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Development, public health and general grumblings
Archive | August 2011
in Politics, War
Climate Patterns Determine Violent Conflict
Can the weather cause war? The latest issue of Nature seems to suggest as much. Featured was an interesting article [1] which explored the relationship of El Nino/La Nina weather patterns and conflict events over the past 50 years. El Nino/La Nina (ENSO) is an ill-understood weather phenomena characterized by 5 year cycles of warming/cooling due to fluctuations in warm/cool air pressure. It is usually associated with extreme weather events. Assocations with ENSO have been found for a number of climate related phenomena including hurricanes, rain fall and influenza infection and mortality patterns.
The researchers link the Onset and Duration of Intrastate Conflict [2]dataset with available ENSO data. They find strong associations of ENSO events with conflict events worldwide. Anticipating that the associations may be driven entirely by conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers remove all African conflicts and still discover the same association.
One very interesting result is that the relationship of ENSO to conflict appears to fade away as a country's GDP increases, though picks back up again for extremely wealthy countries such as the United States. Apparently, it is to a country's advantage to remain in the middle. Hsiang's research is important because it mostly confirms that which was already suspected by a number of conflict specialists, namely that environment and human warfare are intimately related[3-11].
Poor countries are prone to food insecurity. A temporary drought, a massive tropical storm and even a small change in climate can result in a famine of broad proportions. It is, therefore, logical to assume that the poorest of countries would be the most sensitive to ENSO events. Middle income countries are able to weather temporary events and are wary to spend precious capital on waging wars. Wealthy countries such as the United States are sufficiently secure enough to deal with climate change and sudden weather events but have access to more than enough capital to wage conflicts to further their own resource and political interests.
Climate change, ever rising numbers of intense weather events, increasing population and declining access to water could theoretically turn the late 21st century into one of the bloodiest eras in human history. The rise of developing economies on the world stage, however, could help mitigate this effect as poor countries develop their internal food and transportation infrastructure. The mass resource grab presently being waged by rising middle income countries such as China, India, Brazil, South Korea and many mid-Eastern states could lead to an exported war of epic proportions, though. The future is uncertain, though, as it always is.
Governments around the world (including our own) are taking the issue of climate change and the possibility for civil and interstate conflict very seriously [12-14]. By all appearances, however, the American electorate and the US political scene is not.
1.	Hsiang SM, Meng KC, Cane MA: Civil conflicts are associated with the global climate. Nature 2011, 476:438.
2.	Strand H: Onset of Armed Conflict: A New List for the Period 1946–2004, with Applications.Technical report 2006.
3.	Cool heads or heated conflicts? Climate change and warfare.(how to prevent climate-induced wars). The Economist (US) 2009, 393:82.
4.	Anonymous: Climate and Conflict. FCNL Washington Newsletter 2010:2.
5.	Ashley H: Climate change-related conflict forecast. The World Today 2008.
6.	Drapeau MD, Mignone BK: Culture, conflict, and… climate? Science (New York, NY) 2007, 316:1564.
7.	Lionel J, Hugh M, Neil M, Ian G: Climate change, ill health, and conflict. British medical journal 2011, 342:777.
8.	Nordås R, Gleditsch NP: Climate change and conflict. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 2007, 26:627.
9.	Sondorp E, Patel P: Climate change, conflict and health. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2003, 97:139.
10.	Stephan H: Climate Change, Future Conflict and the Role of Climate Science. RUSI Journal 2005, 150:18.
11.	Scheffran J: Climate-induced instabilities and conflicts. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2009, 6:562010.
12.	CNA: National Security and the Threat of Climate Change. 2007.
13.	Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. In Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; 2007.
14.	Barnett J, Adger WN: Climate change, human security and violent conflict. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 2007, 26:639.
Strauss-Kahn, the DRC and the Uncertainty of Rape
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, has been pardoned but the complexities of his case and its broader implications continue on. Not withstanding the David and Goliath style nature of the case, a poor Guniean immigrant is sexually assaulted by one of a member of the wealthiest and most powerful on the planet, the case also unveils the deep politics of rape and sexual assault itself. Many will flock to support the victim believing that not only is it entirely possible that a man like Strauss-Kahn would take advantage of his position for his own sexual fulfillment, but that to leave Ms. Diallo in the dust is to be an accessory to his crime. People want to believe victims of sexual assault. It is in our nature, at least those which I know, to seek to protect the sanctity of women from the evils of violent men.
However, all is not which it may appear. Ms. Diallo's case has been fraught with controversies, from exagerrated and false stories of gang rape in her native Guinea, to her associations with crack dealers and organized crime. The immediate search for dirt in the background of a sexual assault victim is common to nearly all legal cases of rape, though in this case, the search was more efficient, sufficiently funded, and rife with fruit for the taking.
The truth is, we will never know what occurred between Mr. Strauss-Kahn and Ms. Diallo. Many are certain that something did occur, though the level of consent is to be debated. What strikes me, though, are the interviews with Mr. Strauss-Kahn's associates from his French Socialist Party in France who deny without question that Mr. Strauss Kahn could ever commit such a reprehensible act. I am sure that associates of Josef Mengele would make the same denials, rallying in support for his character. The truth, whatever it may be, seems elusive, not merely due to the lack of evidence, but to that which the principal players choose to see. In this way, this simple case of sexual assualt, becomes vastly complex and reflective of political discussions in general, where people choose what to see, what to believe and how to interpret. Those choices often have little to do with the evidence on hand, but rather are informed by social allegiances and political priorities which parade themselves across the media stage in a Roshomon-like procession of discordant stories.
I read an interesting article this morning in Foreign Affairs by Amber Peterman, calling for the systematic collection of data on wartime rape, and was immeidately struck by the connections between evidence of the magnitude and scale of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the case of Mr. Strauss-Kahn. Impassioned stories of rape victims and the savagery of perpertrators make for nice sound bites and work to move people to act, but there is no substitute for rigorous evidence of crimes, a lack of which exists in both Mr. Strauss-Kahn's case (a video would have helped) and the ongoing conflict in the DRC. Evidence based courts cannot rely on passionate testimonials, nor can policy be drafted on anecdotal horror stories of war. As long as the haze of uncertainty lingers in sexual assault cases, justice will never done and the perpetrators of disgusting crimes of rape will be free to rape again. The perpetrators are smugly aware of this fact, and since time immemorial have used it to their advantage.
in My life, Photos, Travel
Superior State: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan
I just got back from vacation and am having an incredible time motivating myself to return to my regular grind. I never take vacations. My musical "career" and present work have taken me to enough places, that staying home almost feels a luxury. Now that I've reached this moderately advanced age, though, I've recently felt the need to finally take one. Vacations should come with "post-vacation vacations" to allow a slow and peaceful transfer back to reality.
The Upper Peninsula covers nearly a third of Michigan's landmass, but only 3% of its population. Most of the land is occupied by State and National Parks, wildlife reserves and forests. Occasionally, one sees a town. Despite the lack of humanity, the UP is one of the most unique places I have ever visited.
Formerly a hot bed of American iron and copper mining, the UP's economy is now driven by logging and tourism. Log houses, logging trucks and chainsaw stores dot the landscape, along with signs warning one of wandering moose and elk. The population is a mish mash of descendents of the original Finnish settlers, recent imports, seasonal residents and snowbirds and a prominent, though clearly poor, Native American population.
It's the Alaska of Michigan, a vast unlivable frontier that somehow skates by through the sheer determination of its residents and the economic support of its lower neighbors.
The UP is so vastly different from the lower peninsula of Michigan, that it could almost be a different state. In fact, secessionist movements have long existed in the UP, with a small group calling for the creation of "Superior," the 51st State of the Union, named after the largest of the five Great Lakes. It is easy to see why. The UP is mostly disenfranchised from State politics. Lower Peninsula concerns with the revival of the manufacturing economy overshadow the resource based economic concerns of the UP. It would appear that the UP is regarded by the State Legislature as merely a source of votes, and not a priority for the resurrection of Michigan's troubled economy.
We had the opportunity to enjoy some of what the UP has to offer in the way of its amazing National and State Parks. I was able to take a few pictures between bouts of hiking induced exhaustion through the Porcupine Mountains. I will be sure to got back to the UP one day. In fact, I am already planning to visit the mighty Isle Royale next year.
London Riots, the Arab Spring, the African Summer, are we next?
The recent spat of riots in the UK are entirely overdue. While the media is quick to disregard the rioting and looting as the work of a few "thugs," the wider implications cannot be ignored. Mass unemployment, declining levels of public expenditure, decaying educational infrastructure all have created conditions that leave a young generation of Brits in the dust. It is important to note that lack of foreseeable employment and insecurity are exactly the conditions which led to the so-called "Arab Spring" and later, the "African Summer" as most exemplified by that mass rioting in Malawi of a couple weeks ago.
The stupidity of looting and chaos cannot be denied. However, young people have great difficulty in expressing themselves, often unaware themselves as to why they harbor deep levels of anger and frustration. Verbalizing that frustration in a coherent manner is even more difficult. Things were no different for me when I was a teen and I was just as angry.
The question one must ask, however, is when youth uprisings will return to the United States. We have all the conditions necessary, mass unemployment of young people on an unprecedented scale (ssee below) with little hope in sight. Within the past few years, despite a Democratic President and Senate, we've seen vast defunding and dismantling of public education and public expenditure which creates jobs. Worse, we have seen the American populace shift to the right, bowing to the politics of fear rather than reason. I can only see things getting worse from here on out.
I recently watched the excellent documentary "The Weather Underground," and was astounded to see how far we, as a democratic society have actually sunk. The violent and reckless actions of the Weather Underground are certainly deplorable. The dedication to change and the fight against a seemingly invincible power structure of the SDS, the Weathermen, the Black Panthers and the vast participants of the Civil Rights movement, however, are vastly admirable.
I do not see such a struggle occurring among the youth of 2011. They are far too fractured and self interested to mobilize en masse. It is truly ironic that, despite having the largest and most connected communication network in human history, that the American youth are unable to truly connect with one another. In that sense, the powerful have won and haven't had to kill a single person.
Unemployment by Age Group (U.S.)
Racist Kid Kills Black Man in Mississippi
Excuse the simplification of the title of this blog post.
The news of the death of James Craig Anderson, a 49 year old auto plant worker in Jackson, Mississippi has stirred up so much interest, that it made the national news. For those, not in the know, a group of middle class white teenagers from Brandon, Mississippi, decided, on a whim, to drive to Jackson and assault the first African-American they saw. I assume that this happens much more than the newspapers are willing to report, but this time, parking lot security cameras caught the event on video, allowing the entire country to see the exact depth of racist violence that still pervades in American society a full 40 plus years after Civil Rights.
Personally, I find the event sickening, revolting, and reprehensible, though, having grown up in Mississippi, hardly surprising. What interests me, though, is a single statement by a boasting 18 year old Deryl Dedmon after he savagely ran over a stunned James Anderson:
"I ran that nigger over!"
There it is. The N-word in all its glory doing the deed that it was created to do. Words such as this work to objectify people, to rob them of all that makes them an individual, to disregard their humanity.
At present, I am reading Amartya Sen's "Identity and Violence" which, in part, addresses the very issues raised by Deryl Dedmon's brutal killing of Mr. Anderson.
Simplified classifications run deep in common speech. Sometimes they act as place markers for concepts we don't truly understand or for ideas where we (or our listeners) don't have sufficient information to parse out any underlying complexities. Sometimes, classifying people can be done with good intentions, such as defining policy that helps Native Americans or in discouraging racial discrimination.
Sometimes, however, they are used as tools of violence. They can demean, isolate and weaken our opponents, by relieving us of the need to understand and recognize the thoughts, the opinions, the very existence of those we don't like or agree with.
