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Bill Bonner Posted
Out of Aces
Throughout the course of financial history, a similar tale has been told over and over again: Overly confident businessmen and women that gulped at success and became drunk with power…only to be stuck with the aftertaste of defeat. Chris Mayer explores…
Picture this: On one side of the negotiating table was Frederick Augustus Heinze, the illustrious American copper magnate. The "Boy Wonder" was only 29, but already a celebrity among the business barons of the day. The Brooklyn-born entrepreneur was, by all accounts, brilliant, uncompromising, dashing – and very rich.
On the other side of the table was Walter Hull Aldridge, a bright metallurgist, representing the Canadian Pacific Railroad. At issue between them was a copper smelter Heinze owned in Trail, British Columbia, along with a short-line railroad called the Columbia & Western.
The Canadian Pacific Railroad was feeling its oats about this time – having generated a substantial profit the year before – its trains laden with incoming settlers and freight. Flush with cash to invest, the railroad had visions of expanding across western Canada, hauling coal, coke, wheat, machinery, lumber and metals across the resource-rich region.
The Canadian Pacific was interested in Heinze's rail because it fit nicely in their plans. Late in 1897, they made an offer for it. Heinze, though, wouldn't sell just the railroad. He would sell the whole shebang – smelter and rail – or he wouldn't sell at all. His asking price was $1.2 million. Heinze was running a bluff – his Canadian operations were not doing so well, and his American interests demanded his attention. The Trail operation's outlook was not so bright, either, with the threat of competing smelters being built in the area.
The railroad wanted the C&W badly enough, however, and finally agreed to include the smelter in their offer. Now they were struggling to meet Heinze's price.
The two negotiators worked late into the cold night of Feb.11, 1898, and reached an impasse. Heinze offered to play poker for the difference, which was about $300,000. Aldridge – wisely, I think – declined. Heinze had a reputation as a good poker player.
Eventually, the railroad swallowed hard and met Heinze's price. Just like that, the Canadian Pacific Railroad was in the smelter business. Aldridge stayed on as managing director of the company that the railroad created to house the smelter. Under Aldridge's direction, the smelter not only supplied copper, but was also putting out pure lead and fine gold and silver by 1902.
The Panic of 1907: Making a Play For More
Flush with cash from the sale, Heinze moved to New York and became involved in banks and trusts – a move that would lead to his undoing. "Most men gamble with her [Fortune]," Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed, "and gain all, and lose all, as her wheel rolls." Heinze, not content to live with his riches, made a bid for more.
In the early 1900s, most banks were prohibited from taking on trust accounts (wills, estates, etc.) by their charters. Trust companies were specifically set up to deal with this business. Though initially, trusts were regarded as safe-haven investments, they eventually became highly speculative – they were like the hedge funds of their day. And like the hedge funds of today, trusts became heavily invested in the stock market using extreme leverage, or borrowed money. They didn't keep much in the way of reserves and were susceptible to sudden adverse changes in stock prices.
Also, trust company directors were often involved in banks, and the banks, though they could not do trust business, could own trusts. As a result, there was this web of connected relationships between some of the large speculators and the banks. This was not so different from the way the now-infamous hedge fund Long Term Capital Management was intertwined with many of the nation's financial institutions when it failed in 1998 – threatening to take the whole financial system with it before a bailout was arranged.
So when, on Oct. 16, 1907, the price of United Copper closed at $15 – down 76% from its high only two days earlier – the headlines the next day were grim. "Copper Breaks Heinze," blared the Boston Post. Heinze was heavily invested in United Copper. If Heinze were only a copper speculator, history may be been quite different. But Heinze owned a bank and was associated with a number of other banks.
He was president of Mercantile National Bank, for example, a position that he promptly relinquished as his plight became public. But it didn't prevent a run by Mercantile's depositors in the wake of the news, as depositors scrambled to get their money for fear that the bank might be involved with Heinze's losses. Other banks rallied around Mercantile and supported it, however, which helped it weather the storm.
Heinze's bank, Butte Savings Bank, failed the next day, as did the brokerage owned by his brother. The real backbreaker was when the Knickerbocker Trust Co., in New York, experienced a run on its deposits. Its president, Charles Barney, was an associate of Heinze. Knickerbocker had 18,000 depositors, and in a matter of hours, worried depositors had skinned the Knickerbocker for some $8 million.
The Panic of 1907: Things Get Even Worse
No one came to Knickerbocker's aid – not even the great J.P. Morgan, who would assist other troubled banks during the crisis. Some historians believe that this was part of a deliberate campaign by the banks to destroy the credibility of the trusts. The banks felt threatened by the growth of the trusts, and reasoned that if the Knickerbocker failed, the public would lose faith in the trusts and the banks would gain. Plus, a man like Heinze had many enemies eager to capitalize on his plight. Or perhaps Morgan didn't like what he saw in Knickerbocker and thought it beyond help.
In any event, Barney, Knickerbocker's president, shot himself dead that night, and the Knickerbocker Trust did not open for business the next day. Runs began in earnest, hitting banks and trusts all over New York. As one historian put it, "The financial fires that were intended to ruin Heinze and the trust companies quickly roared out of control, and the Panic of 1907 became a nondiscriminatory economic catastrophe for the entire nation." The spark for the Panic of 1907 may have been a personal vendetta gone awry. As Glasscock observes, "F. Augustus Heinze was to the Panic of 1907 as the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was to the World War."
Even so, the Panic of 1907 was like many of the crises that went before it and would happen after it. It was inevitable, because highly leveraged and overextended lenders and speculators lead to eventual ruin.
The Panic of 1907 was not the worst financial crisis in American finance, but it was critically important because the forces in favor of creating a national bank – the Federal Reserve Bank – would gain strength, and the tide of public opinion increasingly supported the idea. As a lender of last resort, the Federal Reserve Bank would bail out failed banks and thereby stem future panics. The Federal Reserve Bank was established in 1913.
The real problem was that the banks had been allowed to renege on their obligations to redeem their deposits in gold. This allowed them to inflate, to pyramid deposits and loans on a smaller and smaller base of gold. The excess funds created fueled speculation in the market. Failure was unavoidable in such situations.
Today, with a Federal Reserve Bank and deposit insurance, we seem to have done away with the quaint notion of a bank run. Instead, we suffer near-continuous debasement of our currency, a mostly gradual, but sure erosion in purchasing power. We suffer from debts and deficits that would be impossible under a strict gold standard. Who is the better for it?
The Panic of 1907: Its Relevance Today
The Panic of 1907 broke Heinze at the age of 37. With former partnerships broken, millions lost, his reputation in tatters, and nearly two years spent on legal battles – Heinze was exonerated – the defeated Copper King headed back to Butte, where he was welcomed as a hero, with an automobile procession and a live band celebrating his return. In Montana, he would live out his final years rehabilitating some of his remaining mines. His health, though, was failing. In 1914, only 44 years old, he suffered a hemorrhage of the stomach caused by cirrhosis of the liver, and he died.
His biographer, Sarah McNelis, writes, "There was discussion of establishing a scholarship or erecting a monument to retain his name and contribution to the city [of Butte]. After the initial shock of his death faded, however, the talk must have ceased; no such memorial was established." Today, Heinze is almost forgotten.
Stories such as that of Heinze are intriguing to me because I see in these events so many parallels with today's markets. I have long been fascinated by the timeless qualities of finance, the constants of greed and speculation and easy money, which forge the familiar patterns of boom and bust. "Easy money makes a wild town," Glasscock observes. It also makes for a wild stock market.
In the Knickerbocker Trust, you have what may be a metaphor for Fannie Mae, a large, but troubled financial institution, whose failure could also spark a wider financial panic. Like the Knickerbocker Trust, Fannie Mae is no favorite of the banks, which claim that Fannie's special privileges give it an unfair advantage in the mortgage business. Those who have been bullied by Fannie in the past would shed no tears should it get stuck in a financial pickle.
In Heinze, you see any number of beleaguered executives – men who tasted early success, rode it to create brilliant fortunes, only to be forced to resign in disgrace, with much of their empires disintegrated.
These tales are classic tragedies, told again and again in the dusty tomes of financial history, with new ones being written nearly every day.
Chris Mayer
February 16, 2005 — London, England
Chris Mayer predicts that the scandal at Fannie Mae will have far greater economic implications that anyone is ready for…and that's just one of the events he sees unfolding in our near future.
