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Axios Pro Exclusive Content
Vistria Group's quiet bet behind youth mental health care
Sarah Pringle
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
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Vistria Group quietly invested in Sandstone Care, a provider of behavioral health care for young people.
Why it's the BFD: The covid-19 pandemic-fueled lockdowns, isolation and related fallout, paired with the rising usage of social media networks like Instagram, have had an outsized impact on the mental health of our nation's teenagers.
Vistria, an impact-oriented PE shop, has been laying breadcrumbs that point to its big intentions to help tackle the youth mental health crisis. With Sandstone, the firm is proving true to its words.
Details: While a deal was not formally announced, Vistria now lists Sandstone, led by CEO Michael Hunter, as a portfolio company.
With a footprint spanning Colorado, Maryland and Virginia, Sandstone offers outpatient care for young adults and adolescents struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.
That includes detox, teen residential treatment, extended care, day treatment, intensive outpatient, sober living and general outpatient programs.
Behind the scenes: Vistria, in response to the United States Surgeon General's call to take action on the youth mental health crisis, pledged $250 million in June towards investments in U.S. providers of youth mental health services over the next three years.
Meanwhile, sources tell Sarah the deal for Sandstone is valued upwards of $200 million. Two sources previously placed the provider's EBITDA at around $12 million.
Raymond James provided sell-side advice on a process that never fully got underway, sources add.
What they're saying: Discussing the increased need for mental and behavioral health care, and related investment opportunities, Vistria's Amy Christensen told PE Hub in April:
"We are especially focused on companies that are working with kids and teens, who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic..."
Christensen highlighted decreasing sigma and attractive reimbursement dynamics as appealing investment factors, in concert with a growth in demand.
The big picture: Chicago's Vistria is big believer in the need for greater access to behavioral health care in various formats, with Sandstone coming just a few months after its acquisition of Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Beacon Specialized Living.
The deal for Beacon, a community-based provider of treatment to individuals with serious mental illnesses, was valued upwards of $300 million, sources told Axios in March.
Other current portfolio companies include BHG Recovery, an operator of opioid-treatment centers and Vistria-owned since 2018; and Sevita, a provider of community-based care to individuals with intellectual, developmental, physical, or behavioral disabilities or other special needs. (Madison Dearborn bought 25% of Sevita at an approximately $3 billion valuation, Axios reported in January)
What else we're watching: Outcomes for other behavioral health deals that have yet to play out: Centre Partners' Bradford Health Services, Levine Leichtman's Monte Nido & Affiliates and Housatonic Partners' Embark Behavioral Health.
Vistria did not return requests for comment.


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Home NEWS Lai Mohammed: Corruption War Is Everybody's War
Lai Mohammed: Corruption War Is Everybody's War
Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammad has said that anticorruption war is everybody's war and that unless there is a collaboration that involves the government, the media, CSOs and others, the fight will be tougher than it should be.
Speaking at the launch of the anti-corruption situation room in Abuja, the minister said, "we have been saying that the fight against corruption is not Buhari's fight, neither is it APC's fight. It is Nigeria's fight.
This means all Nigerians must take possession of this war if we are to win it. The courageous and patriotic minds behind the Anti-Corruption Situation Room have take the first critical step to ensure that Nigerians buy into this war. Permit me, therefore, to thank the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) and its partners for coming up with the ACSR.
"May I also use this occasion to appeal to more Civil Society Organizations to join this initiative. Unless there is a collaboration that involves the government, the media, CSOs and others, this fight will be tougher than it should be.
Mr. Olanrewju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, puts it most succinctly when he said, and I quote: "The central thrust is to build synergy between anti-corruption CSOs, the labor movement and law enforcement agencies, the Parliament and the Judiciary as a means of improving and broadening the anti-corruption agenda as well as creating an accountability loop and feedback mechanism between anti-corruption agencies, the civil society organizations and the citizens".
"Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the ACSR could not have come at a better time. The Buhari Administration's fight against corruption is gaining momentum, and the government is winning the war. But there is a challenge:
There seems to be a feeling of numbness among the citizens about the conduct of those whose actions brought us here,those who looted the national treasury dry. Suddenly, these same people are engaging in revisionist history and blaming everyone but themselves for the mess their actions put the country into.

