text:
São Paulo Statement der ökomenischen Weltkonferenz zur internationalen Finanz- und Wirtschaftsstruktur
Bei der ökomenischen Weltkonferenz der Kirchen in Brasilien habe ich zu einer neuen internationalen Finanz- und Wirtschaftsstruktur mitdiskutiert. Hier gibt es jetzt das Sao Paulo Statement: "International Financial Transformation for the Economy of Life". Der Text ist stark geprägt von den theologischen Positionen der ökumenischen Bewegung mit dem starken Einfluss der Kirchen aus den südlichen Ländern.
Weitere Infos und Beiträge zur Konferenz finden sich hier.
Update: Neue Version vom 16.10.2012
Global Ecumenical Conference on a
New International Financial and Economic Architecture
29 September – 5 October 2012, Guarulhos, State of São Paulo, Brazil
The São Paulo Statement:
International Financial Transformation for the Economy of Life
From its inception, the ecumenical movement has critically engaged with issues of economic and social justice. In particular, the current global economic crisis, which also affected rich economies in 2008 and has thrown millions of people across the globe into poverty, has grasped our attention. In response, the World Council of Churches (WCC) addressed the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20), calling on governments to tackle systemic greed and inequality. In 2009, the WCC issued a "Statement on Just Finance and the Economy of Life" calling for an ethical, just and democratic international financial regime "grounded on a framework of common values: honesty, social justice, human dignity, mutual accountability and ecological sustainability".[1] In 2010, as part of the commitment to live out the Accra Confession,[2]
the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) called upon its members, in partnership with the WCC and other ecumenical bodies, to prepare an international ecumenical conference to propose a financial and economic architecture that:
is based on the principles of economic, social and climate justice;
serves the real economy;
accounts for social and environmental tasks; and
sets clear limits to greed.
Sharing a deep commitment to promoting justice in the economy and the Earth and recognising the need to work together to have a meaningful impact, the WCC, WCRC and Council for World Mission (CWM) convened the Global Ecumenical Conference on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture to engage the proponents of diverse proposals and solutions, set criteria and a framework and develop a plan of action towards constructing just, caring and sustainable global financial and economic structures.
We – economists, church leaders, activists, politicians and theologians – gathered in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, between 29 September and 5 October 2012 to envision together an alternative global financial and economic architecture. The gathering was a response to and continuation of the decades of work around issues of economic, social and ecological justice with which the WCRC, WCC, CWM, and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have been involved. The visions and the criteria for a new financial and economic architecture and the alternatives that are expressed in this document therefore build on the Accra Confession of the WCRC, the "Statement on Just Finance and the Economy of Life" and the AGAPE Call to Action [3] ("Economy of Life: Justice and Peace for All") of the WCC as well as the theological statement on "Mission in the Context of Empire" of CWM. [4]
The 2008 global financial and economic crash increased poverty and unemployment among millions in the global North and worsened and deepened poverty, hunger and malnutrition among even larger numbers in the global South, already experiencing decades of poverty and deprivation caused by injustices in international financial and economic relations. A system of speculation, competition and inadequate regulation has failed to serve the people and instead has denied a decent standard of life to the majority of the world's population. The situation is urgent.
Critical theological reflection on the material and collective bases of life has been intrinsic to the call to be faithful disciples of Christ and has expressed itself through theological contemplative praxis that has sought transformative liberation from unjust socio-political, cultural and economic structures, thereby promoting the fullness of life for all creation.
Modernity has, however, brought with it an economic model based on profit and self-interest disconnected from faith and ethics. This has led to the ideological justification of colonialism, the despair of poverty and inequality, and the violence of economic and ecological devastation as well as the reluctance of some churches to discern the signs of the times and to engage with the realities of a dehumanising dominant world order that continually discriminates and oppresses those with whom God sides: the poor, the downtrodden, the disadvantaged and the oppressed.
The immersion visits in São Paulo exposed the narratives of the homeless, the single mother, the widow, the orphan, the addict, as representing just some of the disenfranchised. This was a visible encounter with those whom society has left on the periphery. Patriarchal perceptions, racist subjugative ideologies, anthropocentric domination and discriminative comprehensions of the human hierarchical order induced by the sin of neoliberalism, supported by heretical theology which justifies it, and legitimised by the idolatry of imperial globalisation have perverted relationships between God, human beings and the Earth.