Christopher W. Mayer is a veteran of the banking industry, specifically in the area of corporate lending. A financial writer since 1998, Christopher's essays have appeared in a wide variety of publications, from the Mises.org Daily Article series to here in The Daily Reckoning. He is also the editor of the Fleet Street Letter.
So far, dear reader, it really has been another American Century. In the last century, America was still young, restless, earnest, with bulging muscles and an empty head… full of energy and ideas…bursting to make things and sell them…to make a name for itself…to get rich by working hard. In the 21st century, on the other hand, America has become soft, middle aged, with its noggin full of TV drivel – no wonder she seems to want to make a public spectacle of herself.
The tech bubble on Wall Street in the late '90s was silly and embarrassing. It really didn't matter. In fact, it was entertaining…and educational. People who should have lost money did. And they probably would have lost a lot more, but the feds stepped in and started throwing cash around. And now the whole country – economically and politically – has bubbled up.
From Washington, D.C. comes news that the real estate bubble is still taking air. Prices in the region rose 24% last year – six times as fast as GDP, eight times the rate of CPI inflation, 10 times a much as stocks. When you're making that kind of money, why save? And why not enjoy it? It's so easy to "take out" a little from time to time to pay for college, vacations, and renovations.
"When one segment of society loses its head," said a dinner guest last night, "it seems to infect the whole body of society: individuals, government and business, too."
Over the last five years, houses have beaten stocks almost everywhere in America. In hot markets – major cities on both coasts – the gains in houses have been spectacular. Many buyers never set foot on the property, says the Washington Times report. They buy before the place is built…and flip it before the carpet is laid down. And from our own MoneyWeek magazine in London comes news that the English are getting in on the game as well. Property prices in London have peaked out. Getting no offers, a friend told us she had taken her apartment off the market. "It was all a kind of fantasy," she explained. "We thought we were going to make so much money on it, we couldn't not sell it. But we actually like the place and are happy to hold onto it."
But in America, the fantasy of getting rich without risk or sweat has entered the bone marrow. Neither NASDAQ crash…nor a war…nor a recession…nor a drop in the dollar…has been able to get it out. Instead, it grows…metastasizes…and weakens the whole nation. And even the English want a piece of the action. House prices are still very high in England…and seem to be going down. So, many English buyers are looking for houses in America, says the MoneyWeek report. They might live in a rented apartment in London, but they have the pride of homeownership and the hope of profits – in America.
Yesterday, we mentioned our "Trade of the Decade." We made a little from rising gold prices, so far. And a little from falling stock prices. But the best is still ahead, we think. Richard Russell pointed out yesterday that dividend yields rose to over 10% at the bottom of the '30s bear market. At the darkest moment of WWII, they rose to 7.8%. And again in '82, they were over 7%.
When things look good, by contrast, yields fall. In 1929, yields fell to 3.1%. Never have they been lower than 2.6% – until recently. Now, dividend yields are below 2%. Never have stocks been more expensive, in other words, then they have been for the last five to seven years. Investors have made no money in that time. Instead, they've been worn out with mini-rallies and mini-retreats…back and forth, burning up energy…paying commission and taxes. Sooner or later, they'll get tired of it and stocks will go down. Then, they'll sink to the point where they yield 6%…7%…maybe even 10%.
The only reason they haven't gone down yet is the same reason U.S. consumers continue to ruin themselves…and housing speculators get so rich – the Greenspan Fed has humbugged them all. Now investors, homeowners, and speculators – all suffer the same symptoms – recklessness and delusions of grandeur.
More news, from our team at The Rude Awakening:
Tom Dyson, reporting from Baltimore…
"The Superdollar – high quality counterfeit bank notes – identical in appearance to one hundred-dollar-bills – started cropping up en masse during the 1990s. Could desperate dictators be using them as a weapon against the United States?"
Bill Bonner, back in London:
*** Being confident can be a wonderful trait…it can aid you in snagging a great job, and it can certainly help you out with the ladies. But over-confidence can prove to be quite fickle…something our resident small-cap superstar, James Boric, is just now realizing…his sense of self-confidence is so great that it may cause him to lose his job. Addison Wiggin explains:
"Just this week, our ebullient, in-house small cap sleuth says he's found the two best stocks you could possibly own in 2005.
"James is so sure he's found this year's big winners, he's willing to pay you DOUBLE the cost of a subscription to his advisory service – if he's wrong.
"Double the subscription price, eh?
"Let me explain something. I'm James' publisher. It's my job to root out any hair-brained scheme he might come up with… before he gets a chance to send it to you. After all, I'm the one who has to foot the bill if he's wrong."
*** Fannie Mae may have faded from the news of late, but not from our thoughts…
Citigroup recently admitted to a 6.3% stake in Fannie Mae. Given that Fannie Mae has a $60 billion market cap, Citigroup's stake is worth $366 billion. Since December 31, 2004, Fannie's stock has declined by 11.2%, handing Citigroup an unrealized mark-to-market loss of $410 billion year-to-date.
"For every cent Fannie's stock price goes down, Citigroup loses nearly $600,000 dollars," says Rude Awakening editor, and former Citigroup employee, Tom Dyson, while gleefully punching numbers into a calculator. "Today it's down $1.09. Thing is, every portfolio in corporate America owns Fannie stock…pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, financial conglomerates…and they're all getting hit. Incidentally, Citigroup is not the largest holder…Capital Research and Management Company owns nearly 10% of Fannie, and Fidelity Management & Research Corp own over 8%. I don't know what these entities are, or who controls them, but if Fannie stock keeps falling, I suspect we may find out!"
*** A couple letters from our charming and intelligent readers:
"I find it quite remarkable that 9 out of 10 of your readers should take issue with your characteristically perceptive, witty and truthful thoughts last Friday on the similarities between 'received religion' and 'received democracy'. What, I wonder, is the insight of your critics that they think is denied to you; or, perhaps more importantly, what is the uncertainty that causes them to castigate you in such vituperative terms? And what is the DR's demographic anyway?
"I've been a delighted fan of the DR and especially of your own writing, for some time now, and naturally assumed that since generally, we all choose for our daily reading material which appeals to our own prejudice, I had imagined that most DR readers were – well – sort of like you and me. If the criticism you printed is typical of the readership I can only assume that mostly 'shoeshine boys' in the red states are reading you. I wonder how the readership pans out between the United States and Europe?
"Like you, I am a churchgoer, and I find your observation of the 'millions of frauds and misrepresentations' between the early Christians and Greeks and today's overblown religion and democracy wonderfully illuminating.
"However – as our political masters are fond of re-iterating triumphantly – we are where we are, and those few of us willing and able some Sundays to hear the Gospel message in all its original and historical clarity must face the fact that for more and more people in the world (of all religions and none) 'Christianity' is becoming synonymous with 'Crusader'. Of course, as your Normandy priest pointed out, our obligation is for each to cherish his or her own individual light and show it forth wherever he happens to be: but I do find the misrepresentation of Christianity in the political dialogue regrettable and disturbing."
"I'm sorry to hear that 10:1 against your reflections is the ratio. I for one am pleased to read ideas that let me know that I'm not the only one disillusioned with the mainstream pabulum that Americans are being fed.
"I've heard that we get the government we deserve; beneficent powers help us if that is indeed the case. 'Living is easy with eyes closed' goes the song; not much survival potential there. Killing to make the world a better, safer place to be? Oh yeah, it's sure worked in the past; just look at the world we live in today. I enjoyed very much your slant on vanity being the force behind 'world changers;' made sense. Too many parallels today to past world changers for comfort. The religious folks I've known that I had any respect for took care of their own gardens and didn't tell others what to grow."
Out with the old gods and in with the new. Here's Bill Bonner on why the issue of Civil War statues goes way beyond monuments to a different time…


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MIGA's goal is to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth and more.
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FY1996 First Quarter Guarantee Results: Strong Performance
Washington, D.C., October 25, 1995 — The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) today announced first quarter results for fiscal year 1996, starting on July 1. MIGA issued nine investment guarantee contracts for US$261 million in coverage during this period. (This compares with seven guarantee contracts for US$130 million in issued coverage in the first quarter of fiscal year 1995). In addition, MIGA has five commitment letters outstanding for US$127 million in potential additional liability.