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Home > Poland And Russia > Polish and Russian Political History – Sigismund III And The Republic, 1588-1632
Polish and Russian Political History – Sigismund III And The Republic, 1588-1632
THE Jagiellos, after two centuries of almost sisyphean labour, had at last succeeded in welding together, out of the most unpromising and rebellious materials, a new great Power, the Rzeszpospolita, or Polish Commonwealth. This great Power was exposed from the first to peculiar perils, both external and internal. To begin with, by far the larger part of its vast territories had no natural boundaries. The eastern and northern frontiers, in particular, lay open to the interminable raids of the Tatars, the Turks, and the Moscovites, who, with but moderate initial success, could easily penetrate to the very heart of the unwieldy and ill-defended realm. A strong central Government would have endeavoured to remedy this defect, but, unfortunately, Poland had no strong central Government ; and here we touch upon the cardinal organic defect which was the ultimate cause of her ruin. Only sixteen years had elapsed between the death of the last of the Jagiellos and the election of the first of the Polish Vasas; but, in the interval, a momentous political revolution had taken place. Three stormy interregnums had. strikingly demonstrated that some 80,000 country squires had become the dominant factor, the motive power, of the Republic. But these rude and ignorant country gentlemen, whose mental horizon rarely extended beyond the limits of their own particular provinces, were naturally at the mercy of every plausible ambitious demagogue ; and the inevitable multiplication of such demagogues tended to perpetuate disorder and anarchy. We have seen how Montluc procured the election of Henry, and Zamoyski the election of Stephen and Sigismund III, and how, in two cases out of three, the " King elect " had still to pass through the ordeal of a civil war before he could reach the throne. We shall now see how the representatives of the gentry, assembled in their annual Diets, after cutting down the prerogative to vanishing point, did their best to prevent the King of their own choice from governing at all.
The new King, a young man of 21, ascended his thorny throne under almost every conceivable disadvantage. As a foreigner he was, from the first, out of sympathy with the majority of his subjects. As a highly cultured Prince, fond of music, the fine arts and polite literature, he was unintelligible to the Szlachta, who regarded all artists and poets as either mechanics or adventurers. His very virtues were strange and therefore offensive to them. His precocious reserve and imperturbable calmness, almost unnatural in one so young, were branded as stiffness and haughtiness. He looked more like a Spanish Grandee than a Polish King. Certainly, he lacked the tact and bonhomie of the Jagiellos, and therefore could never hope to be popular as they were ; but, in fairness, it should be added that the Jagiellos were natives of the soil, that they had practically made the monarchy, and that they could always play off their hereditary domain, Lithuania, against Poland. Sigismund's difficulties were materially increased, moreover, by his political views which he had brought with him cut and dried from Sweden, views which happened to be diametrically opposite to those of the omnipotent Chancellor. The coldness between the two men began at their first interview. The jovial, expansive Chancellor was painfully affected by the reticence and ceremoniousness of the young Prince. He complained to his intimate friends that Sigismund was possessed by a dumb devil." When their political systems began to clash, antipathy hardened into antagonism. Sigismund, a zealous Catholic, aimed at a close alliance with the House of Hapsburg, with the double object of drawing Sweden within the orbit of Austria, and overawing the Porte by the conjunction of the two great Powers of central Europe. The inevitable corollary to this system was the much-needed reform of the Polish Constitution, without which nothing beneficial, either to Catholicism or to Poland, was to be expected from any external political combination. Thus Sigismund's views, taken as a whole, showed foresight, and were, at least, those of a practical statesman who clearly recognises present evils and has a definite plan of his own for remedying them. Zamoyski, on the other hand, regarded the Hapsburgs with ineradicable, perhaps exaggerated suspicion. He was also indifferent to any radical reform of the Polish Constitution. He considered that, so long as the Austrians were kept out of Poland, Poland would do very well as she was. A nobleman himself, he placed no limits to the liberty of the nobility. Every member of a Republic of gentlemen, he argued, had the right to be as free as was compatible with the common security. If such liberty degenerated into licence, he, Zamoyski, who held the Great Seal and the Grand Hetman's 1 baton in his own hands, would simply quell such licence by force, and all would be well again. Yet he, believed in the greatness of Poland, and had a grandiose but visionary scheme of making her the head of the Slavonic world by her own unaided efforts. But in the circumstances, and especially in view of the peculiar national characteristics of the Poles, Zamoyski's scheme was far more nebulous than was Sigismund's idea of a pan-catholic league in Eastern Europe. Personal considerations complicated matters still further. Zamoyski was, undoubtedly, most jealous of his influence and dignity ; his patriotism, genuine as it might be, was not always proof against private pique; and, as we shall see, though always keeping within constitutional limits, he was never over-scrupulous in his choice of means to an end.
The contest between the King and the Chancellor began during Sigismund's first Diet, the so-called "Pacification Diet," which met at Warsaw in March 1589. Zamoyski presented to this Diet the project of a political combination between Poland, Moscovy, and Bohemia, coupled with a suggestion that in case the present King should die without issue (a somewhat premature and gratuitous assumption in the circumstances) none but a Prince of some Slavonic stock should henceforth be eligible to the Polish throne. The extravagance of a project which could even imagine the possibility of any sort of union between Catholic Poland, Orthodox Moscovy, and semi-protestant Bohemia struck even the majority of the Diet with amazement. It was only explicable at all as a circuitous and clumsy attempt to traverse the Hapsburg influence. The Diet promptly rejected it, accepting instead the royal proposition of a marriage between Sigismund and the Archduchess Anne. The way had already been opened for this rapprochement with Austria by the Treaty of Bendzyn (March g, 1589), negotiated by the Nuncio Ippolito Aldobrandini, afterwards Clement VIII, whereby the Emperor resigned all his claims to the Polish Crown. At the succeeding Diet, which assembled in March 1590, Zamoyski succeeded in persuading the deputies to exclude at any rate the Archduke Maximilian from the succession to the throne. But he had only gained his ends by skilfully frightening them with the bugbears of Austrian intrigues and Turkish threats; and his opponents, headed by the Primate Kamkowski, immediately after the Diet rose, formed a Confederation' to protest against its decrees ; and a second extraordinary Diet, dominated by the enemies of Zamoyski, met at the end of the same year. It at once proceeded to reverse all the decrees of its predecessor and strike blow after blow at the Chancellor. Thus the Grand-Hetmanship was placed in commission, the party of Maximilian was amnestied, the Zborowscy were rehabilitated, Zamoyski's friends and supporters were removed from Court, and the chief pillars of the Catholic party in Lithuania, the wealthy Cardinal Radziwill and the newly converted and highly popular Prince James Ostrogsky, were appointed Bishop of Cracow and Castellan of Cracow respectively. Zamoyski naturally retaliated by means of the same double-edged constitutional weapon which his opponent had used. On June 1, 1592, he formed a Confederation at Jendrzow, which was more numerously attended than the wedding feast in honour of Sigismund's young Austrian bride the Archduchess Anne, who made her state entry into Cracow, amidst great rejoicings, at the end of May. All the Szlachta, nearly all the senators of Great and Little Poland, and the majority of the orthodox Lithuanians acceded to the Chancellor, so that, at the meeting of the " Inquisition Diet " at Warsaw (Aug. 7) summoned by the King to inquire into all grievances and thoroughly sift the so-called " Austrian cabals," Zamoyski was once more formidable. Sigismund, supported by the Primate, had still authority enough to stop the inquisition half-way ; but the young Queen's mother, the shrewd and sensible Archduchess Maria, who had accompanied her daughter to Cracow, had made up her mind that Zamoyski was too strong to be set aside, and that therefore the interests of Austria demanded a reconciliation between the King and the Chancellor. This reconciliation was accomplished quietly by Nicholas Firley, Palatine of Cracow, and included all the leading men of both parties. The rival cardinals Bathory and Radziwill adjusted all their past differences; Zamoyski was fully reinstated in the Grand-Hetmanship ; and as Grand Chancellor, to the general astonishment, presented to the Diet and eloquently defended all the royal propositions, including Sigismund's request for leave to proceed to Sweden to occupy the throne left vacant by the death of his father John III, on November 17, 1592. This reconciliation lasted a whole decennium, with the happiest results for Poland. Zamoyski, no longer distracted by personal considerations, gave his whole attention to public affairs, and, from 1595 to 1602, achieved some of his most brilliant military and political triumphs.
In 1595 the Papal Court conceived the idea of a new Christian League against the Turk. Certainly the times seemed propitious for such an undertaking. Under a succession of six weak and vicious Sultans (1566-1656), the Ottoman Empire had ceased to be a conquering Power and with difficulty held its own in every corner of its vast domains. But it was still far too strong an enemy for anything less than a league of Christian Princes ; and, unfortunately, such a league, in the circumstances, was impossible. The Hapsburg Emperors were absorbed by the double effort of catholicising and germanising their hereditary domains. Venice would not risk losing the trade of the Levant. The Western Powers were indifferent or preoccupied. But the Curia was in an optimistic mood ; and, as Poland seemed to be the one remaining great Catholic Power capable of rallying the hesitating and the lukewarm to the holy enterprise, all the efforts of the Curia were directed towards arming Poland in the interests of the League. On February 7, 1595, the Sejm met to consider the question of the Christian League. After six weeks of fruitless debating, the deputies, conscious that the whole burden of a Turkish war would fall. upon them, demanded from the Nuncio, as a preliminary, the adhesion of the King of Spain and the Emperor to the project. But they shewed their willingness to co-operate by voting subsidies; making military preparations; and advising the Hetmans to proceed to the Ukraine to look after the Tatars. Mean-while the prospects of the League grew a little brighter. Early in 1595, Mahomed III mounted the Ottoman throne over the dead bodies of his nineteen strangled brothers, and immediately sent the Grand Vizier, Sinan Pasha, against Hungary, with 150,000 men. He was anticipated, however, by Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania, who, won over to the League by the eloquence of the Jesuit Alfonso Cariglio and the promise of the hand of an Austrian Archduchess, had already (May 1595) deposed the anti-Austrian Hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia and annexed both principalities to Transylvania. The Grand Vizier thereupon directed his forces against Transylvania, but was routed by Bathory at the bloody two days' battle of Mezö Keresztés ; the Hungarian contingent, under Stephen Bocskay, pursuing Sinan to the Danube and capturing Giurgevo. The Nuncio was now clamorous for the armed co-operation of Poland, but Zamoyski took a more sober view of the situation. He rightly regarded the victories of Sigismund Bathory as Hapsburg victories, and he was determined that Poland should not be made the political catspaw of the House of Austria. With a small army of 8000 veterans he hastened to the Danube, reinstated philo-polish Princes on the thrones of Moldavia and Wallachia ; and, in his entrenched camp at Cecora on Pruth, successfully withstood a three days' siege by an innumerable host of Turks and Tatars (Oct. 17-20, 1595), whom he compelled, finally, to come to terms with him. By the peace of Cecora the Hospodars were recognised by the Porte, on condition that Poland refrained from further hostilities ; and Zamoyski returned home in triumph. Pope Clement VIII bitterly reproached Sigismund III for ruining the good cause by the Peace of Cecora ; but Zamoyski exposed the futility of the Christian League by promising to lead 70,000 men against the Turks in person, as the Nuncio proposed, on condition (1) that Austria should henceforth refrain from all interference in Polish affairs, (2) that, in case of success, Wallachia and Moldavia should be incorporated with Poland, and (3) that in the meantime Breslau and Olmütz should be occupied by Polish garrisons as security for the bona fides of the Emperor. As Zamoyski had anticipated, the Nuncio declined to give any such guarantees, and the negotiations fell through. In 1598–1600 Zamoyski again found it necessary to readjust the political situation in the Danubian principalities, where the Gospodar Michael was working in the Austrian interest against Poland. On October 20 he routed Michael, at Tergoviste, and re-established the ascendancy of Poland in those parts. To the same period (July–Sept. 1598) belongs the expulsion of Sigismund from his Swedish kingdom by the Protestant majority there, a fresh blow to the hopes of the Curia.
