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Home » Reading Material » Part 2: Dutch Golden Age vs. Seventeenth Century the Debate
Twenty first Century
The debate between using Dutch Golden Age or Seventeenth-Century context is sketched in the first part. There we looked at how museums and national identity around the period of the Dutch Golden Age grew from political action in the Nineteenth Century. We mapped 200 years of museum and politics surrounding The Dutch Golden Age. And also highlighted individuals emotional connection to the term Dutch Golden Age. As the objects framed from this period is also deeply intertwined with a sense of Dutch identity, pride and personal enjoyment of seeing these objects. Museums are spaces where these objects are displayed and unpacked. And this lecture does not unpack the individual cultural objects from the Dutch Golden Age but unpacks how these objects are framed, presented and consumed.
In the previous post, the anthropologists Kaplan wrote that museums in the twenty-first century try to find a balance between national interests and the preservation of cultural heritage. Regardless of who is at the helm of power. International museum organizations (such as the International Council of Museums), museum professionals and academics monitor this balance (Kaplan, 2013).
Museum no longer represents a nation-state in the same way as the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Museums still play a very important role in the development of national identity. But as secular spaces of struggle and representation. Various identities can be defined and redefined within the space of the museum. Anthropologists, philosophers, historians, political scientists and sociology have started to look at their disciplines to investigate the role of a museum in today's society. From these diverse disciplines, we look at how political roles and policy have an impact on museums exhibitions. And how these exhibitions frame gender, ethnicity and class.
Debate in brief
The biggest problem with the term Golden Age is that it is glorifying that only after the elitist society and do not reflect on the larger whole. It was an extraordinary time for men to rise in wealth during the extreme class hierarchy period. Merchants became as rich as kings. There is a shift of power in social society. That power shift is what we are most attracted to at the time. However, the larger public was not nearly as healthy and wealthy as the gilded name suggests. It is a too-narrow definition for the entirety of development of the Seventeenth Century. The term also has too many nineteenth-century connections to outdated ideas on gender, class, race and identity. We are examining power relationships anew in this debate by focusing on new margins rather than power. All the debate asks, is to open up how we present and describe objects from this time. The examining of previous narratives is reflexive of the time we are living in. Reflexive meaning that we look at all elements are linked together and what that means for our cultural object so that the viewer can be more aware and evaluative relation to oneself and one's contexts.
With the big Blockbuster media hype behind all things, Rembrandt and the Golden Age in 2019 was the perfect moment for other museums to critically position themselves. There was enough media attention for this debate. The debate that started in the 1950s already.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a press conference after the weekly Council of Ministers. © ANP / Lex van Lieshout
This debate Dutch Golden Age versus the Seventeenth Century has been an ongoing development since the 1950s. The 1950s is also the period we stopped at Part 1. In The Netherlands, the debate took front stage in September 2019. Amsterdam Museum announced they were renouncing the term Dutch Golden Age in their museum use. The Rijksmuseum, many media outlets and the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, responded. Rutte said he liked the term and was proud of it. How could he as the figurehead of the state postulate anything else? The Rijksmuseum does not want to get rid of the term because they do not want to whitewash history. That is a reflexive approach for museums to include the history of the use and terminology associated with their collections. On the Rijksmuseum website, the collection is called the Seventeenth Century Collection. The Amsterdam Museum wants to eliminate the term within their institute, to represent their research frameworks better.
Museums a safe space
Tascha Sciarone during Dutch Golden Age Lecture on 13 February 2020 in an exhibition room "Dorp in Oorlog" a 75 year commemorative exhibition about Voorschoten during the WWII, serves as the lecture hall. Photograph by Emiel Legger
We see that the debate around the Dutch Golden Age/Seventeenth Century attracted various opinions and statements from a wide variety of society. This debate is played out in museums and exhibitions. A discussion that has been in play far longer ago than September 2019. Museums have become safe places for difficult social issues on identity can be renegotiated concluded Rosmarie Beier-de Haan in "Restaging Histories and Identities". Beier-de Haan is head of collection management and curator at the Berlin Historical Museum and emirate professor of Modern History at the Institute of History and Art History at the Technical University in Berlin. She is on the board of ICOM, ICOM Germany, and the Network of European Museums. Her expertise is in the history of culture and mentality. Beier-de Haan makes it clear that how we represent history reflects as much of the now as it is of the past (Beier-de Haan, 2006). How we exhibit cultural objects from the Dutch Golden Age and how we frame exhibitions tells us about our current society as it exhibits objects from the past.
Through Beier-de Haan we get a better picture that museums focus on micro-histories in exhibitions and not just the broad socio, the economic, and political context of the time (Beier-de Haan, 2006). Crystal clear definition about class, gender and social history has been imperfect since the last century's seventies. More attention is paid to the individual, a side effect of seventeenth-century Enlightenment thinkers. It has only taken nearly three centuries for this to trickle down to the general population.
Future of Museums at Play
Why are museums spaces where complex debates around nationhood, identity, class, gender and race are discussed? That has to do with the extreme critique museum faced during the second half of the twentieth century. Museums had to position themselves as serving the greater good, after a long period of "museum bashing"—a period where museums were critiqued of being colonial, racist, sexist, and evil institutions. Museum had to prove that they did not continue with the trajectory they started in the early nineteenth century. The twenty-first century brings new challenges alongside ongoing challenges. It is up to museums, academics and other professionals to deal with their management objects in an ethical, social and responsible manner.
One way to find a solution is to ask: who are the visitors? This lecture is also prepared based on who will come, and that is based on the demographics of Voorschoten and active Museum Voorschoten visitors. I will not discuss the importance of representation and diversity in this lecture, but what this debate means to you and how it best serves this type of visitor. This means that I do not address other people again, choosing to exclude a different audience in my thesis framework. Here are some excellent articles on diversity and historicity. Objectivity is found in choosing an audience and addressing their profile for educational purposes or feeding into their expectations. When thinking of your visitors, you will always embrace one type and exclude another, and it is about finding balance. Museums continuously have to make this choice. Indeed, people with economic and social power can often exercise the most influence on what objects are seen and what exhibitions are made.
This balancing of power is an ethical problem that Museums must continuously deal with. Now we will unpack why history and identity should always be repackaged. Then the ethical dilemmas museums always deal with when it comes to choosing a "visitor" type. Rosemarie Beier-de Haan will help us look at the context and pitfalls of the audience. And then Eilean Hooper-Greenhill will show us the pitfalls of persistently sticking to existing formulas that attract large groups and interest. Coupled with the positive effects both have in looking at art and identity.
Museums put a lot of thought into their visitor's profile. Beier-de Haan argues that since 1980 exhibition culture has changed that exhibitions cannot be a scientific presentation of an objective world view (Beier-de Haan, 2006). Visitors or individuals have a self-styled and distinctive perception of history and themselves in the world. As a result, museum professionals need to make critical considerations. Beier- de Haan lists these questions "Who owns the past? What gives me the authority to speak for others? Who do I include and who do I exclude? Whose memories are privileged, whose fall by the wayside? How can I generalize without ignoring? How can I mediate between personal memories and the general interpretation of the past?". Asking these questions and making decisions leads to two types of exhibitions.
The reflexive exhibition and the blockbuster.
The reflexive exhibition and the blockbuster
Reflexive exhibitions
These are the question academics, and museum professionals must ask of themselves and the questions that museum visitors should consider when visiting an exhibition. We museum, then there is also an unspoken expectation that visitors will also see identity in relation to the objects. It is always assumed a subjective relationship to the items and exhibition.