I believe in the inherent goodness of people. Most humans, if given a true choice, would not do evil to other humans provided they understood that their actions truly are, in fact, evil. Labels such as "N****er," "Liberal," "Muslim," "Tea Partier," (I'm being fair) "Fag," "Gaijin," remove the humanity of, well, humans. They allow us to say and do things that we wouldn't do to those we know and love. After all, commiting violence against people is wrong. Committing violence against objects is somewhat acceptable.
Sen notes that identity and classification allow violence to occur, sometimes even causing it, often even encouraging it. New labels can be applied for self interested means. Note that Rwandans coexisted with one another for centuries, until the poisionous labels of "Hutus" and "Tutsis" pitted neighbor against neighbor, and led to the death of thoursands.
Beyond Sen's book and Mr. Dedmon's reprehensible actions, the poisonous political battles in the current United States are filled with the very type of rhetoric that seeks to divide and subject. Blog posts, TV commentators and politicians regular use perjorative terms such as "Liberal," effectively ending debate and swiping aside political civility. Likewise, Tea Party backed politicians have effectively dug their own grave, by labelling themselves in this case, asking for divisive vitrol from the left. "Muslim" has become a convenient key word to label nearly a quarter of the world's population which represents a vast landscape of cultures, languages and histories that often have little in common with one another.
We are more than our labels. We can be Americans at once, liberals politically, homosexuals, broccoli eaters, Christians and heavy metal fans all at once. To do what Mr. Dedmon did, to reduce a human being to a single, convenient classification to ease the application of violence against his person, is the root of humanity's inability to get along. Dedmon killed Mr. Anderson twice, first by killing him physically, then by robbing him of his personhood by loudly boasting to his thouroughly stupid friends.
Let us not be Mr. Dedmon. Let America move beyond the vile and hateful and simplistically stupid rhetoric that has poisoned us for the past 200 plus years.
Sen A: Identity and violence: the illusion of destiny. Allen Lane; 2006.
Sexual Predator in Ann Arbor Garners National News
The New York Times today ran a short article on a series of recent sexual assaults that have occurred in this quaint, normally safe, University town. The article itself is really nothing of note, but the reactions to the "wave of spiraling crime" and the surrounding quiet hysteria have been intriguing.
My very good friend, Mark, runs a great blog, which features mostly posts of his beloved town of Ypsilanti, which borders Ann Arbor. Mark's blog keeps me up on Ypsi and all of its complications and successes. Ypsi, by any measure, is, for a town of a mere 20,000 people, one of the most crime ridden areas of the state. Ypsi's crime rates well exceeds national averages in just about every category. To be fair, crime in Ypsi is not spread uniformly across the city, but restricted to certain areas and demographics, which makes the situation more, not less, demanding of action.
Ann Arbor, on the other hand, is a safe, college town, where women walk alone at night, and crime is mostly restricted to stealing from college kids who don't lock their doors, or drunken university stupidity. I feel as safe in Ann Arbor as I do in Japan.
What's notable to me is that crime in Ann Arbor would merit a feature in the New York Times, whereas crime, real endemic crime in Ypsilanti generates zero publicity. Crime in Ann Arbor is like your occasional case of pneumonia, bad and life threatening, but temporary and curable. Crime in Ypsi (and it's big sister Detroit), with its deep and entrenched social causes, is more akin to a miserable set of chronic afflictions.
I would suggest to the New York Times, that they visit the most troubled areas of Southeastern Michigan and write on what's been going on here for the past 50 years. Unemployment, the defunding of public education, drugs and economic flight have left the poor of Michigan in a veritable social prison, unable to leave, but unable to make a life here and universally hated throughout the country.
Random sexual assaults, while serious, happen only occasionally in Ann Arbor. In places like Detroit, Flint and Ypsilanti, they happen on a daily basis. The victims are no less real, nor no less damaged.
Articles about threats to the life and welfare of wealthy white people may garner sympathy from other wealthy white people, but really just end up distorting the conversation of social problems in America. The greatest threats to life and welfare are being experienced by the poor on a daily basis and very unfortunately go ignored by the popular press and the electorate. I would beg the New York Times to put things in real perspective.
Debts and the Unending Political Crisis
I'm finding myself rather depressed today reading news of the so-called "debt compromise" that the House and Senate appear to have come to. Basically, in my limited understanding of state budgets and economics, Senate leader Reid, House Majority leader Boehner and the Obama admin have all caved to the most extreme factions of American politics and deliberately kicked the can on the most serious problems that face our country.
Americans wanted tax increases on the wealthy, and comprehensive reform to close tax loopholes that don't benefit anyone except the most privileged. Instead, what we get is a secret panel of political pundits hiding behind closed doors, making life changing decisions on who will have to bear the brunt of "sacrifice" for the benefit of the country. Schools will be closed, health care for poor people will fizzle out, and old people will be out on the street. The future, if today is any indication, seems nothing but bleak to me.
Closer to home, for me, future cuts will see that research monies will dry up, and a whole generation of educated, capable and dedicated young people will be left behind to serve coffee for a living rather than enter public service.
The economy will dry up as federal investment in infrastructure lies fallow, Tea Party influenced American unwilling or unable to understand the truly tight link between America's economic successes and government, tax payer funded investment.
We cannot depend on the private sector to provide, for example, schools to raise our underclasses to become economically productive citizens. We cannot depend on the private sector to provide health care to keep America's employable citizens from falling prey to chronic ills, a bill that gets levied to the tax payer in the form of both direct expenditures on health conditions treated too late, and on the great losses to the economy imparted by a population too fat and too sick to work.
Until Americans start learning the difference between election politics and true governance, nothing will change. The voter is taken by charisma and speculative rhetoric, such as that being delivered by both Romney and Bachmann. "I would have done things differently." Well, maybe, but you aren't in office, it's easy to say what you would have done when you're not sitting in the drivers chair. Americans love fantasies; so much, that we are willing to bet our futures on them.
I have this awful feeling that this "Tea Party success" of the extreme right wing will lead to the worst in the 2012 elections. Bachmann, politically bright, but intellectually weak, may get the nomination, she may even win the Presidency. Americans, weak in the face of perceived strength that disguises weakness, may even tips the tables of the Senate, leaving the country in the hands of the extreme right for some time to come.
Let us hope, however, that sense prevails.
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Putin ponders border revision between Hungary and Romania
September 5, 2016 1:46 pm·
Russian President Vladimir Putin raised eyebrows among Romanians and raised hope among some Hungarian nationalists, by suggesting that reviewing the post World War II border between Hungary and Romania could be on the agenda, if people question Russia's borders and territories. In June 1920, the Treaty of Trianon confirmed Hungary's loss of Transylvania and its transfer to Romania. During the interwar period, Hungary's key foreign policy aim was the recovery of these and other lost territories. In August 1940, Hungary's wish came true. Through the Second Vienna Award, initiated by Adolf Hitler's Germany and Benito Mussolini's Italy, Hungary recovered 43,492 km² in land from Romania. Northern Transylvania, where ethnic Hungarians formed 55% of the population, was transferred to Hungary. On a personal note: my father's cousin was a child in Kolozsár (Cluj) and he recalls how exuberant his Hungarian Jewish family was, when Hungarian troops moved in to the region and reclaimed the land. The deportation of Transylvania's Hungarian Jews four years later, at the hands of Hungarian officials, left many Jews in Kolozsvár and elsewhere in the region dumbstruck and devastated.
Hungary's territorial gains in World War II, as an ally of Nazi Germany.
In 1947, the Treaty of Peace with Hungary, signed in Paris, transferred northern Transylvania back to Romania. Hungary also lost all other World War II territorial gains. In fact, in 1947 Hungary even lost a handful of additional villages to Czechoslovakia, which during the Treaty of Trianon were allowed to remain with Hungary.
The Hungarian-language Transylvanian Főtér website discovered Vladimir Putin's surprising statements. Mr. Putin was giving an interview to Bloomberg when he was asked about borders determined at the end of World War II. Mr. Putin's position is that if the revision of any post-World War II borders, impacting Russia, are up for discussion, then the decision to return Transylvania to Romania in 1947 must also be considered.
The Bloomberg journalist had asked President Putin about whether Russia would be willing to return to Japan the Kuril Islands–the Soviet Union invaded the region in 1946, and expelled close to 17,000 ethnic Japanese. The question arose following Mr. Putin's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and talk of closer economic ties between the two countries.
Bloomberg also asked Mr. Putin about the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in the Baltic region. The area was historically part of Prussia and then later Germany. The Soviets occupied the area on April 9th, 1945, resulting in the forced removal of the local German population. The journalist's suggestion regarding Kaliningrad was meant as a joke, but Mr. Putin responded with seriousness.
"Putting aside the joke, If someone wants to review the outcome of the Second World War, then we can talk. However, then we must not only talk about Kaliningrad, but also about the eastern part of Germany, as well as the city of Lvov, once a part of Poland, and so on. And on this list we also have Hungary and Romania," remarked Mr. Putin. The Russian president referred to any talk of border revision that may negatively impact Russia as opening a Pandora's box in Europe.
Unlike in 1941, today Transylvania (even northern Transylvania) has a large Romanian majority, due in large part to the organized settlement of Romanians in major Transylvanian cities following the Second World War, as a conscious attempt to change demographic realities in the region. Today, more than 74% of Transylvania's 6.4 million population identifies as ethnic Romanian. Hungarians comprise 19% of this population, according to Romania's 2011 census. Ethnic Germans now comprise just 0.5% of the Transylvanian population. The members of the Roma community, who often speaks Hungarian at least as a second language, stand at 4%, according to official statistics.
Hungarians continue to form a majority in two counties of Transylvania. In Hargita County, the Hungarian population stands at 83%. In neighbouring Kovászna County, Hungarians comprise 74% of the population.
Tags: Romania, Second World War, Transylvania, Trianon, Vladimir Putin
Author: Christopher Adam Christopher Adam received a B.A. in history from Concordia University, an M.A. in East/Central European and Russian-Area Studies from Carleton University and a PhD in history from the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on the history of the Hungarian diaspora during the postwar period. Christopher is the founding editor of the Hungarian Free Press, as well as the founder and editor-in-chief of the Kanadai Magyar Hírlap Hungarian-language paper, which won Hungary's 2015 Free Press (Szabad Sajtó) Award. Christopher resides in Ottawa, Canada.
Charlie London says:
on September 5, 2016 at 2:37 pm
Victorlae Orbanescu will just love Putin for this!
Irredentism is never far from Orban's – and his cronies' – thoughts.
He'd even leave the EU to achieve this even though, as part of the EU, he signed away this option.
But not until he's milked the EU for all the moolar he can get.
Unprincipled thief.
Click-bait title, lame.
on September 6, 2016 at 1:57 am
Borders of countries are keep on changing in history. And will continue to change. Or is there anybody who can mention any significant world event that has terminated this continuous historical course forever and ensures that no borders of countries will change in the future any more and everything will freeze?
I certainly consider that Hungary gets back the good half of Romania as a most natural thing if the power elite and Putin has the resource to make it.
If it happens under Orban's reign he will be in the history books as one of the greatest Hungarian. If not under Orban but under the next ruler i.e of MSZP than they have to find out a new explanation about nationalism.
Also, I easily can imagine that there are multiple plans to form a new Europe and one of these plans might be to reverse the results of World War I and reinstate the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian
monarchies, in which case Orban might become a Hungarian king and I can understand his rush to move to the Castle district.
I don't say it will happen I just say I'm sure there are plans for this. Sounds crazy, impossible? Not for everybody.
lord belial says:
Transylvania is Romanian land. Always has, always will.
Putin & Ungaria sug pula.
Silviu says:
Putin will never give back any land Russia took and Romania will never give any land just bcaz someone said so…
This will never happen, but you can dream more.
1. "On a personal note: my father's cousin was a child in Kolozsár (Cluj) and he recalls how exuberant his Hungarian Jewish family was, when Hungarian troops moved in to the region and reclaimed the land."
Hmm… And do you think that such attitudes motivated the Romanian anti-Semites? After all Jews were supposed to be faithful to their new country and at most to the fellow Jews worldwide (a natural blood connection). Just speaking Hungarian doesn't make somebody a "Hungarian".