But, though frustrated in its attempts to entice Poland into a highly adventurous oriental policy, the Austro-Ultramontane Party, as it may be called, was now in the ascendant in Poland itself. Towards the end of 1602 Zamoyski's influence had visibly declined. Out of the 142 chief dignitaries of the Republic he could only count absolutely on 30 ; and his chief opponent, the Grand Marshal, Sigismund Gonzaga Mysrkowski, generally detested for his haughtiness and foreign ways which gained him the sobriquet of " the Italian," was one of Sigismund's chief counsellors. Signs of a coming storm were in the air. The Szlachta was more than usually suspicious and turbulent. There were loud complaints, not altogether un-warranted, of religious persecutions in Lithuania by the Jesuits; and disquieting rumours were afloat that the King was about to meddle with the Constitution. When, in 1602, Sgismund wedded the Archduchess Constantia, the sister of his first wife, Anne, who had died in 1599, the tempest burst forth. Sigismund's second marriage aroused all Zamoyski's ancient fears and jealousies of the Hapsburgs ; and, though now in his 62nd year, he led the opposition during the tumultuous I )iets of i 603 and 1605 with his usual spirit and eloquence, but also with quite an unusual unfairness towards his opponents. The utter futility of these two Diets had, at least, the good effect of seriously alarming the wiser heads for the safety of the Republic. At the Diet of 1605 warning voices were even raised against the absurdity of the existing Constitution, which demanded absolute unanimity in the decisions of the Diet. "Whether from malice, obstinacy or stupidity;" said Ostrogsky, Castellan of Posen, " all our counsels and consultations end in nothing. It is a great glory, no doubt, for the Szlactha to be able to obstruct the whole Commonwealth ; but it is a great shame for the Commonwealth that, with such a govern-ment as ours, anyone can bring about the ruin of the State from sheer obstinacy and stupidity. For God's sake let us not allow the Republic to perish without an effort to save it." Baranowski, Bishop of Plock, supported the Castellan, and declared that the conclusions of the Diet should be decided by a majority instead of by an unanimity of votes. Nothing was done, however, as the Diet regarded any such proposal as a veiled attack upon its most sacred liberties.
Mischievous as the influence of Zamoyski had been during these Diets, his death on June 3, 16o5, made matters infinitely worse. A man of his indisputable genius and force of character could always, at a pinch, impose some limits on the violence of his partisans. Unfortunately, his mantle fell upon the shoulders of a man who, notwithstanding blameless, even glorious antecedents and many edifying private virtues, was ill-equipped for the duties and the responsibilities of political leadership.
Nicholas Zebrzydowski was related by marriage to Zamoyski and had been one of his close confidants. The youngest of the partisans of the Chancellor, he had hitherto played only a subordinate political rôle ; but his career, so far, had been honourable and promising. His zeal and patriotism in the service of Stephen Bathory had been rewarded with the starosties of Stenczyn and Bolislaw. Zamoyski had added to them the still wealthier starosty of Cracow ; and, from hence-forth, Zebrzydowski attached himself to the victorious standard of the Chancellor. He had distinguished himself during the third interregnum and in the war with Maximilian, and won the favour of Sigismund III, who raised him to the Senate, not so much for his services as for his exemplary piety. A pupil of the Jesuits and intimate with the famous Skarga, Sigismund's court chaplain, he had founded a Jesuit school at Lublin, built the magnificent Calvary monastery near Cracow, renowned through Poland, and was generally regarded, and with justice, as an ornament to the Faith. Unfortunately, his talents by no means kept pace with his virtues. Though a brave soldier, he was no general ; though for years a confidant of the plans of the Chancellor he had learnt nothing of diplomacy, and had not a political idea of his own. He claimed to be the spiritual heir of Zamoyski ; but all that he had inherited from his master was that master's hatreds and prejudices. Yet, undoubtedly, Zebrzydowski is a very important figure in Polish history. To him belongs the doubtful honour of making constitutional reform in Poland impossible by constitutional means.
At the beginning of 1606, Sigismund Ill summoned the Diet for the express purpose of reforming the Constitution by substituting decisions by majorities for that unattainable counsel of perfection—absolute unanimity. If Poland was to continue her political existence, the proposed reform, obviously, was urgent and indispensable. Nevertheless, the royal manifesto had scarce been issued when Zebrzydowski summoned a Con-federation to protest against an innovation " so destructive of personal liberty." The Confederation assembled first at Stenczyn and then at Lublin (June 4) and was very largely attended by Orthodox Lithuanians, Protestant Poles and political refugees from Hungary. Amongst the most eloquent champions of individual liberty was Stanislaus Stadnicki, sur-named " the Devil," who, to quote a contemporary, "had more sins on his conscience than hairs on his head." This nobleman habitually cropped the noses and ears of offensive small squires, and kept his peasants chained to the walls 'of subterranean dungeons for months together. Such leaders naturally adopted the most extreme expedients. On August 6 the Confederation moved to Sandomir, where it converted itself into a Rokosz, or Sigismund was now obliged to take measures for his personal security. His worst enemies could never accuse him of cowardice, and, with nothing but a lukewarm Diet and a timid Senate to support him against an armed insurrection of at least one half of the Polish gentry, he now shewed what stuff he was made of. First, he summoned to his assistance the Quartians, or border troops, from the Ukraine. Then, by the advice of the Senate, he issued a manifesto condemning the " Insurrection " of Sandomir, and at the same time summoned a rival Zajazd 1 to meet at Wislica for the purpose of forming a Confederation in defence of the Crown. He then proceeded to Cracow to confront the rebels and, if possible, overawe them.
.The resolute conduct of the King was not without effect. The gentry of the palatinates of Russia and Sieradia, enraged at the ravaging of their estates by the " Insurrectionists," acceded en masse to the Zajazd of Wislica ; and the " Insurrectionists," alarmed at the diminution of their following, offered to treat and drew up 64 articles, which aimed at still further reducing the royal power. They demanded the protection of Protestant and Orthodox minorities, the equal distribution of offices and dignities irrespective of creeds and nationalities, and the expulsion of the Jesuits from the realm. But Sigismund refused to treat with rebels and took the field against them. In September (1606) he routed Zebrzydowski at Janowiec, whereupon the " Insurrectionists " surrendered and were allowed to renew their homage, after solemnly pledging themselves to disturb the Commonwealth no more. But all these promises were speedily broken ; and, in the course of 1607, the agitation was renewed, and became more widespread than ever. A fresh Rokosz was formed at Jendrzejow, at the very time when the Diet was . assembling at Warsaw. On May 25, with the consent of the Senate, Sigismund issued an edict demanding its instant dispersion. The " Insurrectionists " retaliated by declaring that a Rokosz was as much superior to King and .Diet combined as a General Council was superior to the Pope. Consequently, a Rokosz was the only legitimate tribunal for the remedy of popular grievances. At this crisis, the Diet, instead of energetically supporting the King in his efforts to re-establish the rudiments of law and order, practically enlisted itself on the side of anarchy. Composed, as it was, of the same elements as the Rokosz, its sympathies were with the "Insurrectionists" rather than with the Government ; and its edict " De non praestanda oboedientia" (June 17, 1607), which was intended to be a compromise, really amounted to a sur-render. This disastrous edict enjoined that, in case of any future malpractices on the part of the King, he was to be twice warned to cease therefrom by the Primate and the Senate, and once more by the succeeding Diet. If he neglected these three warnings, the nation was absolved from its allegiance and free to choose a new Sovereign. But even this did not satisfy the "Insurrectionists." Their personal hatred of so resolute a lover of orderly government as Sigismund III dominated every other consideration, and they would be content with nothing short of his deposition. On June 24 they issued a manifesto at Jeziorna, a village 45 miles from Warsaw, renouncing their allegiance to Sigismund and proclaiming Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania, King of Poland.
For the second time, Sigismund's Crown hung on the point of his sword. The Grand and Vice Hetmans, Zolkiewski and Chodkiewicz, were sent against the rebels and, after pursuing them for weeks, brought them to battle at Oransk, near Guzow (April 6, 1608), when a desperate encounter ensued. Once the "Insurrectionists," who were greatly strengthened by a contingent of Hungarian mercenaries, broke the left wing of Sigismund's army and approached the royal camp. The panic-stricken Senators took to their heels, but the King- stood firm ; the bulk of the army rallied round him; and the rebels were routed. Nevertheless, during the next twelve months, fresh " Insurrections " burst forth all over the country; and quiet was only at last restored by the proclamation (1609) of a general amnesty, which punished nobody and decided nothing. The growing unwillingness of the Grand Hetman Zolkiewski "to shed the blood of our brethren " was the cause of this unsatisfactory solution. The helpless King was obliged to concur, and henceforth abandoned all his projects of constitutional . reform.
Thus the Szlachta had become dominant, and its one exclusive idea was to remain dominant. From the middle and lower classes, whom it had crushed beneath its feet, nothing was to be feared. But the King, as the nominal head of the State, as the controller of foreign affairs through his official counsellors, the Senate and the Chancellors, and, as the head of the army, through the Hetmans, whom he appointed, was still a potential menace to individual liberty as the Szlachta understood it. Henceforth, therefore, an unreasonable, incur-able suspicion of the Crown, and all the executive instruments of the Crown, is the characteristic, or rather the mania, of every Polish Diet. For its country, as a State, the Szlachta had no thought at all. So long as every Szlackcic, or squire, was lord paramount in his own parish he cared little for anything beyond it. And what, after all, was the Sejm, or Diet, but a collection of some 600 of such squires who met annually at Warsaw or elsewhere, in order to contribute as little as possible to public needs and protest vehemently against everything they did not like or could not understand ? So far as they can be said to have had any policy at all, the Szlachta was in favour of absolute non-intervention in foreign affairs, as being the cheapest and least troublesome policy to pursue. The unwillingness with which the gentry of Poland parted with their money, especially for armaments, however necessary, was entirely due to the fear lest a popular monarch, at the head of a victorious army, might curtail their privileges. Rather than run such a risk as this, they were ready to avoid every advantageous alliance, forgo every political opportunity, stint their armies, starve and abandon their generals, and even leave the territories of the Republic unguarded and undefended. That this is no exaggeration will be obvious to everyone who takes the trouble to follow the course of events during the long reign of Sigismund III. Then, if ever, Polish statesmen had the opportunity of realising the Jagiellonic dream of Empire. The political situation everywhere favoured them. Livonia, with its fine seaboard and its hundreds of towns and fortresses, had literally fallen into the lap of Poland. Her one serious rival in the north was the rude young Swedish monarchy ; for Moscovy, after the death of Ivan IV (1584), had ceased to be dangerous. The Turk, unless violently shaken, was inclined to slumber. The Emperor and the Western Powers were more or less involved in the Spanish and, subsequently, in the Thirty Years' War. The regular army, if small, was good ; while in the Cossacks Poland had an almost unlimited reserve of the best raw military material. Finally, she possessed, in Zamoyski, Stanislaus Zolkiewski, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and Stanislaus Koniecpolski, four of the greatest captains of the age. No wonder that the Catholic League expected great things from the Republic. Who could ever have foreseen that the Poles themselves would frustrate the hopes of Poland !
The Livonian question was the first which called for prompt settlement. We have seen' how, by the Truce of Zapolsk (1582), Ivan IV ceded Livonia to Poland. But the Swedes also set up claims to the Baltic Provinces, and attempted to enforce them in 1600 when Sigismund III, though expelled from Sweden, refused to relinquish his claims to the Swedish throne. After conquering Esthonia, which, it will be remembered, was also part of the territories of the ancient Order of the Sword, the Swedes invaded Livonia ; and by March, 1601, the whole country, except Riga and Kokenhausen, were in their possession. But, in the beginning of 1602 the tide turned. Zamoyski, supported by his two great pupils, Zolkiewski and Chodkiewicz, took the field against the Swedes and recovered so many of the captured fortresses that Charles IX offered to surrender Livonia if Sigismund would be equally complaisant with regard to Sweden. Zamoyski, confident of success, advised a vigorous prosecution of the war; but his hopes were dashed by a sudden mutiny of the Polish army, which demanded its long outstanding arrears of pay and, failing to obtain them, dispersed among the Lithuanian palatinates, burning and ravaging as they went. In consequence of this, the Poles were unable to do anything for two years. Then Chodkiewicz again took the field, captured Dorpat and routed the Swedes at Weisenstein (Sept. 15, 1 604)3 for which exploit he won the grand bâton of Lithuania. In August, 1605, Charles IX, with an army of 16,000 men, reassumed the offensive and advanced against Riga. Chodkiewicz, whose army was now reduced to 3,400 men,. mostly cavalry, sent letter after letter both to Poland and Lithuania for reinforcements. His urgent appeals remained unanswered; but, recognising clearly that the fall of Riga would mean the total loss of Esthonia and Livonia, he resolved to seek his fortune in the field and risk everything on one desperate venture. Accordingly, he posted himself two miles from Riga, on the banks of the Dwina, near a little chapel on an island known as Kirkholm. Charles hastened thither with all his forces to administer the coup de grâce. The army of the Swedes consisted almost entirely of infantry. They occupied all the surrounding hills; their superior artillery commanded all the fords; they only waited for the enemy to emerge to annihilate him. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Chodkiewicz suddenly darted out at the head of his squadrons as if in panic flight and drew the Swedish army after him into the open field, when he turned swiftly on the disordered ranks of his pursuers. After three hours of desperate fighting, the Swedes scattered in every direction ; and the battle became a carnage which lasted till evening. Barely 5000 of the Swedes escaped ; 9000 of them bit the dust. Sixty standards, eleven guns, all the baggage and the military chest fell into the hands of the Lithuanian Grand Hetman. Charles IX himself owed his escape to the devotion of Henrik Wrede, who sacrificed his horse, and with it his life, to save his master.
