Although just one flight became an international sensation, secret papers (now in the public domain - link) reveal that this was one of many such flights and this was the eleventh US spy plane that the USSR had shot down.
This was the first time the Russians got 'bankable evidence' of the US incursions, because pilots had instructions to trigger a 'destruct device' to blow up secret parts of their plane and if by chance they survived they carried shellfish toxin, hidden in a coin, to ensure that they weren't captured alive.
Thus the Americans routinely denied that these were spy planes engaged in identifying Soviet nuclear weapon sites for targeting by the US missiles but rather highflying weather research aircraft blown off course.
As already announced on May 3, a United States National Aeronautical Space Agency unarmed weather research plane based at Adana, Turkey, and piloted by a civilian American has been missing since May 1.
The name of the American civilian pilot is Francis Gary Powers, born on August 17, 1929, at Jenkins, Kentucky.
United States Note to the U.S.S.R, May 5, 1960.
This deceit was repeated by President Eisenhower directly to Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev immediately before important diplomatic talks at the Paris 'Four Powers Summit'. The four powers were the previous allies against Germany: the US, Britain, France and the USSR.
Khrushchev deliberately let the Americans think that like the earlier flights Powers had obeyed orders. So incriminating evidence on his plane must be securely destroyed and Powers must be dead. The American cover-up continued while the Russians disingenuously demanded to know more with headline catching suspicion.
The problem was that the Russians had all the facts right from the start. Not only had the explosive evidence-destroying charges in his plane not been detonated but Powers was very much alive and telling all about the spy program.
In addition to Powers the Russians had the high resolution cameras that were supposed to have been blown to smithereens, complete with incriminating photos of Russian military facilities deep inside the USSR.
...This and other information revealed in speeches of the head of the Soviet Government completely refuted the U.S. State Department's concocted and hurriedly fabricated version, released May 5 in the official announcement for the press, to the effect that the aircraft was allegedly carrying out meteorological observations in the upper strata of the atmosphere along the Turkish-Soviet border.
After the complete absurdity of the aforementioned version had been shown and it had been incontrovertibly proven that the American aircraft intruded across the borders of the Soviet Union for aggressive reconnaissance purposes, a new announcement was made by the U.S. State Department on May 7 which contained the forced admission that the aircraft was sent into the Soviet Union for military reconnaissance and, by the very fact, it was admitted that the flight was pursuing aggressive purposes.
Powers was paraded before the international press, along with the plane and it's damning evidence, before being convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years in jail.
The US press condemned Powers as a traitor for not destroying his plane and for allowing himself to be interrogated. I recall schoolboy discussions debating this in Australia.
It has been speculated that Khrushchev had been looking for an excuse to sabotage the Four Powers Summit. Certainly all good will was lost and the Paris meeting collapsed.
1960 was a Presidential election year in the US.
Richard Nixon the Vice President to Eisenhower was expected to win but the Democrat, Kennedy, campaigned heavily on closing the 'missile gap', alleging that the USSR had a big lead and that Eisenhower and by extension Nixon, was endangering the country by being too soft on defence.
President Eisenhower, an ex-General and Supreme Commander in World War two had become concerned about the arms race and the power of the: 'military-industrial complex' (a term that he coined) and had reduced military size and weapons spending.
The 'missile gap' (follow the link) was fictional - invented by the Kennedy campaign spin-doctors (and military donors?).
After vehement White House denials the Russians had suddenly wheeled out Powers, together with the material evidence on the plane. Internationally the U-2 Incident was a major loss of face for the US and for the White House and therefore for Nixon.
Kennedy was far more skilful (and presentable) than Nixon on the new medium of television and this was a gift from above.
Seven months later, in November 1960, the American public very narrowly elected young, good looking John F Kennedy, with his beautiful wife, as President ahead of Nixon.
In his inaugural address Kennedy promised to: "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty" and that call to arms was a promise he lived up to. In April 1961 the Cold War got a lot hotter when a CIA sponsored army of expatriate Cubans unsuccessfully attempted to retake Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. Follow this link to the relevant section from our 2012 trip to Cuba.
The same year the US deployed PGM-19 Jupiter medium range nuclear ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey targeted on Moscow and on military assets identified by the U-2 flights. The Russians responded by deploying their own missiles to Cuba. But before they could fully install them Kennedy threatened nuclear war if they were not removed. Both sides then backed down and the US removed their missiles too. The Kennedy administration kept this secret and pretended that at the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis the Russians had backed down unilaterally. This is a myth perpetuated even today.
The failed Paris Four Powers Summit agenda had included the joint management of Berlin to limit the city's use by East Germans to leave their country. As a result of the collapse of the Paris Summit, and the Kennedy Administration's actions that year, on August 13 1961, Berlin was suddenly partitioned and the construction of the Berlin Wall began.
Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"].
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
By year's end he was dead, assassinated, possibly because of US actions in Cuba.
In his partial biography, Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident, Powers is indignant at being branded a traitor.
Interestingly he says he knows of several U-2 crashes and knew 'a number of' pilots who lost their lives. This must surely have seemed an extraordinary high crash rate given the small number of aircraft in service. He obviously doesn't know that ten of his colleagues were lost over Russia.
He goes on to blame his failing marriage on the media assertions against him and the pressure of forthcoming hearing (which would exonerate him).
He further claims that the 'so called facts' that he confessed to revealing under interrogation had been cleverly fabricated by him to mislead his Russian interrogators.
As a result the CIA desperately wanted him back.
And that's where New York lawyer James Donovan, played by Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies, gets involved. Because he had defended Russian 'master spy' Rudolf Abel (played by Mark Rylance) who was doing 30 years in the US for his part in shipping Atomic secrets out of Los Alamos to Russia.
The deal will be to swap talkative Powers for the recalcitrant, tight-lipped, Russian on the 'Bridge of Spies' (Glienicke Bridge) between West Berlin and Potsdam in East Germany.
The movie spends a lot more time with Abel (not his real name) than with Powers. Donovan and Abel develop a real friendship despite Abel refusing to say anything in his own defence. "What good would it do?" he keeps asking.
He too had been 'interrogated' before being given access to legal counsel but unlike Powers who was a simple pilot from Jenkins Kentucky, he was a trained professional spy, more or less immune to interrogation techniques. He would later become known as 'the spy who wouldn't crack'.
Of collateral interest for me was that the movie spends some time in Berlin and some scenes, particularly those around the bridge, were shot there. Donovan turns out to be the hero of the story. Not only did he get Powers back but also a young American student, Frederic Pryor, who had been in the Soviet sector when the Berlin Wall went up and unadvisedly attempted to crash through the last gap (according to the movie) with his east German girlfriend. We get the impression that Donovan is more interested in freeing Pryor than Powers.
The movie spends some time demonstrating that the CIA had no interest in getting a young American student out of jail and became alarmed that Donovan might fail to get Powers if he continued to demand two for one.
As we later see, the trains continued to run between the sectors and rather than try to cross the Wall, Pryor would have been better advised to have trusted in his US passport at a station and simply caught the S-Bahn or the U-Bahn to the American sector.
Like any historical movie many of us, particularly of my vintage, know the broad details before the movie begins and so the interest lies in the journey. For example, prior to the movie I was unaware of Pryor (OK, a dreadful pun). I have written about Berlin elsewhere (click here). So I found the journey that Bridge of Spies takes us on very interesting.
But I couldn't help feeling that I was being preached to. Berlin was dark and blasted. New York's upper middle class suburbs were leafy. This is very true but somehow in this movie it seems to be a political statement.
From his S-Bahn train Tom (as Donovan) sees a family of East Berliners shot-down attempting to cross The Wall. Out the windows of his New York commuter train he sees kids climbing a high fence and not a shot is fired.
The New York train has obviously travelled beyond the South Bronx on its way out of town. But then, it would not be for a decade or so later that areas of the South Bronx would turn into a replica of bombed out Berlin and sightseers (fact finders), like NSW politicians visiting our New York office, would need an armed guard, 'Smithy' and special car, to take them there.
Ok, I know that citizens of the West enjoyed a lot more freedom and were generally better off, despite areas of crippling poverty and disadvantage. After all, that's why people wanted to cross the border. But I don't believe in black and white, but rather in shades of grey, and I'm suspicious when someone is trying to sell me some 'ism' without admitting that it too has its seedy underbelly.
But to be fair the movie is not all 'them bad, we good'. When Donovan is defending Abel his house is dramatically shot-up, bullets narrowly missing his children and wife. I can't imagine the good people of Westchester doing such a thing. Probably the KKK from 'down south'?
Obviously when telling a story in a couple of hours a lot of the complexities need to be skipped over but I found that there were some confusing elements. Just what was the stuff about the East Berliners and the Russians?
Well it's not all that confusing.
After the German surrender the allies, the four powers, jointly occupied Berlin. Berlin is deeply embedded in what was then the DDR (Deutsche Democratic Republic - also GDR), a Communist State and part of the Eastern Block. Berlin was divided into four sectors: US; British; French and Soviet. Under this four powers treaty the three other powers only recognised the Russians.
But from a DDR point of view the city was a capitalist cell in the middle of their country. They tried a number of ploys to remove it, including a siege, but the Western powers famously kept West Berlin alive with a huge airlift. Berlin had become a virtual puncture in the fabric of the DDR through which citizens, many of them high value professionals, could desert the East for the West. When negotiations to stem this flow broke down they built the Wall. In the meantime the DDR had no legal standing in Berlin. This was a bit disingenuous as Germans in the Western Sector had been given local government. But somehow Germans in the East were an illegal DDR presence and unrecognised.
That's what the Eastern guys in the movie, at times sinister and at others comic, are complaining about and struggling against.
Before the end credits we get a quick synopsis of subsequent events in the lives of the major participants.
We learn that James Donovan went on to negotiate the release of 1,113 prisoners with Fidel Castro after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Confirming his reputation for getting 'a bit more', he simultaneously negotiated safe-passage for around 8,500 Cubans wanting to leave the country and the release of a number of CIA 'advisors' to the failed invasion. He too died young, of heart failure in 1970, a month short of his 54th birthday.
Although sacked as a test pilot after the release of his self-serving book Powers was eventually raised to hero status and showered in medals and accolades. These included the: Prisoner of War Medal; the Distinguished Flying Cross; the National Defense Service Medal; the CIA's Director's Medal for extreme fidelity and extraordinary courage in the line of duty; and the Silver Star.
Unfortunately for Powers' mental health, self-esteem and marriage these were all awarded posthumously, after this unreliable man was safely dead in a helicopter crash at the age of 47. The crash was said to be due to pilot error but above all he was an exceptional pilot so maybe depression played a part? Like so many others not recognised until after their death, he never got to know of his redemption or new exalted status.
Despite the strong impression given in the movie that Abel is going to some unpleasant outcome he received a hero's welcome. His face even appears on a Russian stamp as Rudolf Abel. He was reunited with his family and became popular as a lecturer on espionage before contracting lung cancer and dying at 68 years of age.
When he returned to Russia he was awarded with the Order of the Red Banner. The US promptly awarded Powers with the CIA's Intelligence Star, the only medal he received during his lifetime.
No movie is perfect, particularly when it has to tell a true story in an interesting way but this one is well worth seeing. After all, it is Spielberg and the Cohen Brothers.
But for Gary Powers Kennedy would undoubtedly have lost the extremely close 1960 Presidential Election to Nixon. Then JFK and his brother would not have been assassinated. What about Martin Luther King Jnr?
In particular it's unlikely that the Vietnam War would have escalated. After the Berlin Wall; the Bay of Pigs; and the Cuban Missile Crisis; Kennedy was said to be determined to 'draw a line in the sand' - for freedom. The Eisenhower/Nixon White House is reported to have been more interested in Laos.
After the disasters of 1961 Kennedy is reported as telling the New York Times: "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." This choice had the added benefit helping out President Ngô Đình Diệm, the Vatican endorsed: 'Saviour of Vietnam', a fellow Roman Catholic who'd pleaded for US (and Australian) help to prevent the country falling to the Communists.
Since the defeat of the French in Vietnam there had been US military advisers supporting the fragile government of South Vietnam that had been 'elected to power' by violently suppressing the opposition. The governing Cần Lao Party thereafter claimed to be democratically elected but to be unable to hold further elections due to a state of martial law. The leaders were a Roman Catholic elite in a country that was predominantly Buddhist.
Eventually even Kennedy would grow sick of the excesses of the poisonous Diệm Regime; temporally terminate diplomatic relations; and agree to a CIA supported coup in which two of the Diệm brothers were murdered. See Vietnam on this website - scroll down and read more below the image of Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon.
Nevertheless, by the time of Kennedy's own assassination there were over 15,000 US 'advisors' and around a hundred Australian 'advisors' and support people in Vietnam. His successor President Johnson (LBJ) would drop the pretence that these were non-combatants and increase the number to 550,000; Australian personnel would rise to a peak of 7,672. This commitment would only begin to decline after Nixon, eventually, won the 1968 Presidential election.
So who was Rudolf Abel? Well, as I have already told you not actually Rudolf Abel at all.
In the movie he is played by Mark Rylance is best known as Thomas Cromwell in the television series Wolf Hall who is the correct age for the part. Appropriately, Mark Rylance is a stage name. He was born David Waters.
The spy had been tried and convicted in the US as Rudolf Abel. This was a name he selected from fellow KGB Colonels back home in order to send a message to the Russians that he had been caught and hadn't talked, even to the extent of revealing his true name.
The man the FBI caught was known to the Russian defector who 'shopped him' as MARK so the FBI accepted the offered pseudonym and it stuck. He was Vilyam "Willie" Genrikhovich Fisher, a KGB Colonel with distinguished military service during the Second World War when the Russians had been our allies.
To understand Willie better you need to know a little bit of Russian history.
I suppose that everyone knows that Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik revolution that sized power in October after Tsar Nicholas II had been forced to abdicate during an earlier revolution in February 1917.
Willie was 'Bolshevik aristocracy'. He was the son of a leading Bolshevik and revolutionary and a close colleague of Lenin's in their struggle. His mother too was committed to the cause. Thus Willie was exceptionally loyal to their cause and to socialist Russia.
The family were German speaking Russians. Prior to exile in England Willie's father was had been an engineering professor in St Petersburg.
Ethnic Germans were over-represented in the professional class in Russia. Many had been in Russia for generations, encouraged by tax and other privileges to settle there by Russia's largely German aristocracy; particularly Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
But by the start of the 20th century German speaking Russians had fallen out of favour. As tensions with the new united Germany and domestic unrest in Russia increased their loyalty had become suspect.
The thin edge of the wedge was inserted at the end of the previous century when the reforming Tsar, Alexander II, had removed the tax and other privileges enjoyed by ethnic Germans (like himself) and, committed to the unifying affect of Orthodox Christianity, put the Protestants among them under pressure to emigrate. Many left for the 'new world'. The professional middle classes were extremely unhappy and as unrest grew attempts on the Tsar's life became commonplace. Two previous Tsars had already been put away. After several failed attempts Alexander was successfully assassinated in a coordinated multiple bomb attack in St Petersburg (see my travel note and the Church of Spilled Blood). He was succeeded in 1881 by Alexander III.
Alexander III was a religious conservative who disliked his father's relative liberalism. He began the active oppression of ethnic and religious minorities; particularly Jews and non-Russian speakers. Lenin's brother, Aleksandr Ilyich Ulyanov (Sacha), attempted to assassinate him; a crime for which Sacha was executed. This is said to have caused Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who took the name Lenin, to become a revolutionary in turn.
Alexander III died of natural causes in 1894 to be succeeded by 'Bloody' Tsar Nicholas II, a religious zealot, believing in miracles and the divine right of kings, in addition to the quackery of Rasputin. He was a military incompetent, interfering disastrously in a war with Japan and then in the First World War. He also instigated bloody, religiously motivated, pogroms against the Jews. His infamous secret police rounded up ethnic Germans and other minorities and exiled them to Siberia without any legal cause. His secret police are also suspected of concocting the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a book that would help to fuel anti-Semitism in Germany, Britain and the United States between the wars. He was the essentially ignorant and misguided man who precipitated the Revolution and set the scene for the Nazis twenty years later. He, together with his family, met a particularly unfortunate end.
There's more information about the Tsars on this website - follow this link.
All these things served to radicalise the professional classes. Like Lenin, also from a professional family, Willie's parents became revolutionaries dedicated to Marxism and the overthrow of Imperial Russia.
From my point of view there is another interesting thing about Willie. He was born William August Fisher 14 years earlier than my father, a few miles from my birthplace in Newcastle upon Tyne. When exiled from Tsarist Russia his father had chosen Newcastle as a good place to buy guns then to ship them to fellow revolutionaries in the Baltic. Young William was technically literate from an early age and a radio amateur. After school he worked as an apprentice draftsman at Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, the Shipyard where my grandfather was Assistant Shipyard Manager. Not only that, but my grandfather's close friend Bill Buckle, who introduced him to my grandmother, rose to become chief draftsman and was in all probability William's supervisor. Follow this link.
Young Fischer was fluent in several languages including English, Russian and German and when the family returned to Russia he worked as a translator and then in radio: first as an operator and then in radio research, before being recruited to train spies. In this role he was part of elaborate wartime spy games to disrupt the Germans and capture their agents.
The first atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945. A year later Willie would became a professional spy presumably hoping to protect his country from a similar fate.
Willie is known to have entered the United States as Andrew Kayotis in November 1948. During the next eight and a half years he travelled around North America under a variety of pseudonyms.
In New York he used the cover of being a painter and photographer, to explain his range of equipment, and was relatively active in the New York art scene, inviting other artists to his studio. He was or became a competent painter, if too figurative for the fashion of the day, as we see in the movie.
He even got to return to Russia to see his family and had just got back, to discover his fellow spy's treachery, before being uncovered himself.
By the time he was eventually discovered and arrested in New York (in April 1957) he was 53 years old.
Partly based on stolen information the Soviet Union would successfully explode its first atomic (fission) bomb in 1949. Then in 1952 the US would explode the first hydrogen (fusion) bomb. Russia would soon respond with its own version, topping this in 1961 with the most powerful hydrogen bomb that has ever been exploded. Meanwhile Britain and then France (independently) would demonstrate their nuclear capability followed by: China; India; Pakistan; and North Korea.
Historically Russian scientists and engineers have been at the forefront of many technologies (see my comments on Radar elsewhere). For example, Igor Sikorsky (of helicopter and flying-boat fame) was one of several Russian aviation pioneers. This tradition was set back for a period when that 'ignorant peasant', as Churchill called him, Joseph Stalin decided it would be a good idea to 'purge' his scientists. But the 'bomb' saw them reinstated.
So as the fifties rolled on the obvious lead Russian scientists and engineers had taken in some areas of space, aeronautics and submarines would lead the US to steal Soviet secrets. Spying on each other to discover technical advances would quickly become a major pastime for many nations.
More recently modern 'stealth' technology (that makes ships and aircraft invisible to Radar) is based on the work of the Russian/Soviet physicist Petr Ufimtsev. But 'stealth' technology did not have to be 'stolen'. Like so many other significant breakthroughs it was not thought to be important enough to be kept secret and was simply translated by US aircraft makers and French ship builders from a book in Russian: Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction, that was in the public domain. Professor Ufimtsev worked in the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the same institution as Willie had. But it's a sign of the times that in the 1990's Professor Ufimtsev was a visiting lecturer at UCLA in California. No, he hadn't defected, he was on loan from the University of Moscow.
At the end of the day it was not clear what or how much secret information Willie or his network had stolen or possibly simply taken from public sources. His movements are largely unaccounted for and such information that was intercepted was one time code and indecipherable. Most of what is known about his operations was revealed by a defector who was an incompetent, a drunkard and a thief, who Willie had little reason to trust and had already asked to be repatriated. Initially the defector even had difficulty providing enough information to identify 'Rudolf Abel'.
If the Russians hadn't successfully stolen US atomic secrets who knows what might have happened? Maybe the USSR or China or Vietnam would have been 'nuked' like Japan?
Although the secrets obviously leaked, US authorities dismiss Fischer/Abel's role in this; while the Russians claim the opposite. Take your pick: Lies, damn lies; and propaganda.
Had John Fitzgerald Kennedy not won the 1960 US Presidential election then the 1960's would not have been as we remember them.
If there had been no escalation of the Vietnam War: 'to make US power seem credible', then there would have been no conscription in Australia; no American or Australian 'Draft Dodgers'; no calls to 'give peace a chance'; no protest folksingers. No 'swinging sixties'? No hippies?
On the other hand it's probable that racial tensions in the United States would have been handled less sympathetically and it was Kennedy who founded the Peace Corps.
Kennedy's nuclear standoff with the Russians evolved into the MAD (mutual assured destruction) doctrine. Soon sufficient weapons of mass destruction were, and still are, held by both the US and Russia to assure the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender should it ever come to nuclear war.
Kennedy's 'robust' confrontation with the Russians continued under Johnson and eventually a nuclear test ban treaty was signed. Successive administrations have been more conciliatory. President Regan proposed talks leading to START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) signed by President Bush (Senior) and President Obama more recently signed New START with the Russian Federation. Meanwhile Marxist economics failed in every country that tried it and the world (including the those countries that are still nominally Communist) has largely returned to a market based economic model. Nevertheless US confrontation with Russia (and vice versa) has become a habit and the MAD doctrine still hangs over the World like the Sword of Damocles.
Kennedy's other competition with the Russians was the 'Space Race'. Kennedy was famously opposed to the rather ragged US space program until April 12, 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became 'the first man in space'. The evident Russian lead in rocketry obviously had defence implications. It meant that the Russians could potentially deliver a nuclear bomb to any point on earth. It was Kennedy's epiphany. With this flash of Russian light in the sky he became a convert to space technology.
The impact of this program on the future is difficult to overstate. It gave us the technology of the 21century: everything from silicone chips to non-stick frypans. The ability to cheaply travel the world and to communicate electronically even faster rely on technologies developed for that programme. A myriad of spin-off technologies flowed from the Space Program, like all those that depend on small powerful computing devices; as well as new understandings and abilities in medicine and genetics.
But more than all these changes in the fabric of time, the sixties was when those of my generation met and wed (or not) and bred. We met at sixties parties and produced a generation of children who would not be here if the times had been different. Perhaps their siblings would be here but many pairings simply wouldn't have happened at all. Those children are now producing children of their own.
So we now have a world of people who simply wouldn't have been had Francis Gary Powers done as he was told.
New South Wales electricity users are to suffer another round of hefty price increases; with more to come.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has announced that electricity prices for the average New South Wales resident will increase by 17.6 per cent from July. Sydney customers will pay on average about $230 more each year, while rural customers will face an extra $316 in charges. IPART says it is recommending the increases because of costs associated with energy firms complying with the federal government's Renewable Energy Target (RET). The RET requires energy firms to source power from renewable sources such as solar or wind.
What is this about and how does it relate to the planned carbon tax?
If you want to know more read here and here.