The God of the oppressed calls us into an alternative imagination which has to emerge from the margins, from those who have been left out of socio-political and economic decision making but are the first to suffer its consequences.
We therefore seek a transformative theological praxis that not only delegitimises, displaces and dismantles the present social and economic order but also envisions alternatives that emerge from the margins. There is thus a requirement for an active radicalising of our theological discourse that will no longer allow too much power being placed into capitalist ideologies that have resulted in an inability to think beyond existing financial and economic structures.
This alternative imagination has to be derived from our spiritual and theological convictions, employing liberative theologies that respond to concrete systematic struggles, inclusive of feminist, womanist, mujerista, eco-feminist, Latin American liberation, black, ecological, post-colonial, grass-root, minority and public theology, and indigenous spiritualities. The list of hermeneutical lenses of suspicion and retrieval required to bring about transformative change continues to be as extensive as the list of those who have been downtrodden and persecuted by the dominant economic world order.
We lament the manner in which economic and financial legislation and controls are biased in favour of the wealthy. We therefore affirm the God of justice for all those who are oppressed (Ps. 103:6). We call for a system of just legislation and controls that facilitate the redistribution of wealth and power for all of God's creation.
Therefore, we reject Empire[5] and our complicity with all systems of death, including militarism, and affirm movements of social concern and other radical traditions that are a rejection of Empire and seek to build life in community outside the logic of hierarchy and discrimination.
We reject political and military offences perpetrated in the name of neoliberalism that threaten human security and result in massive violations of human rights.
Therefore, we reject the explosion of monetisation and the commodification of all of life and affirm a theology of grace which resists the neoliberal urge to reduce all of life to an exchange value (Rom. 3:24). Means have become ends; instruments have become a means for the coercion of facts.
We reject an economy that is driven by debt and financialisation in favour of an economy of for-giveness, caring and justice and declare that debt and speculation have reached their limits. We affirm the words of the Lord's Prayer in which we pray to have our own debt forgiven in the same manner as we forgive the debts of others (Matt. 6:12).
Therefore, we reject the ideology of consumerism and affirm an economy of Manna, which provides sufficiently for all and negates the idea of greed (Ex. 16).
We reject increasing individualistic consumerism by affirming and celebrating the diversity and interconnectedness of life. We further affirm that wholeness of life can be achieved only through the interdependent relationships with the whole of the created order. The idea of a Triune God acts as a challenge to individualism, discrimination and exclusivity; it is a doctrine that calls us into a life of equality in community and requires an active response that affects the whole of humanity.
Based on the moral principle of the diversity of the cosmos, we therefore exclude notions of exclusivity by promoting and affirming the need for interfaith dialogue. This requires a praxis of connectivity enabling a wider dissemination of spiritual resources gathered from faith communities, inclusive of the insistence of the Qur'an on the rejection of interest, the valorisation of moral banking and a concentration on the real economy, as well as the Islamic injunction on limits to consumption that is expressed through the idea of Ramadan and fasting, and that resonates with the way in which many Christians around the world practise Lent.
We reject an economy of over-consumption and greed, recognising how neoliberal capitalism conditions us psychologically to desire more and more, and affirm instead Christian and Buddhist concepts of an economy of sufficiency that promotes restraint (Luke 12:13-21), highlighting, for example, the Sabbath economy of rest for people and creation, and the Jubilee economy of redistribution of wealth.
We reject the economic abstraction of Homo Oeconomicus, which constructs the human person as being essentially insatiable and selfish, and affirm that the Christian perception of the human person is embedded in community relationships of Ubuntu[6], Sansaeng,[7] Sumak Kawsay,[8] conviviality and mutuality. Contrary to the logic of neoliberals, as believers we are called to think not only of our own interests but also of the interests of others (Phil. 2:4).
We acknowledge our role in the destruction of the Earth's resources and the impact this has had on the vulnerable nations in the South. We continue to seek forgiveness through practical actions and solutions that militate against ecological destruction.
We affirm ourselves as prophetic witnesses, as we have seen the injustices and structural violence of our age and those of a history of domination. We have discerned the signs of the times in the light of our calling as disciples of Jesus. Therefore we seek to overcome capitalism, its nature and its logic and to establish a system of global solidarity. We search for alternatives, for just, caring, participatory and sustainable economies such as a solidarity economy and gift economy.