The victory of Kirkholm (Sept. 27, 1605) was a sensational event. Pope Paul V bestowed his thanks and blessing on Chodkiewicz in an autograph letter. Sigismund III received congratulatory letters on the glorious success of the Polish arms from a dozen contemporary Potentates, including, some-what to his surprise, the Sultan and the Shah. Unfortunately, this signal victory was rendered absolutely fruitless by the " Insurrections," already described, which convulsed Poland during the next three years. Chodkiewicz's army, still unpaid, again mutinied en masse; and it was as much as he could do, with a handful of mercenaries, paid out of his own pocket, to keep the Swedes in check till the theatre of the struggle was, in 1609, transferred to Moscovy.
The details of the Russo-Polish war of 1609—1613 are related in the following chapter. Here we would only emphasise the fact that the triumphs of Chodkiewicz and of his colleague, the Grand Hetman of the Crown, Zolkiewski, were, throughout that war, perpetually minimised and neutralised by the jealous and fatal parsimony of the Polish Diet. Thus, Chodkiewicz was sent against the Moscovites with a lilliputian army of 2000 men, though, if there had been a spark of true patriotism in Poland, he could easily have been provided with the requisite 100,000. Nay, the Diet neglected to pay for the maintenance of even the 2000, which consequently mutinied and compelled its leader to retreat through the heart of Moscovy to Smolensk.
Similarly, when Zolkiewski, in 1611, presented the captive Tsar Vasily Shuiski and his family to the Diet, the unwonted sight evoked boisterous enthusiasm from every part of the House; and the Grand Hetman received a perfect ovation from the delighted deputies. But when the Chancellor, Myszkowski, taking advantage of the opportunity, appealed to the liberality of the Szlachta and called for subsidies " sufficient to put a roof on so imposing an edifice," they would barely grant enough to fortify the freshly recovered fortress of Smolensk.
But it is only when we come to the dealings of the Republic with its border mercenaries, the Cossacks, that we are able to realise the full folly of a policy which grudged every penny spent on the national defences. The position of the Cossacks in the Polish Republic was peculiar. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the illimitable steppes of south-eastern Europe, extending from the Dniester to the Urals, had no fixed population. The perpetual incursions of the Tatar hordes of Budjak and the Crimea made the Ukraine, or " borderland," as it was called, unsafe to dwell in; but, gradually, as the lot of the serf; both in Poland and Moscovy, grew more and more intolerable, the more energetic spirits among the peasantry sought an untrammelled, adventurous life in the free steppe. Obliged, for fear of the Tatars, to go about constantly with arms in their hands, they soon grew strong enough to raid their raiders, selling the rich booty thus acquired to the merchants of Moscovy and Poland. As time went on, the Cossacks multi-plied exceedingly. Their daring grew with their numbers, and they became an annoyance to all their neighbours, frequently involving both Poland and Moscovy in dangerous and unnecessary wars with the Ottoman Porte. Every river of any importance had its own Cossack settlement. Thus, beginning from the extreme east of Europe, we find the Yaitsie Cossacks on the Yaitsa, the Volgan Cossacks, the Terskie Cossacks on the Terek, and, further westwards, the Don Cossacks. The Cossacks of the Yaitsa, the Volga, the Terek and the Don were under the nominal dominion of Moscovy ; but the most important of all the Cossacks, the Cossacks of the Dnieper, were the vassals of the Crown of Poland.
The origin of the Syech, or Community of the Dnieperian Cossacks, is still somewhat obscure; but it was of importance, as a military outpost, so early as the beginning of the sixteenth century. Not, however, till 1570 do we find the Cossacks permanently entrenched among the islands of the Lower Dnieper. The Union of Lublin (1569), which tended to the polonising of Lithuania, was the immediate occasion of a considerable exodus to the lowlands of the Dnieper of those peasants who would escape the taxes of the Polish Government and the tyranny of the Polish Pans, or overlords. This greatly increased the number of the Cossacks; and Stephen Bathory converted them into a strong military colony for the defence of the border by enrolling the pick of them in six registered regiments of 1000 men each, with allotted districts where they could live with their families, with their headquarters on and around the island of Hortica, just below the porogi, or falls, of the Dnieper, whence they were generally known as the Zaporozhians, or "Backfallsmen1." Bathory judged it expedient to leave the Cossacks alone as far as possible, so long as they fulfilled their chief obligation of guarding the frontiers of the Republic against the Tatar raids. The Cossack Kosh, or commonwealth, had the privilege of electing its Ataman, or Hetman, and his chief officers, the starshins, annually. The Cossack Hetman received from the King of Poland direct the insignia of his office, namely, the bulawa, or bâton, the bunchuk, or horse-tail standard, and his official seal. He was also obliged to follow the Grand Hetmans of the Crown and of Lithuania to battle whenever called upon to do so. But, as chief of the Kosh, he was responsible to the Kosh alone ; and an enquiry into his conduct, during his year of office, was held, at the expiration of that term, in the Obshchaya Shkodka, or General Assembly, where complaints against him were invited and considered. Thus the Cossacks were independent of the Polish Diet, though the Diet was pledged to support them as part of the national forces. This privileged position was very odious to the Sztachta, who resented the existence of an army which took its orders from the King and yet drew its pay from them.
The Cossacks were from the first a very disturbing and incalculable element in Polish politics. The Republic, with the Porte as its next-door neighbour, was bound to keep the Cossacks within due limits; and this she endeavoured to do by reducing their numbers and setting over them Polish officers. But the Cossacks resented the slightest curtailment of the ancient custom of marauding ; and hence collisions between the Polish Government were frequent and bloody. Thus, in 1596, Zolkiewski was obliged to besiege the Cossack Hetman Nalewajko in his camp at Lubus, when 8500 Cossacks out of 10,000 perished after a desperate resistance. In 1613, encouraged by the disorders in Poland, the Zaporozhians under-took a great piratical expedition on the Black Sea, destroyed Sinope and other ports, and returned home with booty of the value of 40 millions of Polish gulden. A war with the Turks now seemed inevitable, but it was averted, for a time, by the courage and vigilance of Zolkiewski, who, by the skilful disposition of his Quartzians1, kept back the Tatars, and by imposing demonstrations in the Ukraine overawed the Turks. These operations were conducted almost entirely at his own expense, the Diet turning a deaf ear to most of his appeals for help. Left, thus, to his own resources he was obliged to make the best terms he could with the chronically rebellious Cossacks. Thus, by the compact of Olszawa (1616), he promised them an annual allowance of 1000 ducats and 700 wagon-loads of cloth, on condition that they abstained from piracy; and by the compact of Rastawa (1617), thousands of unregistered Cossacks, mostly runaway serfs, were attached, as auxiliaries, to the registered regiments instead of being compelled to return to their masters as heretofore. This great concession was deeply resented by the landowners and accounts for their persistent hostility to the Grand Hetman. But, though postponed for a time, a war with Turkey, in view of the endless raiding of Turkish territory not only by the Cossacks, but by the Pans themselves, was bound to come sooner or later. The conclusion of the long and wearing Persian war in 1618, gave the Porte a freer hand in Europe; and Sultan Osman, in alliance with Gabriel Bethlen, determined to attack Poland with all his forces. At this critical moment, when the very existence of the Republic was at stake, the malcontent majority of the Sejm, instead of voting adequate subsidies, fiercely attacked the Grand Hetman of the Crown in full Diet, accusing him of uselessly protracting the Cossack and Tatar wars to his own advantage. In all these accusations, the result partly of personal jealousy and partly of a suspicion that Zolkiewski favoured the King's political views, there was not one word of truth. The Grand Hetman defended himself with dignity; but, towards the end of his speech, righteous indignation overcame him and, turning towards the throne, he exclaimed, " Of a truth, before dying, 1 would fain have had some rest and respite not only. from many grievous labours, but also from the tongues of men. For four and forty years I have rendered military service, shedding my blood in battles, skirmishes and sieges, yet I, who, methinks, have held up the Republic in my arms, I forsooth ! am evil, and those who plunge the Republic into destruction are the better men." It was with a broken heart and a foreboding of disaster that the aged Zolkiewski prepared for his last campaign. Collecting 10,000 men at Bar, he crossed the Dniester at Podbihy and, on September 7, entered Moldavia, whose Hospodar, Gracian, was in the Polish interest and had promised to bring with him an auxiliary force of 25,000. When, then, he joined Zolkiewski with only 500, the Grand Hetman perceived that the original plan of campaign must be abandoned. He entrenched himself, provisionally, at Zamoyski's old camp at Cecora, where, on September 19, 1618, he was attacked by Skinder Pasha and 60,000 Turks. The assault was beaten off; but the situation was now so serious that, at a Council of War, Zolkiewski advised a retreat to Mohilew. But the Hospodar and many of the Szlachta, objecting to the perils of so long a march, burst out of the camp and, in an endeavour to cross the Dniester and gain Bessarabia, were cut to pieces by the enemy. With his reduced forces, Zolkiewski then began his retreat through the burnt and barren steppe, harassed at every step by his pursuers. For seven days he fought his way along, when a second mutiny broke out, and the bulk of his forces deserted him after plundering his camp. Then the Turks fell upon the little band which still stood firm, and massacred all but a few generals and dignitaries who were held to ransom. The Grand Hetman himself, fighting to the last and covered with wounds, was finally decapitated by a Turkish scimitar. His head was sent to Stambul as a present for the Sultan.
This terrible disaster awoke at last the conscience of the nation. The Diet of 1619 voted the unprecedented but still inadequate sum of six millions of Polish gulden for war expenses; the Lithuanian Grand Hetman, Chodkiewicz, was appointed to the supreme command ; and the Krolowicz, or Crown Prince, Wladislaus, accompanied the army to the Ukraine. Chodkiewicz had demanded at least 60,000 men, but the money voted could equip no more than 35,000 ; and with this little host he had to confront the pick of the Turkish army, 160,000 strong, led by Sultan Osman in person. At the last moment, however, he was joined by the Cossack Hetman, Sahajadichny, with 30,000 horsemen, and strongly entrenched himself on the Dniester, not far from Chocim, to bar the way of the Ottoman army. The siege, which lasted from September 2 to October 9, was glorious alike to the Poles and the Cossacks. Chodkiewicz, now in his 61st year, died of exhaustion during the siege, but he lived long enough to hurl back a dozen assaults and so break the spirit of the Turkish host that, on the first fall of autumn snow, Osman opened negotiations. On October 9, a truce was signed, on a uti possidetis basis, which the Janissaries considered to be so humiliating to the Ottoman Empire that they murdered the Sultan on his return to the capital.
"The War of Chocim," as it is called, gave Poland a respite from Turkish attacks for more than a generation, though it was dearly purchased by the sacrifice of two such heroes as Zolkiewski and Chodkiewicz. Fortunately for Poland she still possessed in Stanislaus Koniecpolski a commander capable of upholding the military traditions of heroic Poland. The pupil and son-in-law of Zolkiewski, he had fought by his side to the last on the bloody field of Cecora, and, after three years' captivity at Stambul, returned to Poland in x623. The exploits of Koniecpolski are the most memorable events of the latter years of the reign of Sigismund. It was he who, on the resumption of the Swedish war, in 1626, with miserably inadequate forces, for three years successfully defended Poland proper against Gustavus Adolphus, whom he defeated in several engagements, notably at Homerstein (1627) and at Trcziana (1629). A more vigorous prosecution of the war might have rid the Republic of her troublesome northern neighbour. But the Sejm never grasped the significance of the situation, and, instead of enabling Koniecpolski to follow up his victories, concluded with Sweden the six years' truce of Altmark, whereby Gustavus retained possession of Livonia, together with Elbing, a considerable portion of the delta of the Vistula, Braunsburg in West and Pillau and Memel in East Prussia. Still more important than these territorial acquisitions was the permission conceded to the Swedes of levying tolls at Pillau, Memel, Dantzic, Labiau and Windau, from which they derived, in 1629 alone, no less than 500,000 rix dollars.
But it was in the southern Ukraine that Koniecpolski reaped his most brilliant laurels. In 1623, just before his departure for the Baltic, he routed 65,000 Tatars at Martuinov on the Dniester. Subsequently he devoted himself to the difficult task of chastising the Cossacks, whose pretensions had become insupportable. He broke their power at the great battle of Perejaslawl, and imposed upon them the compact of Kurakow, which reduced the numbers of the registered Cossacks to 6000 men, at an annual cost of 60,000 gulden (1625).
Sigismund III would have intervened in the Thirty Years' War, on the Catholic side, but for the determined opposition of the Diet, expressing itself in fresh insurrections and the refusal of supplies. His intervention would have taken the form of an invasion and, possibly, an occupation of Transylvania, which, under the energetic and ambitious Princes of the Protestant Houses of Bethlen and Rákoczy was the active ally of the Sultan and equally dangerous to Austria and Poland. The best heads in Poland, including Zolkiewski, warmly approved of the King's policy in this respect, but it proved to be impracticable. The Diet's mania for non-intervention went so far that it refused to grant any subsidies for the Swedish War—with the disastrous consequences already recorded. Towards the end of his reign, Sigismund III withdrew altogether from politics and devoted himself exclusively to family matters. He died, very suddenly, of apoplexy, on April 30, 1632, in his 66th year. He would have made an excellent Sovereign if only his subjects had allowed him to rule them.