Exhibitions are often seen a moment to enjoy, but also a moment to learn. There is a variety of narrative, and that takes a lot of contemplation. Museums expect their visitors to organize the objects concerning themselves and to internalize a message. For example, I visited a World Press Photo exhibition in Italy on holiday. I knew the institution behind the framework, but knew nothing of the exhibition theme or the submitted photos. I walked in with my partner. We strolled through beautiful, haunting and novel images in a run-down old cathedral. Three quarters through there was a series of pictures of a Romani family taken over the years. And as this photos series unfolds, I was confronted with my problematic view on Romanies or otherwise known as the nomad Indo-Aryan ethnic group. I didn't even know that I had very racist thoughts about Romanies until I was confronted with humanity in an exhibition. I have been consuming unflattering stereotypes in bits and pieces about them since childhood, through books, media and comments from people. As a result, my internal knowledge about Indo-Aryan ethnic group was never critically examined. I never came in contact with Romani, so I internalized negative stereotypes for more than twenty years. It was only at this exhibition that I started to confront my thoughts and update them to my moral ideals about people and groups. Not that my thoughts ever expressed themselves in deeds or words, but it did manifest in apathy. That is also dangerous, being utterly indifferent to a large group of people and the daily hardship they face, which is in large part due to the ongoing stereotypes we hold. Those unaddressed negative stereotypes rob people of their humanity.
This exhibition made me stop, critically evaluate my understanding of the world. Did anything outward change? No, but I critically reordered my thoughts and re-evaluated my stance. It was a moment of growth, that will better serve me to help others grow and release me of my apathy. Art and exhibitions have this power to present ways we can experience and engage in life long learning.
On the opposite side of in-depth exhibitions, you have The Blockbuster.
Photo of the the front of an commercial attachment to national paper NRC by the marketing company NTBC Holland Marketing for the Dutch Tourism Board. Exhibitions centered around the Dutch Golden Age (theme) or Rembrandt (artist) is a form of Blockbuster exhibitions. This campaign is to drive tourism and the economy.
Blockbusters are heavily marketed in the same way as a film or a large event. This exhibition can be seen everywhere in the newspaper and billboards. The exhibition that everyone gets what she wants, an uncomplicated yet spectacular neat presentation. Blockbusters are often created with older art. You attract large groups of people with well-known artists or themes. With this, you get everyone in the door. Museums attract a large audience, and people enjoy cultural heritage. It seems like a win-win situation. I say it sounds like the right way of democratising of a cultural object. Except it is part of the commercialisation of the art market. Furthermore, it packages cultural items in an uncomplicated sanitised version of history that continues a patriarchal and western view of the world.
Blockbusters exhibitions, bring in large groups of people into the museum and therefore money, which would mean that Museums are less financially dependent and reach a broad audience. However, Eilean Cooper Greenhill, Professor Emeritus in Museum Studies, makes many counterpoints about the Blockbuster or exhibitions based on a large audience in her work, "Audiences: a Curatorial Dilemma" (Cooper Greenhill, 1994). Hooper-Greenhill has already written a lot about museums and visitors. She is also the driving force behind many books about museum studies. Hooper-Greenhill has been named one of the top ten leading people in museums in the United Kingdom, as chosen by her colleagues by The Independent (September 29, 2002: 7). She was the Research Center for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) founder from 1999 - 2006. RCMG was created to develop research into museums, education and learning.
Hooper-Greenhill describes blockbuster exhibitions as giving visitors exactly what they expect—like, for example, using the term Dutch Golden Age without questioning it, which results in the following three pitfalls.
Dutch Museums are still old-fashioned nationalist propaganda machines that offer a mythical refined image of a heterogeneous Dutchman. We have seen that it is a century-old criticism and outdated vision of society is alienating.
Ultimately, the visitor is reduced to a number and how much money can be milked from the visit. Experience and education are not paramount; these are side issues to earning (back) the exhibition and operational costs.
And last but not least, the Dutchman is portrayed in an uncomplicated heterogeneous identity that looks more like a caricature. Giving the visitor exactly what they want, without questioning the framework, eventually destroys the very identity people wanted to protect. Dutch culture will ultimately be packaged for the tourist (with money) and no longer for the Dutch. An uncomplicated one-sided image.
These are three controversial statements. You don't always reach people with that. Their perspective has a different motivation (politics and power), but more often, it has to do with not being used to a different presentation style or framing. Readjusting and re-evaluating other narratives costs a lot of extra energy and research to process and enjoy. Or you may be confronted that you are not the intended audience. That may be temporary, or it might be a long term effect of continuous decisions that have set the foundations—ultimately alienating cultural objects from our current society.
Museums and academics often solve the pitfalls and positive points of the two types of exhibitions by organising a combination of exhibitions. A smaller reflexive exhibition next to a Blockbuster. Or reflexively language use or side project attached to the Blockbuster with the help of academics and/or artists. Or perhaps a critical exhibition at a different location at the same time as a controversial exhibition. They may be hosted by a gallery, another museum, or an artist initiative. This way, they offer something to everyone. That also ensures for returning visitors in the long run. Cultural objects can be continuously reframed into new contexts and understandings. It also provides that cultural objects do not become stagnant to the point of becoming an out of touch cultural object only marketed to non-Dutch.
Marketing Dutch culture as a tourist attraction is exactly what happened in 2019 around the Rembrandt and Dutch Golden Age exhibitions. The visitor results in continuous interaction with different perspectives around cultural objects, which results in more enjoyment. The Dutch Golden Age/Seventeenth Century Debate allows for depth, nuance and new exhibitions on cultural heritage. This keeps cultural heritage relevant and promotes lifelong learning and, most importantly, from the cultural objects becoming static symbols forgotten by irrelevance. So that they do not need to be packaged for the tourist and their expectations, but continue to reflect Dutch identity and heritage as framed by the Dutch themselves. The Dutch in its multiplicity. Not a mythical Dutch caricature.
Thoughts to end by: A Conclusion
Does the Dutch Golden Age/Seventeenth Century debate demand that one or the other term disappear? No, the debate itself is an enrichment for our cultural heritage as well as for society. When art stops being relevant to our current society when we can no longer find new information or experiences in our interaction with an art object, that is the moment the art objects starts to fade from our collective conscious.
Its been almost a week after the lecture. I have cried a lot from all the solicited and unsolicited feedback. It's been exhausting, and I have had some museum input, my academic peers and friends.
A big part of the upheaval was expectations management. People did not expect such a dry academic context. They wanted to see the pictures; they wanted more pictures. They wanted the paintings explained, laid bare. They wanted a story. They wanted a blockbuster. People from the first post responded that the description of the lecture created this expectation. I gave my audience no paintings, very few pictures, and above that, I gave them an academic talk, they felt no connection with.
People also called the museum that I was incoherent and underprepared, and they could not follow what I was saying. Not understanding me might have as much to do with what I was saying, as to how much. My Afrikaans mother tongue's influence on my Dutch pronunciation often also takes a bit to get used to. But even before I gave this lecture, I was grappling with this problem; how do I extract myself from the depth of my knowledge and ideas of social justice to someone not at home in the material. How can I take them in this lecture of an hour on the same journey that has been brewing in my life over 15 years? My aunt Christel Sciarone, who used to teach math at the University of Johannesburg, gave me this advice:
When you have satisfied yourself in your research, cut it by half. It is way too much information for someone new to the material to handle.
Sadly, I did not use her advice and had a four-act lecture. When two was the maximum, I should have offered. I have taken out the third and fourth act of the lecture in this post. In the speech, I continued with questions of ethics, money, power. I was confronting them with a list of eleven exhibitions centred around the Dutch Golden Age in 2020, throughout The Netherlands. Asking them to analyse these exhibitions with the information they got from me the last hour and then forging ahead with a list of recommendations to enjoy museums' cultural objects, regardless of exhibition framing. Instead, I should have spent more time explaining what I meant with power and how power manifests socially, economically, historically, politically, military. And how power and privilege relate to the specific lives of my audience. I used Elisabeth de Biévre in the first part about enjoyment, and she also spent a large chunk of her writing on her reader understanding power. These extrapolations would have been a better addition. Instead, I left them lost with terms they did not fully understand and took offence to. It was too much. My museum peers had no trouble keeping up with these terms, but I had failed the core demographic. I was leaving them lost and confused and angry.