It is interesting that Jews, a people with a cult for remembrance, forgot so easily what they suffered at the hands of Hungarians after the fall of the Bela Kun regime.
2. "The deportation of Transylvania's Hungarian Jews four years later, at the hands of Hungarian officials, left many Jews in Kolozsvár and elsewhere in the region dumbstruck and devastated."
I suppose for a very short before, as we are told, the unlucky ones (fortunate exceptions – Elie Wiesel, etc., etc.) found their demise at the final destination – Auschwitz…
3. "Mr. Putin's position is that if the revision of any post-World War II borders, impacting Russia, are up for discussion, then the decision to return Transylvania to Romania in 1947 must also be considered."
The Bloomberg "journalist" should have replied to Putin that actually Russia is the first European state which after WWII made a border change by the use of force. Putin is the very guy who has opened the Pandora's box!
3. "due in large part to the organized settlement of Romanians in major Transylvanian cities following the Second World War, as a conscious attempt to change demographic realities in the region."
4. The "Hungarians" of Harghita and Covasna insist in calling themselves "Szeklers". I wonder why?… Remember what I said about speaking Hungarian…
cornerro says:
on September 7, 2016 at 12:06 pm
my friend, people of harghita and covasna call themselves "szeklers" because they are so. according with the previous population census, at their free declaration, as you know, there were under 700 persons. despite of this, they claim for a region of at least 2 counties for their autonomous land. over 10 000 square kilometers for under 700 people! as the matter of fact, hungarians endorse this movement, pretending they are szeklers' brothers, but they "forgot" "UNIO TRIUM NATIONUM", a status that they themselves proclaimed in subdued transylvania, which meant: hungarians, swabians(germans) and szekles. so, szeklers were not considered hungarians then! why? probably because they were not and are not hungarians! why would hungary enforce an autonomous territory on a foreign country? do great britain enforce such territories in all the world for the sake of people who are english speakers?! it would be hundreds! the answer is: hungary is a past consumer with a past related self esteem. look at the austrians: they managed a great empire (subduing hungary too), they are at the size of hungary now and reclaim…nothing. that's the attitude of a real master who knows times are changing.
Second generation Transylvania. says:
So, America give back Louisiana to the French,
New Mexico and California to Mexico, and Nova Scotia to.. will not happen.
Transylvania is Romanian…. Yes, thanks to the Hungarians in 1944, some tiny number of Germans ( Szaz) remain, and no Jews… So no economy, universities and education in general in the decline, and so is the way Koloszvar looks: dismal, peeling, poor, wretched..
1. Putin clearly referred to Kaliningrad and Lvov, but he didn't mention Transylvania, he only said "Romania and Hungary are on the list". Further, we see that Putin mentioned: "… the outcome of the Second World War", or Transylvania could be a second world war issue ONLY in the light of Vienna Diktat, when Hitler abusively agreed for the rape of A PART of Transylvania,to be given to Hungary, after that entire territory democratically chose, in 1918, to be part of Romania, election confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. Logically, if a reparation can't be a problem, we might think that Putin was speaking about Basarabia and Bucovina (thinking of Romania), also ripped off from Romania (Molotov/Ribbentrop pact), parts of which are component of Ukraine now (as a matter of fact, THIS was particularly mentioned by Russian politician Jirinovsky, couple of years ago, in the context of crimean issue, when he also stated that Hungary has some territories to be claimed from Ukraine). So, the reference to Transylvania is a pure speculation, but, as Romanians use to say, "sparrow always dreams of cornflour".
2. For the connoisseurs, Putin didn't say that to OPEN the "case" of illegitimacy of some territories in the WW2 context (troubles made with Russian co-participation, I would say, mister Putin), but to emphasize the CASE CLOSED status quo! Anyway, Hungarian day dreamers and heavy grumblers can go on with their fights of fancy …
Mr. Richard"plans to form a new Europe and one of these plans might be to reverse the results of World War I and reinstate the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian
Kingdoms? what? yah lets all go back to 1900s… If Russia was in control I'm sure this will happen but not on U.S.A's watch 😉
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche
tea-break says:
Romania is a joke. 100 years ago it's territory was 1/10 of the today's one. Enough said.
1. yeap. a good joke for some, a neutral one for mostly, a huge grudge for hungarian haters.
2. a state isn't about a more/less territory at one moment in time, buddy. where's roman empire now? where was state of eritrea 100 years ago? yet, the components of roman empire, as well as the people, didn't just vanish away, they have been transformed, that's why a new entitling is a nonsense only for fools. all is all, people weren't created for a name, but names for the people. so, it would be enough said if you could say more than that or keep silent.
Zoe McFarlane says:
It's a shame to see what happened to Transylvania since it got signed over to Romania that's for sure. I think it was a unjust to begin with but it's another thing to see that the beautiful historical buildings are decaying and with more romanians there the culture and economy is declining too. Romanians don't know how to lead a country successfully, they've never been good at it even with just Vallachia they always needed help from other countries to even exist. I hope Transylvania will reunite with Hungary or become independent otherwise I fear it will be a complete dump in less then 100 years.
1. a country don't need a technology or civilisation standard to be formed or exist. do you think nigeria should be given to hungary because nigerians can't handle it? i'd say this is a perilous concept, but pretending hungary would be a standard for something is pretty laughable.
1. do you know how transylvania really looked 150 years ago, for example? do you refer of it's rural part, too? have you visited recently transylvania? i think you're just bluffing, madam. cluj is looking better than anytime and i'd say it looks better than most of the hungarian cities, despite the fact that romanians are neglecting some old buildings (all along the country).
2. the economy of transylvania is better than anytime. well, it could be like american economy, alright, but…is hungarian economy likewise?
3. the romanians didn't lead successfully the country mostly in the last period of communist era, when everything gone down. the main reason is that romania paid ALL ITS DEBTS, being the unique country in modern history who does it! this is not visible, but i'd say it counts in any respect. of course, hungarians didn't pay the debts and the outcome was, after 90's, that a large part of them was erased by the international banks (which was cool, i admit, i had to endure lot of lacks for ten years because of the correctness of communist politicians). all in all, romanians are not germans and romania is not germany, that's for sure, but….hungary? is hungary a top example for anything? their country looks alright, i like it, but…far from germany or any western country madam! i just think you and a lot of people like you took credits from past austrians deeds and transfer them to hungarians, which is ridiculous.
3a) if you would have said : "romanians can't brightly lead a country", i would agree.
4. transylvania isn't toy to be transfered (or "reunited"! what kind of reunion, madam, on which bases? reunions are not made by the monopoly game players, madam, nor after some moron patricians' humors, not anymore, it's over, we live in 21st century!), it's a territory ruled by the romanian citizens and they are doing it according with their power and desire, it's not anyone else's business. if it'll be a dump after 100 years, it will be their dump, not yours. spain was a dump some decades ago, without a communist era to ruin it, and now it's alright, so much more than hungary in all aspects. but that's a sick presumption from a hating heart.
Radu says:
Everyone seems to forget that Hungary is a Mongol descended nation and also an invader of Europe just like the migrants they trying to keep away! If someone does a bit of research ( United States library of Congress might help) you will find out that Romanians were always a majority in Transylvania and almost always oppressed (not allowed to practice orthodoxy and had to change names to Hungarian version)as were all the other nationalities throughout the lands they controled ….perfect example is how they treated the Jews. Look up the massacre of IP and Moisei…and many others! Hungary should thank the Romanian nation for 1919 when we fed you and drove away comunists and took over Budapest pls have some decency and do proper research before making retarded claims ….remember who the invader is BTW Hungarian language is non European in root and you only have to thank your Austrian masters for enlightening you and other neighbors for helping you look European by passing genes….need I say more
Observer says:
Putin's smart remark was just to forestall further discussions about territories and borders.
Telling are the reactions here – they see exactly the opposite intention and start the delusional dances. Looks crazy, impossible, but not for this bunch, who know nothing and learn nothing.
If that's the case, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovino need to be returned to Romania.
Wallachian Shepherd says:
on September 12, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Sounds more like Putin said if you want to discuss our borders we'll make it a crapfest, that's all, nothing more, it just used random examples of NATO countries to stir things up.
That lady with that post about Transylvania decay is the most laughable. Most of decayed houses were given back to their private owners (many Hungarians) who don't have the means to renovate and repair them.
What is property of Romanian state is well taken care of, just google Alba Iulia's fortress, Hunedoara castle etc. Historical objective of German, Romanian, Magyar origin are well taken care of.
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An out-of-luck cowhand falls for a married woman being held hostage.
Pat Brennan, a struggling rancher on his way to purchase a seed bull from his former employer, Tenvoorde, the owner of the Tall T ranch, stops at the stage relay station run by Hank Parker. After promising to buy Hank's young son Jeff a bag of candy, Pat continues to the town of Contention, where the newly married Willard Mims has just hired a private coach to drive him and his bride Doretta to the nearby town of Bixby. Ed Rintoon, the crusty old stage driver, derides the fortune-hunting Willard, who has married his plain-faced bride solely for her wealthy father's money. At the Tall T, Tenvoorde offers to give Pat a bull if he can ride the bucking beast to a standstill. If he loses, Pat must forfeit his horse, however. After Pat is thrown from the bull and ends up face down in a water trough, he trudges away on foot. While stopping along the trail to rub his sore feet, Pat sees Rintoon's coach and hitches a ride. Upon reaching the relay station, they find it eerily deserted and are greeted by an unseen man, who orders them to drop their guns. Three outlaws then appear from out of the barn¿Frank Usher, the ruthless, intelligent leader; the trigger-happy Chink; and the impressionable Billy Jack. When Rintoon reaches for his rifle, Chink coldly shoots him down. After Usher informs the stage's passengers that the bodies of Hank and Jeff have been dumped into the well, Pat grimaces in anger. To save his life, the cowardly Willard suggests demanding a ransom from Doretta's copper magnate father and volunteers to deliver the ransom note himself. After scribbling a demand for $50,000, Usher hands the note to Willard and instructs Billy Jack to accompany him one mile out of town, where Willard will then hand the note to a passerby for delivery. They are then to regroup at the gang's hideout in the hills. After Billy Jack and Willard depart, Usher and Chink lead Doretta and Pat to their hideout, where as Pat seethes in fury, Doretta nervously paces. Sequestered with Pat in a cave after night falls, Doretta, who is unaware that Willard betrayed her, naïvely voices her faith in her husband. In the morning, Usher, hungry for companionship, tries to engage Pat in conversation. As Pat questions Usher's sense of morality, Billy Jack and Willard return and announce that Doretta's father will deliver the money the next morning. Contemptuous of the spineless Willard, Usher grants his request to leave, then orders Chink to shoot him in the back as he hurriedly rides away without even saying goodbye to Doretta. After Usher cruelly informs Doretta that her husband betrayed her, she sobs in humiliation and takes refuge in the cave. That night, Doretta confides to Pat that she married Willard out of loneliness and desperation, knowing that he never loved her. To instill confidence in the long-suffering Doretta, Pat gruffly kisses her and assures her that she is desirable. The next morning, Usher rides out to collect the ransom, leaving a jumpy Chink and Billy Jack behind. Seizing the opportunity to sew seeds of doubts in Usher's conspirators, Pat implies that their boss is planning to double-cross them. After Chink rides out to keep an eye on Usher, Pat tells Doretta to unbutton her dress and lure Billy Jack into the cave. When a distracted Billy Jack roughly grabs Doretta, Pat rushes in and wrestles his gun away. In the ensuing struggle, the weapon fires, killing Billy Jack. The sound of gunfire draws Chink back to camp, where he finds Billy Jack's body in the cave. Taking cover in the rocks, Pat hands Doretta a pistol and tells her to keep firing it until the chamber is empty while he sneaks around to the other side of the cave. After six shots are exhausted, Chink, thinking that the weapon is empty, steps out of the cave. Determined to avenge his friends' deaths, Pat calls to Chink and then guns him down. Soon after, Usher returns with the money and discovers the bodies of Billy Jack and Chink. When Pat orders Usher to drop his gun, Usher, playing on Pat's code of honor, reminds him that he owes Usher a debt of gratitude for sparing his life and then walks away and mounts his horse. Upon reaching the ridge, Usher pulls a rifle from his saddle and gallops back, gun blazing. Shot in the face by Pat, Usher flails around blindly and then collapses, dead. After hurling away his rifle, Pat puts his arm around Doretta and they walk away.
Sound: Mono Production Co: Producers-Actors Corp.