We affirm that the only choice that Jesus offers us is between God and Mammon (Matt. 6:24), as those who desire to be faithful followers; we have no choice but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly (Micah 6:8).
Therefore, we present the following criteria and framework:
Criteria and framework
We are called to find a new and just international financial architecture oriented towards satisfying the needs of people and the realisation of all economic, social and cultural rights and human dignity. Such architecture must be focused on reducing the intolerable chasm between the rich and the poor and on preventing ecological destruction. This requires a system which does not serve greed but which embraces alternative economies that foster a spirituality of enough and a lifestyle of simplicity, solidarity, social inclusion and justice.
Overcoming greed: The drive to consume is a culture of greed that destroys all of God's creation. The economic activity of the last five centuries has caused massive ecological destruction. Over the years, big businesses, governments and multinational corporations have been reckless through policies and practices of unlimited growth which have led to pollution, destruction of forests, overproduction and the alienation of the poor and of farm workers from the land. Natural resources are limited, and the human ecological footprint already surpasses the Earth's bio-capacity. Individual self-interest and long-term social welfare are not necessarily compatible, and market mechanisms do not lead to an optimal social distribution. Therefore, political regulation is required to optimise sustainable social welfare.
Social inclusion: There is a distorted definition of anthropology in neoliberalism in which human beings are defined by financial and economic value and not by their intrinsic dignity as persons created in the image of God. This anthropology has nested in humanity, colonising our mind and our dreams. This definition leads to racism, sexism and other forms of categorisation, exclusion and oppressive behaviour. This is a sin against God, humanity and all creation.
Gender justice and ecological justice: We need an economy that recognises the link between gender justice and ecological justice. The degradation of the land and Earth has dire consequences for the lives of the marginalised, especially the poor, women and children in poor countries. Land is tied closely to women both physically and symbolically. Physically, women till the land and walk miles for water for their families. Symbolically, the sufferings of the land are likened to the pains and groans of a woman at childbirth (Rom. 8:22). To put it differently, the "economy of care" for the Earth cannot be separated from the issue of justice for all of God's creation.
Hope: We are committed to affirming existing alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. Persons living in poverty and deprivation as a result of neoliberal financial systems have demonstrated that alternative life-giving economies are alive, impacting millions of indigenous and grassroots people. It is to these initiatives that we must turn for criteria that truly speak to an alternative. Throughout the world, people's movements resist the temptation to surrender to a death-dealing economic system. At the same time, many poor and marginalised people survive through a variety of systems which, even though not recognised by big business, governments and mainstream economies, nevertheless keep them alive and nurture hope.
Spirituality and economy: There is a need to democratise and demystify economic knowledge and to free public imagination to promote social and personal wellbeing on a foundation of economic justice. There are Biblical, Qu'aranic and indigenous narratives that point us to economic life-giving systems where there is equitable sharing, communion with creation, abundance for all and affirmation for the fruits of our labour as offerings for the common good. Biblical motifs such as Jubilee, Shalom, Eucharist, oikos, and Koinonia remind us of God in community with God's creation as well as the covenantal relationship into which God invites us (cf. Ex. 16:16-21).
The dire crises with which we are confronted imply that our long-term vision has to be accompanied by short- and medium-term goals; therefore, we recommend the following:
An ecumenical plan of action and landmarks of a new international financial and economic architecture
The world economy and the international financial system have become globalised but democratic governments have not followed in any appropriate way. The key democratic problem is the lack of sovereignty over our lives, the planet and the future. Markets rule. As a result, we see a patchwork of governing systems with overlapping and often competing competencies. Some of these suffer from a serious deficit of justice and lack of democratic credentials. The G20 constitutes a case in point, where a group of self-appointed world leaders discuss and decide issues that affect far more people than those who live in their own countries. By the same token, the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are not based on a democratic system. Rather, their decision-making structures reflect the relative economic and financial power of nation states.
In order to address these inequalities, nothing less than a drastic overhaul of the governance of the world economy and the international financial system is needed. The main objective is to ensure that financial markets and the economy are brought under the primacy of democratic decision-making structures and that they function as good servants rather than bad masters in political and economic life. Economics has to be embedded in social, ecological and political life rather than the other way around.
This plan identifies policies to address the fundamental issues mentioned above, distinguishing between immediate and medium-term actions, and longer-term structural changes of the global economic and financial architecture. Furthermore, we suggest a number of strategies for the churches and recall signs of hope.