I wanted to give them context, benefits analysis, ethics, and tools to approach the Golden Age/Seventeenth Century debate. To provide them with insight into a more extensive academic debate spanning over centuries that influence the context of cultural objects in The Netherlands. To have people ask and answer questions they had not thought about before. They wanted paintings, and that is the beauty of this debate playing in museums. One painting can be ease people into this more extensive century-spanning debate. The audience wished to the Dutch Golden Age, and I gave them too much information that they did not want or knew what to do with it—also critiquing their knowledge and identity—eliciting a lot of strong emotions.
The museum said my lecture did not make the audience feel happy with their visit to the museum and that this what a threat to the integrity of the museum. When preparing this, I did not expect the emotional backlash during the lecture or the complaints and cried after the board member listed the museum's complaints. As some of it seems to be inherent in the subject matter that this debate evokes anger, which is often a secondary response to hurt. The repercussions are; the lecture series has been cut from six to three lectures. All lectures have to be presented to the board before being given. One of the ladies who would give a lecture pulled out, not because of me, but because of the audience.
Half of these angry callers did say that they learned something and it got them thinking. And that was my main goal. It always had been. I have distanced myself from the academic writings about Africa and African museums. As a white academic, I have listened to my African peers. They want space to further their academic papers, legacies and their cultural institutions. They do not get space when white academic and writers postulate themselves as experts on Africa and African cultural heritage. So I write from my privilege and enter white spaces to talk about race, gender, class and privilege. And when given the chance of having difficult conversations through this lecture. The audience did not sign up for this emotionally taxing lecture. I did.
I am not yet good at empathising with a Dutch audience and still have to learn how to give lectures better.
A novice at connecting with an audience.
Used to a solitary academic tower
and safe spaces talking to individuals
about difficult issues
UPDATED: 7 July 2020. Used the racial slur for Indo-Aryan ethnic group multiple times in my text, without thought. Was confronted with my own ignorance in a TikTok video two weeks ago. A cosplayer came on my For You page and had a seven second video educating other cosplayers on dressing as Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As well as some spelling mistakes.
UPDATED: 26 December 2020. Grammar. Spelling. Clarity.
« Previous Part 1: Why we love the term Golden Age What should a painting cost? Next »


Little is known about Colossus. He rarely speaks, though whether his stoicism is a result of shyness or a taciturn nature is unknown. Even when not in his metal form, he gives the impression of great strength. His eyes betray a keen intelligence that is otherwise hidden behind his silent nature. Since he arrived at the mansion, he has had only one goal to become one of the X-Men. He?s taken every opportunity to train with the team, and has displayed a fighting talent and unbeatable spirit that are an asset to the team.


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His medical education was at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and his Orthopaedic residency training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His first assignment as an Orthopaedic Surgeon was a six month stint with Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras after which he returned to Walter Reed and Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland for further training in hand and microvascular surgery. After completion of his fellowship, Dr. Bagg became Chief of Hand Surgery at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In 1996, Dr. Bagg and his family were very happy to return to San Antonio when he was assigned as Chief of Hand Surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), where he developed a broad tertiary referral practice at the Army's only Level 1 trauma and burn center. In 2001, Dr. Bagg was appointed Chief of the Orthopaedic Surgery Service and Residency Program Director. In 2003, he was named Orthopaedic Consultant to the Surgeon General US Army and in that capacity made several visits to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2004, he became the first Chairman of the newly established Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at BAMC. During his tenure, he oversaw the opening of the Department of Defense's second Amputee Care Center and the Center for the Intrepid, a world class rehabilitation center for wounded warriors. In 2006, Dr. Bagg volunteered to serve with the 758th Forward Surgical Team in Afghanistan, and upon his return, he became the first director of the Center for Intrepid until his retirement from the military.
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A Model That Illustrates How Animals Are Sorted Into Groups Interesting Facts About Reptiles You Need to Know
You are searching about A Model That Illustrates How Animals Are Sorted Into Groups, today we will share with you article about A Model That Illustrates How Animals Are Sorted Into Groups was compiled and edited by our team from many sources on the internet. Hope this article on the topic A Model That Illustrates How Animals Are Sorted Into Groups is useful to you.
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What makes it a reptile?
There are countless types and species of reptiles around the world. Although there are many differences, reptiles share some common traits.
First, they use their lungs to breathe. Lizards can breathe using the same muscles they use to run, and crocodiles have a more flexible diaphragm, but in general, reptiles have more advanced lungs than amphibians, but not as refined as mammals. Reptiles also have scales made of keratin protein. Scales provide protection from predators, help retain water, and may play a role in courtship and territorial clashes. Reptiles are not the only animals to have scales, but it is a common characteristic among all reptiles.
Another characteristic is that they are all four-legged vertebrates (or descended from four-legged animals, such as snakes). This is another feature shared with other animal species, indicating that reptiles are an evolutionary intermediate between amphibians and mammals. For the most part, female reptiles lay eggs, but this is not exclusive to all reptiles. There are some species that develop their young inside their bodies and give birth to live young, such as the Viviparous Lizard and the Adder.
Reptiles are known for their cold-blooded metabolism. If you've ever seen a reptile in an enclosure, you may have noticed light bulbs and other forms of heat. This is because consuming heat raises the body's internal temperature to give them the energy they need for daily activity.
What are the different types of reptiles?
Reptiles can be classified into four main groups:
Which has 23 different species of Alligators, Caimans, Gharials and Crocodiles.
As you may know, crocodiles are large, semi-aquatic and predatory animals. They are usually found in the lowlands of the tropics and usually have long, flattened snouts and canonical, pin-like teeth. Some species of crocodiles are traded as exotic pets when young, but are often abandoned as they grow older and become more dangerous.
Which are lizards and snakes, and they have almost 8000 species.
These reptiles vary in size (from a dwarf gecko that is less than an inch long to an anaconda that can reach over 17 feet). Their ability to move their quadrate bones is what helps them open their mouths wide enough to consume larger prey. If you are considering getting a reptile for sale of this classification, be sure to research the specific type you want to get to make sure you have the necessary equipment to keep them healthy and happy.
Testudins
Which consists of turtles and tortoises and has about 300 species.
These are considered primitive as they are some of the most ancient reptiles among us. Their shells make them easily distinguishable from other reptiles and they are also a popular choice as pets.
Sphenodontia
Which is known as the sister group of Squamata and there are only 2 species of tuatara from New Zealand.
It is also known as Rhynchocephalia, which means beak head. They have a unique set of teeth which appear as two rows in the upper jaw and a single row in the lower jaw. The single species of tuatara is the only living member of an order that flourished about 200 million years ago.
Which Reptiles For Sale Are Best As Pets?
If you are just starting out with a pet reptile, you can find some great reptiles for sale. Geckos can be a great pet for beginners because they don't require much handling. However, too much stress on the gecko can cause its tail to fall off. A bearded dragon can also make a great pet as they are extremely easy-going and personable reptiles. They require a warm habitat and are fairly easy to maintain.
Whichever you choose, always make sure you are aware of his needs and temperament to understand whether or not he is a good choice for you.