text:
The AC Greyhound made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1959. Initial responses were very positive with the car's impressive appearance, simply a larger version of the top-selling Aceca with room for two slightly cramped passengers in the back seat.
Although it was almost two feet longer than the Aceca, thanks to its aluminium body, the Greyhound weighed in at nearly the same weight as its stablemate, at just over a ton. Interest in the Greyhound failed to generate too many orders, with production slowly getting underway only early the following year.
AC took advantage of the delay by modifying the design slightly, modifying the rear screen and the front end and strengthening the chassis.
Although AC- and Ruddspeed-tuned Fords made their way into a handful of Greyhounds, the venerable Bristol straight-six was the most popular engine.
The Greyhound's suspension was by coil springs and wishbones at the front and coil springs with semi-trailing arms at the rear.
Brakes were discs up front and drums at the rear, and steering was rack-and-pinion.
In typical AC fashion, the cabin was very well-trimmed.
It would transpire AC's latest offering in its standard format was anything but fast, with only the Bristol engined version showing any turn of speed.
To get the Greyhound up and running, AC had to lengthen the Aceca's wheelbase as well as do away with the old transverse leaf suspension, which took up valuable space for the engine in the front and the rear passengers at the back.
Instead, AC fitted the Greyhound with independent coil spring suspension instead of a transverse leaf at each end.
The Greyhound also sat on an entirely different type of 100in wheelbase frame from the Aceca.
Other significant differences were that the Greyhound was fitted with rack-and-pinion steering, while the rear end had semi-trailing arms instead of the Ace/Aceca's wishbone layout.
Despite all of the effort, the consensus among the motoring media was that the Greyhound didn't handle anywhere near as well as the Ace and Aceca. At the same time, the extra weight dulled performance, irrespective of the engine fitted in the car, which could either be a choice of one from AC, Bristol or Ford.
The majority of the Greyhound's competitors had more powerful engines, which provided performance levels to match the car's aggressive appearance.
With such rakish style and that snout bonnet, the Greyhound's greater bulk meant that its 2-litre engine just wasn't powerful enough.
Unfortunately, AC didn't have a more robust alternative available. History had shown that if AC had not enjoyed such success with the Aceca hatchback coupe, the company might have sold more Greyhounds than the 83 they did before production was wound up in 1963
The fact is that the "almost four-seater" Greyhound was too large, too heavy, and not nearly as agile as the two-seater Aceca.
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Leadership And Soft Skills For Students: Empowered To Succeed In High School, College, And Beyond by Cary J Green, PhD is the latest book which I have reviewed.
Divided into 3 parts – Readiness, Relationship and Results the author brings one through a journey of how these skills can be developed.
Cary start of the book making one examine themselves to know more about themselves.
What do others see as your strengths and weaknesses and how are you comfortable addressing your weaknesses?
Each chapter is written like a workbook where one has to work through and write down what is requested for you in each topic.
You start of by focusing on your Strengths, weaknesses, challenges, communication, developing synergies and seeing the results based on what you have worked on.
I'm eager to know how I can assist my kids in developing the leadership and soft skills which they require to excel in society. I guess as a parent we want our kids to develop these essential skills for survival and it was great that I got this book to review.
Many times students/kids are unable to do well in leadership roles as they lack the relevant skills to exhibit their prowess. They are not taught how to examine themselves, build up their communication skills and other necessary soft skills to relate to others in society.
These skills are not readily taught in schools as the focus is more on academic learning based on the current educational system. As a result the kids are at a disadvantage when they start developing relationship with others. They do not understand themselves , thus are unable to relate well to others and lead them.
Even though this book is targeted at potential high school kids, tweens it is also good for adults like me who want to revisit and improve on our soft skills.
Do get a copy if you too are interested in developing leadership and soft skills in your kids.
Books like this are hard to come by, yes there are books for parenting but rarely about leadership and soft skills. It's good to develop these traits while the kids are growing up. It's going to help them in the long run.