text:
Static Electricity Suspected in Gas Pump Fire
Woman, son injured in fire
By Matthew Stabley	• Published February 24, 2009 • Updated on February 24, 2009 at 8:15 pm
RICHMOND, Va. -- AAA is warning drivers -- again -- about static electricity at the gas pumps after a woman and her son were injured in a fire near Richmond Tuesday morning.
The car was not running at the Shell station in Chesterfield County when the fire took place. The woman finished pumping gas and handed the nozzle to her 10-year-old son to put back in the pump when gas vapors ignited.
Investigators believe static electricity probably caused the fire, authorities said.
The boy is in critical condition. His mother's burns do not appear to be as serious.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce - Celebrations
Multiple causes for celebration as the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce held its 10th Annual Business Excellence Awards Evening with Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada.
BURLINGTON, ONTARIO (4 May 2012) There were multiple causes for celebration as the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Business Excellence Awards Evening on Friday, May 4th at the Burlington Convention Centre. Established to formally recognize leadership, innovation and excellence within the Croatian business community, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary and also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Canada's recognition of the independence of the Republic of Croatia. This momentous occasion in the history of the Croatian-Canadian community was further enhanced by the presence of The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada as the Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker. The title sponsors for the event were CIBC and Bell.
Numerous political and diplomatic representatives from Canada and the Republic of Croatia were in attendance. Among them were current and former Canadian politicians of Croatian descent, including Hon. Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour; the Hon. Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification; Eve Adams, Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Brampton South; Jeff Watson, Member of Parliament for Essex; his Worship Bob Bratina, Mayor of the City of Hamilton; Janko Perić, former Member of Parliament for Cambridge; and John Šola, former Member of Provincial Parliament for Mississauga East.
The Republic of Croatia was represented by His Excellency Veselko Grubišić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Canada and Mr. Ljubinko Matešić, Consul General of the Republic of Croatia to Canada in Mississauga. Other honoured guests from the Republic of Croatia included a number of high ranking officers from the Croatian military, who are taking part in exercises in Canada at the Canadian Forces Base Borden School for Foreign Military Personnel and as part of the the National Security Programme at the Canadian Forces War College in Toronto.
Following an introduction by Masters of Ceremonies Ivan Grbešić and Marcella Barić, Prime Minister Harper addressed those in attendance. Having spent his early years in Toronto, he first reminisced about his knowledge of Croats as a fan of the Mahovlich brothers in the National Hockey League and through his residence in the same area of Toronto as Canadian boxing legend George Čuvalo. He then charmed the sold-out crowd of over 700 people with a speech that emphasized the increasing relationship between Canada and the Republic of Croatia.
As the first sitting Canadian government leader to visit the Republic of Croatia, Prime Minister Harper spoke of his "unforgettable" visit to our ancestral homeland in the Spring of 2010 and how touched he was by the warmth of the welcome he received. This was but one component of a growing rapport that included the visit to the Republic of Croatia by the Governor General of Canada, recognition of the Republic of Croatia as an important NATO ally in the mission to Afghanistan, the elimination of short term visas for Croatian nationals visiting Canada, and the signing of a Youth Mobility Agreement to foster exchanges between the two countries.
The Prime Minister praised the energy and entrepreneurship of Croatian Canadians and foresaw their role as facilitators of new business opportunities in a globalized economy. He referenced The Economist's observations of diaspora business networks in speeding the flow of information across borders, fostering trust and creating connections that help people collaborate.
It was anticipated that these would become important factors in 2013 as the Republic of Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union (EU), the world's largest import economy and Canada's second largest trading partner. Indeed, the Prime Minister stated the friendship between Canada and the Republic of Croatia is poised to further increase in light of Canada's negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Trade Agreement with the EU, which would make Canada the only G-8 country with secure access to both the North American and European markets. Upon reiteration of the important role that the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce and its cross-cultural networks represent in the global marketplace, the Prime Minister personally thanked "Croatia's sons and daughters" for their role in Canada's ongoing growth. He received a standing ovation from all in attendance.
Prior to his departure, Prime Minister Harper handed the first-ever Chamber Scholarship and Bursary Fund awards to recipients Michael Mitar (Medicine, University of Toronto), Kasandra Julia Mrežar (Arts, University of Western Ontario) and Stephanie Paulina Pisačić (Commerce, University of Toronto).
The Business Excellence Awards ceremony began as dinner was being completed. All candidates for awards were nominated through a transparent public process and award recipients were selected based on a vote by a panel comprised of the previous year's award recipients and members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber. Each award recipient received a limited-edition print by renowned Croatian-Canadian artist Anton Cetin, who recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of his gallery in the city of Čazma, Croatia.
Awards for 2012 were presented to seven recipients in the following categories:
Large Business of the Year – The Herjavec Group (Mr. Robert Herjavec)
The Herjavec Group is one of Canada's major technology companies and its largest IT security provider. Unfortunately, Robert Herjavec was unable to attend as he was attending the filming of his popular American television show, Shark Tank.
Small Business of the Year – Canadian Star Aluminum (Mr. Ivan Petrović)
A family-run business for over 40 years, Canadian Star Aluminum is one of the largest siding contractors in the Greater Toronto Area and has completed over 50,000 homes since opening shop in the 1970s.
Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Frank Beljo (I.T. Mission)
An I.T. services company with strategic partnerships across Canada, I.T. Mission services customers in hundreds of Canadian locations with access to over 500 I.T. professionals at any given time.
Professional of the Year – Mr. Thomas Butković (Intersect Construction)
A civil engineer, Mr. Butković worked in the public and private sector and was involved in numerous commercial projects and municipal redevelopment projects. He is currently Project Manager for the $300 million Ritz luxury condo /hotel project in downtown Toronto.
Professional of the Year – Dr. Tony Ožanić (Ozanic Aesthetic & Family Dentistry)
Dr. Ožanić currently provides affordable, excellent dental care to over 1500 patients. In addition to non-surgical gum therapy and smile makeovers, Dr. Ožanić was one of the first dentists in Canada certified to offer Invisalign orthodontics and has been a preferred provider for the past three years.
Executive of the Year – Mr. Michael Kraljević, Toronto Port Lands Company (TPLC)
As President and CEO of the TPLC, Mr. Kraljević oversees the management and leasing of over 400 acres of property along the lakefront in downtown Toronto. In addition to providing leadership for the redevelopment of the area, he is ensuring that environmental stewardship remains an integral part of the area's future plans.
Community Achievement Award – Mr. Vladimir Pernar
An active member of Folklore Ensemble Croatia in Mississauga for over 35 years, of which almost 20 years were spent as President and Vice-President, Mr. Pernar has helped preserve Croatian culture through song, dance and community building and touched the lives of generations of Croatian-Canadian youth.
Croatian Canadian Pioneer Award – Ms. Julia Miloknoja
Ms. Miloknoja was born in Lika, Croatia in 1907 and following the death of her mother in the early 1920s, she and her father immigrated to Sudbury, Ontario in 1924 to join her brother Nick Perković, who was a successful local businessman. She devoted her life to her family and at the age of 104 still embodies the spirit, hard work and perseverance of countless immigrants in building the Canadian nation.
The Business Excellence Awards evening has become one of the most anticipated events in the Croatian community calendar and provides a prime networking opportunity for all participants. As many attendees reconnected and shared their own stories, others placed their bids on fabulous prizes available through both silent and live auctions, which included, among others, a stay at Villa Jasmine in Turks and Caicos as well as tickets to attend Croatia's opening round matches at the Euro 2012 soccer competition to be held in Poland and the Ukraine.
Later in the evening, the Chamber Scholarship and Bursary Fund received a very generous donation in the amount of $36,000 from American Iron & Metal Co. Inc., with a challenge that it would match any additional contributions up to $18,000 from others in attendance at the event. The response to the challenge was overwhelming as $66,000 has been raised in addition to the $54,000 contributed by American Iron & Metal for total proceeds of $120,000. On behalf of Croatian-Canadian students, the Chamber expressed its heartfelt gratitude to American Iron & Metal and all donors.
The elegant ambience of the event was enhanced by the appearance of lyric soprano Stephanie Yelovich, who performed operatic pieces by Mozart, Dvorak and Gershwin. She was accompanied on the piano by Blair Salter. Attendees also enjoyed Croatian melodies provided by the Frajeri Tamburica Ensemble, who serenaded guests during the course of the evening.
A number of media outlets from Europe and North America were present to cover the festivities. In addition to the Voice of the Homeland program from Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) and OMNI TV's local Croatian program Cronet, a number of major Canadian networks covered the Prime Minister's address and his presentation of awards to the scholarship and bursary recipients.
Written by Frank Jankać
Click here to read Prime Minister Harper's speech.
Click on the "PHOTO" tab at the top of this page for a sampling of photos.
Click here to view 2012 BEA Album 1
The Chamber gratefully acknowledges the 2012 Business Excellence Awards event sponsors for their support:
Title Event Sponsors
Major Sponsors
Baka Gallery-Lounge
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Signature Sponsors
BMD Tool & Machine Co. Ltd.
Krčmar Surveyors Ltd.
Likro Precision Limited
Mirus Wines & Spirits
RR Donnelley
Verbanac Law Firm
Sounds of Croatia Radio Program
Table Sponsors
Alpeza General Contracting Inc.
Altech Security Systems
Ashley Oaks Homes
Buduchnist Credit Union
Burgeonvest Securities Limited
Canadian Star Aluminum
Coordinate Industries Ltd.
Croatian Sports & Community Centre of Hamilton
Dalmi Inc.
Dr. Tony Ožanić, Dentist
Draganjac Pressman
Drywall Acoustic Lathing & Insulation Local Union 675
Filmar Electric
First Gulf Corporation
Helena Blažić, CIBC
I.T. Mission Inc.
Jitsu Manufacturing Inc.
King East Dental, Dr. Brian Kelemen
Kremisco Engineering Inc. – AMCA Toronto
Longo Development Corp.
Mike Pelaić
Modern Age Plastics Inc.
Mr. Rooter
Pocrnic Realty Advisors Inc.
Stone Church Family Dentistry, Dr. Lillian Ivanković
Sutton Group – Signature Realty Inc., Brokerage
Tampa Interior Systems
Tippet-Richardson, John Novak
Winzen Corporation Inc.
Student Table Sponsors
Assante Wealth Management, Tom Cooney and Steve Krašić
Masters Insurance
Pro-Art Dental Laboratory
Student Individual(s) Sponsors
Michael J. Prša
Nedo Zebić
Prime Restaurants
Robert Hudaj
Vigésimo aniversario de La Revista Croata
Croacia y los Eslavos de Sur
Etnografía y folklore de Croacia
Vida y obra de Jorge Dragisic - Georgius Benignus ...
Héctor Vucetich, físico y astrónomo platense
Beginning our third day – Empezando nuestro tercer...
Croatian Cultural garden dedication - Invitation
Croatian studies program at the University of Toronto
Studia Croatica today
Sábado 9 de junio a las 16 hs. Asamblea Extraord...
CC Croata Rosario - Almuerzo Domingo 20 Mayo
Domingo 20 de mayo: Conjunto Jorgovan de Música ...
Conmemoración de Bleiburg en Rosario - 19 mayo 2012
Conmemoración de Bleiburg en Buenos Aires
Conferencia en el Kulturni Klub - 19 mayo 2012
Izjava iz Argentine - Bleiburg
Canal de Studia Croatica en Youtube
Estatuto de la UACRA
Invitación de la Embajada de Croacia - IX Muestra ...
Hrvatski Svjetski Kongres - Press obavijest 04.05....
Hrvatski Svjetski Kongres - Press obavijest 24.4.2012
El caracter croata de Istria
El poder como complejo psicologic ...
St Nikola Tavelic - Primer Santo Croata
El Cardenal Luis Stepinac
Idioma croata y ciudadanía - Domovnica
ANDJELKO JURUN – "In Memoriam – 20.10.1925 + 23.04...