Immediate and medium-term actions
Alternative indicators of economic wellbeing: Governments and international institutions should replace growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary indicator of economic progress by other indicators, including growth of decent work, qualitative as well as quantitative indicators of health and education, and measures of environmental sustainability.
Regulating the financial sector: A number of measures are necessary to regulate and transform the financial sector:
A comprehensive regulation of the entire financial sector, including the lightly regulated shadow banking sector (which in the US and Europe is larger than the banking sector) is required.
There is a need to ensure that banks have adequate capital to absorb losses. Regulations on permitted leverage and minimum liquidity must be rigorous; likewise, counter-cyclical prudential regulation can assist in macroeconomic management.
Basic banking activities of deposit taking and lending to enterprises and households should be tightly regulated and separated from more risky activity (as in the United States in the 1930s with the Glass-Steagall Act).
Banks that are "too big to fail" should be broken up.
Speculative activity should be restricted so that the counterpart to real-economy hedging needs is met without overwhelming enterprise on a "sea of speculation". Regulators should set "position limits" on commodity traders in all globally relevant markets, especially those of foodstuffs, to limit unnecessary price volatility. Regulators should also require that market participants are capable of accepting delivery of the actual commodities. Further Credit Default Swaps, which have played a harmful role in the recent financial crisis, should be banned.
Public policy should be directed to the reform of bankers' remuneration systems, to link them to long term social and environmental performance rather than short-term results. For example, bonuses could be set at a maximum of 100% of fixed remuneration (as demanded by the European Parliament). Commission should be forbidden when selling financial products to retail investors.
Financial Transaction Tax: A global Financial Transactions Tax on trades in equities, bonds, currencies, and derivatives should be established immediately. Likewise, a democratically representative agency to receive and allocate the proceeds for global public goods, including the eradication of poverty and disease, and the costs of climate change mitigation and adaptation incurred by low-income countries, must also be set in place.
Ensuring access by poor and marginalised sectors to basic financial services: In line with the principle that finance should be a valuable public service, financial services such as savings accounts and credit must be made available on acceptable terms to small and medium enterprises, people in poverty, women and farmers. The setting up of credit unions should be encouraged to provide productive loans to sectors of society that are not deemed creditworthy by the mainstream banking industry, often on account of poverty, class, gender and race.
Investment and sustainable development policies: Governments have a role in supporting long-term, socially useful investment through strong investment programmes for renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency. Governments should also set binding emission caps for greenhouse gases and binding product norms (such as moving caps for energy efficiency for buildings), support sustainable investment banks and social finance institutions, and make green technology available to the South.
Progressive taxation: Capital gains must be taxed in the same way as other income. Likewise income taxes should be made much more progressive, especially for the highest income earners. Revenues from wealth taxes and estate taxes should be used for public purposes.
Gender-just fiscal stimulus and social protection: Public investment and spending on small-scale agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, health and education sectors, and gender-just social protection programmes must be safeguarded and expanded even during periods of painful austerity measures in debt-burdened nations. Austerity often falls heavily on the most vulnerable sectors of society and results in a vicious circle of economic decline, hampering recovery by dampening domestic demand and eroding national tax revenues.
Addressing tax evasion and avoidance: A multinational framework for the compulsory exchange of tax information on individual and corporate accounts that will effectively end the use of tax havens must be established. Transnational corporations should be required to report sales, profits and taxes paid on a country by country basis in their audited financial reports.
Ecological taxation: Ecologically destructive industries and activities must be heavily taxed or prohibited. Fossil fuel extraction and carbon emissions should be taxed while at the same time rebating some of the proceeds to low-income households and using other revenues for investments in energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy to assist in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Regulating financial flows for sustainability: Governments should be encouraged to manage capital flows so that surges or flows in or out of a country do not destabilise the economy, including through instruments such as capital controls. Capital controls could curb the entry of volatile short-term flows as well as prevent capital flight from already beleaguered economies.
Sovereign debt restructuring mechanism: A comprehensive, fair and transparent international debt restructuring mechanism to address sovereign insolvency on a timely basis should be established. Such a mechanism must be empowered to audit sovereign debts and cancel those debts found to be odious because they were contracted by despotic regimes without public consent for use against the population, or are illegitimate due to other factors such as usurious interest charges, fraud, and repayment obligations that would cause unacceptable privation.