After the release of Chuck Berry's last recording for Mercury and prior to his next release with Chess Records, a complete Chuck Berry show was taped and filmed. The first records containing excerpts from this show appeared in 1978. Since then there have been dozens of records and CDs containing this material.
The show took place during the Toronto Peace Festival on September 13th, 1969 which was organized by impresarios Ken Walker and John Brower. Along with Chuck Berry many other bands and singers performed during the concert including The Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton), Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.
The concert was filmed by Don Alan Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. The film entitled "Toronto Pop" was released to the cinemas in 1970. However, due to legal reasons, scenes with Lennon/Ono had to be cut from the film and were replaced by appearances of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, both filmed at the Monterey Pop Festival. The re-edited film was named "Keep On Rockin'" and finally made it to the cinemas in 1972.
In addition Brower/Walker Enterprises Ltd. recorded the complete concert. Several soundtrack albums with the performing artists were released. The record with the Chuck Berry part of the concert was first released in 1978 on the Magnum label (Live in Concert, LP 703), a 2-LP set. Origin of this album is a bit obscure. Definitely it did not go through a review by Chuck Berry or someone with a deeper knowledge of his work. Several songs are mis-labeled or mis-credited.
The two LPs contain live versions of Rock 'n' Roll Music , Nadine , School Day (labeled Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll), Wee Wee Hours followed by a medley made from Johnny B. Goode, Carol, and Promised Land . Next is a version of Willie Dixon's I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (labeled Blues Tune), followed by Sweet Little Sixteen , Memphis , Too Much Monkey Business , My Ding-A-Ling , Reelin' and Rockin' , Johnny B. Goode (again) and Maybellene . A complete and correctly titled CD version of the original double-album was released as part of the cheap 3-CD set Live & in the studio (Goldies GLD25461, 2010 ).
The original 2-LP set contains each song on its own, introductions and transitions are cut off. Later low-price LPs and CDs often used edited versions of the songs with verses omitted or endings faded out. However, there are also budget LPs which contain more than the original album. Most important are the two albums by Everest Records (Live, CBR 1007, image right) and Carrere (Chuck Berry, 64006, image left). Both of which contain introductions and transitions left off in the original LPs.
Also the budget CDs by Quicksilver (Greatest Hits Live, QSCD-1017 ) and Arc Records (Reelin' and Rockin', TOP CD 117) contain additional introductions and transitions.
Until 2014 one additional song from the show was still missing from all records and CDs. As one can see in the film, Chuck also performs his version of Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight (also titled Bonsoir Cherie). Even though some budget CDs list this song, the only available source for it was the film itself and its video tape/DVD re-issue Rock and Roll Music (BMG 791146 Video , DVD ). When Bear Family released their huge 16-CD set Rock And Roll Music - Any Old Way You Choose It (Bear Family BCD 17273 PL , 2014) they included the complete contents of the original 2-LP set (i.e. without transitions) and finally also Bonsoir Cherie.
© 2001-2016 by Dietmar Rudolph. All rights reserved.