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Lepidopilum hirsutum är en bladmossart som beskrevs av Brotherus 1907. Lepidopilum hirsutum ingår i släktet Lepidopilum och familjen Daltoniaceae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Egentliga bladmossor
hirsutum

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Published on Standardbred Canada (https://standardbredcanada.ca)
Home > Lather Up To Stand In Ohio
Lather Up To Stand In Ohio
Published: November 16, 2019 12:05 am ET
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Lather Up's ownership group announced on Friday the decision to stand their two-time world champion in Ohio instead of New York.
It was previously announced that Lather Up would stand stud duty at Diamond Creek Farm's new facility in Davenport, New York in 2020.
"When we saw the overwhelming reception on the part of Ohio breeders coupled with that of top breeders from other states who appreciate the convenience of shipped semen, Adam [Bowden of Diamond Creek Farm] and I thought it best to stand the horse in Ohio," said Taylor Made Stallions' Duncan Taylor. "He will be standing at Sugar Valley Farm as a Diamond Creek/Taylor Made stallion."
"We could not be more excited about the addition of Lather Up, the co-fastest horse on the planet, to our stellar roster. With Ohio re-establishing itself as a top state in the industry with a top notch stakes program and opportunities galore, it became more apparent to us at Sugar Valley to continue the full court press to bring Lather Up back to Ohio," commented Sugar Valley's Joe McLead. "Our industry has the appeal of the most prolific Thoroughbred operation, in Duncan Taylor and Taylor Made Farm, wanting to be a part of Ohio's program. It is quite humbling to be working alongside of them, standing the fastest pacer in Lather Up and a champion trotter in What The Hill. Working with Adam Bowden and Diamond Creek Farm while standing Downbytheseaside has been tremendous."
Lather Up was described by the Daily Racing Form as "the fastest horse in harness racing history" when he equalled Always B Miki's world record time for the mile in 1:46 flat. He is also a two-time world champion who set seven track records from ages two to four. Lather Up established a new track record in one of every five starts, an achievement that will likely define him as one of the most accomplished Standardbreds of all time.
All inquiries regarding season or share purchases should be directed to Diamond Creek Farm.
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Home > About Us > Media Article Library > Essentia Health implants smallest, leadless pacemakers directly into heart – First hospital in Northland to offer procedure
Essentia Health implants smallest, leadless pacemakers directly into heart – First hospital in Northland to offer procedure
Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Siva Krothapalli holds the Micra leadless pacemaker
History was made in the Northland when the world's smallest pacemaker was implanted in three cardiac patients at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Siva Krothapalli first performed the procedure in June.
The device is called Micra and is about the size of a large vitamin capsule. It also has no wires, or leads. "These devices give us options for patients who are not good candidates for traditional pacemakers, either because of access issues or if they are at high risk of infections," says Dr. Krothapalli.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Micra in 2016. It's designed for patients who suffer from bradycardia – a slow or irregular heart rhythm –usually fewer than 60 beats per minute. When a heart beats this slow, it is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise. This causes patients to suffer dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells.
Pacemakers are the most common way to treat bradycardia to help restore the heart's normal rhythm and relieve symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate. "The first pacemakers were the size of a book so we have come a long way in terms of their size and what they can do in terms of their functions," Dr. Krothapalli says.
Micra is delivered through a catheter so there is no surgical chest scar. It's 93% smaller than a traditional pacemaker. The battery lasts ten to 12 years and unlike many other cardiac devices, patients with Micra can safely undergo MRI procedures.
"It's an exciting time to be a cardiac electrophysiologist. There are exciting discoveries every single day," says Dr. Krothapalli. "With advances in our understanding of basic mechanisms of the heart's electrical system and improvements in technology and computing power, there are going to be many more options we will be able to offer our patients in the coming years."
To learn more about Micra, contact the Heart & Vascular Center at (218) 786-3443.


I haven't mentioned the International Year of Astronomy yet because I spent months procrastinating from putting together pages on it for our website, but I have finally defeated my procrastinatory urges and posted a whole new section to our website on the project. In a nutshell, 2009 will be the International Year of Astronomy (it is so decreed by the International Astronomical Union and the United Nations), and there are worldwide events and projects being developed to raise public awareness of, and improve public education about, our skies and everything in them, from planets to pulsars. One of the neat (I think) sub-pages on this site gives an overview of all of the planetary missions that will be active in 2009; it's quite a long list. The Planetary Society is proud to be a sponsor of the International Year of Astronomy.
There are myriad public education and involvement projects being developed. I'm serving on the organizational committee for one of them, a daily podcast called 365 Days of Astronomy. We're asking individuals to contribute five- to eight-minute podcasts on the space topics of their choice, and we have a lot of interesting shows on the calendar already. But we need more! Speaking now from my own point of view, I think we don't have enough people lined up to talk about the planets and moons and other interesting places in our solar system, or the missions that are exploring them.


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Home > News > International Standards = Better Business
International Standards = Better Business
There is no one reason why the Cayman Islands continues to be an enduring success as an international financial centre. One could point to the quality of our professional service providers, sound regulation, political and economic stability and our tax neutral platform but, in reality, these all come together to create a unique and highly attractive client offering.
However, what is often overlooked is our commitment to meeting international standards.
Transparency and information exchange, buzz words in certain circles these days, are more than just concepts and aspirations for the Cayman Islands. Rather, as an early adopter of many initiatives designed to build transparency into the global financial system, they are par for the course.
Take Beneficial Ownership. Cayman Islands authorities have had access to information relating to beneficial ownership for companies incorporated in the jurisdiction for over 15 years. Our framework requires that regulated service providers are legally mandated to collect, verify, monitor and update information on beneficial owners, underpinned by criminal sanction, ensuring that the data available to authorities is adequate, accurate and current.
We have also been sharing information with overseas tax and law enforcement authorities for many years now. Beginning with the 2001 Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States, the Cayman Islands has now entered into 36 bilateral agreements. These, together with the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, facilitate information exchange and transparency with over 115 partner jurisdictions.
Meeting international standards
The Cayman Islands adheres to international standards as they relate to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and in certain areas, we have exceeded the efforts of our international partners in adhering to these standards. Our completion of the retrospective "know your customer" (KYC) and due diligence checks as required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standard when many other countries concluded that the exercise was too arduous and expensive is testament to that. There is no doubt that retrospective KYC checks placed significant financial and other resource burdens on service providers locally, however, ultimately, building a financial services industry which served the interests of law-abiding users and providers of investment capital was, and continues to be, positive for Cayman.
Why 'choose' cooperation?
Some still ask why we have been at the forefront of moves towards greater openness and transparency and if being amongst the first to take such action has put the Cayman Islands on a competitive back foot.
The answer is that the Cayman Islands has a zero-tolerance approach to illegal activity. It would not only be wrong to allow our jurisdiction to be used for money laundering, the financing of terrorism and tax evasion but it would also be an act of self-harm.
Transparency initiatives protect us from criminal activity, protect investors (and by extension the millions of people globally who benefit from such investments, such as pension plans) and protect public revenue here in the Cayman Islands. Transparency benefits our financial services industry and the Cayman Islands generally and this is why we were one of the first jurisdictions to sign up to the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and why the Ministry of Financial Services and the wider Government has worked hard to develop the legal and procedural framework necessary to satisfy the latest Economic Substance requirements.
Some worry about the unintended consequences of such transparency initiatives. However, we are clear that any risk associated with the adoption of international standards is far outweighed by the damage that would be done to the jurisdiction were we to ignore the direction of travel and carve out our own path for one.
There is much more to be done to ensure compliance with international standards. Our evaluation against the FATF standard highlighted deficiencies in our system which we are in the process of addressing and our efforts continue in relation to the EU's work on non-cooperative tax jurisdictions ahead of the review process due to commence next year.
