human rights of migrants. The 1951 UN Refugee Convention is the global instrument for the protection of refugees. States must respect these obligations," emphasizes Pavanelli.
"It is deeply shocking that EU governments continue to fail to implement EU principle of solidarity. There is a lack of funding for local authorities to provide shelter to people fleeing persecution, war and poverty," says Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary of the European Federation of Public Service Unions. "We have a reception crisis due to years of austerity that have left public services under-resourced, under-staffed and unprepared. Regions in the south and east of Europe continue to be left shouldering most of the influx of new arrivals. It is time to walk the talk. We need solidarity between EU Member States. The EU can and must deal with this."
"At the same time, we are concerned about the serious impact of climate change in displacing communities," says Pavanelli.
It is estimated that if carbon emissions and factors contributing to climate change remain unabated, more disasters such as storms, floods, wildfires, drought and desertification, landslides, and many other calamities will occur, which could potentially displace more than 200 million people by 2050.
"These climate changes, compounded by competition over dwindling resources such as food, water and fuel, contribute to increasing conflict and further displacement. Climate change, conflict and movements of people are intrinsically linked. Together with addressing migration, we must also address the root causes of forced migration, such as the questions of economic, social and sustainable development, democracy and peace," says Pavanelli.
"In view of the outcome of the UN Climate Conference this year, we need to pressure national and local governments to accelerate the move to zero carbon societies, using their legislative, financial, executive and regulatory tools to make the necessary changes. Unions and civil society must help create the political will, as a counter to the powerful corporate lobbies. In the zero carbon transition, we insist on Just Transition to sustainable jobs and support building resilience of our communities to climate change. Public infrastructure and services are crucial in developing mitigation and adaptation strategies. We must reverse the neo-liberal policies that lead to poverty and exclusion, including putting a stop to austerity," adds Pavanelli.
"In the midst of population displacements that are occurring worldwide, the role of quality public services in welcoming migrants and refugees in our societies is crucial. Well-funded and publicly delivered public services are indispensible in building resilience and preparedness of our communities as we address the challenge of climate change," concludes Pavanelli.
International migrants day statement in English - Français - Español - русский
December 18 Statement of the UN Special Rapporteur and the UN Committee on Migrant Workers
Migration and Refugees
December 18 Statement of the UN Special Rapporteur
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24% of Americans stopped buying online because of breaches
A USA TODAY survey finds that almost a quarter of Americans have at least temporarily stopped buying online because of security concerns.
24% of Americans stopped buying online because of breaches A USA TODAY survey finds that almost a quarter of Americans have at least temporarily stopped buying online because of security concerns. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/1h4xKbg
Elizabeth Weise & Jessica Guynn, USA Today Published 12:10 p.m. ET June 3, 2014 | Updated 4:45 p.m. ET June 3, 2014
An eBay sign decorates the front of the company's headquarters in San Jose, Calif.(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP)
SAN FRANCISCO -- News of Internet security breaches at eBay, Target and other large companies appears to be having an effect on online habits.
A full 24% of those surveyed said they had stopped buying anything online in recent weeks because they were concerned about the safety of information they might put online.
Most surprisingly, 56% said they had cut back on the number of Internet sites they used and were only going to large, well-known companies they were confident were safe.
"It's pretty amazing to me that people were willing to pull the plug on their habits," said Cameron Camp, a security expert with ESET, a San Diego-based security and antivirus company.
When Lisa Tecarr, 49, from Zephyrhills, Fla., says she does 90% of her shopping online. When ordering diapers for her grandkids or treats and toys for her dog, she uses prepaid cards instead of a credit card.
"I just think it's safer," said Tecarr, a childcare provider and student at Grace Bible College.
Yolanda Machado, a blogger and freelance writer from Los Angeles who shops for everything but groceries online, says she has made a habit of changing her passwords every few weeks and never stores her credit card information even on websites she shops frequently.
"If you put something on the Internet, you might as well be putting it on a billboard," Machado, 35, said. "Nothing is ever secure. You have to take active measures to ensure your own security."
The poll found that users are also keeping a closer eye on their accounts, with 55% saying they had started checking banking, investment and credit card sites more often for signs that someone had hacked into their accounts.
Camp counseled that any survey asking about things people feel they should be doing has to be taken with a grain of salt. "Some of the answers people give are aspirational rather than factual," he said.
Whether the more cautious behavior will necessarily last is another question. "It's kind of like being a on a diet," Camp said. "You're on good behavior for awhile and then you return to whatever you were doing before."
The poll found that people with less education and lower-incomes were more likely to stop buying anything online. Those with more education and higher incomes were more likely to have changed passwords and cut back on the sites they use.
Thirty percent of people who had not attended any college had stopped buying online, compared to 16% of those with college degrees.
Of people with incomes under $30,000, 34% had stopped buying online compared to 15% of those with income of $75,000 or more.
Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they had changed a password in response to security breaches.
Higher incomes and more education were linked to changing passwords. Sixty-six percent of those with college degrees and 73% of those making $75,000 or more, had changed passwords, compared to 56% of those with no college and 55% of those with incomes under $30,000.
Men were more are more likely to have changed passwords than women, 69% compared to 59%.
Seniors were least likely to have changed passwords, with only 47% having done so.
In Los Angeles, Machado says her less tech savvy friends were "pretty much flipping out" over recent security breaches. She advised them just to be more cautious.
"I mean, at Christmas, chances of being robbed are increased, but do we leave our purses and wallets at home? No. We just do things like shop in pairs, in lit areas etc. So we have to change our passwords and actually be on top of our accounts, I'm OK with that," she said.
The USA TODAY poll of 790 internet users was conducted May 29-June 1 by Princeton Survey Research, with a margin of error of +/- four percentage points.
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