text:
Q: Module import in Python 2.x.x I want to use my previous program as a module. But when I import that program, program runs automatically. I do not want to run program. I just want to import that program in to my new program as a module that I use functions or variables from that module. I tried to add  this line if __name__ == "__main__". But it did not work also. How can I prevent this action?(I am using python2.x.x)

A: The code inside the if __name__ == "__main__" is executed only when you run directly that programm and is ignored otherwise.
The rest of the code is executed all the time.
The correct way to organize your code is to declare every attribute (function, constant, class...) before the if __name__ == "__main__", and then you put the code that run the program. Here is the structure :
# only "passive" code until the __name__=="__main__"

# could be importation...
import sys

# ...global variables
version = 42

# ...or functions
def foo(x):
    print("foo called")

def bar(x):
    print("bar called")
    return x + 1

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # start the effective code here

    print("program running")
    print("version :", version)
    foo()
    n = bar(2)
    print(n)

you could also define a function to call at the end
...

def main():
    print("program running")
    print("version :", version)
    foo()
    n = bar(2)
    print(n)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


New DIIV (formerly Dive): "Doused"
DIIV get a lot of flack for the atmospheric monotony it's all too easy for dream pop bands to fall into, but the subtle repetitiveness of that motorik drum-and-bass groove and those spiraling, interwoven guitar riffs is totally hypnotic. Frontman Cole Smith has a fantastic way of sounding quietly wounded when his voice follows that guitar line. DIIV's debut Oshin still has the same title, label (Captured Tracks), and release date, June 26th.
New: Beach Fossils - "Lessons"


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Colburn / Music Academy Spotlight: Milli McFall
Music Academy Spotlight: Milli McFall
by Clara Huang 03/16/2018
Milli McFall, 17, has been playing piano since the age of three. This is her second year studying with Ory Shihor in the Music Academy. Milli is from Seattle, WA.
This interview has been lightly edited for style and content.
Why did you decide to come to Colburn?
I participated in the piano festival three years ago and fell in love with the place. It's the most beautiful campus ever, in the most beautiful location. I fell in love with Mr. Shihor's teaching and that was what brought me here.
What is it about Mr. Shihor's teaching that you appreciate?
I've never had a teacher like him. He wants you to be an independent musician. It motivates me to work hard. Of course, you want to be a little bit scared of your teacher—it's not necessarily fear, but it's fear because I don't want to disappoint him. He pushes me and he's never mean, even if I did not play well. He'll tell me, of course, but he's also really supportive. I really love that.
He can also literally play anything, even when he sight-reads. He just plays it so well. You're studying with this music icon, it's so cool. Since studying with him, I've also become interested in Classical classical music. I was just into Romantic and modern, and I was like Baroque, ugh, Classical is boring. His teaching with it has really piqued my interest. Like actually it's not boring, I just wasn't playing it well. Hearing his concerts helped. He did a concert recently of Schubert's music. I was never really interested in Schubert but after hearing him play, I was like, I want to play Schubert!
When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music?
Probably 2nd grade, I'm not joking. I was definitely always interested in going to a pre-college program for music. Coming from a family of musicians, it was natural. My mom and my sister and I are all pianists.
What is it like being from a musical family?
My mom taught me until I was seven and then I switched teachers because I became rebellious quite young. My sister was always playing piano and my mom is a teacher too, and I think that helped because there was always music going on in the house. The music would stop at 11 pm and start again at 5 am. It was all day every day.
What's your favorite thing about Colburn?
Oh, there's so many. I think my favorite thing about coming here is seeing myself grow as a musician; my technique has gotten a lot better. When I first came here, I would have never voluntarily, willingly, or happily played an étude, because that was my biggest nightmare. But for my conservatory auditions, I've been starting with my étude. That's something that I'm proud of and that I can say this place gave me.
The whole environment here is so supportive. Everyone here is really here for the students. The teachers in all the classes really promote self-thinking instead of institutionalized thinking. They all have an independent teaching style, especially Mr. Shihor.
What was your most memorable experience here?
It was definitely playing for Thibaudet in the master class last year. That was my coming of age moment. Even though I've known I wanted to do music my entire life, I had a lot of questions about it before coming here. I had to ask myself if this was something that really satisfies me, because there are so many sacrifices you have to make. You really have to believe that it's worth it, otherwise you're not going to put your whole heart into it. There's also a lot of pressure because my family's all musicians, so I also came here to figure out if this was something I wanted for myself.
It was playing for Thibaudet—that moment on stage—where I thought, I love this for myself; it isn't just because of the pressures from my family. This is something that I really enjoy doing. It was such an honor to play with him, especially in Zipper Hall. I was like, this is my life. This is real. It's not just some fantasy.
What are some of your interests outside music?
I swim, and I'm also into activism. Being in downtown is so great because there are so many events and protests here. That's also one of my favorite things about being here. It has made me a lot more aware, being in such a diverse place that's super dense, with events that draw people from all over the world.
How do you combine music with activism?
I think it gives you a platform to voice your opinion. Everyone has a voice and everyone, in my opinion, should use their voice. Even choosing not to use your voice is using your voice in a way. I'm a firm believer that especially now, politics and music, or any type of art, are really related to each other. As musicians, we should use the power of our music and voice to speak out against discrimination. World-class musicians especially just have so many followers, so they have a huge voice and can make a huge impact. I think it's kind of shameful when they choose not to do that, but to each their own.
What's something you've learned from Colburn that you'll take into the future?
The importance of networking, that's huge. I can really see it here because Colburn is so connected to the local community, with their students and their outreach program. Colburn is so amazing at making all these connections and because of that, we have so many more opportunities as students to do things that many other schools can't offer. Making connections is so key. These are people can help you in the future, or that you can help or make music with. You just never know when a connection is going to be helpful.
Also, the importance of practicing. Before I was always like, 'Okay so if I practice this way, then I'll practice less, and that's a shortcut.' But Colburn has taught me that no there are no shortcuts if you want to play really well. You really have to just sit at the piano and stay there.
What are some goals you have for the next four years and beyond?
I would like to be the best musician that I can be. Ideally, I would like to be a world-class musician. It's very difficult, but we'll see. I definitely want to compose at some point, play more jazz, and find more collaborative work. I also want to perform more underperformed music. There's so much amazing music by women like Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn that's just never played. I'd like to bring exposure to that.
The weekly Saturday Spotlight series highlights our outstanding faculty and staff from across the school. Read other spotlight interviews.


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Home Wind Energy EDF to acquire first phase of Hereford wind project from Lincoln
EDF to acquire first phase of Hereford wind project from Lincoln
US-based power producer EDF Renewable Energy is set to acquire the first phase of up to 500MW Hereford wind project in Texas from Lincoln Renewable Energy.
The company has inked a membership interest purchase agreement with Lincoln for the 200MW phase that is scheduled to commence construction later in 2013 to qualify for the Production Tax Credit (PTC).
In addition, EDF is seeking negotiations to secure a long-term, fixed-price hedge agreement for the expected energy production of the first phase of the project.
Lauding Public Utility Commission of Texas for the establishment of CREZ transmission project, EDF Renewable Energy executive vice president Ryan Pfaff said the move would provide access-to-market for low-cost, clean renewable energy, thereby boosting the economic development at the regional level.
"The Production Tax Credit extension in early 2013, along with the CREZ transmission build-out, creates a compelling opportunity for EDF Renewable Energy to strengthen our presence in the wind-rich Texas Panhandle," added Pfaff.
Having secured an option to acquire the second phase of the project, EDF is planning to increase its installed wind capacity in the state to 972MW.
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Nine New Countries Sign Up for Global Offshore Wind Alliance at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh


Image is a comic book and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by seven of Marvel Comics' best-selling comic book artists. These well-known artists took this big step to form a home that would allow themselves and other artists the opportunity to tell their stories without any censorship or editorial restraints. Even more importantly, Image Comics would finally give creators full ownership of their properties.
"In an industry that began with artists working in sweatshop-like conditions, Image Comics remains a living beacon for any creator that dares to dream" (George Khoury, Poppreview: Image Comics: The Road To Independence).
Since that time, Image has gone on to become the third largest comic book publisher in the United States. Image comics are creator-owned; this means that Image does not assign writers and artists to titles that are published. Instead, the creators determine who will be involved with the production of their individual titles.
Image publishes a wide variety of comics. From horror comic books to humorous comic books, Image Comics has you, the reader, covered. They have had many crossover stories with other comic book publishers such as "The Big Two". Many of Image's comic books have even made the jump to television and movies. One of the most popular is The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead, based on the comic book of the same name, one of the longest running titles among comic books, is the best-rated cable show on television, now in its fifth season on AMC.
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A strong Oxenhope side proved too tough for their Craven League opponents.
Dale Hawker grabbed a hat-trick with two goals for Craig Morris and one each for Andy Fox and Liam Walsh with Liam Blacka netting a penalty for the West Yorkshire League side.
Andy Tanner hit the consolation for Broomhill.
A mixture of both first team and reserves on both sides fought out an enjoyable friendly on a nice surface at Crosshills this evening.
Sam Stanfield and Dom Creed grabbed a brace apiece for the visitors with Ben McClennon, Ben Ramsden and Andy Kay also on target, although 'Hill old boy Gavin Shearer failed to hit the mark.
Can you play Oxenhope on Saturday?
The team is ready, pitch is looking good and referee arranged.
Unfortunately for Oxenhope Rec's mixed Reserve/Third team, they no longer have any opponents.
Silsden White Star have pulled out of Saturday's friendly at the Recreation Ground so Oxenhope are looking for a team to step in at short notice.
If you can fill the gap, contact Lee Collins, 0795 8800657.
August's fixtures for the Lancashire League season have been released and the new Silsden Development team will start at home to Ossett Town in the East Division on August 9.
The rest of the month sees a swift return against Ossett with a trip to their Ingfield ground on August 28, sandwiching matches at Eccleshill (15) and against AFC Emley at the Angel Telecom Stadium (21).
Two Wharfedale Triangle Sunday League clubs have gone up in the world.
For Bingley FC Young Boys, it is a change of name and ground, while Cullingworth Youth will kick off the new season in the Premier Division after winning the Division One title last season.
The newly-renamed Bingley FC will be using the Ryshworth Club as their base and playing at Crossflatts Rec, after leaving Marley.
Three new teams have joined the league – Yeadon Veterans (in the Premier Division) and Shipley Town Reserves and Sky Bet in Division One – with four teams leaving – AFC Bramley, Idle United, Salts Firsts and Menston Athletic.
Park Row Panthers and Horsforth St Margarets join Cullingworth in gaining promotion, with Otley Tavern the only team relegated.
It leaves the Keighley area with five teams in the Premier Division – Bingley FC, Crossflatts Village, Cullingworth Youth, Keighley Athletic and Keighley Town – with two in Division One – Aire Valley and Keighley Albion.
Robert Matthews and Luke Newton were on target as Craven League Premier Division side Crosshills got their pre-season campaign off the ground with victory over their West Riding County Amateur League neighbours.
Corey Speed scored for a young Chevrons team, who fielded a mixture of reserve team and u18 players.
Steeton manager Clark O'Dwyer said: "We gave them a good game, considering most of our players were under 20.
So close: Click to watch Joe Gaughan's crossbar challenge attempt. You need to be one of his Facebook friends to view it.
Global call: Joe Gaughan is aiming to raise £1,000.
Silsden old boy Joe Gaughan is circling the world for charity.
Stop Out SC striker Gaughan has issued a global challenge from New Zealand and is keen to see Keighley area clubs and players get involved to raise money for the Dreams Come True charity.
In his Facebook plea, Gaughan is urging players to take on his Worldwide Crossbar Challenge – hitting the crossbar from the halfway line – to raise £1,000 for the British-based charity.
Dreams Come True fulfils the dreams of terminally ill children and young people aged between two and 21.
A dream can be anything from swimming with dolphins to meeting a celebrity.
Gaughan, who moved to the other side of the world last March, has stipulated that anyone nominated to take part has 24 hours to do the challenge and then has to donate to his JustGiving page before passing on the challenge to five more players.
He said: "Please remember to donate and try raise as much money as possible, and also try make this a worldwide challenge. Please remember to share my Just Giving link so people know where to donate.
Gaughan was filmed trying his luck at the challenge, landing the ball on the net in a near miss.
His nominees include Chesterfield's former Oakworth goalkeeper Tommy Lee, fellow Stop Out team mate Matty Everard, Shaw Lane Aquaforce's Matty Moore and Silsden's Joe Mitchell.
To sponsor Gaughan, visit his Just Givingpage, here. You can donate via credit card or PayPal.
Bradley used 22 players as they got their new season under way with a creditable draw at higher level Craven League opponents.
It gave manager Tony Piotrowicz strength in numbers and the luxury of being able to change things round completely at half-time.
The first half was a game of chances missed for Bradley, despite playing some good football.
Grassington had few chances but scored from a set-piece to leave Piotrowicz disappointed at half-time.
He changed all 11 players and the new-look team put on another good display.
A crossfield ball from Edward Horner found Liam Wheeler and finished with superb left shot over the keeper to equalise.
Chances fell for both sides but no further goals were added, to leave both managers satisfied with a good night's workout.
New fixtures have been released for the new Craven League season.
Action still gets under way on Saturday, August 23, but the opening day programme has been completely changed to that issued last week.
Premier Division fixtures include Crosshills v Rolls, Embsay v Cononley Sports and Wilsden Athletic v Grindleton.
In Division One, Cononley Sports Reserves host Bradley and Silsden White Star are at home to Bingley Town, while Ingrow & Worth Valley are at home to Skipton Town, with Bradley making the short trip to Cononley Reserves.
First-day action in Division Two sees FC Sporting take on Manningham All Stars, Broomhill are at Grindleton Reserves with Oxenhope Thirds travelling to Sutton.
There is derby action in Division Three with Sutton Reserves making the short trip to Cowling Reserves, with Bradley Reserves at home to Barnoldswick Barons and away days for Crosshills Reserves (at new boys Barlick Wanderers) and Ingrow & Worth Valley Reserves (at Skipton Town Reserves).
Early season fixtures remain subject to change, depending on pitch availability where teams share with cricket clubs.
See the full list of fixtures on the Craven League website, here.
US trials: Connor Madden, white shirt, in action in Harrogate.
Hot work: Connor Madden gets to hear this week if he is heading across the Atlantic.
Oxenhope Rec's teenage midfielder Connor Madden is facing a trial by video as he looks to take his career overseas.
Madden, 19, from near Braithwaite, played in final trials with Sports Recruiting USA for American colleges on Saturday and is eagerly awaiting news to hear if he has been accepted for a prestigious place across the Atlantic.
Madden had already impressed in an earlier round of trials and videos of him in action were circulated in the USA after he did well in a match involving two teams of players with similar ambitions.
He was one of 12 selected for the final round and was in action again at Harrogate at the weekend.
Madden said: "The trial was to determine whether or not I get a scholarship at an American uni playing football.
Silsden opened their season with a goal-laden friendly at the Angel Telecom Stadium this evening.
The Cobbydalers led 2-1 at half-time but their Northern Counties East League visitors ran clear after the break.
Josh Metcalfe 2 and Jonson Butterfield were on target for the hosts.
Top team: Keighley Shamrocks u11 won their section without conceding a goal.
Keighley Shamrocks u11s were among the winners of the club's own junior tournament at Marley Tip Top over the weekend.
Nine different clubs shared the nine age group honours with Keighley area glory for Bingley, Oakworth, Long Lee and Silsden, as well as the hosts.
A huge turnout of teams and supporters brought reward for the small band of organisers who were able to reflect on another job well done.
Co-organiser Andy Gaughan said: "A massive thank you to all the teams who entered our tournament.
"It was a huge success and provided much needed funds to help us continue for another season.
"I am so grateful to the very few parents and coaches who help run such a massive tournament year in, year out.
"I would also like to thank all the referees, some of who refereed up to 16 match without a break.
Trophy hopes: New Silsden u19s manager Stephen Narey.
A new management team takes control of Silsden u19s as they open their pre-season campaign this evening.
New manager Stephen Narey and assistant Andy Consoli will be in charge of the young Cobbydalers at the Angel Telecom Stadium when they welcome Knaresborough Town, 7.15pm.
They replace Andy Gaughan and Jez Fay and will be hoping to add to the pair's impressive haul of silverware during their tenure.
Monday, July 28: Silsden u19 v Knaresborough Town (7.15pm).
Tuesday 29: Grassington Utd v Bradley (6.30pm), Harrogate Railway Athletic v Silsden.
Wednesday 30: Crosshills v Steeton Res (6.30pm).
Thursday 31: Crosshills v Silsden White Star, Oxenhope Rec Res v Broomhill, Silsden Dev v Thackley (7.30pm).
Saturday, August 2: Bingley Town v Polonia Patson, Broomhill v Halifax Volunter Arms (2pm), Grassington Utd v Ingrow & Worth Valley, Oxenhope Rec Res/III v Beeston St Anthony's III (2pm), Steeton v Rimington.
Sunday 3: Grassington Utd Res v Polonia Patson, Ingrow & Worth Valley v Muldoons.
An end to end game played on a superb playing surface saw Oxenhope's second string gain a well deserved draw as they continued their build-up to the start of the West Yorkshire League season.
The home side led 1-0 at half-time but early in the second half Craig Morris fired in an equaliser.
Midway through the second period, a good flowing move resulted in Barnoldswick restoring their advantage but with time running out, James Bailey put in a curling corner for Dan Moriarty to head home.
A new era began for Bingley FC as the renamed Wharfedale Triangle Sunday League side kicked off a new season with a draw in their opening friendly.
The former Bingley FC Young Boys took the lead with a screamer from new signing Chris Mawson after being set up by Ross Greenaway.
The hosts hit back to take the lead but another long-range strike from Mawson made it all square at half-time.
Sugden hit the bar and Le Smith scuffed a post in the second half but no more goals were forthcoming.
Manager Dec Corby praised his side's resilience and, even though some players were missing, they still came out with a decent result. "There is plenty to build on and we will continue the pre-season with a positive outlook for the upcoming season," he said.
Read a full report and interview with Corby on the new Bingley FC website, here.


His words alone — "man," "primitive," "oriental"— signify how much has changed over 36 years in thinking about objects from the cultures and peoples of places like Colombia, Peru, the Pacific Islands and Nigeria.
Now, as part of its ambitious master plan, the Met is announcing a $70 million renovation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which will be designed by the architect Kulapat Yantrasast of the firm wHY, to begin in late 2020 and be completed in 2023.
The project will reintroduce the collection's three distinct geographic regions in the context of "the global canon of art history," said Max Hollein, who is 100 days into his tenure as the new director.
n his first joint interview with Daniel H. Weiss, the museum's president and chief executive, Mr. Hollein also offered a window into how he will approach the Modern and contemporary art program as the museum moves forward with long-awaited plans to remodel its Southwest Wing.
The Met has long needed proper galleries in which to display its storied collection of 20th and 21st century works, including Leonard A. Lauder's trove of Cubist paintings, drawings and sculptures, one of the most significant gifts in the Met's history.
Work on the wing was delayed in 2017 so that the museum could address a looming deficit. Now that Mr. Hollein has arrived and the museum's finances have stabilized, the Met has reactivated the project, albeit in a scaled-back form, aided by its decision in September to concentrate on the Fifth Avenue building and turn over the Met Breuer to the Frick Collection as of 2020.
Some have questioned the Met's efforts to improve its Modern and contemporary program, given that New York already has the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim. Mr. Hollein said he will not attempt to compete with these institutions, but instead will try to make a distinctive contribution to the discussion.
While the new wing will juxtapose works from after 1900 with the museum's historic holdings, as the Breuer has, Mr. Hollein said the museum will also broaden the definition of what constitutes Modern and contemporary art, taking a global perspective from 1880 onwards.
The Met has been expanding its collection with global acquisitions from India, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico and more, according to a spokesman. One recent acquisition is a piece purchased at auction two weeks ago by the postwar Egyptian artist Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar.
Mr. Weiss said the Southwest Wing, with a revised design by David Chipperfield, was projected to cost $600 million, compared with an estimated final price tag of $800 million for the previous plan. Fund-raising is advancing "to the next level," Mr. Weiss said, though he would not be more specific on timing or a possible lead gift.
This and other Met building projects, Mr. Weiss said, can move forward now that the museum is on track to balance its $320 million annual budget by 2020. The Met has increased its revenue 41 percent over last year, he explained, largely as a result of the museum's new admissions policy — which went into effect last March — requiring non-New Yorkers to each pay $25.
Also important was waiting for Mr. Hollein to arrive and to take his vision into account. "It has to be his project," Mr. Weiss said.
The Rockefeller Wing, a 40,000-square-foot gallery on the museum's south side, has been hampered by condensation on the glass and excessive light. In addition to addressing these problems, the renovation provides the museum with an opportunity to tell discrete stories about each region (Africa, Americas, Oceania) rather than have the sections run into one another. Mr. Weiss said about one-third of the funds for this wing have been raised so far, mostly from trustees.
In rethinking the Rockefeller Wing, for example, the Met will explore the relationship of Egypt and Rome to Africa as well as the relationship linking Europe, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
Already underway is the Met's $22 million refurbishing of 10 galleries devoted to British decorative arts and sculpture, to be completed in winter 2020, and its $150 million replacement of the skylights in the European Paintings galleries, to be completed in 2022.
But it is the Met's Southwest Wing that has been the subject of the most curiosity, given the museum's bumpy experiment with showing Modern and contemporary art at the Breuer (the building has been costly to run and the exhibitions have received mixed reviews); the failed effort by Mr. Hollein's predecessor, Thomas P. Campbell, to get initial funding for the project; and Mr. Hollein's extensive experience in contemporary art.
Under Mr. Hollein, contemporary art will not be limited to the galleries, but — "in close collaboration with artists" — will temporarily occupy other unused areas of the building in surprising ways, like the Great Hall at the museum's entrance and the eight empty niches on the building's facade, which for a couple of months each year will be the site of a major sculpture commission.
At the same time, he said, the Met will celebrate the great works in its storied collection, which in any other city would make it the major museum for Modern and contemporary art.


There is so much to learn from Mai Atafo, one of the greats of the Nigerian fashion industry as we know it.
The pacesetter has changed the game of couture fashion, setting trends both here and abroad with pieces from his Mai Atafo Inspired collection. Fashionistas love him, aspiring fashion entrepreneurs look up to him, and Atafo is just getting started in solidifying his empire across Africa and beyond.
The CNTV crew got the chance to learn more about Mai, his success story and what moves him as a business man and individual. Watch, be inspired and share with someone who will need the advice.
And yes… don't forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button for more great videos!


In this week's travel feature, local blogger Manar Ben Tahayekt has listed her top reasons to visit the Moroccan city of Chefchaouen.
If you are planning to travel to the north of Morocco, make sure you add 'Visit Chefchaouen' on your travel bucket list.
Chefchaouen is only two hours and 15 minutes from Tangiers if you catch the ferry or take a flight. Chefchaouen is in the Rif Mountains and situated inland from Tangiers to Tetouan.
The city was founded in 1471 as a small fortress which exists to this day by Moualy Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rached Alami.
The colours are the first thing that will catch your eye when you stroll down the old Medina or town.
Chefchaouen is famous for its beautiful streets and buildings that are painted in stunning blue and white shades.
When you first arrive you will notice the magnificent colours of the city. The city is truly draped in blue. Every building and street is painted in a lovely powder blue colour that varies in brightness from house to house and street to street.
Each Northern Morocco city has their share of breath-taking views that you could stare at for hours and forget all your worries. Chefchaouen, which is situated by two mountains, also has amazing views.
Ras Elma is a river that cascades down into a series of small waterfalls connecting a bustling town and peaceful country delights within a short walking distance of each other.
Ras Elma has restaurants where people can sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Some people even wash their clothes in river, there are many different activities you can do and see whilst you are up there.
There's also a Spanish Mosque sitting on the hillside, another short walk from town which is popular with locals and tourists who go up there to watch the sunset.
There is a variety of places where you can stay whilst you are planning on visiting Chefchaouen, whether it is hotels, hostels or apartments, you are covered.
In the heart of the medina, there is a square with cafes, restaurants and bazaars. It is very relaxing to just sit there and watch the world go by after a day of exploring.
The Kasbah is a heavily-restored walled fortress that now contains a lovely garden, a small museum and a small art gallery. The museum shows some fascinating view of the old Chefchaouen, including the plaza and Kasbah. The gallery shows the works of local artists.
I would recommend visiting in spring time when the weather is not too cold or too hot. Remember Chefchaouen is in the Rif Mountains so unfortunately there is no sea breeze so it is incredibly hot in the summer and absolutely freezing in the winter.
What to expect when I visit Chefchaouen?
Chefchaouen is quieter than other places in Morocco – instead of vendors inviting you to their shops, you will find quiet men waiting for you to ask them for the price of an item. Streets are filled with locals enjoying their day and you can hear laughter coming from the children playing football. You can definitely try to get lost and observe local life and the many kittens in Chefchaouen.
To keep up to date with Manar's travels and other interests, visit her blog: https://wobblyblogger.blogspot.com/.
For Manar's Facebook page, visit: https://www.facebook.com/WobblyBlogger/.


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The hidden gem that is the Plett Wine Route
Garden Route, Postcards From Africa
By Ian Kriek on
Being an experienced Garden Route traveller, it has never occurred to me to venture off the N2 highway in search of a wine farm. As South Africans, we're so used to associating Winelands with the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Cape Town areas.
Although the Plett Wine Route is the "new kid on the block", with most farms not being older than 17 years, the quality of the wines and the experiences at each farm does not disappoint. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Plett's Bubbly & Wine Route with three of my colleagues.
We test the best wine estates, hotel and safari lodges for our clients
Boutique, bubbles and beauty
Leaving The Plettenberg Hotel after a delicious breakfast, we were ready and excited for what the day had in store for us. It was a bit rainy and chilly, but we will never let the weather dampen our spirits! Twenty minutes later, we arrive at Newstead, our first wine farm for the day.
Surprisingly busy, it's clearly a popular Friday lunch spot for the locals, which is always a good indication that we're in for a treat. And boy, we certainly were!
Bubbly, wine, cheese and bread, what else could one need?
Newstead's wines, especially their MCC's (Méthod Cap Classique), have won multiple awards and are rated in the top 10 wines in South Africa. Their restaurant is open to the public for sit-down meals and picnics from Wednesdays to Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm.
Their motto is "We keep and simple and special", and it shows through the fresh and locally sourced ingredients on the platter we get to share in front of a roaring fireplace, with the Tsitsikamma Mountains as the backdrop. What a beautiful place. I can't wait to return here one day and tell everyone I know about this gem.
Off the beaten track with the most welcoming host
Welcome to Lodestone
Our next stop is Lodestone, which is open for tastings by appointment only. Therefore, you do feel a bit like a VIP when entering the estate. However, when welcomed by the amiable owner Brett, there are no airs and graces. The location of the tasting venue is spectacular. It overlooks a lily-covered pond, with the Tsitsikamma Mountains in the distance. What more could you want while enjoying a delicious glass of wine?
This farm offers an extensive range of wines, from MCC to white and red wines. However, what makes the property truly special is the owner, Brett. What a privilege it was to experience tasting his wines while listening to his life stories. He shared how he started his career in corporate in Johannesburg and abroad and how he then ended up acquiring this little piece of heaven called Lodestone.
Brett has many plans for the future of Lodestone, from adding more accommodation options to the current two cottages and opening a new restaurant.
Wine tasting in a stunning setting
Some fun facts about the Plett Wine Route to whet your taste buds:
Plett is now recognised as one of South Africa's "Wine of Origin" regions. It's also the smallest.
There are currently 18 wine farms, from Harkerville to The Crags.
The owners of Bramon Wine Estate, Caroline and Peter Thorpe, planted the first grapevines back in 2001.
The area's climate makes it better suited for cooler-climate wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir varieties.
The alkaline level of the soil allows for the majority of the wines to have very low sulphites, which is that "additive" some people could get a reaction from, for example, a red complexion or allergic-type reactions.
Harvesting takes place between February and April. However, it depends on the amount of sugar currently in the grapes. The Crags' area tends to harvest earlier as they are in an area with higher temperatures.
The area currently creates eight Méthode Cap Classique style wines. These are wines produced according to the traditional Champagne method. Therefore, the area has become known as a "Bubbly Route".
Three wine estates process and bottle their own wines, namely Bramon, Packwood, and Plettenvale. All other wine farms produce and bottle their wines at the Bramon Wine Estate with the master winemaker Anton Smal.
Anton Smal was with Villiera Wines in the Franshoek region for more than 18 years before coming to Plett.
Plett hosts an annual Wine & Bubbly Festival during the school holidays in March. Here you can taste wines from the different wine farms, experience locally-grown produce such as honeybush tea, olives, olive oil, macadamia nuts and pomegranates, and enjoy music and locally-produced artisan foods.
You can also explore the Plett Winelands on horseback, in a horse-drawn carriage, on a guided bus tour, on a cycling trail, or on a guided hike.
When are you visiting the Plett Wine Route?
The Plett Wine Route is the smallest wine region in South Africa and promises an exclusive and scenic winelands experience. It's young, exciting and thriving, and it's going to be interesting to see what the future holds for this beautiful part of the country.
The Garden Route is lucky to add this amazing winelands experience to its already long list of activities and adventures to experience as a destination.
My Plett Wine Route travel buddies
It's a great pity that we only had time to experience two farms on this trip, but it's super exciting to know that there are almost 20 wine farms in the Plett wine region to visit on return trips to the Garden Route. Next time you're travelling along the Garden Route area, do yourself a favour and stop in at one of the wine farms on the Plett Wine Route.
Contact our Travel Experts who look forward to booking your personalised and intimate wine tasting experience that is off the beaten track.
The Turbine Hotel & Spa – An Achievement of Antiquity
A Mindful Safari at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
A sumptuous stay at The Plettenberg Hotel
Ian Kriek


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