text:
What it's like to be on Broadway when you're not 'Hamilton'
Posted on 04/13/16 by caleb747
This image released by Jeffrey Richards Associates shows, from left, Alex Michael Stoll, Dave Thomas Brown, Benjamin Walker, Jordan Dean and Theo Stockman during a performance of "American Psycho." (Jeremy Daniel/Jeffrey Richards Associates via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — The man of the moment on Broadway is, without question, Alexander Hamilton. With all the hoopla and hubbub, it's tempting to think all the other shows are Aaron Burr.
Imagine working on a big new show for years, pouring millions into it and then finally finding a Broadway theater, only to discover that all anyone wants to talk about is the cool nearby rival?
"Trust me, there were many times where I was hoping we could be in next season because there wasn't the 800-pound gorilla in the room," said Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik, whose "American Psycho" opens this month. "It was a conversation that happened many, many times."
"Hamilton" generated plenty of buzz downtown at the beginning of 2015 before its inevitable jump on Broadway last summer, fast-tracked for bigger success. People have called it historic and a game-changer — and that's just rival artists.
Zachary Levi, former star of NBC's "Chuck" and now starring on Broadway in the revival of "She Loves Me," admires "Hamilton" as a "juggernaut beyond all juggernauts." He's very happy for their cast — and also happy that his show is in a different Tony category.
"If we were a brand-new show, that would be a little harder. Then it's like, 'Good, lord. We're trying to just eke out something and they're everything,'" said Levi, laughing. "There are things in life you can't control."
New musicals that have arrived in the shadow of "Hamilton" include "Waitress," "Bright Star," "Tuck Everlasting," "American Psycho," "On Your Feet!" "School of Rock" and a retelling of "Shuffle Along." Revivals of "Spring Awakening," "The Color Purple" and "Fiddler on the Roof" join "She Loves Me."
Might any have skipped their Broadway chance, seeing the way "Hamilton" has made its way into the culture in an unprecedented way, from "Saturday Night Live" to "Inside Amy Schumer"? Wouldn't it have been wiser — using "Hamilton" language — to throw away their shot?
Not likely, said producer Ken Davenport, who chronicles the business of theater in the widely read blog, The Producer's Perspective. "Broadway shows are like giant steamer ships. Once you get them in the water and moving, it's very hard to just stop them," he said.
Locking in an A-list director, starry stars and landing one of Broadway's 40 theaters available during a window when the creative team is also available is a small miracle. There's little time to check what else is coming.
"You can't say, 'Oh, we're just going to stop it because "Hamilton" all of a sudden was expedited.' If you've got that port open for you, you're going to make it," said Davenport, who helped produce a cracking revival of "Spring Awakening" and the George Takei-led "Allegiance" this season.
Christopher Ashley, artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse in southern California, has been feeding Broadway such shows as "Chaplin," "Hands on a Hardbody," "Side Show" and "Doctor Zhivago." He doesn't have a show this season on Broadway, but that's not by design.
"You have to look where the culture is going. But you can't try to go, 'What is this season in New York on Broadway going to be like?' That would be a terrible way to make a piece," he said.
There's a silver lining to the massive buzz over "Hamilton," which easily makes $1.5 million a week and is expected to earn multiple Tony nominations. Interest in Broadway as a whole increases, and if eager theatergoers can't get into the 1,321-seat Richard Rodgers Theatre, there are 39 other Broadway theaters waiting to welcome them.
"I think it's really good for us," said Jesse Singer, whose Act 4 Entertainment is helping produce "American Psycho," based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel. "I think both shows, in different ways, are pushing the boundaries of traditional musical theater. And I think that's great for the art form. I think it moves it forward."
In fact, a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats refrain is common on Broadway these days in the wake of "Hamilton." As Levi said: "It's good for Broadway. It's good for art. It's good for young artists."
Box-office data seems to bear that out. The Broadway League, the industry's trade group, reported Monday that total Broadway grosses so far this season stand at $1.208 billion, higher than the total at the same period last season — when there was no "Hamilton" — of $1.201 billion.
Barry Weissler, a veteran Tony-winning Broadway producer who has led such revivals as "Chicago," "Gypsy" and "La Cage aux Folles," has brought "Waitress" in this season and said he didn't want to work around "Hamilton."
"We embrace it. Hopefully, they embrace us," he said, adding that "Waitress" celebrates old-fashioned musical storytelling, whereas "Hamilton" was a fresh approach. "There's room for all of it."
Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwit s
Tags: $1.5 million a week, 40 theaters, A-list director, Alexander Hamilton, Broadway, the producer perspective, theater. Bookmark the permalink.
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Read all about it: Mirror owner eyes Daily Express
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Trump, allies make frantic steps to overturn Biden victory
World » World. Main
President Donald Trump and his allies are taking increasingly frantic steps to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including summoning state legislators to the White House as part of a longshot bid to overturn Joe Biden's victory.
Among other last-ditch tactics: personally calling local election officials who are trying to rescind their certification votes in Michigan, suggesting in a legal challenge that Pennsylvania set aside the popular vote there and pressuring county officials in Arizona to delay certifying vote tallies.
Election law experts see it as the last, dying gasps of the Trump campaign and say Biden is certain to walk into the Oval Office come January. But there is great concern that Trump's effort is doing real damage to public faith in the integrity of U.S. elections.
"It's very concerning that some Republicans apparently can't fathom the possibility that they legitimately lost this election," said Joshua Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky who researches and teaches election law.
"We depend on democratic norms, including that the losers graciously accept defeat," he said. "That seems to be breaking down."
Trump's own election security agency has declared the 2020 presidential election to have been the most secure in history. Days after that statement was issued, Trump fired the agency's leader.
The increasingly desperate and erratic moves have no reasonable chance of changing the outcome of the 2020 election, where Biden has now received more votes than any other presidential candidate in history and has clinched the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.
But the president's constant barrage of baseless claims, his work to personally sway local officials who certify votes and his allies' refusal to admit he lost is likely to have a lasting negative impact on the country. Legions of his supporters don't believe he lost.
"It's about trying to set up the conditions where half of the country believes that there are only two possibilities, either they win or the election was stolen," said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law scholar and professor at Loyola Law School. "And that's not a democracy."
The two GOP canvassers in Michigan's Wayne County said in a statement late Wednesday they lacked confidence that the election was fair and impartial. "There has been a distinct lack of transparency throughout the process," they said. But there has been no evidence of impropriety or fraud in Michigan, election officials have said.
Trump's allies have homed in on the way that the president's early lead in Michigan and some other states on Election Night slipped away as later votes came, casting it as evidence of something nefarious.
But a massive influx of mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic leaned largely to Biden, who encouraged his supporters to vote by mail, and those votes were the last to be counted. So it appeared Trump had an edge when he really didn't.
In fact, Biden crushed Trump in Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Detroit, by a more than 2-1 margin on his way to winning Michigan by 146,000 votes, according to unofficial results.
Earlier this week, the county's two Republicans canvassers blocked the certification of votes there. They later relented and the results were certified. But a person familiar with the matter said Trump reached out to the canvassers, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, on Tuesday evening after the revised vote to express gratitude for their support. Then, on Wednesday, Palmer and Hartmann signed affidavits saying they believed the county vote "should not be certified."
They cannot rescind their votes, according to the Michigan secretary of state. The four-member state canvassing board is expected to meet Monday and also is split with two Democrats and two Republicans.
Trump appears intent on pushing the issue. He has invited Michigan's Republican legislative leaders, Senate Majority Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, to the White House, according to two officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. The two have agreed to go, according to one official, but they haven't commented publicly, and it's not clear what the purpose of the meeting is.
The Michigan Legislature would be called on to select electors if Trump succeeded in convincing the state's board of canvassers not to certify Biden's 153,000-vote victory in the state. But both legislative leaders have indicated they will not try to overturn Biden's win.
"Michigan law does not include a provision for the Legislature to directly select electors or to award electors to anyone other than the person who received the most votes," Shirkey's spokeswoman said last week.
During a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday, Biden said Americans are "witnessing incredible irresponsibility, incredibly damaging messages are being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions."
He added, "I just think it's totally irresponsible."
A few hours earlier, Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and others had held a press conference to allege a widespread Democratic election conspiracy involving multiple states and suspect voting machines. But election officials across the country have said repeatedly there was no widespread fraud.
Many of the allegations of fraud stem from poll watchers who filed affidavits included with lawsuits in battleground states aimed at delaying vote certification. Those affidavits lean into innuendo and unsupported suggestions of fraud.
For example, they refer to suitcases in a polling place, but make no suggestion that ballots were being secretly counted. There are allegations of ballots being duplicated — something routinely done when a ballot is physically damaged. There are claims that partisan poll watchers were too far away to observe well and therefore something fishy was probably going on. But they don't have proof. Poll watchers have no auditing role in elections; they are volunteer observers.
Giuliani cited a few sworn affidavits that he said showed a vast Democratic conspiracy, but added that he could not reveal much of the evidence. One he cited was from Jessy Jacob, identified as a city employee in Detroit who said she saw other workers coaching voters to cast ballots for Biden and the Democrats.
A judge who refused to block certification of Detroit-area results noted that Jacob's claims included no "date, location, frequency or names of employees" and that she only came forward after unofficial results indicated Biden had won Michigan.
Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis, who joined Giuliani, said more evidence would be forthcoming and that Trump's allies would have more success in courts going forward. But so far, most of their legal actions have been dismissed.
Chris Krebs, the Trump administration election official fired last week over the comments about the security of 2020, tweeted: "That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest."
In Pennsylvania, where the Trump campaign is challenging the election results in federal court, a legal team led by Giuliani suggested in a filing Wednesday that the judge order the Republican-led state legislature to pick delegates to the Electoral College, potentially throwing the state's 20 electoral votes to Trump. A judge canceled an evidentiary hearing in the case.
In Arizona, the Republican Party is pressuring county officials to delay certifying results. The GOP lost a bid on Thursday to postpone certification in Maricopa County, the state's most populous. In northwestern Arizona, Mohave County officials postponed their certification until next week.
Judge John Hannah ruled without explanation, except to bar the party from refiling the case. The judge promised a full explanation in the future.
Maricopa County officials are expected to certify elections results on Friday.
Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, and Maricopa County put him over the top. The county performed a hand count of some ballots the weekend after the election, which showed its machine counts were 100% accurate. The same was found Wednesday during routine post-election accuracy tests.
In Georgia, where officials have been auditing the results of the presidential race, Trump has repeatedly attacked the process and called it "a joke."
He has also made repeated incorrect assertions that Georgia election officials are unable to verify signatures on absentee ballot envelopes. In fact, Georgia requires that they be checked.
The secretary of state's office planned to release results of the audit on Thursday.
During the hand tally, several counties found previously uncounted ballots that the secretary of state's office has said would reduce Biden's lead to just under 13,000 votes, with roughly 5 million total votes cast. Georgia law allows a candidate to request a recount within two business days of certification if the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points. That recount would be done using machines.
© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
» Trump's election power play: Persuade Republican legislators to do what U.S. voters did not
» Pennsylvania high court to hear Trump challenge to thousands of votes
» Biden solidifies victory over Trump, with 306-232 electoral votes
» Biden takes Arizona; Trump refuses to concede
» No evidence of lost or changed votes: U.S. election officials
» With results from key states unclear, Trump declares victory; Biden asks supporters to keep the faith
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ARK's Cathie Wood made a monster call in 2018 that Tesla stock would hit $4,000. Her prediction just came true 2 years early.
Global Electric Vehicle Battery Reuse & Recycling Market Report 2020: Collaborations Between Private and Public Entities will Become an Important Strategy
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Ten Highly Anticipated Cannes 2013 Premieres
By Cindy Davis | Lists | April 22, 2013 |
Our own delightful Caspar Salmon shall once again cover this year's Cannes Film Festival (and make no mistake, despite my adoration I would knock that emmereffer off to go in his place [sorry Caspar!]). Come on now; a glorious seaside city, beautiful people and all the films I want to see…what else could a jealous bitch an ambitious girl be expected to do? Okay, I could beg…
Oddly enough, of all these, I find the one starring a 76 year old who says nary a word the most intriguing.
1. The Great Gatsby
Directed and screenplay written (with Craig Pearce) by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet [Must I mention Australia?]), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire, Jason Clark, Gemma Ward and Isla Fisher. Based on the gorgeous F. Scott Fitzgerald novel (reread it!); wealth, woe, unrequitable love and tragedy… We love to stand on the outside, looking in.
2. Only God Forgives
New Trailers:
Directed and written by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Valhalla Rising, Bronson, Pusher), starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Burke, Vithaya Pansringarm and Yayaying. Gosling as Julien, a drug-smuggling expat living in Bangkok and running a Thai boxing club as a front. When Julien's brother is murdered, his mother (Scott Thomas) demands he avenge the death. Winding Refn calls his own script "The strangest thing I've ever read…"
3. Inside Llewyn Davis
Directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit, No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona), starring John Goodman, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac, F. Murray Abraham and Adam Driver. Set in Greenwich Village, an exploration of the 1960s folk music scene, loosely based on The Mayor of MacDougal Street. Isaac plays singer Llewin Davis; Mulligan his ex-girlfriend—now Timberlake's wife. Timberlake collaborated with Marcus Mumford (Mulligan's husband) on the soundtrack.
4. The Past (Le passé)
Directed and written by Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, About Elly, Beautiful City), starring Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa and Pauline Burlet. Ahmad (Mosaffa) and Marie (Bejo), are a couple, separated four years, who reunite in Paris to finalize their divorce. Conflict between their daughter and his about to be ex-wife reveals a secret past to Ahmad.
5. All Is Lost
Directed and written by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), starring Robert Redford. That's right, the film stars only Robert Redford—a man lost at sea, fighting to survive. Making things even more interesting: the film has no dialogue. Color me completely intrigued.
6. The Immigrant (formerly The Nightingale and Lowlife)
Directed and Written (with Ric Menello) by James Gray (We Own the Night, Two Lovers, Little Odessa, The Yards), starring Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and Dagmara Dominczyk. Cotillard plays Ewa, a woman who arrives at Ellis Island with her sick sister, Magda. While Magda is immediately quarantined, creepy/charming Bruno (Phoenix) convinces Ewa to join his burlesque (slash prostitution) club. Renner plays Orlando, a magician who may be able to help Ewa escape Bruno's clutches and be reunited with her sister.
7. Behind the Candelabra
Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Side Effects, Magic Mike, Haywire, Oceans Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Traffic, The Limey, Out of Sight, Sex, Lies and Videotape), starring Michael, Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Reynolds, Paul Reiser and Scott Bakula. Based on Scott Thorson's (Damon) autobiographical novel, the story of Liberace (Douglas) and his longtime lover. Lowe is Dr. Jack Startz, the plastic surgeon Liberace hired to make Thorson look like himself. The surgery left Thorson a drug addict and "…unable to completely close his eyelids, even while he was sleeping."
8. Nebraska
Directed by Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways, Election, Citizen Ruth), starring Bruce Dern, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach and Will Forte. This deadpan comedy features a father and son (Dern and Forte) road trip to collect a Publisher's Clearing House-type sweepstakes, waylaid in a "crappy town" where dear old dad has a few scores to settle. Shot in black and white.
9. Blood Ties
Directed and screenplay written (with James Gray) by Guillaume Canet (Little White Lies, Tell No One), starring Mila Kunis, Clive Owen, Marion Cotillard, Zoe Saldana, Billy Crudup, James Caan, Lili Taylor, Griffin Dunne and Noah Emmerich. Remake of Les liens du sang, based on the novel of the same name. Rival brothers Chris (Owen), who just got out of jail, and Frank (Crudup), a cop, face off. Kunis and Saldana play their respective lovers.
10. Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dirty Pretty Things, High Fidelity, The Grifters, My Beautiful Laundrette), starring Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella, Danny Glover, Benjamin Walker, Barry Levinson, Ed Begley Jr. and Muhammad Ali. The story behind the champion fighter's battle with the United States government over his refusal to join the Army, conscientious objector status and the loss of his boxing license and title. Featuring archival footage of Ali, and Glover as Justice Thurgood Marshall and Langella as Chief Justice Warren Burger.
Cindy Davis, (Twitter) awaits Mr. Salmon's (obviously) mail-delayed invitation.
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Suzuki e-scooters to be powered by Gogoro Network soon
Gogoro adds Suzuki to its electric scooter partners
Global Suzuki, TechnologicVehicles November 4, 2019 - 3:38 PM
Last June, MotoPinas.com published a story about Yamaha's Mio-sized electric scooter – the EC-05, due to be offered in Taiwanese showrooms soon. What's special about it is its battery-swapping feature, making use of Gogoro's battery-swapping network.
The idea being, instead of plugging the e-scooter at available charging stations, the rider could simply remove the drained battery and swap it with a fully-charged battery at a battery terminal/bank, which roughly takes the same amount of time as pumping fuel at a gas station.
Just recently, Gogoro, Taiwan's leading e-scooter manufacturer, has teamed up with Suzuki's Taiwanese manufacturing partner, Tai Ling. This new partnership will spawn new Suzuki e-scooters that will also use Gogoro's battery-swapping network.
However, unlike Yamaha, the new partnership is only limited to Gogoro's battery-swapping technology.
Tai Ling is not only responsible for manufacturing e-scooters for Suzuki. The company is also responsible for manufacturing Suzuki motorcycles (from the GSX-R150 to the GSX-R1000) for the Taiwanese market.
Meanwhile in the Philippines
As of the moment, Kymco has announced interest of introducing battery-swapping technology, called IONEX (Kymco's Intelligent Open Network Electric Experience) here in the country with a preview of their new e-scooter model, the Many EV back in March. Kymco is also currently in the negotiation stages with potential partners to expand the IONEX network soon.
Honda is currently testing its battery swapping technology, called Mobile Power Pack, in the island of Bohol. These battery charging stations are powered by renewable energy and propel special PCX Electric units. However, these units are still in the trial phase and the units are only available on lease.
While these battery-swapping technologies are promising for the future of "greener" modes of transportation like e-scooters or e-motorcycles here in the country, current government regulations and the lack of subsidies or incentives still make these new technologies too expensive for the Philippine market. As such, the manufacturers in are holding off from full-on rollout for the meantime.
*Featured bike, not the actual model to be powered by Gogoro as of press time.
Honda and Hitachi acquire Keihin, Showa, and Nissin
Honda and Hitachi to make Keihin, Showa, and Nissin wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Indian Motorcycle introduces powerful line of 2020 Challenger baggers
Indian packs serious performance, tech, and comfort into the all-new 2020 Challenger line of touring cruisers.
Tags: battery swapping electric gogoro