Mr. Leigh P. Hollywood, Vice President, Guarantees, expressed satisfaction with this strong performance, commenting that "these results set a firm foundation for continued growth in fiscal 1996."
MIGA-insured projects in the first quarter included investments in Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, the Kyrgyz Republic, Peru, and Saudi Arabia. MIGA and the International Finance Corporation supported Waertsilae Power Development, Inc.'s investment in the construction and operation of a 74-MW barge-mounted diesel power plant at Old Harbour, Jamaica. The project, covered by a US$30 million MIGA guarantee, will improve Jamaica's electrical power system by contributing significantly to the country's total installed generating capacity. The absence of a plentiful, reliable supply of electricity has constrained the development of local industry.
In Kazakhstan, MIGA issued US$13.3 million of coverage to Efes Sinai Yatirim Ve Tikaret A.S., a Turkish beverage company, for its equity investment in Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers (CCAB). CCAB will produce, bottle, and distribute Coca-Cola beverages using modem techniques. The project, which will generate positive developmental benefits for both Kazakhstan and Turkey, is a result of MIGA's efforts to encourage the flow of private investment both to and between developing countries.
Mr. Akira Iida, MIGA's Executive Vice President, noted: "Intra-regional investment as typified by this Kazakhstan project plays a unique and valuable role in promoting economic growth for developing host and investor countries."
In its first project in Kuwait, MIGA issued US$50 million in coverage to Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for its equity investment in the construction and operation of a petrochemical facility in the Shuaiba Industrial Complex. The project, a joint venture with Petrochemicals Industries Company of Kuwait, will manufacture ethylene, polyethylene, and ethylene glycol for export and sale locally. It is expected to generate over US$500 million in annual export earnings and create over 700 permanent local jobs for Kuwaiti and other developing country nationals. In addition, the project will have a positive impact on the development of local industries that use polyethylene, such as packaging and plastics.
MIGA also covered its first project in the Kyrgyz Republic during this quarter. The Agency issued US$45 million in reinsurance coverage to the Export Development Corporation of Canada for Cameco Corporation's investment in the Kumtor gold mine. The mine is the largest foreign private investment in the country and is expected to be a major source of scarce foreign exchange for the host government.
In Peru, MIGA issued US$27 million in coverage to Volvo Truck Corporation for its loan guaranty to expand the customer financing services of its subsidiary, Volvo Peru. The expansion is expected to result in a substantial increase in local sales of trucks and buses, as well as greater local sourcing of parts and components. In addition, the long-term customer financing provided by Volvo Peru is a first for the Peruvian truck and bus market.
MIGA also provided US$10 million of coverage to Guardian Glass Investments S.A. for its investment in the establishment of a glass manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. The project enterprise, a joint venture company, Will provide high-quality glass at competitive prices to downstream glass fabricators and create additional jobs in related industries.
In addition to providing guarantees to foreign investors, MIGA offers a range of technical assistance services to its developing and transition member countries to help them attract foreign capital. As part of this effort, MIGA recently issued its first edition CD-ROM on investment opportunities and conditions in the mining sector in Africa. The Agency also demonstrated the IPAnet (Investment Promotion Agency Electronic Network) at the recently concluded World Bank Annual Meetings in October. The IPAnet is a global information clearing-house and communications network on foreign investment in developing and transition countries.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Censinet eliminates inefficient spreadsheets and ad-hoc manual processes.
Workflows are automated and optimized with as few clicks as possible.
Data is curated in real-time and transformed based on learning and applied predictive models.
Methods and results are open and shared, leveraging trust while reducing risk over closed proprietary approaches.
Only Censinet automates the complete vendor risk management workflow and provides standardized, curated risk ratings uniquely designed for healthcare.
Examining the weaknesses of manual risk management practices and the automated solution to the challenge.


Home News What can I do with old and used mobile phones?
Do you have unused phones at home? Here are some few creative idea and suggestions with which you can reuse your old mobile phones.
Every year, around 400 million mobile phones are abandoned in all around the world. Some of the Online stores, mobile phone repair shops, and mobile phone stores are interested in buying the used phones. But you are reluctant to sell it as they are willing to buy it at a cheap price. In addition to the cheap price, many consumers are concerned that selling old phones will reveal their personal privacy.
1. Universal remote control: A number of mobile phones are equipped with infrared function. By installing an application, you can configure and use your old phone as a remote control to remotely control various appliances in your home.
2. Home camera: All old mobile phones have a camera, which can be installed at home as a surveillance camera so that you can see and monitor the activities of your home. You can find many applications in the Google Play store with which you can convert your old mobile phone into a surveillance camera.
3. E-reader: You can also use your old mobile phone as an e-reader. Google Play Books, Amazon Kindle app Apps are some of the applications that can provide good reading experience.
4. Driving recorder: The old mobile phone can also be transformed into a low-profile driving recorder with which you can record the moments while driving.
5. Document Scanner: If your mobile phone is equipped with a camera, you can also use it to scan printed materials to convert it into text. There are many OCR applications in play store with which you can perform this task.
So, these were some of the creative ideas that you can do with your old mobile phones. Please, leave in comments if you have something to add.
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Talking, laughing and eating without worrying can be hard if you are missing teeth. With implantology we can restore your teeth, regardless whether you miss a single tooth or a number of teeth next to each other. A dental implant with a crown usually is the best solution for replacing a single tooth.
If you need several teeth replaced, we work with a bridge on dental implants. In both cases, the result looks and feels just like your own teeth. Good dental hygiene is very important after placing an implant and we advise you to visit your dental hygienist every three months. The result is complete smile that fits you perfectly.


WALLINGFORD, CT - The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) and Marcum LLP announced the 2018 Marcum Tech Top 40, the annual recognition of the fastest growing technology companies in Connecticut.
Marlin's new U.S. Patent No. 9,959,522 B2 enables companies to distribute content across the enterprise and create an organizational structure that allows for unique access by defined users or groups.
Thursday, April 12 - If American corporations have plans to pass on their newly-found tax benefits, they're not telling their employees.


The tune for Annabel Lee is an original one; but is treated as a folk song. The path of love is not always sunlit. In Shades of Love; the music expresses a variety of emotions brought on by diverse stages of love: ecstasy; tenderness; bitterness; wistfulness; eternal devotion. The colors and harmonies shift to match the mood of the poetry as each song portrays a different aspect of love.


The World Bank has predicted that China's economy will overtake America's this year. Are we at the cusp of a Pax Sinica?
The World Bank's recent projection that China's economy will overtake America's in absolute terms this year has strengthened the judgment that a "power transition" is underway between the two countries. Whether or not one agrees with this forecast, China's share of gross world product is indisputably increasing. And in a growing number of categories that affect a country's standing in the world—such as shares of global consumption, manufacturing, foreign-exchange reserves, trade, and military expenditures—China is either No. 1 or set to be No. 1.
Making matters more complicated, power is different from influence (strategy would be less important if the former automatically yielded the latter). I might have more power than you, but if you wield it more effectively you might exercise more influence in certain settings. The trouble is that influence is even more complicated to gauge than power: If two countries with roughly equivalent power (the analytic difficulty of the previous paragraph having been conveniently resolved) have different vital national interests and strategic objectives, how is one to compare their influence?
[A]ssuming a peaceful power transition between China and the United States, there will be no flashpoint moment at which it becomes clear that a Pax Sinica has replaced today's Pax Americana…It will occur at different times and at varying rates across region and issue-area…The United States may actually underpin Chinese designs for East Asia and the rest of the world for decades to come.
Back up a bit, though: What if a power transition does not, in fact, occur between the U.S. and China? Whether violent or peaceful, power transitions of centuries past have resulted in the displacement of established powers by rising ones. But relative U.S. decline does not guarantee such an outcome.
Still within the realm of internal challenges, China is trying to switch to a more consumption-oriented growth model, even though its powerful state-owned enterprises have a stake in opposing that transition. Last but certainly not least: The Chinese leadership seeks to preserve the authority of the Communist Party as a growing middle class finds its voice and information technology becomes more pervasive.
Perhaps most importantly, while China may be chipping away at certain aspects of today's liberal international system, it has little interest in mounting a wholesale revisionist challenge. Having closely studied the German and Soviet experiences during the 20th century, China recognizes the futility of such undertakings.
Given China's internal challenges, external challenges, and reluctance to challenge the postwar order systemically, a power transition whereby China replaces the U.S. as the world's preeminent power may not be a fait accompli. Financial Times columnist Ed Luce concludes that "[a]fter America comes multipolarity—not China. The question is, what type? Will it be based on a system of U.S.-framed global rules? Or will it be 'après moi, le déluge'?" A tense, dynamic equilibrium between the U.S. and China seems more likely than a clear displacement of the former by the latter.
There is at least one other reason why "power transition" seems like an inapt way to characterize the dynamic between the two countries: psychology. (It is hypocritical of me to criticize the term since I used it—in the manner in which it is typically employed—as recently as this January. It is only lately, though, largely thanks to Harris and Luce's pieces, that I have started having second thoughts about its usefulness.) Much analysis takes for granted that the U.S. seeks to preserve its status as the linchpin of the international system, having been the world's preeminent power for the past seven decades; and similarly takes for granted that China, believing that the post-Industrial Revolution period deviates from historical patterns, seeks to resume its position as the Middle Kingdom in the Asia-Pacific and, in time, overtake the U.S.
While this analysis may be true, there are other, sometimes conflicting, assessments that inform the two countries' feelings about each other's positions in the international system. Given protracted economic weakness in the U.S., it is becoming costlier and less palatable to the American public for the U.S. to anchor that system. There are also few, if any, global challenges on which meaningful headway can be made without robust U.S.-Chinese ties. The U.S. has a strong stake, then, in China's becoming a more willing and capable partner. But that desire comes with a concern: What if a more capable China begins to pose more fundamental challenges to the postwar assumptions and arrangements with which the U.S. is comfortable?
As for China, while it embraces growing multipolarity as a corrective to Western predominance, it is reluctant to undertake the responsibilities that are likely to be conferred upon it as the gap between its power and that of the U.S. continues to narrow—reluctance that goes some way to explaining why it consistently minimizes the economic milestones it achieves. Counterintuitively, China also fears the possibility of rapid U.S. decline. While it is trying to move toward a more consumption-based economic model, as noted earlier, its economy still depends heavily on America's (the U.S. absorbs a larger share of Chinese exports than any other country). With its dependence on foreign oil and gas set to grow sharply in the decades to come, it also needs the U.S. to safeguard the maritime commons through which that energy flows.
The U.S.-China relationship—the world's most complex and consequential—defies simple characterizations. Sometimes its more competitive dynamics prevail; other times its more cooperative ones do. While it is unclear where ties between the two giants are going, and even less clear what the end state looks like, it may be time to find a term besides "power transition" to understand the China challenge.
Ali Wyne is a contributing analyst at Wikistrat and a coauthor of Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World (2013).


Dr. Coleman and his staff believe that your education is essential in our role as physicians and nurses. It is important for you, as a potential or current patient, to have these resources available to you. Therefore, we have included this section for your convenience. Under most of the sections, we also list another website or alternate site for additional information. If you have any questions regarding this information please feel free to call our office at 816-429-6057.


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A Postmodern Easter
By John Soper
I have been preaching Easter sermons for three and a half decades, and most have been evangelistic in nature, or at least strongly slanted toward the C&E (Christmas and Easter) crowd. After all, if people come to church just once or twice a year, the message ought to make the issues crystal clear.
The tactic I used most often was apologetic in the theological sense of the word (that is, a reasoned defense of the faith). I gave the congregation all the facts supporting my belief that Jesus truly rose from the dead, marshaled all of the historic arguments a la Josh McDowell and compelled the listeners by the sheer force of reason to recognize the truth of the central claim of the Christian faith: that Jesus Christ was "crucified, dead and buried . . . and on the third day he rose from the dead . . ." My strategy was to use airtight logic ("Who Moved the Stone?") and weighty arguments ("Ten Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection"—that was a long sermon!) to present the "evidence that demands a verdict."
For most of those same decades, I have eschewed an approach that I perceived to be sentimental, subjective and entirely too "existential"—that of pressing the claims of the resurrected Christ on the basis of personal testimony. "You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart" are lyrics from one of my least favorite Easter hymns. I didn't like that approach because I thought every Mormon, Muslim or Hindu could claim it with equal authority.
But times have changed. In my role as a vice president at the National Office, I probably won't get to preach an Easter sermon this year. That is just as well because my neighbors probably wouldn't have gone to church to hear it anyway. And if they did, the historical arguments based on empirical facts and objective truth would not sound very convincing to them. You see, most people no longer believe in objective, one-size-fits-all truth claims. "If it's true for you," my neighbors would say, "that's great! But that doesn't make it true for me."
In the postmodern world into which I have been dragged kicking and screaming (to borrow an expression from C. S. Lewis), people no longer wish to know if what you believe is "true." What they really want to know is "Will it work?," or more precisely, "Will it work for me?" and that becomes the starting place for evangelism. In the modern era, all we needed to do was to prove that something was logically true. And then, of course, it followed that it would "work." In the postmodern world, we first have to show that it will "work." And then, by the grace of God, we will have the opportunity to show that it works only because it is "true."
But wait! Maybe this is not all that new. After all, the first generation of converts in the Book of Acts believed not because of a logical argument (e.g., Jesus fulfi lled more than 300 Old Testament prophecies), but because He "was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4)—and they themselves had witnessed the events surrounding that Resurrection. Next, they experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Then, and only then, did Peter's argument from fulfilled prophecy make sense to them (Acts 2:14–41).
That was Paul's story as well. Only after personally experiencing the presence and power of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus did the rational explanations of the disciples have an impact on him. His personal prayer was: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection . . ." (Phil. 3:10). A good friend reminded me that the life of A. B. Simpson, the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, fi ts this paradigm as well.
I won't be preaching the morning sermon at my church this Easter. But I am fervently praying Paul's prayer. More than that, I am praying that His Resurrection power will be so evident in my life that my neighbors will be encouraged to ask, "Will that work for me, too?"
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Case Profile
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Case Name Hall v. Cooper PC-AL-0022
Docket / Court 1:78-cv-00552-C ( S.D. Ala. )
State/Territory Alabama
Case Type(s) Prison Conditions
On October 10, 1978 an Alabama state prisoner filed a civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against corrections officials concerning his right to engage in certain religious practices while incarcerated. According to a later opinion in the case, Hall v. Cooper, 78-0552,1999 U.S. Dist ... read more >
On October 10, 1978 an Alabama state prisoner filed a civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against corrections officials concerning his right to engage in certain religious practices while incarcerated. According to a later opinion in the case, Hall v. Cooper, 78-0552,1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8765 (June 1, 1999), on March 31, 1982, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Judge Virgil Pittman) issued an injunctive decree allowing plaintiff to use incense during religious services, subject to usual security rules. There was some subsequent litigation in the district court, followed by an appeal of the injunction, but the Eleventh Circuit affirmed in 1982. Plaintiff filed several motions for contempt, none of which resulted in contempt findings. From 1984 to 1997, plaintiff filed no additional contempt motions.
On February 26, 1997 plaintiff filed a motion for contempt alleging that he had not been allowed to receive and use incense from 1991 to 1993. Defendants, correctional officers for Kilby Correctional Facility, filed a motion to terminate prospective relief pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The Court (Magistrate Judge William Cassady) recommended that inmate's motion for contempt be denied and the prison officials' motion to terminate prospective relief be granted. Hall v. Cooper, 78-0552, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9219 (January 19, 1999). Plaintiff filed objections and on review the District Court (Judge Pittman) adopted the Magistrate Judge's recommendations. Hall v. Cooper, 78-0552, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8765 (June 1, 1999).
There is a PACER docket, but it has only a caption, and provides no other information on the case.
Rebecca Bloch - 02/15/2006
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Constitutional Clause
Free Exercise Clause
Loss or damage to property
Religious programs / policies
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Government-run
Causes of Action 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Defendant(s) Alabama DOC
Plaintiff Description Inmate who was banned from receiving and using incense from 1991 to 1993 in the prison
Class action status sought No
Class action status outcome Not sought
Filed Pro Se Unknown
Prevailing Party Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer No
Nature of Relief None
Source of Relief Litigation
Order Duration 1982 - 1999
Case Closing Year 1999
Case Ongoing No
See this case at CourtListener.com (May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
Court Docket(s)
S.D. Ala.
09/02/1986 78-00552
PC-AL-0022-9000.pdf | Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
Opinion (1999 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 9219)
PC-AL-0022-0002.pdf | LEXIS | Detail
Source: LexisNexis
Order/Opinion (1999 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 8765)
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Judges Cassady, William E. (S.D. Ala.) show/hide docs
PC-AL-0022-0002 | PC-AL-0022-9000
Pittman, Thomas Virgil (M.D. Ala., S.D. Ala.) show/hide docs
PC-AL-0022-0003
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On March 1, 10 area nonprofits will compete for $30,000 in award money at Social Venture Partners' fourth annual Fast Pitch competition. Much like startup pitch nights and Demo Days, the event will pit the organizations against each other in three-minute presentations.
You can read about last year's winners here.
SVP is part of an international network of 3,500 partners that invest their time, talent and grant money in innovative ways to help strengthen local nonprofits. The organization's goal is to enable its investees to make the region a stronger and more vibrant community.
The event helps the public learn about different nonprofits and what the innovative work they're doing in the community. The Fast Pitch program begins with 25 local nonprofits, which were chosen from a total of 45 applicants. After three and a half weeks of practicing their pitches, the nonprofits competed in the semi-finals, and 10 nonprofits were left standing.


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Contemporary Population Trends Resulting from Conflict-Related Displacements Should Be Embedded in New Agenda, Commission Told as Debate Continued
POP/1040
Commission on Population and Development, Forty-eighth Session,
7th Meeting (AM)
Island States Warn Natural Disasters Could 'Undo Decades of Development in a Day'
The impact of conflict and natural disasters and the often resulting flows of refugees and displaced persons must be included when considering contemporary population trends and transitions and their integration into the new development agenda, the Commission on Population and Development heard today.
As general debate continued, the representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said that amid the process of negotiating new goals, there had been unprecedented forced displacement in the Arab region as a result of ongoing crises in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. ESCWA had taken an active role in preparing Arab countries for negotiations at the global level and converging perspectives towards a shared regional position on the proposed goals.
In that connection, she stressed that the post-2015 framework must have at its core population dimensions that reflected the region's conditions, situation and empirical reality. Critical population groups such as forced migrants would require special attention if the aspirations of the region's people and countries were to be embedded in the new blueprint for development.
Along those lines, Jordan's representative said that the forced influx of Syrians and the political instability in the region had harmed her country's development efforts and increased pressure on its infrastructure and public services. As of March, Jordan was hosting 1.4 million forced immigrants from Syria, a number that was expected to grow. That burden must be shared by the international community.
The representative of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) expressed concern that displaced persons might slip through the cracks of the intergovernmental process, as it appeared unlikely that goals, targets or conflict-related displacement indicators would be adopted. More than 5 million Palestine refugees were registered with the Agency. Many had been dispossessed not once, but multiple times, he said.
Agreeing that the international community should give attention to the population trends caused by conflicts, natural disasters, and migratory flows, the observer for the State of Palestine said that while the post-2015 sustainable development goals were, in principle, of global reach, they needed to take due account of the growing number of refugees and displaced persons.
Speakers also drew the Commission's attention to other regions coping with population shifts due to unrest. Madagascar's representative, for example, said that the presence of terrorist groups had increased the number of refugees and internally displaced persons in her country, which strained existing infrastructure and was at the root of many conflicts. That was putting more vulnerable groups, such as women and children, at greater risk.
New demographic challenges arising from growing environmental pressures, said Fiji's representative, also made addressing core population and development issues more difficult. He pointed to the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters associated with climate change, which he said could undo decades of development in a day. His own country had had to relocate entire villages, as they had been made uninhabitable by climatic impacts, and had plans to relocate more. The only path towards sustainable lives for his people would come from meaningful solutions coupled with honest implementation of the new goals.
Also speaking today were representatives of Japan, Algeria, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, Benin, Chad, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Viet Nam, Malawi, United Republic of Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Syria.
An observer for the Holy See also participated, as did representatives of the League of Arab States, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Economic Commission for Africa, International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization.
Also participating were representatives of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Education Fund, Partners in Population and Development, and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.
Speaking in exercise of right of reply were representatives of Israel and Syria and the observer for the State of Palestine.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 17 April, to conclude its general debate and consider the session's outcome.
REIKO HAYASHI, Director of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research of Japan, said that this year, the aging ratio in his country — the proportion of people aged 65 and older — reached 26.3 per cent, the highest in the world. Meanwhile, fertility decline was nearing a point that could threaten the country's existence, while life expectancy was the highest in the world. As such, Japan was working to create a favourable environment for couples to have children, including continued provision of child allowance, maternity and paternity leave and expansion of nurseries and kindergartens. A subsidy scheme had been introduced to tackle infertility. One quarter of the population decline had been offset by an increase of immigrants from 2005 to 2010, he said, noting efforts to promote the immigration of highly skilled professionals. Japan welcomed the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health in the sustainable development goals proposed by the Open Working Group.
DJAMEL MOKTEFI (Algeria), associating with the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said the world had been facing new challenges due to population dynamics. Progress on any of the sustainable development goals relating to poverty, health or education would affect all the others and should be a global objective. For its part, Algeria had shown its commitment to the process through implementing the recommendations on the International Conference on Population and Development. Further, his country had been working hard to ensure gender equality, fully implement human rights, and eradicate discrimination. Making concrete progress required mobilized funding, and his country wished to see global action to enhance the protection and promotion of women and family.
LARBI TABIT (Morocco) said his country had taken legislative and judicial measures to promote democracy and fundamental freedoms for its people. It had adopted a new constitution in 2011 and enacted laws leading to institutional reform. It had also established a fund to help women and children in poverty. It had sought to bring about social integration and provide subsidies to those segments of society requiring them. His Government also provided free schooling programmes for children up to the age of 11 and had been working to reduce the gap between girls and boys. From 2011 to 2012, it had achieved progress on the health front, including in the provision of contraceptives and health care for mothers and children. To advance gender equality, Morocco had included women's rights in development programmes, taken steps to combat gender-based violence, and established a national observatory for women.
LILIAM FONDEUR (Dominican Republic), welcoming the meeting on integrating population issues into sustainable development, reiterated her country's support to the implementation of the Cairo objectives from 1994. Despite recent progress, there still was a high level of unemployment in her country, affecting the efforts to reduce poverty. Additionally, gender wage gap and violence against women remained a barrier to achieving an egalitarian society. Taking a concrete step, the Government had passed several laws and developed its 2030 National Development Strategy in line with the post-2015 development agenda.
SAWSAN MAJALI (Jordan) said her country had developed national strategies and plans to include population issues in national development schemes. However, the influx of Syrians and the political instability in the region had harmed her country's development efforts and increased pressure on its infrastructure and public services. By the end of March, there were 1.4 million immigrants from Syria, and that number was expected to grow as a result of continued unrest in that country. Stressing that the situation there had affected Jordan's national population policies, she urged the international community to meet its commitments and help Jordanian efforts towards sustaining the Syrian refugees.
PHONEVANH OUTHAVONG, Deputy Director in the Ministry of Planning and Investment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, stressed the need to integrate population dynamics into sustainable development planning in order to maximize benefits and mitigate challenges. People under the age of 25 accounted for more than half of her country's population and the Government was charting ways to ensure that they possessed the capabilities and opportunities needed for a sustainable future. National policies and programmes were being devised and implemented accordingly. As a country facing rapid socioeconomic changes with increasing migration, it saw the importance of planning and building sustainable cities and strengthening urban-rural linkages. However, more needed to be done to ensure the well-being of the people, she said, calling for increased international collaboration and assistance.
JULIE SOSO AKEKE (Papua New Guinea) said the Cairo Programme of Action highlighted the importance of integrating population concerns into sustainable development strategies. Successfully achieving the following set of global sustainable development goals required that no one be left behind. It was essential, therefore, to prioritize population management and stabilization. Her country's development initiatives were people–centric with a paradigm of balance and sustainability. Additionally, they recognized that a healthy, educated population was the engine of development, while environmental protection was also ensured. Appreciating the ongoing constructive partnership on the Cairo plan, she called on all parties to support the integration of those issues in the new agenda.
SALEM AUCHEME (Benin), associating with the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, said his country had achieved notable progress. It had adopted a national population plan, as well as laws relating to sexual and reproductive health. It had provided free primary schooling for children and microcredit programs for women. It had also adopted a national youth policy to facilitate employment and entrepreneurship. Despite those achievements, he remained concerned that the post-2015 world would be marked by a bulging youth population, inequalities, climate change-related catastrophes, and a major demand in social services, particularly in least developed countries. To meet such challenges, he urged the international community to establish a clear link between human rights and achievement of the sustainable development goals. Further, it should invest in adolescents and young people as a precondition for reaping the demographic dividend.
KEUMAYE IGNEGONGBA (Chad) said his country was proud to see tangible outcomes of its policies, consistent with the Cairo action plan. Despite progress, thanks to all of its partners, maternal mortality rates remained high. The Government, therefore, had revised national legislation to improve maternal health and to prevent early marriage and female genital mutilation. Population development was a priority for Chad as the growth rate was at 3.5 per cent. In the face of all challenges, he acknowledged Chad's need to develop better strategies to fully achieve gender equality and women's empowerment.
ABDOULIE BAH (Gambia), associating with the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, said that population issues were high on the country's development agenda, which included reproductive health policies for women and youth and a National Youth Policy and Action Plan that coordinated initiatives to harness that demographic dividend. In that connection, it was aimed at ensuring youth employability and productivity and exposing them to adequate sexual reproductive health issues in a youth-friendly environment. The Government had ensured the enrolment and retention of girls in school, which also impacted early marriage and fertility. On the political front, he noted that Gambia had the longest serving woman Vice President in Africa and that women headed several key ministries. The Government's sound agricultural policies had halved hunger and under-nourishment from 13.3 per cent in 1990-1992 to 6 per cent in 2014. Among remaining challenges were the increasing population growth rate, unwanted pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted infections. Noting the funding gap for integrating population issues into sustainable development, he called on all development partners to increase the "resource envelope".
KASSOUM BIKIENGA (Burkina Faso), associating with the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, said his country had achieved sustained economic growth — an average of 6 per cent per year since 2000. It had reduced maternal and infant mortality, as well as mortality of children under the age of five. Also, it had improved access to health care. His Government had adopted a law on nutrition and a specific law for the provision of contraceptives. It had promoted gender equality. In particular, it had adopted a criminal code that treated female genital mutilation as a crime and had taken measures to prevent violence against women and girls. Despite such progress, he said much remained to be done. For that reason his country was committed to the joint Africa position on the post-2015 development agenda. The international community must step-up its efforts to achieve its population and development objectives.
PETER THOMSON (Fiji), aligning with the Group of 77 and China, said that addressing core population and development issues was made more difficult by new demographic challenges arising from growing environmental pressures. Those included the impacts of climate change and the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters that might accompany that, all of which could undo decades of development in a day. Because some villages in Fiji had become less inhabitable, populations had to be relocated, and more relocations were planned. The only path towards sustainable lives for his people would come from meaningful solutions. In that regard, he looked forward to the Paris Conference in December coupled with honest implementation of the sustainable development goals. While the country's 2013 Constitution had firm provisions enshrining a broad range of civil, political and socioeconomic rights, their realization required the international community's support. He also stressed the importance of including timely and appropriately disaggregated and verified data from the region in the design of evidence-based programmes and development planning. Gathering that information also required resources, and to that end, he urged cooperation between Governments, relevant United Nations agencies and other stakeholders.
NOELISOA RAHAINGOARIMANANA (Madagascar) said her country had been experiencing positive developments regarding the integration of population issues into sustainable development. Madagascar's new constitutional order had made sure that development was at the forefront and that population issues factored into the national action plan. To make progress, her country's approach was to include all parties in the national discussions, including women and youth representatives. She reiterated Madagascar's commitment to the post-2015 development agenda.
MICHEL TOMMO MONTHE (Cameroon), associating with the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, highlighted actions by his Government in health, education and women's empowerment, to name a few, in the quest to attain the Cairo goals. It also had adopted measures to reduce gender inequality and increase the rate of schooling. It had made significant progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals; however, the pattern of achievement remained uneven among different socioeconomic groups across the country. It had adopted a development vision up to 2035 as well as instruments to boost the economy and support job creation for women and to eliminate food insecurity. It was endeavouring to combat infant maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS. At the same time, terrorist groups had increased the number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the country, which strained existing infrastructure and was the root of many conflicts. That was putting more vulnerable groups, such as women and children, at greater risk. Maternal and infant mortality was still high. Today more than ever, efforts must be accelerated to achieve progress and help the people of Cameroon benefit from development. Also important was to build resilience, and he appealed to development partners for help, including to meet the needs of young people.
DINH HUY DUONG (Viet Nam) said that in the past 20 years, his country had made big progress in integrating population issues into sustainable development. Acknowledging the achievements of the Cairo Conference and its regional conferences, he underlined that responding to the new challenges, including changing population dynamics, required coordinated action. For its part, Viet Nam had developed a national strategic plan, which enabled all women, adolescents and young people, including those that were marginalized and in vulnerable situations, to have universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. He reaffirmed the importance of partnerships among key stakeholders, and called on Governments to accord high priority to sexual and reproductive health and rights as an integral part of national health plans and public budgets.
JUSTIN SAIDI (Malawi) said his country would continue to build on successes it had achieved and integrate the Cairo Programme and post-2015 development agenda into its national development plans. In particular, it would continue to develop and strengthen effective and coherent national strategies focused on the marginalized and disadvantaged groups. It would also continue to strengthen the capacity of national institutions and partners to generate, analyze and use population data disaggregated by age and sex. Additionally, it would seek to increase and sustain investments in education for girls. To eradicate gender-based violence, it would aim to adopt and implement legislation and policies to prevent and punish violence within and outside the family. Citing other efforts, he reaffirmed his country's support of the Cairo Programme's implementation beyond 2014 and integration of population issues into sustainable development.
RAMADHAN MWINYI (United Republic of Tanzania) reiterated his country's commitment to the unfinished Cairo agenda and expressed support for the new sustainable development agenda. This year was an exciting one as the world would define a consensual post-2015 development agenda. His Government aimed to implement its Development Vision 2025 to address population and development challenges and to become classified as a middle-income country. Like other countries in Africa, his was experiencing a youth bulge, with youth comprising 65 per cent of the population. It was, therefore, a unique opportunity for his country and the region to unlock young people's potential. Concluding, he called on all countries to reaffirm their commitments to the implementation of the Cairo plan and share best practices regarding population matters.
Mr. ALWAHAB (Saudi Arabia), associating the Group of 77 and China and the Arab Group, said his country had prioritized the family as it was the main unit responsible for the protection and education of the child. Its investments in women and girls had had a cumulative effect in developing their skills and facilitating an inclusive economy. In light of the importance of young people in development, his Government had focused on their needs. It also had integrated the post-2015 development programme into its national strategy. Concerned with illegal migration, he called attention to its negative impact on development policies affecting society as a whole. In that regard, he said studies must be carried out to review the challenges that arose from refugee flows.
RAFAEL DARÍO RAMÍREZ CARREÑO (Venezuela) said the Government had prioritized social development and implemented social initiatives in the areas of food, health, housing and education. In the area of health, the Government's policies had brought significant progress in sexual and reproductive health education. Noting Venezuela's commitment to social inclusion and participation, he said that the country prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and promoted equal rights. Finally, he said that the post-2015 development agenda must respect and reflect State sovereignty over natural resources.
BERNARDITO CLEOPAS AUZA, Permanent Observer of the Holy See, said emphasis on population growth impeded development and led to inordinate attention on issues that found no universal agreement. It also decreased the focus on crucial, consensus-driven solutions. It would be better to avoid the imposition of policies and subtle forms of coercion that did not respect the value systems of peoples and societies. In developing countries where populations were growing economies were often growing too. The challenge was not so much population growth, but the crafting of policies and programmes that stimulated employment, ensured investment in basic public services, and encouraged the transfer of technologies needed by the developing world. Noting that declining fertility and mortality rates in developed countries had increased the burden on social safety nets and health services, he said it was critical to have increased levels of social protection coverage, as well as policies that were sensitive and supportive of the family.
ABDULLAH ABU SHAWESH, observer for the State of Palestine, said the international community needed to give attention to the population trends caused by conflicts, natural disasters, and migratory flows. While the post-2015 sustainable development goals were, in principle, of global reach, the number of refugees and displaced persons was growing. According to his Foreign Affairs Minister, the number of Israeli immigrants in the Palestinian Territory had increased over the years, reaching nearly 8.2 million people. While any Jewish person could go back to Palestine, the Israeli Government did not recognize Palestinian refugees' right to return, and it occupied remaining Palestinian territory.
JOE THOMAS, Partners in Population and Development, said emerging challenges post-Cairo were especially daunting. The world needed to prepare for a larger population. By 2030, the global economy would need to support approximately 8.4 billion people. Preparing for the next 2 billion newborns would challenge countries' ability to provide access to high-quality health-care services, especially for women and children. Preparing for a larger number of older persons was another challenge many developing countries faced. A rapid growth in the number of older persons was expected in the next 15 years. That phenomenon raised questions about the well-being of the elderly, their economic security, health and support networks, as well as protection of their rights. Also, increasingly large numbers of people would be moving to urban areas, similarly raising issues of security, rights and basic services. His organization was taking specific initiatives, including through its intergovernmental platform, to secure the collective commitment of its member countries to address those and other challenges.
ENAS MOUSTAFA MOHAMED ELFERGANY, League of Arab States, said the post-2015 development agenda required a special focus on changing population dynamics caused by the migration of war victims, displaced persons, and human trafficking. Turning to the situation in the Middle East, he said that the Palestinian refugees' human security had been challenged, and there was a pressing need to ensure their rights. Making progress required a concerted effort that took into account the development needs of people in the region.
AMIERAH ISMAIL, observer for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said its Department of Social and Family Affairs had suggested a resolution by the organization on safeguarding the well-being and social security of the elderly and people with special needs in the Muslim world. That resolution had been proposed for adoption in the next OIC Conference of Foreign Ministers to be held in May in Kuwait. On youth, she said the Social and Family Affairs Department was working closely with relevant OIC institutions, as well as national and societal institutions, to initiate and implement plans for capacity-building in the region. Turning to children, she said the OIC had also been working closely with ministries and institutions, as well as with non-governmental organizations and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to ensure their well-being in OIC member States.
RABEE JAWHARA (Syria) said his country was going through tough times, given the current security issues. It was unfortunate that terrorism in certain States was affecting Syria. Syrian women and children were suffering from extremism and forced marriages, maternal mortality was unacceptably high, and access to health services needed improvement. While the Government had been working hard to protect its citizens, it was essential and urgent to get assistance from its national and international partners.
SRINIVAS TATA, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said countries of the region were in different stages of demographic transition, but across the region, population ageing was rapid. Indeed, he said, the region was ageing faster than it was getting rich. He went on to enumerate policy options; among them was to include population issues in development planning. That would help countries with large working-age populations, such as China and Viet Nam, to realize a demographic dividend by putting appropriate measures in place. Good quality data, collected regularly and in a timely matter, was the foundation of effective development planning and needed more attention. To harness the demographic dividend, adequate youth policies promoting employment, education completion and curriculums adapted to the labour market were needed. Adequate social security systems should also be put in place as well as strengthened health systems for those countries with ageing populations. Also important, particularly for countries with high fertility rates, was to improve access to family planning, empower women and expand their education.
TAKYIWAA MANUH, Economic Commission for Africa, said that in the not-so- distant future, urban populations in Africa would triple. That tremendous population increase would have important consequences since up to two thirds of urban-area inhabitants already did not have running water, decent sewage, sanitation, housing or adequate transportation networks. Migration, both internally and internationally, was also expected to surge due to improved regional integration, transportation, infrastructure and trade, among other things. To effect a structural transformation while leveraging population dynamics, she said linkages between planning, mobilizing, and financing must be strengthened. Domestic resources must also be mobilized as official development assistance (ODA), while necessary, was a fragile platform on which to base Africa's agenda. Critical too was high-quality statistical information to facilitate a "data revolution" in Africa and enable proper planning and better measurement of development outcomes. African people must be mobilized to support the integration of population issues in the continent's development agenda.
RICHARD WRIGHT, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), noted that about 5.2 million Palestine refugees — roughly the population of Norway — were registered with the Agency. He expressed concern that displaced persons might slip through the cracks of the intergovernmental process, as it appeared unlikely that goals, targets or conflict-related displacement indicators would be adopted. Notwithstanding UNRWA's need to provide increased emergency assistance to Palestine refugees from the impact of conflicts in Syria and Gaza, that refugee population was growing by 3 per cent per year, leading to greater demand for Agency services. Furthermore, roughly 20 per cent of the population were aged 15 to 24 and were among the poorest in UNRWA's five fields of operation. At the same time, those young people constituted the largest source of potential to address the region's poverty. Large numbers of Palestine refugees faced constant insecurity and had been dispossessed not once as refugees, but multiple times. UNRWA was thus confronted with a wide array of population challenges as it sought to ensure that the Palestine refugee community could make a positive contribution to community stabilization.
KARIMA EL KORRI, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said the post-2015 framework as proposed by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals was not only an essential tool for achieving the future sought by the international community, but also represented a unique opportunity for the implementation of the Cairo Programme. Yet despite the agenda's comprehensive nature, important population issues of Member States were not explicitly included. ESCWA had taken an active role in preparing Arab countries for negotiations at the global level and converging perspectives towards a shared regional position on the proposed goals. During those negotiations, there had been an unprecedented forced displacement as a result of ongoing crises, notably in Syria, but also in Libya and Iraq and, most recently, in Yemen. The post-2015 framework must have, at its core, population dimensions that reflected the conditions, situation and empirical reality of the Arab region. To help fulfil the aspirations of the people and countries of that region, critical population groups such as forced migrants would require special attention.
VINICIUS PINHEIRO, International Labour Organization, noting that almost 74 million young people aged 15-24 were looking for work in 2014, said the youth unemployment rate was practically three times higher than the global average. In that regard, he called for the development and operationalization of a global strategy to remedy that. On the situation of migrant workers, he said more than 200 million worldwide should receive the dignity and respect they deserved. As migration was linked substantially to the quest for productive employment and decent work opportunities, there could be no proper discussion about the issue without due consideration to the need for decent work. Cooperation among Governments and stakeholders was critical in enhancing the mechanisms for the fair governance of labour migration. Also important was to extend social protection floors for all; that was an investment that paid for itself given its multiplying effects on gross domestic product (GDP) growth and tax revenues.
RAJAT KHOSLA, World Health Organization, recognized the crucial role of sexual and reproductive health on the overall health of the populations as well as in sustainable development. Welcoming the Secretary General's report on integrating population issues into that process, he noted that such issues were central to defining and implementing a post-2015 vision. Accordingly, the experiences of Member States highlighted in the report provided crucial lessons for the realization of equality and development in harmony with nature.
SCOTT FISCHBACH, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Education Fund, said maternal mortality and morbidity was an ongoing challenge that must be confronted in the post-2015 agenda. There were an estimated 289,000 maternal deaths in 2013, and many countries would not meet the fifth Millennium Development Goal target of a 75 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. While the problem was enormous, the solution is known. Women's lives could be saved by improving maternal health care, emergency obstetric care, basic sanitation and clean water, among others. Those measures had helped to lead to a dramatic reduction in maternal mortality in the developed world during the twentieth century. It was not true that legalizing or expanding access to abortion was necessary to protect the lives and health of women; maternal health depended on the quality of medical care, not on the legal status or availability of abortion. He urged Member States to address the issue in the developing world and to focus on ensuring healthy reproductive outcomes in the post-2015 development agenda, without calling for the legalization of abortion.
THOMAS LEGRAND, International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, said demography should play a central role in measuring and analysing mortality, fertility, migration, and other population and development trends. Demography, he explained, increased the likelihood of success in designing and implementing development plans and policies. Priority must be given to the accurate measurement and estimation of population size, growth and age structure as they related directly to investments in economic growth, environmental sustainability, and migration. Those measures and estimates also provided essential data that would be used in indicators of progress towards the sustainable development goals.
Israel's representative, in exercise of the right of reply, said she wished to respond to comments made by certain delegations that chose to criticize Israel rather than advance the rights of their own people. In Bahrain, marital rape was not considered a crime. Women faced systematic discrimination, while migrant workers faced daily expulsion and abuse. Palestine, instead of giving a distorted history lesson, should respect religion. Since Hamas took over in 2007, half of the Christian community had fled. The Palestinian authority and gunmen had seized Christian homes. UNWRA would do well to lessen its advocacy of the Palestinian Authority's political goals in the post-2015-development agenda. Outstanding issues between Israel and Palestine could only be resolved through direct negotiations.
A representative of the State of Palestine, in exercise of the right of reply, said the Israeli police had been the cause of the expulsion of Palestinians. An Israeli officer, who served for two months in the army, had refused to continue because of Israeli policies. Noting that more than 1 million Israelis were forcibly settled in the Palestinian territories, he said Israeli policies were discriminatory toward the Palestinian people.
The representative of Israel, in a further intervention, said the observer of the State of Palestine had not stated new facts and had made the same accusations without verified data.
The representative of Syria, also speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that lives were destroyed by terrorism inflicted on Palestinian refugees. The suffering of all Palestinians would stop when Israel finally respected international law.
Again exercising the right of reply, the representative of the State of Palestine said he himself was a refugee. Noting that his family had been living in Gaza, he said he had not been allowed to visit his own family for 15 years.
For information media. Not an official record.
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@Vanderbilt: Wall Street Wrong Again: 2021 Bull or Bear Market?
CEO of Valens Research, Former Deloitte Director, Former PwC Senior Principal, Credit Suisse and American Express Alumni
Wednesday, 21st April 2021
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Vanderbilt University Finance Clubs is very excited to host and have as a presenter Professor Joel Litman, CEO and Chief Investment Strategist at Valens Research.
A subtitle for this event is "Why the K, and Why It Will Continue" as Prof Litman covers:
– The reasons for the K-Recovery in the stock market
– How strongly it will continue
– How he feels Wall Street has total missed the mark on evaluating it
– How to profit from the ongoing trends that will continue for quarters and even years to come
– Is the next speculative bubble around the corner – if so, how soon? If not, why not?
Professor Litman will provide a provocative opinion and his no-holds-barred view of the state of Wall Street Research, and what he calls "a demise more than ten years in the making." He sources, "the greatest investors ever" as some of the evidence for his perspective.
There is no charge for attending this special webinar for the greater Vanderbilt University community.


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Amish-Built Barn and Equestrian Center Impacts MA Community
by Ben King | Monday November 6, 2017 | Case Studies
You know that warm feeling you get when you watch a person take a seed of an idea and transform it into a living, breathing reality? We're feeling exactly that after talking with our customer Lexie Christian.
In September 2016, our team wrapped up construction of Lexie's Amish-built barn and equestrian center, Elmwood Acres, in Mansfield, MA. We recently checked in with her to find out what impact the new facility has had on the community.
Lexie says she's seen firsthand how the equestrian center has helped the area.
"The facility has opened the doors to lots of kids who previously had to travel far to take riding lessons," she says. "Now they have easy access to local lessons of all kinds, including jumping and dressage. Elmwood Acres offers riding classes for children and adults, at all experience levels.
The facility employs an experienced on-site trainer to provide the lessons as well as manage the center. It is also currently making plans to board horses for community members during the upcoming winter.
The Mansfield area will continue to benefit from Lexie's vision. She's already working toward expanding Elmwood Acres' offerings with additional paddocks and other features. Next year a dressage group, which attracts members from all over New England, will begin to use the center for training over the summer and fall months. Lexie says she's also making plans to expand the facility's offerings to include clinics and other equine-related events.
Elmwood Acres, which stands on a 19-acre property, currently includes:
Two-story barn with 16 stalls (7,000 square feet)
Grooming area
Indoor riding arena (15,000 square feet)
The post-frame construction buildings include stout beams and joists, as well as tongue-and-groove planks and siding crafted from white pine we sourced from Pennsylvania. Our team traveled from Lancaster, PA to Mansfield to construct the facility over a three-month period. We also made sure to use concrete perma-columns instead of wooden posts for the foundation. This prevents the foundation from rotting, which increases the durability and longevity of the structure.
From concept to completion, check out this production animation:
Lexie's dream of owning a top-quality equestrian center took root many years ago when her young daughter took up riding lessons.
If you've been dreaming of building an Amish-built barn, equestrian facility, garage, or other structure, talk with us to learn how we can transform your vision into reality.


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Los Andes Copper Announces Closing of C$10 Million Bought Deal Financing
Company NewsInvesting News
Thunderstruck Resources>
Company News>
Thunderstruck's Liwa Gold/Silver Exploration Underway
Drill Core Being Prepared for Assay
Thunderstruck Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AWE) (OTC: THURF) (The "Company") is pleased to announce that exploration is underway at our Liwa goldsilver prospect in Fiji. This will include mapping, sampling and a drill program.
CEO/President Bryce Bradley states "We have spent nearly three years to prepare the Liwa gold/silver asset for drilling and have delineated four initial targets spanning three kilometers of this extensive geological system. The entire team is delighted to begin testing this prospect which has produced some exceptional gold and silver grades at surface."
The program will consist of drilling, gridded geochemical sampling, and reconnaissance mapping and sampling to the north and south of known prospects. (See detailed map in this release.)
Drilling will focus on the main prospect areas: Jensen's, Liwa Ridge, Lower Vatuvatulevu and Gun. The purpose of the campaign is to investigate the geophysical anomalies discovered previously and to develop a subsurface understanding of the mineralized zones.
Core from the 2020 drilling campaign at Jensen's has been logged and is being cut for assay submission to ALS Australia. This includes 14m of intervals showing sulphide mineralization.
Jensen's prospect was the property's discovery outcrop and will be the first drill target in 2021. Breccias at surface have returned gold grades as high as 55.2 g/t gold. The Induced Polarization (IP) survey conducted in 2018/2019 showed strong signs of a geophysical anomaly coincident with the mineralized zones seen at surface. It detected these anomalies to a depth of at least 300m and will be investigated by this season's drilling campaign.
Similarly, the Liwa Ridge prospect also showed a strong association between surface mineralization and geophysical anomalies at depth. Mineralization in these zones has yielded grades of up to 375 g/t silver and 8.5 g/t gold.
Lower Vatuvatulevu and Gun are equally exciting prospects with great potential. Rock samples from the former have returned assays of up to 41.6 g/t gold and 1,205 g/t silver, whilst breccias at Gun have shown intense sulphide mineralization associated with 0.45 g/t gold in rock samples and strong soil geochemical signatures.
The team at Liwa have completed 400 of the 1,400 geochemical samples planned for 2021. Soil samples are being taken on a hybrid 20 x 100 / 20 x 200 grid, as well as along selected, accessible ridgelines. The purpose of the soil sample campaign is to develop an understanding of geochemical signatures associated with mineralization, as well as to develop new prospects along-strike.
The program will also include reconnaissance mapping and sampling to the north and south of the known targets, with the goal of investigating potential extensions of these along-strike.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2901/94860_ac076c9a3481296c_002full.jpg.
About Fiji
Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji, has a long mining history. It is on the prolific Pacific Ring of Fire, a trend that has produced numerous large deposits, including Porgera, Lihir and Grasberg. The island of Viti Levu hosts Namosi, held by a joint venture between Newcrest and Mitsubishi. Newcrest published Proven and Probable Reserves for Namosi of 1.3 billion tonnes at 0.37% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au (5.2M ounces Au and 4.9M tonnes Cu). Namosi is now undergoing environmental assessment as part of the permitting process. Lion One Metals is now developing its Tuvatu Project, with Indicated Resources of 1.00 million tonnes at 8.48 g/t Au (274,600 ounces Au), and Inferred Resources of 1.33 million tonnes at 9.0 g/t Au (384,000 ounces Au) reported at a 3.0 g/t Au lower cutoff. The Vatukoula Gold Mine has been operating for 80 years, producing in excess of 7 million ounces.
About Thunderstruck Resources
Thunderstruck Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company that has assembled extensive and highly prospective properties in Fiji on which recent and previous exploration has confirmed zinc, copper and precious metals mineralization. The Company provides investors with exposure to a diverse portfolio of exploration stage projects with potential for zinc, copper, gold and silver in a politically safe and stable jurisdiction. Thunderstruck trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol "AWE" and United States OTC under the symbol "THURF."
Rob Christl, VP Business Development and Investor Relations
Email: rob@thunderstruck.ca
or, visit our website: http://www.thunderstruck.ca
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Although Thunderstruck believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Thunderstruck's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Thunderstruck undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/94860.
News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia
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