Protecting the integrity of the Cayman Islands
We believe that our commitment to implementing international standards should speak for itself. Unfortunately, however, a negative perception persists in certain circles that we are in some way uncooperative and/or being brought to the table kicking and screaming. It may be that we have been too reticent to promote ourselves as a jurisdiction at the forefront of collaborative efforts in this area. Mistaken assumptions stemming from our tax-neutral model have also been unhelpful.
To combat this perception, Government and the Ministry of Financial Services have been engaging heavily with the international community and we are seeing the fruits of our labour. Technical and political engagement will, therefore, continue to be a priority for us.
While it is true that Cayman is both a willing and active participant in international fora on the development of global standards, it also the case that we don't have any other option. Not only do we take seriously our obligations as responsible members of the international community but if we are to continue to protect our financial services industry, we must continue on this journey.


Save the Date: The Toronto Inline Skating Club will hold its Annual General Meeting in conjunction with the Year End Party & Awards on Saturday December 8th 2018 at 4pm.
The party will feature a pot-luck (everyone brings some food). We ask that you RSVP (and include the number of guests that will attend). To confirm what you'll bring as food and to RSVP, please use the Google Doc (use the tab at the bottom to switch between food list and RSVP list).
A small group of skaters recently tested skating on a treadmill at Westwood Arena near Finch and Highway 427. Those who set-up this activity would like to extend an invitation to those interested in participating in this training opportunity to do so. If you would like to participate, please contact Peter Doucet at torontoinline@yahoo.com and your information will be passed along. Please get in touch with me by November 13th.
A schedule will be organized and those who participate will be expected to pay ahead of time. Costs will be detailed once groups are organized. You can expect to pay up to $50 per session, with a financial commitment of a minimum number of sessions (possibly paying ahead for up to 10 sessions).
Please note: This is NOT a TISC organized activity, and all who participate in this do so with the best understanding of risks and dangers involved, and recognize that TISC is not involved in setting up this training opportunity and costs are divided among all who participate.
Tonight's practice is cancelled due to the rainfall. Hopefully see you out on Thursday- and please remember it's a 6pm start.
This is a reminder TISC practices start at 6pm for thr month of September due to the loss in datlight. See you tonight if the weather holds up!
A group of TISC members recently traveled to Laval, Quebec, near Montreal, to compete at the 2018 Canadian Championships.
Gilbert Crevier, Chandra Mouli Danda, Peter Doucet, Cynthia Head, and Candy Wong competed over two days on the winding course in the beautiful Centre de la Nature. Alain Quintard, TISC Treasurer, was the Chief Referee of the event.
All TISC members put forth their best performances, reaching many podium finishes, but more importantly, each coming up with races and a weekend of performances they are satisfied with.
Tonight's practice is cancelled due to the rain + forecast. See you Monday.
Tonight's practice is cancelled due to the storm. See you all on Monday as we prepare for Nationals! Have you registered? The event is set for August 4-5 in Montreal, and it's free for RSC Registrants (members)!


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Home | Adam Turner
Tags: israel | palestinian authority | obama | terrorism
Foreign Policy Realists Shouldn't Be Hostile to Israel
Israeli and U.S. flags are seen during a welcome ceremony upon Trump's arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 22, 2017. (Corinna Kern/NurPhoto/Sipa USA via AP Images)
By Adam Turner
Wednesday, 06 September 2017 04:32 PM Current | Bio | Archive
"Obama, unlike liberal interventionists, is an admirer of the foreign-policy realism of President George H. W. Bush and, in particular, of Bush's national-security adviser, Brent Scowcroft ("I love that guy," Obama once told me)."
— The Obama Doctrine, The Atlantic, April 2016
"Buying the long-standing realist notion that Israeli-Palestinian conflict drives much regional turmoil, Obama pressured Israel for a settlement freeze as a necessary concession for peace and downplayed Palestinian terror, anti-Israel incitement and the terror group Hamas' role in Palestinian government as impediments to it."
— A Dangerous Middle East Policy, US News & World Report, May 6, 2015
The recently departed administration of Barack Obama was characterized by the president's open admiration of the "realism" of the foreign policy of the Presidency of George H. W. Bush, and Obama's continuous and strong antagonism towards the State of Israel. The two ideas often go together, because the conventional wisdom has long asserted that an American leader who practices the doctrine of "realism" should attempt to reverse the (generally) strong U.S. friendship and support for Israel. This is because such "realists" have long believed that American backing for Israel is a net negative for the U.S., because it antagonizes the Arab and/or Muslim World, and other nations.
As a correlation, these realists frequently argue that if the U.S. were to reverse that support — or appear more "even-handed" — the U.S. would automatically garner more popularity with the world.
But is this conventional wisdom correct? Would a true realist automatically attempt to distance the U.S. from Israel? And would such a change be a successful strategy for the U.S.?
Realism is defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Realists consider the principal actors in the international arena to be states, which are concerned with their own security, act in pursuit of their own national interests, and struggle for power… The classical realists do not reject the possibility of moral judgment in international politics. Rather, they are critical of moralism — abstract moral discourse that does not take into account political realities.
Per this definition, a "classical realist" would be focused on the nation's development of policies that most effectively maximize its "national interest(s)," which could include "moral judgment(s)." Note that, contrary to conventional wisdom, morality does play a role in classical realism.
However, for those who continue to insist otherwise, those that seek to divorce moral judgments from foreign policy making may be referred to as "moral-free realists."
National Interests (Excluding Moral Judgments)
The following are some U.S. national interests frequently cited by public officials and national security experts, especially when discussing Israel. Obviously, some of these interests are overlapping. 1) The U.S. has an interest in assuring its own physical security and its citizenry from foreign attack. [1] 2) The U.S. has an interest in protecting its own economic well-being. This entails keeping the oil and natural gas lanes in the Middle East flowing to the U.S. and the world. It also requires the U.S. to maintain its own national economic well-being by acting in a fiscally prudent manner. 3) The U.S. has an interest in bolstering the interests and security of its allies — i.e., positive reinforcement — and alternatively, in undermining or punishing its opponents — i.e., positive punishment — so as to incentivize pro-U.S. policies. 4) The U.S. has an interest in balancing power in every region, so as to deter future wars and help stabilize the world. 5) The U.S. has an interest in maximizing its popularity with other nations.
In reference to the first national interest, Israel has long been a strong ally of the U.S. Israel backs the U.S. around 90 percent of the time at the U.N. It is a bitter enemy of, and has fought against, many of the same terrorists and rogue states that the U.S. has found itself in conflict with, including Iran, Iraq, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Hamas, ISIS, etc. In 1970, at the behest of President Nixon, Israel mobilized its troops to intimidate Syrian troops invading Jordan, prompting the Syrians to retreat. In 1981, Israel destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, which allowed the U.S. to avoid a nuclear confrontation with Iraq in 1991, and later earned it the thanks of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. In 1991, at the behest of the U.S., Israel did not respond to Iraqi Scud Missile attacks so as not to endanger the international coalition against Saddam Hussein. In 2007, it destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria, which may have prevented a nuclear incident from occurring during the Syrian civil war.
Israel provides crucial intelligence to the U.S. In the early 90's, Gen. George J. Keegan Jr., former head of U.S. Air Force intelligence, stated that America's military defense capability "owes more to the Israeli intelligence input than it does to any single source of intelligence," the worth of which input exceeds "five CIAs." He stated that between 1974 and 1990, Israel received $18.3 billion in U.S. military grants, while providing the U.S. with $50-$80 billion in intelligence, research and development savings, and Soviet weapons systems captured and transferred to the U.S. Today, Israel is still providing unmatched national security intelligence — for example, regarding Syria and chemical weapons, and also in the U.S. campaign against ISIS. For example, Israeli intelligence information may have shown the truth about Assad's use of chemical weapons.