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FLYING A KITE
By ALAN MILLAR 13th July 2017
Fodens — its products identified by a kite-shaped badge — teamed up with with Northern Counties 40 years ago to produce the Foden- NC double-decker. ALAN MILLAR relates its story, as the second of only two preserved survivors returns to operational condition.
West Midlands PTE 6300 (ROC 300R), newly restored by John Cherry, in operation at the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust running day on 4 June. The Foden-NC was slightly longer than contemporary Leyland Fleetlines and was identified by a badge based on Fodens' kite logo.
CHRIS CLEGG
Of all the new double-deckers launched in the 1970s to challenge Leyland's dominance of the market, the Foden-NC was by far the least successful. Just eight were built and only seven were supplied between June 1976 and July 1978 for trials with six operators. Despite hopes of at least one order, it never made it into series production.
NEW BRANDS, NEW FARES
Go-Ahead orders first hydrogen buses from Wrightbus
East Kent's routes recalled in the late 1960s
THE FUTURE IS QUIETER
AIRDECKER FLIES UPWARDS


Money remains a major barrier in the quest for educational equality in America. With annual costs of more than $60,000 for some private colleges and universities and fees of more than $25,000 at some state-operated higher educational institutions, "sticker shock" tends to push people away from attaining higher education. It is true that there are vast financial aid resources available but often full financial need cannot be met and prospective students are faced with the prospect of going into substantial debt in order to obtain a college degree.
The lack of money for higher education is of particular concern to the African American community. Previous research has shown that there are large numbers of young Black Americans from low-income families who don't even bother to consider pursuing higher education because of the cost.
Poverty impacts a large segment of the African American population. The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual report on poverty in the United States. The report shows that in 2016, 9,234,000 African Americans were living below the official poverty line in the United States. This was 22 percent of the entire Black population. In contrast, only 8.8 percent of the non-Hispanic White population was living in poverty. The Black-White poverty rate gap where African Americans are about three times as likely to be poor as Whites, has remained virtually unchanged for the past 45 years.
I believe this data points out the need for more college funding for first generation minority students. The issue of access is significantly linked to affordability. College degree attainment (both two year and four year) is an important factor in helping any and all people to break the cycle of poverty.
The data out there also suggests that black students disproportionately come from under-performing K-12 schools that don't prepare them adequately for college-level work. Thus, they disproportionately must take remedial classes that they can ill-afford before taking classes that count towards their degrees. So, what happens to the majority of blacks who attend college is that they leave school without graduating and in debt. College keeps most blacks in poverty, not the other way around, simply because most don't actually attain a degree. They attain a lot of debt and a job that they could of gotten with a high school diploma. They're buddies who didn't bother to go to college, but went to work full-time after high school are ahead of them if they stick to those jobs and work themselves up to manager.
It's sad to read that a lot of low-income black young people don't even consider attending college due to the costs. But then, at least they won't become burdened with a lot of debt and the expectation of a better life that blacks usually don't achieve on par with white college graduates. The importance of college is over done with blacks, because most don't graduate any way. So, black students won't accrue a lot of debt and end up without a degree. Sounds like good news in a way, considering only about 42% of blacks complete undergraduate degrees within 6 years any way.
Young blacks are not going into stem careers. Instead, they choose to go into the social sciences or a bogus liberal arts pathway. I wager that there are a lot of scholarships available for underrepresented minority students pursuing stem degrees. Billionaire Robert Smith gave 50 million dollars to Cornell to fund scholarships for minority students majoring in a STEM degree for God's sake. How can we prepare the next generation for these career paths? With all these urban charter sprouting up in major cities, why not create one specializing in the stem, starting in primary school.
There are going to be higher demands in the STEM and healthcare professions in the future. Even in education, there is a shortage of math teachers, so a STEM degree plays a role in that too.
If we can't prep future blacks for these professions, they might as well learn a trade and avoid high student debt.
I agree with you Joseph R. about the need for more black students to learn an "in demand" trade as opposed to attending college to major in liberal arts. Most black students are simply not "college material" after graduating from high school.
I agree with both David B. and Joseph R. They have made some great points. I am a science educator, and from a family where all my three other brothers have science degrees and science based occupations. I worked in a college physics, chemistry and biology laboratories for a number of years. I say all this to assess the qualities and intellectual skills required to achieve a degree in STEM subjects. It is TOUGH, especially if the students are inadequately taught, and do not have the academic mentoring and coaching at home and among their peer group.
Poverty is a cause of many black students not attending college; and going to college is a cause of black students being poor. The argument is congruent and not mutually exclusive. Both statements are correct.
Many black students with high school diplomas who are prepared to work hard, and be wise money managers will be prosperous and free from debt, and escape from poverty if they did not attend college. I know of a black male and female in their mid-twenties, with only high school diplomas who are doing very well financially. Both work three jobs. The young man now owns a house, truck and is debt-free. The young lady is nearly in a similar position. I asked her if she had any children, and she said that she is not yet ready to have one.
On the other hand, I know from experience that having only a high school diploma is not enough to prepare 18 year olds to participate and prosper in the 4th Digital Industrial Revolution – new Global economy based on STEM, big data, A1, robotics and algorithms require college degrees of a particular kind.
One of the main subjects which is absolutely necessary for African-American students to do is COMPUTER SCIENCE at AP level. The College Board in 2013 reported that 30,000 students took the AP exam for computer science, and only 3 percent were African American. In ten States NO African-American student sat for the AP exam in Computer Science.
In Mississippi, where 37 percent of the total population is African American, no African-American took an AP test in Computer Science. In California, where Silicon Valley is located only 74 African-American students took AP test in Computer Science, but their pass rate was 57% and above the average for the state. Maryland had the highest number of African-American students (170) in any State, taking AP test in Computer Science.
There is work for us to do. It is not easy. I did some research of the Math and Science scores of students at Elementary and Middle schools in a School District in South Carolina. I noticed that at the GIFTED AND TALENTED school, in a city with 30% African-American, there were only 6 out of over 400 students at the school in 2007. I applied considerable pressure on the school board, superintendent, principals, and all state senators and house members to increase African-American representation at the school. It paid off in one way, in that there are now over 220 African-American at the GIFTED AND TALENTED school.
What the school has done is to segregate the African-American students from the white students, and teach them an inferior curriculum, so much so, that the achievement gap between the white and black GIFTED students in Math and Science is one of the widest in the School district.
In 2000, I taught a GIFTED AND TALENTED group of 13 students at a high school in London. I also linked up with a GITED AND TALENTED ACADEMY in New York. A group of teachers and GIFTED students from New York came to London and spent a day with my GIFTED and TALENTED group. Fast forward to 17 years on. From my group of 13 students – 3 of them became medical doctors, two PHDs. The New York group are also medical doctors, lawyers, and in high paying occupations.
African-American students can learn to achieve at the highest level; but they are being short-changed at ALL levels in the education system and by both white and black educators. We can do and must do better by our African-American students because they are our future.
Leave a Reply to Jerald L. Henderson, Ph.D.