Right. So as far as I know, I don't suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). But last year I went through a serious dip during December, and this year seems to be no better. I'm tired, I'm not eating right and I can't find motivation to do anything useful. I think I just need a break. My mood-dip has nothing to do with the darkness.
It had nothing to do with the darkness last year either. It was purely the cold. Last winter was the coldest I've ever been through, and it took me a few weeks to adjust to it. Temperatures dropped from a lovely 10 degrees Celsius to -5 almost overnight. I've already mentioned that I'm a warm-weather child, and last December I seemed to sort of hibernate. Of course, the weather didn't get any better after December and I got used to it.
This year I'm not too bothered by the cold weather. I will refrain from riding bicycles, but all in all I'm managing. But I am tired. I need a break. It has been a hard year and I really need a break... and the most interesting thing is that I have plenty motivation to do fun stuff (contrary to last year), but I'm just really really really done with studying.
Not all blues that happen in winter are the Winter Blues.
I think I want to go home now. I miss a TV and I miss my pets.
I saw the Pregnant Adolescent being wheeled towards OB/GYNAE last night. Note to self: always remember discharge instructions. She must have gotten worse.
Run today: 2.64k according to Nike+; slightly shorter according to me because Nike loses it's accuracy when you're waiting for traffic lights.
Knee pain score max: 2-2,5 towards the end. That means that right now this is my max distance for my knee. Bummer.
I ran 3 laps around a park and then back to where I'm staying. Kept to 'granny pace' or what felt like it, turns out it was only about 30s/k slower than my normal pace. Was interesting to find chunks of ice on the path.
Then I went on to do my combined ballet/strength workout, adding 5x15 crunches, 15R/15L pilates leg raises, 5 push-ups, 20 triceps raises and some stretching.
ahh running + medicine :) love the combo! i definitely agree the two activities go hand and hand.
I think I suffer from the winter blues. I love the seasons, but winter feels so long.