As for the second national interest, there is no question that Israel has provided great economic benefits to the U.S. The Washington Institute has reported that "Israel has facilitated U.S. efforts to deal with emerging soft security challenges related to economic competitiveness, the information technology revolution, resource sustainability, and public health." These include the development of cyber systems, robotics, rocket/missile defenses, battlefield ISR, advanced munitions, passive and active defenses for armored vehicles, and mini-satellites, IT, water conservation and management, high-tech agriculture, medical R&D, cleantech/renewable energy, and societal resilience, all of which have been shared with the U.S.
Contrary to popular belief, the (now) $3.8 billion in annual foreign aid the U.S. has given to Israel has been a military and an economic boost for the U.S. as well. It has yielded one of the highest rates of return on U.S. investments overseas. U.S. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce has himself said: "For those who ask about our foreign aid support to Israel, you should ask them, where do you think these ideas come from and where are they trained on the battlefield, and how much would it cost to replace Israel if it was not in the Middle East as the bulwark against what is developing as a result of the chaos throughout the region." Israel now spends 100 percent of its military aid in buying U.S. goods, making the aid an indirect American subsidy to U.S. arms manufacturers, and creating at least 70,000 jobs in America.
In many ways, the assistance Israel provides to the U.S. military industry is unique. Israel's air force developed a method of identifying, repairing and preempting cracks in old combat planes, such as the F-16 that it shared with the U.S., which reduces the time planes are grounded from six months to two weeks. Likewise, Israel has bought explosive-neutralizing robots from a Northrup Grumman, Tennessee plant, both putting the seal of Israeli approval on these robots and thereby boosting foreign sales, and providing, through a weekly telephone conference call, constant improvements to these products.
The flip side to this — the economic danger to the U.S. for supporting Israel — is mostly non-existent, regardless of the "Arab lobby." Except for the 1970's, the Arab/Muslim world has proven to be largely uninterested in utilizing their energy tool against Israel. Perhaps it is because the oil producing Gulf States recognize that Israel has actually been helpful to them in the past and do not really consider Israel to be a danger to their own existence? Or, it could just be that they recognize that the U.S. has less of a need for Arab and/or Muslim energy resources, because it has developed its own, alternate sources of oil and natural gas. In 2012, Forbes magazine wrote: "within eight short years, the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production, the International Energy Agency said." That is now three years away.
The U.S. also may benefit from Israel's development of its own energy sources. Israel has been "transformed with the 2010 discovery of a natural gas field off its Mediterranean coast. Dubbed the Leviathan gas field, it is the largest exploratory find in the world in the past decade and, based on increased estimates released a week ago, contains nearly 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas." There is also the Israeli natural gasfield's of Tamar and Dalit, which began producing in 2013, and are expected to produce 3 million tons of natural gas by 2017. These fields also have oil reserves.
Then, there are the critics of U.S. foreign aid to Israel (and other nations). During a time of huge debts and deficits, they often claim it is fiscally irresponsible to provide the $3.8 billion annual military aid. These critics may also point to the overall total of more than $115 billion given by the U.S. to Israel, since 1949.
Of course, eliminating Israeli aid just saves the U.S. $3.8 billion a year in military assistance. While $3.8 billion is a lot to an individual, it is almost nothing to the federal government. The U.S. government is almost $20 trillion in debt, and the U.S. deficit in 2016 was almost $552 billion.
In addition, it is a rather misleading to make the argument that the yearly $3.8 billion U.S. military foreign aid to Israel is somehow uniquely expensive to the U.S. The official foreign aid budget misses quite a bit of actual U.S. foreign aid. The U.S. State Department's foreign aid budget does not take into account the foreign assistance money spent by the Defense Department, the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID), and over a dozen more U.S. agencies. In 2015, the State Department's total planned foreign aid budget was $32.6 billion, while the Defense Department's total foreign aid budget was officially listed as $10 billion, USAID adding another $33.7 billion, and Treasury adding another $2.4 billion. Then there are the U.S. troop deployments, which are also not officially foreign aid. The U.S. stations 150,500 troops in 70 allied nations all over the world, such as in Germany, Korea, and Japan, which costs the American taxpayer an annual $85-100 billion. This is really foreign aid, and, unlike the aid to Israel, this assistance also puts the U.S. military in harm's way. [2] Once these costs are added to the office State Department foreign aid budget, the largest aid recipients are Japan, where 48,828 U.S. military personnel are stationed, costing over $27 billion, and Germany, with 37,704 U.S. troops on its soil, costing over $21 billion.
The third national interest requires that the U.S. provide positive reinforcement for allies, and positive punishment for enemies. For the U.S. to distance itself from Israel (as President Obama did) would seemingly indicate to most objective observers that the U.S. does not necessarily reward its allies for their good behavior. This thereby incentivizes anti-U.S. policies.
Certainly, the Palestinian Arabs are not U.S. allies. The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the more extreme Muslim fundamentalist Hamas terror group in Gaza continue to incite their people against the U.S. and against Christians (the vast majority of the U.S. population) in general. They pay terrorists salaries for actions that have killed and harmed American citizens. The Palestinian leadership has routinely supported the enemies of the U.S. – Nazi Germany, the U.S.S.R., Iran (Hamas), Iraq (during the invasion of Kuwait), and others. They have even praised (and here) Osama Bin Laden, and condemned his killing by the U.S. They have a history of destabilizing the Middle East, and other nations that are our allies; including Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. In polls, the Palestinian people show high levels of hatred or dislike towards the U.S. and Americans. On September 11, 2001, some Palestinians celebrated in the streets at the fall of the Twin Towers.
During the past eight years, under President Obama, the U.S. worked hard to curry Palestinian favor. The U.S. boosted its annual bilateral financial aid to the PA dramatically. The Obama administration also significantly increased the U.S. aid to the UN agency UNRWA, whose sole job is to administer welfare to the Palestinian refugees. Obama worked hard to implement policies to establish daylight with Israel and show unprecedented support for the Palestinians, among others by stridently criticizing Israeli settlements and pre-emptively endorsing the Palestinian claim to statehood for the PA (which is supposed to be decided under Oslo by bilateral Palestinian-Israeli talks).
Yet, during all that time, the U.S. received few benefits from this appeasement. The PA viewed "the Obama administration's quenchless demand for Israeli concessions," as inadequate and not worthy of real gratitude or reward. Unlike during the Bush or Clinton administrations, the PA refused to engage in bilateral talks with the Israelis. Palestinian — and other Arab peoples — support for Americans "reached an all-time nadir." The PA implemented a coalition government with Hamas, an anti-American terror group. The PA also continued to pay over $130 million a year, almost 10 percent of its budget, for terrorists and their families in reward for their terror attacks, which have led to the murder of over a hundred Americans, and the injury of many more.
The fourth of these interests cited is essentially based on the balance of power doctrine to minimize conflict. Considering the Arab world's huge numerical and monetary advantage over Israel, the U.S. is more likely to balance the sides by aiding Israel. Further, the idea that the U.S. should favor the anti-Israel Arab side, including the Palestinian Arab side, to balance the parties and thus dis-incentivize either party from instigating a war seems counterintuitive. If the U.S. wants to maximize peace for all parties in the region, empowering the more warlike, sometimes genocidal, groups such as the Islamist-led Saudi Kingdom, any Syrian groups, Fatah, Hamas, and Hezbollah would probably be far less likely to lead to peace than supporting democratic and human rights respecting Israel. Even the more moderate Arab nations, such as Egypt and Jordan, have been violent and aggressive in the past, and have populations and elites that make declarations of anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and express desires for acts of violence directed against Israel and the U.S.
The fifth national interest — to boost the U.S.'s popularity with the world — is also a frequent argument made by those who oppose Israel. Once again, this argument has surface appeal, but falls apart upon closer examination.