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STS-66 (ang. Space Transportation System) – trzynasta misja wahadłowca kosmicznego Atlantis i sześćdziesiąta szósta programu lotów wahadłowców.

Załoga
 źródło
 Donald McMonagle (3)*, dowódca (CDR)
 Curtis Brown (2), pilot (PLT)
 Ellen Ochoa (2), dowódca ładunku (MS1)
 Scott Parazynski, M.D. (1), specjalista misji (MS4)
 Joseph Tanner (1), specjalista misji (MS2)
 Jean-François Clervoy (1), specjalista misji (MS3) (ESA, Francja)

 *(liczba w nawiasie oznacza liczbę lotów odbytych przez każdego z astronautów)

Parametry misji
 Masa:
 startowa orbitera: - kg ?
 lądującego orbitera: - kg ?
 ładunku: 10 544 kg
 Perygeum: 296 km
 Apogeum: 310 km
 Inklinacja: 57°
 Okres orbitalny: 90,6 min

Cel misji
Specyficzny typ misji promów to loty, w których z ładowni wahadłowca wypuszczano satelitę, by pod koniec misji ponownie go złapać i przywieźć na Ziemię. W ten sposób realizowano badania naukowe, wymagające oddalenia się od promu. Jego obecność mogła negatywnie wpływać na wyniki badań. Tego typu ładunki określano mianem free-flyer (swobodnie latający).Był to lot poświęcony badaniom atmosfery ziemskiej przy pomocy zestawu aparatury ATLAS-03 (Atmospheric Laboratory of Applications and Science). Ponadto umieszczono na orbicie, a po ośmiu dniach misji przechwycono satelitę CRISTA-SPAS również służącego do badań atmosfery. Satelita CRISTA-SPAS (Cryogenic Infrared Spectometers & Telescopes for the Atmosphere) to platforma służąca do badań naukowych. Do jej wypuszczenia i złapania wystarczył manipulator wahadłowca. Spacery kosmiczne nie były już konieczne.

Zobacz też
 lista misji wahadłowców
 lista załogowych lotów kosmicznych

Przypisy

Linki zewnętrzne
 podsumowanie misji STS-66 na stronie KSC

066
Załogowe loty kosmiczne w 1994

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Do you have a voice?
If you answered "yes", then congratulations! You possess the first and most fundamental ingredient in voice over work.
Notice that I didn't ask "Do you have THE voice?". There is no "THE" voice. Truly, any voice will do.
As you'll learn in this course, little else is required (some hardware and software) to sell your voice on the Internet.
Learn to record and edit your voice to perfection then how to market your voice.
Come with me on a journey of discovery as we conquer the online voice over industry.


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Lunch & Learn #27 (in English) – March 11, 2021: "The Future is Now: How to Make Technology Advancements Work for You" by Travis Cloyd (FIU's Inaugural Futurist-in- Residence)
Posted on March 12, 2021 at 3:54 pm.
Travis Cloyd is FIU's inaugural Futurist-In-Residence. In this role, he will systemically explore predictions and possibilities of emerging technologies on current and future virtual learning environments. Leveraging his industry expertise and professional relationships, Travis will work across the university to ignite strategic partnerships; develop and test immersive and interactive technologies, and expand the University's teaching, learning, and research opportunities. One of the projects the futurist-in- residence will coordinate is the creation of an Institute for Immersive, Interactive Learning that will form public private partnerships to facilitate the development of the next generation of virtual learning.
Travis is an award winning producer and visionary tech entrepreneur listed in 2021 as a Forbes NEXT 1000 Entrepreneurs. Travis is also the Director of iSTAR (Immersive Studio for Altered Reality) at Florida International University. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and also the CEO of Worldwide XR based in Los Angeles, CA, producing experiences, films, and branded campaigns based on celebrity digital rights.
Futurist Cloyd has created XR content for major international studios, iconic brands, legendary actors, global musicians, top athletes and historical figures. He is breaking new ground leading the industry in creating and protecting virtual human IP content based on historical figures for all facets of the diverse XR ecosystem. Futurist Cloyd has created XR content for major international studios, iconic brands, legendary actors, global musicians, top athletes and historical figures. He is breaking new ground leading the industry in creating and protecting virtual human IP content based on historical figures for all facets of the diverse XR ecosystem.
He's been a leading advocate for the XR sector over the last 8 years and is an acknowledged industry expert whose point of view is frequently sought by top media outlets. He has been quoted in Forbes, Rolling Stone, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Wareable, Variety, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter and CNBC among many others.
"With 5G we are entering a new wave of consumer technology, and old school means of storytelling are advancing. Utilizing new school game engine software allows for more interactive engagement. These experiences can be distributed through mobile or wearable hardware into school systems, or even into your living room." ~Travis Cloyd, Forbes, May 27, 2020~
Please find below the recording to the webinar: