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Home / Leadership/ Tyre lord yachts ahead
Tyre lord yachts ahead
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At 33 he came to Sri Lanka to set up an industrial tyre factory for his
principals in Europe. Within five years, he quit his job as the General Manager to go solo and joined with local investors to set up what has now become a global giant in
industrial tyre manufacturing. More than 30 years later, the lord of Loadstar, Pierre Pringiers, shows no sign of slowing down. After making his mark in industrial tyre
manufacturing, he has now moved on to new businesses.
"When I came here about 35 years ago, I was like a sheep, working under a boss at the age of 37. After four years here building up the business in very difficult circumstances, I always say I became a lion. My bosses from Belgium didn't recognise me. This is how entrepreneurship comes to the surface," he claims.
The 'lion' hasn't stopped roaring since then. Teaming up with Jinasena Group, with only $ 30,000 from him, Pringiers built one of the most
successful businesses in the country over the years. Thanks to him the country became a hub for industrial tyre manufacturing, with over 60% global market share at present. After building the company, and seeing it through tough times during the 2008 economic slowdown, Pringiers handed over the reins of the company to the younger generation when he was 60, a decision made well in time he says.
"I was good as a pioneer, but they were much better at getting at
compliance, quality control and
regularity. They built the basis for the next 20 years."
But Pringiers has no plans of slowing down. From tyre manufacturing he sailed his way through a host of
philanthropic projects to uplift his community in Mirissa to a
boat-building venture which he set up in 2008. Although the venture hit some rough seas, they are now
turning the sails towards the leisure boat industry in the country.
"That's the nature of entrepreneurs. They want to do one thing today, and another thing tomorrow. Shareholders have a hard time managing them," Pringiers admits, speaking of his business style.
The biggest testimony for his
products came in the most unlikely
circumstances, when a Sri Lankan fishing crew, sent as trainers to Somalia in one of the boats
manufactured by Pringiers' yard, sailed back home with only 300 litres of fuel, surviving two cyclones.
"This was the proof of performance of what we have built. So we are now using this experience, we are going through all these things that are broken and the sail systems that are twisted. Nothing has happened to the boat. Had it been one of the fishing boats here, they probably wouldn't have survived the second cyclone."
Since then he has modified his business plan to focus more on leisure boats and water sports,
designing multiday boats to be used in Sri Lankan seas. This, he hopes, will set sail to gain mileage in new areas in tourism, tapping into the luxury traveller market.
Outlining his future plans with Daily FT, Pringiers spoke of the trials of venturing into unknown waters and challenges he faces in setting up a business in an environment that has hardly undergone any reform since opening the country's economy to outside world.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
By Chathuri Dissanayake
Q: You have a unique perspective on the Sri Lankan business climate. From the time you came here as an investor 30 years ago, you have experienced how the things have changed from a position that gives a different view. Can you relate your experience?
A: Then it was Eldorado. There was nobody here. We were one of the first large-scale investors to come here. We were very successful. What I would say to BOI and everybody who wants advice into which type of investments we should try to attract to Sri Lanka, in the 1980 it was a kind of fashion that to be successful in certain industries you have to move your factories from Europe to somewhere lower cost country. In our case it was a lower cost country, because of the rubber and labour. In other sectors like electronics, there were other reasons, like labour cost. But that was then. The fashion has completely inverted now. Now it is make it, sell it and use it in the country which you make it. Sri Lanka has to adapt to that, and attract investments where investments come here and put their roots here and have some sort of possibility to develop the local market, and using that as a jumping board for the external market.
This is a shift of strategy. This is an important shift as the BOI which was created in 1978 as the Greater Colombo Economic Commission has the same rules as 1978. It is about 40 years old. If you look at it in the internet generation, it is like an eternity. It is high time these rules and regulations are adapted to the realities of today.
In those days BOI was attracting investors, if an investor comes and says I am a tyre company and I would like to manufacture tyres, they would say okay, you can manufacture and sell 100% of your production overseas. But if the company says, 'Can we also buy from our colleagues so that we can put that to our containers?' it was not possible then. Now it is becoming possible. Can you do trading? No you can't do trading, or servicing. You can only manufacture and export. This is not the DNA anymore of an enterprise, or an investor who comes here. They have to have a whole gamut of possibilities to make an investment a success and it is not up to the Government to regulate that, it should be a fairly free playing field for such companies.
What the BOI still has in place is a silo system. You fall into a silo – single product and you follow that. But if the investor wants to diversify that is not possible, you have to create a new company. At that rate GE would have one million companies, as they make so many different products, but it is one large corporation. This is what is missing here. It is partially understood now but the regulations are not adapted yet. This is the biggest challenge here.
Q: You have been the pioneer of an entire industry in the country. How did you come about to setting up your own business after you broke away from your principals in Belgium?
A: After leaving the company I set up here, the second phase of the industrial tyres venture, I started with Jinasena. When I started with Jinasena, I didn't have much money, I think I had about $ 30,000 saved over four years and that is all I had basically.
To start a tyre project with only $30,000 you must be a fool, and I was one. I went to Jinasena and they were interested in something to do with the local rubber. I came up with a game changing idea about how to produce this tyre. I have been producing tyres before and I had an idea which was simple. We wanted to maximise labour, and minimise the amount of money to invest, because I had a small budget. Basically I invested only $ 30,000 in Loadstar, I found another partner who also put $30,000 and the rest was contributed by the Jinasena family.
When we started in the 1984-1985 period we were a very small operation. At that time when I looked at the company I worked for, I thought we would never catch up. The gap was so big. We were basically a startup, absolutely low budget but high motivation. But 25 years later, we became bigger than the company I once thought I would not beat. We were growing at a very rapid pace and we overtook them in terms of market size. We can now say that we are the largest manufacturer in the whole sector worldwide; the second largest is Trelleborg, which bought the company I worked for before starting Loadstar.
Both number one and number two in our sector are Sri Lanka and there are 10 or 12 competitors who have come up in Sri Lanka. The country has become the number one in the world to manufacture solid industrial tires. So without actually knowing it, I have been instrumental in creating this kind of success story for the whole country. It was never my intention to do that, it happened automatically and this is the nature of entrepreneurship.
Basically the road of Loadstar has been tremendous, we have gone through a very heavy crisis in 2008 because of the financial crisis. At that time I think I was about 60 plus, and I thought it was time to look at the next generation. We have been in business for about 25 years and I assessed how the next 20 years of the company should be like. It should not be exactly the same as what we have done up to then.
When I was in Davos promoting Sri Lanka I said that we were a family business, and today with the merger with Canada's Camoplast we are a one billion company. All that happened in 30 years plus with very strong roots Sri Lanka and even today the original shareholders, including myself, are still main shareholders in the main company. We have a much stronger company with an international footprint but with roots in Sri Lanka, as 65% of our sales are produced in Sri Lanka.
Q: What made you diversify from tyres to building boats?
A: I had been evaluating options for a good way to give back to society for a while when the tsunami hit in 2004 and I realised this was where I should get involved. So I got together with my partners the Jinasena family and established a foundation to create The Solodeal Loadstar Rehabilitation Trust and donated $ 1 million from our own funds and we collected $ 2 million cooperate donors, that's how I came in touch with the boating communities here.
By March 2007, we had completed the first project, but then I was out of a philanthropic job again. Then I was exploring options in water sports, and got focused on yachting. I met and investor who wanted to go to China to build, but I convinced him to set up his plant in Sri Lanka. He invested in the Baramundi boatyard. That was in 2008, they had five clients. I was not involved, but the foundation was; I helped set up through the BOI and found a building in the BOI zone. But by 2009 the investor was bankrupt and I had to invest to save him, the foundation, save all the jobs and to ensure that all the five clients were satisfied. These were the most miserable years of my life. I had to run a boatyard, and I have never built a boat in my life. I had four expert builders there, who could build boats but none could finish one.
I was also not used to having clients, they were European, they had paid very little for their boats, but they wanted luxuries. Although the team know how to build structurally-sound boats, their finishes were not good, so much so one client was reduced to tears when she saw how bad the finishes were in the boat. In hindsight, after losing $2 million in trying to satisfy five clients by sending experts from Europe to service them, I realised that the boatyards in Europe don't have all the skills in house. They have basics in-house while the rest is sub-contracted. But we don't have all this here, we had to learn all the skills here, and at the end of the fifth one we knew how to build and finish a boat. The clients were satisfied at the end of the day.
Yacht building industry is probably 20 years behind in Sri Lanka, in design, technology, finishes, and even in procurement. Everything has to be imported here, we cannot buy anything locally. It's a nightmare. This is what I have been saying after my experience. I have been telling this to the EDB, which made me a member of the Boat Building Experts Committee to promote boat building to export. In fishing boat building we have nothing short, we have very good boat builders with people like Neil Marine, which are on par internationally.
Export to Europe is easier said than done. I met with the largest boat builders in Europe when I was looking for an investor in Europe, Beneteau Group is one of them. The CEO pointed out that there has to be a market in or around Sri Lanka for an investor to be serious about such a venture in Sri Lanka. I did find a local investor, but didn't want to sell. I had no vision or plan, so I declined the offer, explaining the situation.
After exploring options and commissioning a feasibility study, I was told to create the market. I commissioned three MBA students to research Sri Lanka's yacht market potential. They came back and told me: "Mr. Pringiers, there is nobody to buy your boats here, but we have an idea. You build your boats, you create a charter company to buy the boats, try to generate revenue for your charter company with tourists and locals who come on your boats, and with that you try to manufacture and developed the culture." This is a very ambitious target, but this is what I have been doing since 2014, when I first put a boat in water. We now have five in water. The company now adds three per year.
The company has a few different yacht models, with two-day charter boats, operating from Bentota during one season and Passikudah in the next. The day charter boats facilitate tourists to have fun, so you have cruises at different times. By the end of next year we will have eight boats in the water. Next year the company also plans to build a new model. The final design is being fine-tuned now. It's a game-changing project. I call it boutique cruise boat.
Instead of bunks that are usually the feature of a boat, there is a king-sized bed, a bathroom and it is complete with a private balcony. The model was an inspiration from the big cruise ships. But we go for the type of boutique boats, only 20 rooms and private terrace. Basically we have now reached the final designs; from this year we have engaged three international designers to finalise it. It's a hotel on the water.
I have been scouting investors for this project, but haven't found any yet. There is a fantastic opportunity here. We have two seasons, which is a great opportunity as the boats can be in blue water conditions 365 days a year. So you have more than 1,400km of coast, 20% growth in tourist arrivals and fantastic ocean wildlife, three areas where you can see whales, Sri Lanka is a touristic jewel. In addition we have skilled labour.
Basically our concept is not classic cruise ship, where they sail miles and miles. Here we do not do that. What we do is discover Sri Lanka through cruise. We go about 30km maximum during one day and go to the villages where no other tourists venture. The industry today does not offer new experiences to tourists. There are only a few touts trying to sell items to tourists, which is not what they come here for. They come here for a unique experience. During the last few decades, infrastructure projects related to the industry like building hotels were promoted. But that is not what tourists want either. They don't want to come here and be stuck inside four walls. They want to discover something new, experience something that they have never done before.
If you look at opportunities in the yachting business, there are yachts in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Middle East. There are of course yachts in the Mediterranean. But nothing around Sri Lanka. There is a vacuum so there is an opportunity. Sri Lanka is strategically located. Thailand can be taken as an example, for good or bad. The numbers grew rapidly. But these yachts are not built or owned in Thailand. They are mostly owned by offshore charter companies. Although economic development is visible in the four marinas being developed with 30,000 people working with yachting companies there, a large portion of the money goes out of the country, through the offshore companies.
Q: How do you propose to go about the new venture avoiding the mistakes made by Thailand as you pointed out?
A: Our company needs to create all three companies with the BOI due to current regulations. We want to produce yachts for the Sri Lankan market, with the view of exporting. But we need to gain experience and improve designs and test. So we have the boat building company, and then the charter company which buys the boats which is also BOI, and then we have the construction and service company which builds mini marinas for boat mooring. We operate three mini marinas. So these three companies are necessary. This shows how complicated it is in Sri Lanka to invest.
But, if BOI can authorise the manufacturing company to charter the boats, then we won't have to create a second company. Selling a boat from the building company to the charter company, I have to pay NBT, PAL and VAT, all together I have to pay 27%. I am paying for the boat to be built as I have invested in that company, then when I sell it to second company I pay tax. On a boat like ours of $ 2.5 million, I have to pay 800,000 as tax, before the boat has earned even one cent. I have tried explaining this to many officials, including the Prime Minister, Industry of Commerce Minister, EDB and BOI but to no avail.
If I had a similar situation as the present scenario in 1984, when I was creating Loadstar, Sri Lanka would never have the No. 1 status in the global industry. Nobody would have come here. No one would follow me to this new venture if the tax regime is like this. I cannot build all the boats alone. We need more investors in Sri Lanka. But if we don't do it, outsiders will come in and Sri Lanka will never have a boat building industry.
I have been talking to officials, where I point out several issues. Two have been solved, but four more issues like what I just explained need attention. Most officials I speak to listen, but do nothing. Maybe because I am a foreigner, and I have money. So I can pay the taxes. But I have not been able to find any investors because of the taxes and also because of the risky business.
The silo model BOI uses does not help boat manufacturing company export either. According to their current regulations, the company that manufactures cannot service. There has to be a separate company for that. It would not be easy, if we don't combine the two. This is my problem now.
However I have found one French investor who wanted to be present when the market takes off, and we signed the contracts last year. We will be launching our first boat soon. There is a second investor interested already. We are still in negotiating with him. This proves that if there is one success story, others will come like in the case of Solid Tyres. This is the same attitude towards yachting, if this 27% stays in place, then we cannot succeed.
The followers of the first success will help Sri Lanka create a yachting hub in Asia, a hub for building operation that is chartering, yacht maintenance and mooring and also the yacht tourism if the right conditions are met.
Q: What are the challenges you face?
A: The first is the BOI silo system. There are three ways to develop yachting in Sri Lanka. We are not interested in building large marinas. We do only small marinas. But other investors will want to venture into it, where they combine land and sea, and infrastructure development, which can be huge in Sri Lanka. This will go together with yachting development.
The second part of the model is that we want to develop the yacht building industry, to use locally-built models. Third part is that we want locally-rooted companies owning the boats. Because the international trend now is chartering where the ownership is elsewhere, major part of the money earned by the charter company, with only about 20% of the money remaining in the company. This is a problem that Thailand is facing now, and they are not able to fix it. This is why I am asking the Government to help the local industry grow.


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"I'm Here & I'm Queer," the title of Randy Lewis' message at All Souls Church, on Sunday, June 26, is a declaration of his return to Tulsa from Raleigh, NC, and a statement of pride, acknowledging his existence as an LGBTQ+ minister. Following a week of PRIDE gatherings at All Souls, including marching in the Tulsa Pride parade, the celebration of inclusion and diversity will conclude with PRIDE Sunday services, at 10 am in the Sanctuary service and 11:30 am in The Point, Humanist Hour service. Both services will feature the All Souls Choir, YAVE, performing live.
"My message will look at the reality we are faced with— a slew of anti-diversity efforts, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, specifically anti-trans legislation, and we are on the precipice of Roe-vs-Wade being overturned—our nation is at an inflection point," Lewis said. "The long-orchestrated efforts will continue and the potential of dismantling LGBTQ+ rights, including our right to marry, is at stake. Now is the time to band together to resist the forces that seek to further oppress those that are already marginalized."
All are welcome to attend the worship and humanist services. The All Souls Kids children's programs, for ages 5 and up, will take place following the Story for All Ages in the beginning of each service. Youth, middle school and high school aged, can attend The 5th Dimension, a look at the Unitarian Universalist curriculum through the lens of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling.
Lewis served as the board chair of LGBT Center of Raleigh, NC before returning to Tulsa to serve as the Sabbatical Minister this summer, and extending his stay at All Souls for the next two years. He previously served as an All Souls adjunct minister before moving to Raleigh in 2014. Lewis holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Divinity degrees and, in September 2022, will meet with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee for preliminary fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association. He is a community organizer and minister, chaplain, spiritual advisor, and entrepreneur who brings a wealth of experience and compassion to All Souls.
Cover Photo: Courtesy of Anah Newman
Pride, Tulsa Pride

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https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanUnionInKosovo/
European Union Office in Kosovo
European Union Special Representative in Kosovo
EEAS homepage > Kosovo* > Federica Mogherini hosted a meeting of the High Level Dialogue with President Thaçi of Kosovo* and President Vučić of Serbia
Federica Mogherini hosted a meeting of the High Level Dialogue with President Thaçi of Kosovo* and President Vučić of Serbia
Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, hosted today a meeting of the High Level Dialogue with President Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo and President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia.
The European Union expects Serbia and Kosovo to swiftly deliver on their commitment to the Dialogue given the direct link between comprehensive normalisation of relations between them and the concrete prospects for their EU aspirations.
In her discussions with the two Presidents, Federica Mogherini emphasized the need for Kosovo and Serbia to ensure an environment conducive for the Dialogue and to refrain from words, actions and measures that are contrary to the spirit of normalisation.
They discussed the necessary steps for the way forward and decided to remain in constant contact in the coming days to assess the follow up of today's meeting.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Press and information team of the Delegation to SERBIA
EU calls Kosovo* to revoke import tax on Serbia
Novi Sad (Serbia), Youth Capital of Europe in 2019
EU Candidate for Post of Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation submitted in Rome
Serbian school taking the lead in entrepreneurial skills development
Western Balkans Summit in Poznań: strengthening links within the region and with the EUAt the Poznań Summit on the Western Balkans, the EU confirmed its commitment to strengthen cooperation with the region with a set of concrete measures focusing on five key areas: transport and energy, digital, economy, security and good neighbourly relations.
Declaration by the High Representative, Federica Mogherini, on behalf of the EU on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, 17 May 2019On the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the European Union reiterates its unswerving commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons.
Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for PeaceStatement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace
Statement by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in ConflictJoint Statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict
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Q: Is there a way to communicate application context to a DB connection in non-Sybase DB servers (similar to set_appcontext in Sybase)? Sybase has a way for the application to communicate "context" data - such as application's end-user name, etc.. - to the database connection session. Context data is  basically just a set of key-value pairs which is stored/retrieved via set_appcontext/get_appcontext stored procs.
QUESTION:
Do other major DB servers (MSSQL/Oracle/MySQL) have a facility for communicating app context to the session similar to Sybase's set_appcontext?
Details:
One specific practical use of app context is when you have an application with middle tier  connecting to the database as a very specific generic database user (examples include "webuser"/"http" for a web app back-end running on web server or "myappserver" user for an app server).
When that happens, we still want for the database session to know who the END user (e.g. actual user using the app client) is, either for access control or (more relevant to my interest), for an audit/history trigger to be able to determine which end user made the change and log that end user info into an audit table.
Please note that the info is set at the session level, which means that any inserts/updates/deletes executed within that session are able to use the context data without it being passed to each individual SQL statement - this is VERY important for, say, a trigger.
As a very specific example of why it's useful, let's say you have an app server starting a DB session on behalf of a client within which you insert/update/delete rows in 5 distinct tables. You want to have audit tables for each of those 5 tables, which include "which end user made each change" info.
Using context data, you can simply retrieve "end user" data from app context using the trigger and stored it as part of Audit table record. Without using the app context, your will need to (1) Add "end user" column to every one of those 5 tables (instead of to only audit tables) and (2) Change your app server to insert or set-on-update the value of that column in EVERY SQL statement that the app server issues. Oh, and this doesn't even get into how this can be done if you're deleting a row.

A: Oracle has a couple of different ways of accomplishing this.  First off, you have the DBMS_APPLICATION_INFO package.  Although you can use this to set arbitrary context information, it is generally used for tracing an application.  You would normally set the module to be the name of the application and the action to be a description of the particular business process.  You can then reference this information from V$SESSION and monitor long-running operations via V$SESSION_LONGOPS.
Oracle also has the ability to create a database object called a context.  This is a more flexible way to populate session-level context.  You can create a new context and then create whatever attributes you'd like within that context.  And all of your code can simply reference the context.  For example
SQL> create context my_ctx
  2    using pkg_ctx;

Context created.

SQL> create package pkg_ctx
  2  as
  3    procedure set_context;
  4  end;
  5  /

Package created.

SQL> create or replace package body pkg_ctx
  2  as
  3    procedure set_context
  4    as
  5    begin
  6      dbms_session.set_context( 'MY_CTX', 'USERNAME', 'Justin Cave' );
  7    end;
  8  end;
  9  /

Package body created.

SQL> exec pkg_ctx.set_context;

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL> select sys_context( 'MY_CTX', 'USERNAME' )
  2    from dual;

SYS_CONTEXT('MY_CTX','USERNAME')
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justin Cave

A: For PostgreSQL you can create a custom variable class which is a configuration setting in postgresql.conf. Something like this:

custom_variable_classes = 'myvars'

(Setting this requires a server restart if I'm not mistaken)
Now from through SQL you can read and write this in the following way:

set myvars.some_flag = 'true';
select current_setting('myvars.some_flag');

Note that you can "dynamically" defined new "variables" that are all prefixed with myvars. The individual values do not need to be declard in postgresql.conf
Originally this was intended for add-on modules to allow the definition of custom configuration options so it it a slight abuse of the feature but it should work nevertheless.

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Wisconsin leads 22-state coalition on PFAS
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio | Urban Milwaukee | June 10, 2020
Read the full article by Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio (Urban Milwaukee)
"Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wednesday that Wisconsin is leading a coalition of 22 states in supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's preliminary decision to regulate so-called 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS in drinking water. Attorneys general from other Midwest states, including Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa, were among those who submitted comments to the federal agency on Wednesday.
Found in everyday products, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS have raised concern because they don't break down easily in the environment, and they've been linked to an increased risk of some cancers.
In comments filed Wednesday, Kaul said the states support the EPA's preliminary finding to regulate the two most widely studied PFAS chemicals: PFOA and PFOS.
'Right now, the EPA is only proposing to regulate two compounds even though there are a number of compounds that are in this family, and there's reason to believe that those other compounds are dangerous for human health as well,' said Kaul.
As a result, he said states are urging the agency to regulate more PFAS substances and consider regulating PFAS as a class of chemicals.
Kaul said the 22 states are also asking the EPA to set more restrictive standards for regulating PFOA and PFOS in drinking water "to reflect current science and protect human health." The agency currently has a federal health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.
However, groups like the Wisconsin Water Alliance and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) oppose the call for more stringent standards, fearing they may cripple the state's economy.
'It clearly ignores the tremendous cost that would be imposed on homeowners and water ratepayers and the loss of jobs that would result in looking at even more stringent standards for regulating these types of compounds,' said Scott Manley, executive vice president of government relations for WMC.
Eric Uram, chair of the Sierra Club's national toxics committee, argues a balance can be struck between public and economic health.
'There are jobs that would be created in the control of pollution in that regard,' said Uram. 'There's technology that would need to be developed.'
WMC's Manley said they'd like to see standards that minimize cost and maximize protection, adding any regulations should be based on science. Sierra Club's Uram noted what's considered safe levels of chemicals like PFOA have dropped from 400 parts per trillion a decade ago as research has improved awareness of the risks…"
North AmericaUSWisconsin
ImpactDrinking water
RegulationsStandards
AgenciesEPA


Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, accompanied by Gen. Omar N. Bradley, left, CG, 12th Army Group, and Lt. George S. Patton, Jr., CG, US Third Army, inspects art treasures stolen by Germans and hidden in a salt mine in Germany.
Hermann Goering, Hitler's deputy perusing looted art in Paris's Jeu de Paume. Goering collected looted art.
Jeu de Paume, Paris, the Nazis' central gathering point for looted art. More than 22,000 works were stored there.


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On His Blindness
A Poem by John Milton (1608-1674)
Type of Work Theme Line 3: Key to the Meaning Meter
Background Text of the Poem Notes Figures of Speech
Origin of the Sonnet Form Study Questions Essay Topics Biography
Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings..© 2008 .
Type of Work and Year Written
"On His Blindness" is a Petrarchan sonnet, a lyric poem with fourteen lines. This type of sonnet, popularized by the Italian priest Petrarch (1304-1374), has a rhyme scheme of ABBA, ABBA, CDE, and CDE. John Milton wrote the poem in 1655. For more information about sonnets, see Origin of the Sonnet Form, below.
God judges humans on whether they labor for Him to the best of their ability. For example, if one carpenter can make only two chairs a day and another carpenter can make five, they both serve God equally well if the first carpenter makes his two chairs and the second makes his five. If one carpenter becomes severely disabled and cannot make even a single chair, he remains worthy in the sight of God. For, as Milton says in the last line of the poem, "they also serve who only stand and wait."
Lines 3-6: Key to the Meaning
Lines 3 to 6 of the poem allude to the "Parable of the Talents" in Chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 14 to 30. In this famous parable, an employer who is going away for a time gives his three servants money in proportion to their ability to increase its value. He distributes the money in talents, a unit of weight used in ancient times to establish the value of gold, silver, or any other medium used as money. Thus, a Roman might pay ten talents of gold for military supplies or seven talents of silver for a quantity of food. In the "Parable of the Talents," the employer gives the first servant five talents of silver, the second servant two talents, and the third servant one talent. After the employer returns from the trip and asks for an accounting, the first servant reports that he doubled his talents to ten and the second that he doubled his to four. Both men receive promotions. The third servant then reports that he still has only one talent, for he did nothing to increase its value. Instead, he buried it. The employer denounces him for his laziness, gives his talent to the man with ten, and casts him outside into the darkness.
All the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. In this metric pattern, a line has five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables, for a total of ten syllables. The first two lines of the poem illustrate this pattern:
1...........2........... 3............4............5
When I | con SID | er HOW.| my LIFE | is SPENT
1................2............ 3...............4....................4
Ere HALF | my DAYS | in THIS | dark WORLD.| and WIDE
John Milton's eyesight began to fail in 1644. By 1652, he was totally blind. Oddly, he wrote his greatest works, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, after he became blind. Many scholars rank Milton as second only to Shakespeare in poetic ability.
By John Milton (1608-1674)
When I consider how my light is spent1
Ere half my days2 in this dark world and wide
And that one talent3 which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless,4 though my soul more bent
To serve therewith5 my Maker, and present
My true account,6 lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact7 day labor, light denied?"
I fondly8 ask. But Patience,9 to prevent
That murmur, soon replies,. "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts.10 Who best
Bear his mild yoke,11 they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed,.
And post12 o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.13
1....light is spent: This clause presents a double meaning: (a) how I spend my days, (b) how it is that my sight is used up.
2....Ere half my days: Before half my life is over. Milton was completely blind by 1652, the year he turned 44.
3....talent: See Line 3: Key to the Meaning.
4....useless: Unused.
5....therewith: By that means, by that talent; with it
6....account: Record of accomplishment; worth
7....exact: Demand, require
8....fondly: Foolishly, unwisely
9....Patience: Milton personifies patience, capitalizing it and having it speak.
10..God . . . gifts: God is sufficient unto Himself. He requires nothing outside of Himself to exist and be happy.
11. yoke: Burden, workload.
12. post: Travel.
Examples of Figures of Speech
Alliteration: my days in this dark world and wide (line 2)
Metaphor: though my soul more bent / To serve therewith my Maker (lines 3-4). The author compares his soul to his mind.
Personification/Metaphor: But Patience, to prevent / That murmur, soon replies . . . (lines 8-9).
Paradox: They also serve who only stand and wait.
Origin of the Sonnet Form
.......The sonnet form originated in Sicily in the thirteenth Century with Giacomo da Lentino (1188-1240), a lawyer. The poetic traditions of the Provençal region of France apparently influenced him, but he wrote his poems in the Sicilian dialect of Italian. Some authorities credit another Italian, Guittone d'Arezzo (1230-1294), with originating the sonnet. The English word "sonnet" comes from the Italian word "sonetto," meaning "little song." Some early sonnets were set to music, with accompaniment provided by a lute.
.......The Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), a Roman Catholic priest, popularized the sonnet form. Other popular Italian sonneteers were Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Italy's most famous and most accomplished writer, and Guido Cavalcante (1255-1300).
.......Petrarch's sonnets each consist of an eight-line stanza (octave) and a six-line stanza (sestet). The first stanza presents a theme, and the second stanza develops it. The rhyme scheme is as follows: (1) first stanza (octave): ABBA, ABBA; (2) second stanza (sestet): CDE, CDE (or CDC, CDC; or CDE, DCE). Sonnets written in this format by later poets came to be known as Petrarchan sonnets.
.......The sonnet form was introduced in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547). They translated Italian sonnets into English and wrote sonnets of their own. Surrey introduced blank verse into the English language in his translation of the Aeneid of Vergil. Wyatt and Surrey sometimes replaced Petrarch's scheme of an eight-line stanza and a six-line stanza with three four-line stanzas and a two-line conclusion known as a couplet. Shakespeare adopted the latter scheme in his sonnets, and this form came to be known as the Shakespearean sonnet.
.......Besides Shakespeare, well known English sonneteers in the late 1500's included Sir Philip Sydney, Samuel Daniel, and Michael Drayton.
.......In Italy, England, and elsewhere between the thirteenth and early sixteenth Centuries, the most common theme of sonnets was love. Sonnets in later times also focused on religion, politics, and other concerns of the reading public.
1. Write an essay that provides examples of people who exemplify the last line of the poem.
2. Research the life of John Milton. Then write an essay describing the methods he used to compose his poetry when he was blind.
3. Another famous man, Ludwig van Beethoven, composed great symphonies after he became deaf. Pete Gray, a baseball player, earned the right to play in the major leagues even though he had only one arm. Julius Caesar, an epileptic, became ruler of Rome. Do you believe that the human psyche has a way of compensating for a physical disability?
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud: Analysis
Meter in Poetry and Verse


Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the fifth component of his "2015 Opportunity Agenda" – a student loan forgiveness program that will make it easier for recent college graduates to live and work in New York State.
Although SUNY and CUNY offer among the lowest tuition in the nation, currently, the average New York student graduates college with a four-year degree saddled with more than $25,000 in student loans. In fact, 60 percent of students in New York graduate with student debt, with an average debt amount of $25,537. Mounting student debt makes it difficult for recent graduates to deal with the everyday costs of living, which often increases the amount of credit card and other debt they must take on in order to survive.
Graduating from college with unmanageable student loan debt forces graduates, especially low wage graduates, to be faced with difficult choices that can have lasting consequences for them, their families and the New York economy. Because of high student loan debt these graduates are forced to take on other high interest debt to make ends meet creating a vicious cycle where the student can never get out of debt. That, in turn, makes it more difficult to purchase a home, car or have other economic opportunity.
Studies show that students who graduate with debt are less likely to start small business or to purchase a home, and the consequences of defaulting on student loans can prevent a person from ever realizing their goals. Managing the burden in the first years out of college is crucial to starting out strong. In 2008, slightly more than 30% of 27-30 year olds had purchased a house, in 2014 that had fallen to 22%. Similarly, since 2008 the percentage of 27-30 olds who purchased a car has fallen by more than 6%. Helping students at the start can have lasting effects.
The Get on Your Feet Loan Forgiveness Program is designed to help eligible New York State residents who graduate from college and continue to live in the state to pay nothing on their student loans for the first two years out of school. This will supplement the federal Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income-based loan repayment program.
Earn less than $50,000 annually.
When an individual meets these qualifications, New York State will pay the difference between what the federal government covers and the individual's total loan payment. This means the State will ensure that 100 percent of a graduate's loan payments for two years are covered so they are not overwhelmed with debt repayments while working to get situated in today's job market.
An estimated 7,100 graduates will be enrolled in the program in its first year. This estimation is based on the total number of undergraduates per year in New York State, the percentage of those who meet the program eligibility criteria for residency (82%) and the percentage of those with qualifying loan debt and with salaries under $50,000 based on nation data, extrapolated for New York. We expect more than 24,000 participants annually by 2019-20. When fully phased in, the program is expected to cost approximately $41.7 million.
Helping students pay for college is critical to ensuring their success after graduation. When combined with the State's outstanding Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) – which more than covers the tuition at community colleges in New York – this program will go a long way to help even more students hit the ground running when they graduate.
Governor Cuomo has been fighting for students and graduates struggling with college loans for years. As Attorney General, he led an inquiry into the relationship between colleges and universities and the lending institutions that offered student loans – an investigation that ultimately resulted in nationwide reform.


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Mystic, Connecticut Abounds with Tour Options
Activities, Online Exclusives
Mystic, Connecticut is a New England tourist destination known for its contribution to maritime heritage and history as an Indian settlement area during the pre-colonial era. This is the place where the first ironclad vessel was created and the fastest clipper ships were built during the 19th century. Small and compact, Mystic provides tourists with a plethora of sights to see.
Mystic Aquarium houses over 1,200 ocean animals from whales and sharks to blue lobsters. Spread out over 19 acres indoors and outdoors," it is Connecticut's most-visited non-casino attraction. The most famous residents are the three adult beluga whales, icons of the aquarium. Steller sea lions (the largest of all sea lions) and endangered African penguins also live there. The aquarium offers many interactive experiences. Besides grabbing a crab, lifting a lobster or scooping up a sea star in the Discovery Lab touch tank, guests can feed fish to rays at Stingray Bay and, for an extra cost, take part in special animal encounter programs.
The Nautilus Live Theatre and exhibits showcase the underwater explorations of Dr. Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the Titanic in 1985. A Titanic exhibit opens in April 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship's maiden voyage and sinking. It also marks the first phase in the development of the United Technologies Ocean Exploration Center, which is expected to formally open in early 2013. (mysticaquarium.org)
Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, located along the Mystic River, displays ship models, artwork and other maritime artifacts in historic buildings transplanted from various New England locations. A re-created 19th century village, comprised of more than 30 trade shops and businesses from the 1800s, are home to maritime trades, from shipsmiths and coopers to woodcarvers and riggers. Visitors encounter historians, musicians and storytellers in the streets, and horse carriage rides are available. Docked along the waterfront are historic vessels, including tall ships and the Charles W. Morgan, the only surviving 19th century wooden whaling ship. The 1908 steamboat Sabino offers excursions on the river. (mysticseaport.org)
Mashantucket Pequot Museum
Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, located eight miles north of Mystic, chronicles the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, an Eastern Woodland people, from prehistoric times to ownership of a mega-casino on the reservation near Ledyard. State-of-the-art exhibits feature interactive computer stations and videos, plus dazzling dioramas of a 16th century Pequot villages complete with life-size figure, wigwams, and everyday scents and sounds. (pequotmuseum.org)
Denison Homestead Museum depicts the home life of New England during the colonial era. The museum was the 1654 home Captain George Denison, one of Mystic's earliest residents. It displays artifacts from the homestead and features volunteers dressed as Denison family members. (denisonhomestead.org)
Mystic Arts Center, located on the Mystic River, displays artwork from local and regional artists, plus landscape works by early 20th century artists. The center offers 15 annual exhibitions, studio art classes, cultural programming, and educational outreach programs for students to develop "literacy through art."
(mysticarts.org)
Argia Mystic Cruises provides half-day or two-hour sightseeing cruises down the Mystic River. Visitors can observe lighthouses, islands and historic homes as they sail through Fishers Island Sound.
(argiamystic.com)
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As a student, you're always on the go. A typical day may consist of going from class to work, to everything in between. And due to the short length of dorm and apartment leases, you may also need to move residences often.
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Sobeys takes romaine lettuce off shelves as precaution amid E. coli outbreak
Cases have been detected in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
The Sobeys grocery chain says it is pulling romaine lettuce products from its shelves out of "an abundance of caution" about E. coli contamination.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has advised people in eastern Canada to consider avoiding romaine lettuce because of an E. coli outbreak that has been linked to one death and 40 illnesses.
Cases have been detected in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
There has been no mandatory recall, but Sobeys says it temporarily halted sales of more than 300 romaine lettuce products at locations across the country on Friday as a precaution while public health officials investigate.
Sobeys Inc. has 1,500 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Price Chopper, Thrifty Foods and Lawtons Drugs.
The Nova Scotia-based company says it is following the situation closely and will take action to protect the health of its customers.
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