Most Arab and/or Muslim hatred or opposition towards the U.S. has little to do with the Palestinians. As the noted scholar Barry Rubin has written, "Arab and Muslim hatred of the United States is not just, or even mainly, a response to actual U.S. policies — policies that, if anything, have been remarkably pro-Arab and pro-Muslim over the years. Rather, such animus is largely the product of self-interested manipulation by various groups within Arab society..."[3]
A study on this question, by the distinguished historian Efraim Karsh, found that "this argument is not only completely unfounded, but the inverse of the truth. For even though the 'Palestine question' has long formed the main common denominator of pan-Arab solidarity and its most effective rallying cry, neither the Arab states nor Palestinian leaders have truly wanted the 'liberation of Palestine.'" Further, he wrote, "any notion claiming a link between finding a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and attaining regional peace and stability is both false and misleading." Even the anti-Semitic view of the Arab masses has nothing to do with the Palestinian cause. "Not once has the proverbial 'Arab street' driven the Arab regimes to war with Israel; it was rather the Arab masses, indoctrinated for decades with vile anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred, who have been repeatedly goaded into violence by their unelected rulers so as to divert attention from their own marginalization and repression."
Dennis Ross — who has served as a diplomat in the last four presidential administrations — has written that recent events in the region has also proven the idea that "you can't transform the region, or America's position in the region, unless you solve the Palestinian issue" to be false. In fact, "(t)oday most of the Arab Sunni states see Israel as a bulwark against both the Iranians and Islamic State and groups claiming loyalty to it. While they may keep their cooperation largely private — given public sensitivities about the Palestinian issue — the scope of what Israel is now doing with a number of Arab states on security is unprecedented."
Then, there is the historical record. Several times, the U.S. has actually adopted anti-Israel policies. Eisenhower, Nixon, Carter, [George H.W.] Bush and Obama all did. Every single one of these administrations were disappointed by the results of these anti-Israel policies; rather than gaining from the outreach, they typically produced more Arab demands.
In the 1950's, the Eisenhower Administration sought to separate itself from Israel to improve the U.S. position in the Middle East. As scholar Mitchell Bard has written, it didn't work: "Despite President Eisenhower's initial pursuit of policies toward Israel that were unhelpful at best, such as keeping the Jewish state out of military alliances and opposing arms and aid requests and, later, during the Suez crisis, threatening to take a variety of punitive actions if Israel did not withdraw from the Sinai, relations with much of the Arab world worsened. The Soviets gained a foothold in the region using Egypt as a proxy to weaken U.S. allies in the late 1950s." Michael Doran's book on Eisenhower's, called "Ike's Gamble," has explored these policies in greater detail, and found that Eisenhower came to realize far too late that he had made a major mistake in believing this pearl of American conventional wisdom.
In the 2009-2017 period, we saw much of the same thing. During the years under President Obama, the U.S. has distanced itself from its allies, including Israel, and has increasingly made benevolent gestures towards its bitter enemies, like Hamas. As a result, the world, and the Middle East, has become a much more violent and dangerous place for Americans and U.S. interests, as other nations have become incentivized to oppose America.
However, even with the Obama Administration showing a marked bias against Israel, the U.S. was still not particularly popular in much of the Arab and/or Muslim world. The Egyptians were disgruntled with the U.S. mainly because of U.S. action regarding the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which brutalized their own people, driving millions of them into the streets. The radical Iranian leadership still hates the U.S. because they are radical Muslims and we are infidels, or the "Great Satan," in their words. The same thinking applies to the transnational fundamentalist Muslim groups of al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia was angry at America as a result of the U.S.'s policies in Syria, Egypt, and Iran. All these Arab and/or Muslim countries love to mouth words of support for their Palestinian brothers, but in reality, many of them either hate or ignore the Palestinians. They rarely put their money where their mouths are by giving the Palestinians tangible humanitarian support.
None of these five interests has been conclusively disproven, but all seem to rather weak arguments that do not provide a truly compelling argument to reverse U.S. support for Israel.
National Moral Judgments
Now, for the classical realist alone, let us examine the U.S.'s oft-stated moral interests regarding foreign policy. 1) U.S. leaders have historically expressed their desire to maximize human rights and democratic rights throughout the world. 2) The U.S. habitually cites its desire for a peaceful world. 3) Specific to Israel itself, many religious Christians and Jews support Israel based on biblical verses that claim that God favors Israel and those people that support it. 4) In general, the American people have a predisposition to aid the victims of aggression, and fight the aggressors.
Regarding the first moral interest; since Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East that even attempts to protect its religious, ethnic, gender and sexual minorities, it is hard to argue that the U.S. should not support it in its struggles if the U.S. truly wanted to maximize human and democratic rights in the region.
Certainly, the state that would replace it — either completely, or in just in Judea and Samaria — doesn't seem to care much about human rights. In the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority holds sway, elections are rare and suspect, women are discriminated against, Christians are persecuted, people are imprisoned without trial and tortured, the press is not free, and terrorists who kill innocents — including American travelers to Israel — are paid and celebrated. In Gaza, where the terror group Hamas rules, in addition to all the above problems, Christians are not just persecuted, they are kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam, and sometimes tortured and murdered for "spreading Christianity." And the human rights records of the PA and Hamas have only gotten worse.
For that matter, few of the Arab and/or Muslim states are known for protecting the human rights or democratic rights of their people. According to Freedom House, "The Middle East and North Africa registered the worst civil liberties scores of any region." Except for Israel, of course. In most of the Arab and/or Muslim world, women are treated rather poorly. Many Arab and/or Muslim societies have high rates of honor killings. In Saudi Arabia, women can't vote, must be veiled, are forbidden from leaving their home without a male counterpart, and are even disallowed from driving automobiles. In Iran, many of the above rules are also followed, and law further decrees that girls are held criminally responsible at the ages of 8-9 years old, while criminal responsibility for boys begins at 15. As a result, in Iran, child executions continue to be high. In "most of the Middle East, homosexuality is a taboo and can result in harsh punishments if someone is found guilty." In Saudi Arabia, a gay man was recently sentenced to three years and 450 lashes. In Iran, men are hung, often from cranes, for homosexuality.
However, despite these facts, there are still some Israel critics who complain about Israel's democracy and human rights record, usually tossing around such language as "apartheid, genocide, security walls, Nazi-like behavior," and other catch phrases. Quite frankly, such critics are rarely making a serious argument. There is no genocide and no apartheid in Israel or the West Bank. (Gaza is now ruled by Hamas.) All restrictions on Arabs within Israel and the disputed territories are only there to enhance Israeli security. In fact, there were very few walls and checkpoints prior to the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. Arab Muslims who are Israeli citizens have full rights in their nation, including the right to vote for the Parliament. Most other Middle Eastern states do not give their citizens the right to vote in frequent and fair elections, including Hamas in Gaza and Jordan, both of which are majority Palestinian Arab states/entities. The Israeli Defense Forces has been praised for its respect for human rights, "during Operation Protective Edge [in 2014] … Israel not only met a reasonable international standard of observance of the laws of armed conflict, but in many cases significantly exceeded that standard."
In regard to the second moral principle, maximizing peace, Israel is the only democratic state in the region, and like most democratic states, its people tend to favor peace. In poll after poll, its people have consistently expressed their desires for peace with the Palestinians and their neighbors. Every single war that the Jewish state has been involved in has been defensive in nature.
Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the region, few other nations push for peace, especially since the "Arab Spring." Dictators rule through violence, and polls of the general population show significant levels of hostility towards non-Muslims, and express sizable support for the death penalty for apostates and adulterers, honor killings, suicide bombings, and Sharia law. As a result of the violence from the Arab and/or Muslim majorities, nearly the entire Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel was forced to flee, mainly to Israel. Today, much of the Christian population in the Middle East is in physical danger and is fleeing to the West. Warfare is rampant in the region. And the idea that another Arab state in the West Bank will be peaceful is ludicrous.