text:
cape (18) + -
releas (10) + -
from (7) + -
island (7) + -
robben (7) + -
polit (3) + -
achmad (2) + -
activist (2) + -
anc (2) + -
cassiem (2) + -
histori (2) + -
interview (2) + -
oral (2) + -
part (2) + -
peopl (2) + -
protest (2) + -
prison (16) + -
congress (5) + -
demonstr (4) + -
african (3) + -
nation (3) + -
africanist (2) + -
anti (2) + -
biographi (2) + -
govern (2) + -
sound (2) + -
prison (x)
polit (x)
Political prisoners released from Robben Island, Cape Town, 1990
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Politics, Political prisoners, Apartheid, African National Congress, Freedom
Going home: elated to be free, Mr Wellington Gumenge of Port Elizabeth (front) and Mr Johannes Boesak of Oudtshoorn leave Table Bay harbour yesterday. They were two of 15 Robben Island African National Congress (ANC) prisoners granted early release.
Released from prison, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid
Mr Saleem Badat (left), Mr Jack Jaggers (obscured), Mr Marcus Solomon and Mr Logan Wort were among 37 people released from Victor Verster Prison yesterday.
Pollsmoor Prison March, Cape Town, 1985
Student protesters, Demonstrations, Police brutality, Apartheid, Political history--South Africa, Beyond the Barricades
Police attack youths early in the morning on the day of the Pollsmoor Prison March. United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders had called upon people to march to Pollsmoor Prison in August 1985 to demand the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. The students were also protesting against the state's education system, which offered blacks inferior education.
islandora:890
Former Robben Island prisoners, Cape Town
Former Robben Island prisoners at Table Bay harbour soon after their release this morning. The three, from left, Mr Theophilus Cholo, Mr Maqina Mpanza and Mr Sandi Sijake, spent 15 years on Robben Island after they were convicted in 1973.
Pregnant women released from prison, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid, Women political activists
Released ... Ms Jack, released yesterday on R5 000 bail after being detained under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act for six months. A mother of two, she is due to give birth on Monday.
People protest for the release of prisoners and justice for Jeffrey Benzien, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Apartheid, Political prisoners, Demonstrations
People protest for the release of prisoners and justice for Jeffrey Benzien, Cape Town.
Mrs Mymoena Achmat with her son, Abdurazzack, who was released from Victor Verster Prison yesterday morning after spending seven months in detention.
ANC prisoners released from Robben Island, Cape Town
Western Cape (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid, African National Congress
Free: Some of the released African National Congress ANC) members leaving the ferry that brought them to freedom early today.
Oral history interview with Achmad Cassiem, a political activist and prisoner on Robben Island [Part 2 of 2]
Oral history, Sobukwe, Robert Mangaliso, Political activists--South Africa--Biography, Pan Africanist Congress--History, South Africa--Politics and government--1961-1978, Anti-apartheid movements--South Africa--History, Government, Resistance to--South Africa,
The interviews in this collection focus on the life history of Robert Sobukwe, teacher, lecturer, lawyer, secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) Branch in Standerton and first president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Interviewees include Achmat Cassiem (activist and Robben Island prisoner), Benjamin Pogrund (author of his autobiography), Charmaine van Tonder (Robert Sobukwe's neighbour) and Dinilesizwe Sobukwe (Robert Sobukwe's son). Themes include: the controversy regarding his burial; the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC); reflections on his funeral; his life on Robben Island; Sobukwe as a father; the Sharpeville Massacre and his work at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) . This sub-collection originated as research for the Albert Luthuli Young Historians award 2010., Pin13.01b.mp3: Part 2 of 2 ; 01:03:32 min. ; interview 1 of 5
David Moisi welcomed back from prison, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid, Demonstrations
Released: A well-wisher welcomes Mr David Moisi back to the mainland after he and two other long-serving prisoners, including Mr Mandala Shabangu, right, were freed from Robben Island. They had been on a hunger strike for seven days.
Prisoner reunited with family, Cape Town
"It's still unreal" ... Arcadia High school teacher Mr Neville Van Der Rheede hugs his wife Carol for the first time in over a year after being discharged by the Supreme Court yesterday.
Robben Island prisoners, Cape Town
Detainees and house arrest.
Protest for release of prisoners, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid, Youth, Demonstrations
Protest for release of prisoners, Cape Town.
The interviews in this collection focus on the life history of Robert Sobukwe, teacher, lecturer, lawyer, secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) Branch in Standerton and first president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Interviewees include Achmat Cassiem (activist and Robben Island prisoner), Benjamin Pogrund (author of his autobiography), Charmaine van Tonder (Robert Sobukwe's neighbour) and Dinilesizwe Sobukwe (Robert Sobukwe's son). Themes include: the controversy regarding his burial; the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC); reflections on his funeral; his life on Robben Island; Sobukwe as a father; the Sharpeville Massacre and his work at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) . This sub-collection originated as research for the Albert Luthuli Young Historians award 2010., Pin13.01a.mp3: Part 1 of 2 ; 47:02 min. ; interview 1 of 5
Prisoners released, Cape Town
Western Cape (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid
Prisoners released, Cape Town.
Prisoners arrive in the harbour, Cape Town
People hold a candlelight vigil for those in prison, Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Apartheid, Political activists, Communities
Thousands of township residents, like this family, last night turned off their lights and held a candlelight vigil in front of their homes, shops and garages in sympathy with all those in detention, those killed during the unrest and as a protest against the state of emergency. Some people had candles inside their cars and hooted as they drove. A spokesman for the Athlone People's Action Committee said last night that the call for the vigil had been 90 to 100 percent successful.
Prisoner released, Cape Town
Pinelands (Cape Town, South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid
After more than eight weeks in detention Mr Edwin Angless walked unexpectedly into his family's Pinelands home today. Here, he is greeted by his mother, Mrs Louise Angless, and his sister, Teresa, 17.
Cape Town (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), Political prisoners, Apartheid, African National Congress
Released: the first six ANC prisoners from Robben Island yesterday after spending three to 10 years are from left, Eddie Humalog, Nelson Topeka, Mohan Mmoledi, Vuyisile Mbundu, Bushy Maape and Norman Yengeni. Western Cape United Democratic Front (UDF) spokesman Trevor Manuel is in the white shirt. At the back is Mr Amos Lengisi, joint secretary of the UDF in the Western Cape.
Parents of prisoner, Cape Town
Feeling shattered - Katie and William De Klerk with a picture of daughter Venetia, 19, whose "home" for the next 12 months is Pollsmoor Prison.


text:
Obstetric Fistula
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
Category: Fistula
More Than Just a Physical Injury
October 13, 2022 The UVP Team
At only 18 years old, Doreen has experienced her fair share of hardship: an arranged marriage, challenging labor, a stillborn child, and an obstetric fistula. Feeling lost, she attempted suicide. After learning about UVP and its fistula surgery camps, she started to regain hope. Doreen's fistula was successfully repaired at Kamuli Mission Hospital, and UVP's reintegration program played a pivotal role in helping her regain her physical and mental well-being.
Women Just Like Her
At 40 years old, Khisa is always cracking jokes. Sitting outside the fistula ward at St. Anthony's Hospital in Tororo, she sat down with Loy, UVP's Assistant Director, to discuss the challenges of living with an obstetric fistula and her long path to healing. Despite her struggle, she hasn't lost her sense of humor and optimism.
The Worst Problem
August 12, 2022 The UVP Team
Scovia has received 5 fistula surgeries Scovia is 35 years…
The Fourth Endangered My Life
Mutesi Joyce (42) lives in Kavule Village in Namutumba District.…
A Powerful Influence
May 20, 2021 The UVP Team
For years, Hajara has been a powerful influence in her…
I Never Lost Hope
At Kamuli Mission Hospital, other patients crowd around Stella. Just…
Serendipitous Encounter Leads to Life-Changing Procedure
April 30, 2021 The UVP Team
As we sit in the bright sunshine on the veranda…
A Series of Hardships Come to an End
January 23, 2020 The UVP Team
Her smile is comfortable and she looks beautiful in her…
"I Pondered on Taking Poison"
After almost two hours, Jamira realized that labor had started,…
A Father's Perspective
March 28, 2019 The UVP Team
The phone rings – once, twice. And a third, long…
Join Our Village
UVP Staff
Learn Lusoga
© 2022 Uganda Village Project
Follow Up teams work with villages at the beginning of their second year in the Healthy Villages program. Each team of 6 interns will work with two villages to evaluate the efficacy of program initiatives through monitoring and evaluation activities. Interns will continue to build the capacity of VHTs by encouraging innovation in educational approaches tailored specifically to their community. Teams will collect house-to-house follow up surveys and analyze and compare findings from the baseline data to measure the progress of the community and share the information with stakeholders to identify key successes and setbacks of programming.
Launch Teams help facilitate the start of UVP's working relationship in one new village. The team initiates a three-year community intervention called the Healthy Villages program and builds on the training of the Village Health Team (VHT), a group of voluntary community health workers in the village, and works with the VHTs to introduce UVP's programs. Interns will conduct house-to-house baseline surveys and share the results with stakeholders in the village and use the information to guide planning and implementation activities.


Story written on November 9, 2018 by Crystal J.H.
Author Notes: I know it is evil only post a few pages a week, I have so many ideas, but sometimes my poor choice of characters will stuck me the whole night. Please be aware that this story will take really slow, I'll try my very best to write as many as possible. Hope you like it.
Alice points to her back, Bette slightly turns her head.
Christina Kennard sits in the last roll of the seat, right next to the window. She holds a pencil in her hand, wandering in her deep thought, the hazel eyes are so clear that Bette can see the dark pupils.
"If I have to sleep with her, I would rather sleep with a chimpanzee." Alice.
"Careful for your wish." Bette smirks.
"Don't force me to remind you, Porter, I remember the first day of the school someone just said that we found our new target and so going to have fun, it's been weeks now." Adele joins in.
While they are arguing, Bette slowly turns her head. Then she sees her, the mystery Tina Kennard checking on her. Their eyes meet, Tina quickly lower her head, pretend nothing happened.
"Huh? What?" Being pulled back to the reality, Bette replied numbly.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Kelly excitedly claps her hands.
"Any ideas?" Kelly is really excited.
"You are a party blooper, Porter." Alice says.
"Come on, Bette, don't be selfish, let the girls have some fun." Adele says with a warning tone. Bette frowns, this is not going to end up well.
Take all the time you need, this story is amazing.
Tina is a very brave woman to speak to the Golden Circle like that. Applause for her.
It does make me wonder what she endured in her life so far. She is strong.
Thanks for your comment, Tina's background will be revealed sooner or later, now she needs to focus on fighting those four. Glad that you like it!
Tina very brave and Bette seems don't have guts and own opinion for now, but maybe in the future she can change.
P.S. I forgot to tell you about something – when you add new chapter to the story you can choose option – "write a book", not just "add single story".
Lol, I was wondering how to use the slide bar to save the story, thank you anyways and thank you for your comments!
Wow!!! Another update this soon???
I decide (and hope) to post one of it every Saturday, hope you like it!
You just made my day. That was pretty good, I'll rather say excellent; I like it very much, confrontation in all sense is good for my point of view.
I think Bette found her match, both smart girls, both bold; maybe Tina could rescue Bette from that 'vicious circle' of bullies, maybe Bette may rescue Tina from her loneliness and that shadow of sadness in her inner world.
This story is getting better each time. Thank you so much for the update. I would like longer chapters but is okay whatever you can give us. Waiting eagerly for the next chapter.
I'm really glad my story can make somebody happy, it's also made my day when I saw all the comments! Really brought me lots of confidence.
Please keep posting, looking forward to where the Story is going.
Thank you for your comment, I'll try my very best!
Very good story, thank you!


text:
Marcello Serpa studied Graphic Design in Germany where he worked at agencies GGK and R.G. Wiesmeir.
In 1989 he returned to Brazil, the country of his birth.
Here he was an as art director at DPZ and DM9DDB.
In 1993, he left the agency to become partner and Chief creative officer at AlmapBBDO.
Havaianas was Serpa's first account at AlmapBBDO, and for 17 years he has been the mastermind of its award-winning advertising in Brazil as well as internationally.
Throughout his career, Serpa has been noted as Brazil's most honoured art director, having won gold, silver and bronze medals in the principal Brazilian and international advertising festivals for clients such as Volkswagen, Audi, Pepsi, Mars and many other local and international brands.
At the Cannes Festival he won Latin America's first Grand Prix in 1993 and has since raked more than 150 Lions.
In 2000 he was the youngest TV and Press jury president at the Cannes festival of Creativity. In 2014 he was again Jury president at 60º. Cannes Lions for the Press category.
Among others, Marcello presided twice UK's D&AD, London Festival, Asia's Ad Fest and twice the Clio Awards juries (2000, 2009).
During his time as partner and Chief Creative officer AlmapBBDO won 3 times the Agency of the Year at Cannes and was the first-ever double winner of Agency of the Year in the Gunn Report.
In 2008, he was the first non-Anglo-Saxon to receive the 2008 Clio's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to worldwide advertising.
In 2016 after leaving AlmapBBDO Serpa won in Cannes The Lion of St Mark for his contribution to the worldwide creative industry.
In the same year Serpa moved with his family to Hawaii to continue something with what he considers his Life's passion: to create images but now with paint on canvas.
His first exhibition was at Apart Gallery in NY in October 2017 where he showed 14 paintings.


July 23, 2018 16:01 ET | Source: Merit Medical Systems, Inc.
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), a leading manufacturer and marketer of proprietary disposable devices used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care and endoscopy, today announced revenue of $224.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, an increase of 20.5% over revenue of $186.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. On a comparable, constant currency basis, revenue for the second quarter of 2018 would have been up 18.6% over revenue for the comparable quarter of 2017.
Merit's GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2018 was $10.9 million, or $0.21 per share, compared to $9.5 million, or $0.19 per share, for the second quarter of 2017. Merit's non-GAAP net income* for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $22.4 million, or $0.43 per share, compared to $18.3 million, or $0.36 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
Merit's adjusted guidance for the year ending December 31, 2018 set forth above is based on information currently available to Merit's management and does not account for material acquisitions or other non-recurring transactions that may occur after the date of this release. This revised financial guidance is subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, potential accounting adjustments attributable to Merit's ongoing valuation of intangibles and other financial assets acquired from Becton, Dickinson and Company ("BD"), as well as risks and uncertainties identified in Merit's public filings.
Merit will hold its investor conference call (conference ID 9299964) today, Monday, July 23, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. Central, 3:00 p.m. Mountain, and 2:00 p.m. Pacific). The domestic telephone number is (844) 578-9672 and the international number is (508) 637-5656. A live webcast and slide deck will also be available at merit.com.
Readers should consider non-GAAP measures used in this release in addition to, not as a substitute for, financial reporting measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures generally exclude some, but not all, items that may affect Merit's net income. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which items are excluded. Merit believes it is useful to exclude such items in the calculation of non-GAAP earnings per share, non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP net income (in each case, as further illustrated in the reconciliation table below) because such amounts in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of Merit's business operations and can vary significantly between periods as a result of factors such as new acquisitions, non-cash expenses related to amortization of previously acquired tangible and intangible assets, unusual compensation expenses or expenses resulting from non-ordinary course litigation, governmental proceedings or changes in tax regulations. Merit may incur similar types of expenses in the future, and the non-GAAP financial information included in this release should not be viewed as a statement or indication that these types of expenses will not recur. Additionally, the non-GAAP financial measures used in this release may not be comparable with similarly titled measures of other companies. Merit urges investors and potential investors to review the reconciliations of its non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate Merit's business or results of operations.
Merit's revenue on a constant currency basis is prepared by translating the current-period reported revenue of subsidiaries whose functional currency is other than the U.S. dollar at the applicable foreign exchange rates in effect during the comparable prior-year period. The constant currency revenue adjustments of $(3.6) million and $(8.8) million for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2018, respectively, were calculated using the applicable average foreign exchange rates for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2017, respectively.
Merit's core revenue is defined (a) with respect to prior fiscal year periods, as GAAP revenue, and (b) with respect to current fiscal year periods, as GAAP revenue, less revenue from certain acquisitions and strategic transactions. For the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2018, Merit's core revenue excludes revenues from (i) the acquisition of (1) the assets of Catheter Connections, Inc. in January 2017 (excluded January 2018 only), (2) the critical care division of Argon Medical Devices, Inc. in January 2017 (excluded January 2018 only), (3) Osseon LLC in July 2017, (4) Laurane Medical S.A.S. in August 2017, (5) ITL Healthcare Pty. Ltd. in October 2017, and (6) certain divested assets of Becton, Dickinson and Company in February 2018, and (ii) a distribution arrangement with NinePoint Medical, Inc. in April 2018. Core revenue on a constant currency basis is defined as core revenue (as described in the first sentence of this paragraph) plus the foreign exchange impact related to those core sales, using the applicable foreign exchange rates in effect for the comparable prior-year periods presented.
Non-GAAP net income is calculated by adjusting GAAP net income for certain items which are deemed by Merit's management to be outside of core operations and vary in amount and frequency among periods, such as expenses related to new acquisitions, non-cash expenses related to amortization of previously acquired tangible and intangible assets, unusual compensation expenses or expenses resulting from non-ordinary course litigation, governmental proceedings or changes in tax regulations, as well as other items set forth in the table below.
The following table sets forth supplemental financial data and corresponding reconciliations of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per share to Merit's net income and earnings per share prepared in accordance with GAAP for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2018 and 2017. The non-GAAP income adjustments referenced in the following table do not reflect stock-based compensation expense of approximately $1.6 million and $1.1 million for the three-month periods ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and approximately $2.8 million and $1.7 million for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
(a) The constant currency revenue adjustments of $(3.6) million and $(8.8) million to reported revenue and to core revenue, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, were calculated using the applicable average foreign exchange rates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively.
(b) Merit's core revenue is defined (a) with respect to prior fiscal year periods, as GAAP revenue, and (b) with respect to current fiscal year periods, as GAAP revenue, less revenue from certain acquisitions and strategic transactions. For the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2018, Merit's core revenue excludes revenues from (i) the acquisitions of (1) the assets of Catheter Connections, Inc. in January 2017 (excluded January 2018 only), (2) the critical care division of Argon Medical Devices, Inc. in January 2017 (excluded January 2018 only), (3) Osseon LLC in July 2017, (4) Laurane Medical S.A.S. in August 2017, (5) ITL Healthcare Pty. Ltd. in October 2017, and (6) certain divested assets of Becton, Dickinson and Company in February 2018, and (ii) the distribution arrangement with NinePoint Medical, Inc. in April 2018.
Founded in 1987, Merit Medical Systems, Inc. is engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care and endoscopy. Merit serves client hospitals worldwide with a domestic and international sales force and clinical support team totaling more than 300 individuals. Merit employs approximately 5,400 people worldwide with facilities in South Jordan, Utah; Pearland, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; Malvern, Pennsylvania; Rockland, Massachusetts; San Jose, California; Maastricht and Venlo, The Netherlands; Paris, France; Galway, Ireland; Beijing, China; Tijuana, Mexico; Joinville, Brazil; Markham, Ontario, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; and Singapore.


4k00:07Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
hd00:05Animation marker drawing a tick in the box for voting on paper. Animation of seamless loop.
4k00:09Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
hd00:18Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up. Zoom in.
hd00:17Check all the boxes of checklist. Checking a to do list. Animation.
hd00:08Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:14Cross in tick box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:12Cross in tick box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:06Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:11Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:17tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:17Ballpoint pen close up. Tick in ballot box, voting and elections.
4k00:14Fill in a form questionnaire. Cross in tick box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:18Tick in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
hd00:10checks (ticks) all the boxes. Represents meeting all criteria for approval, or filling in a questionnaire, survey, form, voting paper etc.
hd00:11Fountain pen tick in ballot box. Extreme close up.
hd00:07Cross in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:13Fountain pen tick in ballot box. Extreme close up.
4k00:09Fountain pen tick in ballot box. Extreme close up.
4k00:11Fountain pen tick in ballot box. Extreme close up.
4k00:11Fill in a form questionnaire. Extreme close up. Ball pen putting crosses in tick box.
4k00:07Cross in ballot box, voting and elections. Extreme close up.
4k00:10Fill in a form questionnaire. Extreme close up. Ball pen putting crosses in tick box.
4k00:08Fill in a form questionnaire. Extreme close up. Ball pen putting crosses in tick box.
4k00:20Mouse Cursor Choosing True and False in Questionnaire Form.
4k00:20Close up of Yes and No Checkbox Marking Survey. Checking Yes and No Option on White Background. Mouse Cursor Clicking Checkbox.
hd00:16Check all the boxes of checklist. Checking a to do list. Animation.
4k00:07Green tick, I agree Yes no graphic symbols. Voting for and against concept. Grunge cross.
4k00:08Hand filling yes and no at the checklist box. Close up. survey and poll. Filling of questionnaire a person by a ball point pen.
hd00:10Animation marker drawing a tick in the box for voting on paper. Animation of seamless loop.


ALL ORDERS ARE SHIPPED STANDARD FROM OUR CA WAREHOUSE.
Orders will be shipped from our FL warehouse or drop-shipped if not in stock in CA. Travel time does not include the day an order is shipped. All orders shipped via standard ground for in stock items will ship within 48 hrs. Air orders placed after 1PM PST are not guaranteed to ship same day. Note that any order placedto be shipped via USPS mail may take up to an additional 24 hours toship for in stock parts due to an early USPS pick-up time.
CP Performance does our best to keep high traffic parts in stock at all times. However sometimes, these and low traffic parts may not be in stock at the time of your order. CP Performance will do our best to contact you via email or telephone to let you be aware of any parts that are back-ordered. CP will attempt to drop ship parts that are not in stock from the manufacturer if available. When CP drop ships a part, we may never receive tracking information or may receive it after the order has already been delivered. All orders on in stock parts will normally ship within one day of order. If your order is marked as un-shipped, it may have already been drop-shipped, and we haven't received a tracking number or confirmation on it shipping from the manufacturer.
Due to the wide variety of items we offer (weights, sizes and configurations), the CP Performance website is not always able to accurately calculate shipping charges in advance of the actual shipment taking place for some individual items, product lines, orders, or shipping destinations. Shipping charges will be calculated and added to your order total at the time your online order is placed. In some cases such, as but not limited to, shipment destinations outside of the continental United States the shipping charges calculated by this online catalog/web store will be incorrect. In cases where the actual shipping is higher than quoted online, CP Performance reserves the right to cancel any order and refund any payments collected should the customer refuse to pay the actual shipping charges as calculated by the CP Performance shipping department. In cases where the actual shipping is lower than quoted online, CP Performance will refund some of the freight charges to the customer.
We strive to be a green company and to improve the environment by recycling and reusing any cardboard boxes we receive from our suppliers. Your shipment may arrive in a box that does not appear to match its contents. Please open the box before calling or emailing us, to save you some time!
Delivery outside the US (overseas) - Shipped via UPS Worldwide, USPS Global Mail.
more information visit www.ups.com or www.usps.com.


text:
"The Games We Play" is a song by American rapper Pusha T, from his third studio album, Daytona (2018).

Background
Pusha took to the lyrics website Genius to explain the track's lyrical content in June.

Commercial performance
Upon the release of the featuring album, "The Games We Play" charted at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 50 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Charts

References

2018 songs
Pusha T songs
Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Songs written by Cynthia Biggs
Songs written by Dexter Wansel
Songs written by Jay-Z
Songs written by Kanye West
Songs written by Pusha T
Songs written by Ski Beatz

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Luanda - Check below the standing of the first division National Football Championship (Girabola2018/19), after the dispute of the 15th and last round of the championship's first leg and the dispute of previously postponed games.
Luanda - The team of 1º de Agosto have beefed up their squad with strikers Kila and Dago from the Vita Club of Kinshasa and Motema Pembe, both from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), ahead of the second round of the national championship of the first division , Girabola2018/19.
Luanda - Petro de Luanda lost the opportunity to join 1º de Agosto in the Leadership of the top division National Football Championship (Girabola2018/19), after drawing nil-nil last Wednesday with Sagrada Esperança of Lunda Norte Province, in a sixth-round delayed game.
Luanda - Former Progresso do Sambizanga's midfielder Miguel Alexandre "Meg" has signed a one season contract with Petro de Luanda, a move seen as an exercise to strengthen the club's option for the 2nd round of the national championship (Girabola 18/19).