In regard to the third moral principle — religion — obviously, religious Christian and Jewish Americans who believe in the truth of their religion have a "moral" reason to favor Israel. Although many secularists might object to these arguments, the segment of American society that believes them is substantial, even in the halls of Congress.
Finally, in regards to the fourth moral principle, the Israelis are, once again, rarely the initiators of the violence directed against them. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the Arabs are the aggressors in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
An evaluation of these moral concerns of the U.S. seem to argue for continuing firm American support for the Jewish state.
The U.S. as the Weak Horse
Even if it were possible to curry favor with the Arab and/or Muslim world by suddenly opposing Israel, few anti-Israel realists address the fact that a reversal in U.S. attitudes cannot automatically expunge sixty-plus years of the narrative of the (perhaps supposed) strong U.S. friendship and support for Israel.
In fact, it might do just the opposite. It is often said that in the Middle East "(p)ower is respected; weakness is not." This concept has also been popularized by Osama Bin Laden, who memorably was quoted as saying that people favor the "strong horse" over the "weak horse." He meant that most Muslims respect and support a strong nation, even if that nation is not always friendly towards them, rather than a weak nation that keeps trying to endear itself to them.[4]
So, if the U.S. started expressing hostility and opposing Israel now — after 60-plus years of warm friendship — this might actually be considered another example of the U.S. showing weakness. And if the U.S. shows weakness, based on the "strong horse" theory, Arabs and/or Muslims would be culturally predisposed to oppose the U.S.
Then again, perhaps this is exactly what has happened during the last seven years?
Contrary to conventional wisdom, realists do not have to be hostile to the Jewish state. Both of the two types of realists examined here — "classical" and "moral-free" — should be focused on developing state policy(ies) that most effectively maximize "our national interest(s)." In both cases, those policies should include support for the state of Israel.
[1] The oft-mentioned national interest "Combating the War on Terror," which is in reality a "Combating the War on Al-Qaeda and similar jihadist groups and nations," is really just a subset of this principle.
[2] Note that I am not in any way arguing against the U.S. providing these troops and aid. I am just acknowledging their costs.
[3] Note that Barry Rubin is making the argument that U.S. policies are "remarkably pro-Arab and pro-Muslim," contrary to the conventional wisdom, which asserts that the U.S. has pursued pro-Israel policies. My argument focuses on the conventional wisdom, and does not actually attempt to determine if, in truth, over the years, on average, the U.S. policies have generally been pro-Israel or not.
[4] This rule may not just apply to the Arab and/or Muslim world.
Adam Turner is the General Counsel and Legislative Affairs Director for the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET). To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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Contrary to conventional wisdom, realists do not have to be hostile to the Jewish state.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi's father Deepak Modi, sister Purvi Mehta and her husband Mayank Mehta as part of its probe in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, an official said here on Friday. The fraud was committed during 2011-17 by illegally issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
ED investigators said Nirav Modi's relatives were summoned in the first week of this month and were given 15 days time to appear before it in the ongoing money laundering probe of over Rs 13,000 crore. The alleged banking fraud was committed by the diamond merchant, his group of companies — Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds — alongwith uncle Mehul Choksi and others.
Deepak is reportedly based in Antwerp in Belgium, while Purvi and her husband are settled in Hong Kong. "They were sent the summons through mail," the official said.
The multi-crore fraud was committed in connivance with PNB's Mumbai Brady House branch officers between 2011-17.
The ED had started money laundering probe against Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal, wife Ami and others, based on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) FIR lodged on January 31, following PNB's first complaint against the businessman for allegedly cheating it of Rs 280.70 crore.
ED investigators have claimed to have traced over Rs 5,000 crore assets of Nirav Modi so far. The official said that the crores said to have been sent as FDI transactions from Singapore-based firm Islington International Pte Ltd, whose beneficiary owner is stated to be Purvi's husband, are doubtful in nature.
The ED investigations is also based on Income Tax department's February report to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Union Finance Ministry against Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi in which it is reportedly mentioned that nearly Rs 4,900 crore transactions were unexplained.


It has been five years since I've started blogging. This blog started off as a food blog which then became a platform for random ramblings and letting my creative muse go for a wild run. It called for moving out and creating a separate blog, solely for food. It was one of the best decisions which I've made with regards to blogging and while that was sorted, I was having some trouble here. The good news is, this space went through re-branding, my writing has improved, and I spread my wings to niches that I could relate to. I've made some great friends through blogging, attended blogging conferences and learnt a great deal lot from bloggers who I admire so much.
I've been so obsessed with finding a niche for this blog. Sometimes, I wanted to be known as a book blogger – because come on, I love reading and I hoard them like crazy. There were times when I wanted to be a travel blogger – who else but me (or Fauji Wives like me) can write about the experiences we have when posted to remote locations. But then, I, my friends made me realize that I am a perfect amalgamation of all these and that I simply need to embrace this fact and move on. That's how I began writing for my sheer love for it.
Ever since I joined Write Tribe (the first ever blogging community which I knew about), there was no looking back. I discovered like-minded bloggers and over the years, I have made some tight relationships who are close to my heart. Networking is one of the important aspects of blogging. While the current trend is all about you-scratch-my-back-i-will-scratch-yours, blogging requires you to be genuine even while reading and leaving comments on others' posts. It helps you meet new bloggers, widen your audience and have an unadulterated community of your own.
Don't go after monetization from the day you begin your blog. Blogging requires hard work and persistence. It tests your patience and sometimes, your temper. There are no hard and fast rules on making money through blogging. Provide quality content and maintain a healthy relationship with your readers. Be committed and keep at it long enough to see the results.
Social Media has become the way of life, especially for us, bloggers. While I have an account on almost all the prominent social media channels, I know where my true audience lies. While one platform offers you engagement, the other would drive traffic to your blog. The downside of too much Social Media would be losing your mental peace. Oh, sometimes, being blunt is the best way to put across a bitter truth. Social Media can be overwhelming. You get to see a lot of singing one's own praises, but I've learnt to ignore them all. But taking a short break once in a while also works!
I always wrote on the go. But that resulted in inconsistencies and there were huge gaps in my blogging schedule. Whether it is the classic pen and paper or an excel sheet or the WordPress Content Calendar plugin, having one helps a great deal lot. You can plan, organize and have a clear vision as to what you should be doing.
You've hit the nail on the head when it comes to blogging and community and writing because we love it. I think niche blogs are the way to go, especially when you have two very different target audiences!
Shailaja Vishwanath recently posted…Instagram Hashtag Finder by Tailwind- A Blogger's best friend!
Truly some gems of blogging life shared here Shalini – power of community and Content calendar are my two proven hacks too. It helps to pre plan one's writing and networking with like minded bloggers is a great boost to one's writing!
This is spot on. I've been blogging for a bazillion years and am constantly changing things up. I have no niche. I just write and vent and laugh and cry and if someone is out there to listen and join in then I am grateful.
We seem to have similar journeys. Unfortunately I still haven't found my niche and I don't exactly know how to re-brand. I'm going to take Shailaja's help on this after Diwali is over. I did branch out into three blogs – one on food and one on grandparenting and my regular everyday blog. But I still haven't figured out how to schedule posts on each and keep them all alive and relevant.
I think the fact that you are an IT person helps in the ease in transitioning from a home grown blog to a professional blog. Love your new slick look and style – especially your photos for your food blog.
As you said blogging is hard work and I still have to master the game.
Oh yes! It's amazing how we go through a variety of phases trying to find our niche. If you're like me, you might realize you don't really have one and keep enjoying doing it all!