Information and communication architecture: Information and communication structures that support alternative financial and economic structures must be promoted.
Structural changes
United Nations Economic Social Ecological Security Council: For all its deficiencies, the United Nations remains the most representative and inclusive forum for global cooperation and policy setting. Conceptually, it serves as a model on which to build a more effective and representative international financial and economic architecture. However, it is not adequately forging consensus on many issues at this time.
A potential instrument for enhanced, effective and coherent global governance could be the establishment of a UN Economic, Social and Ecological Security Council (UNESESC). Civil society and churches have repeatedly called for such a body where pressing economic, social and ecological issues would be brought together to be discussed and acted upon in a coherent way. The report of the Stiglitz Commission, published in 2009, echoed this demand.[9]
As proposed by the Stiglitz Commission, the task of the UNESESC would be to assess developments and provide leadership in addressing economic issues that require global action while taking into account social and ecological factors. It should represent all regions of the world at the highest possible level and ensure the participation of the various global institutions (such as the IFIs, International Labour Organisation, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Women, World Health Organisation, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, International Telecommunication Union, etc.), and cooperate closely with civil society to promulgate measures for the protection of the economic, social and ecological rights of nations and communities.
A church-led initiative should bring the interested stakeholders together to develop the proposal further in order to overcome differences that impede reaching the consensus needed for implementation. In addition and as an interim measure, an informal intergovernmental forum at the UN could bring representatives of governments, multilateral institutions, private sector and civil society organisations together in order to build consensus on financial policy and governance reforms that serve society.
A new International Monetary Organisation to replace the International Monetary Fund: A new International Monetary Organisation (IMO) needs to be created and should be guided by universal principles of economic, social and ecological justice. The IMO would have oversight over monetary policies and transactions and would deploy funds without structural adjustment conditions to establish a globally effective, stable, fair and socially responsible global financial and economic architecture, bringing democratic accountability to financial markets. Its actions should not be dominated by policies of interest groups and its policies should be equitable and responsive to the social consequences of financial activities at financial sector and national levels.
The proposed IMO should direct its policies towards economies in the service of life. Its policies should cover areas such as capital flows, control of capital flight, taxes on capital flows, and, where and when appropriate, (re)establishing fixed currency exchange rates. Such policies would enable countries to regain autonomy of fiscal and monetary policy. Furthermore, the IMO should deal with limiting excessive speculation, fair burden sharing of private creditors in dealing with the impacts of financial crises, increased cooperation in financial market controls, guidelines for risk management, closing tax havens, etc.
An alternative international reserve currency: There is a need to design a new multicurrency reserve asset, similar to Special Drawing Rights, to create liquidity so that the "seigniorage" currently enjoyed by those countries whose currencies are now used as reserves instead accrues to the international community. At present, the main commonly used international reserve currency is the US dollar. Almost everywhere in the world, the US dollar is accepted and convertible. This creates enormous advantages for the US economy as, contrary to other countries, the United States can pay for some of its imports with dollars instead of with exports, as long as the world considers the dollar a safe reserve currency. No other country in the world would survive with a level of current account deficits as high and as persistent as those of the US. This "seigniorage" is an "exorbitant privilege" which accrues to the US. It is a significant unjust feature of the present international financial system, coupled with the fact that there are often undesirable consequences for the world's economies, such as excessive capital flows, resulting from the monetary policies that the United States takes for purely domestic reasons.
In order to make the world less dependent on US deficits (or gold reserves, for that matter) and in order to create global liquidity in a more rational way, the International Monetary Fund created in the 1960s a multilateral reserve asset called Special Drawing Rights. SDRs can be created as the objective need arises, for example as an instrument for anti-cyclical policies (as in 2009), and as an alternative reserve asset which could eventually replace the US dollar and a few other reserve currencies. Besides SDRs, other proposals have been made such as International Currency Certificates. The common aim of these proposals is to search for ways and means to arrive at a system for the creation of liquidity based on global need in order to serve the real economy.
Strategies and actions for churches
To move forward the agenda outlined above, a global ecumenically instituted commission should be formed immediately to carry forward the valuable work of the Stiglitz Commission, linking with other faith communities, civil society organisations, interested governments, institutions and other relevant stakeholders to develop a concrete proposal for the governance of a new world economic and financial architecture.
Further, the following actions are recommended:
The WCC, WCRC, CWM and LWF should, together with other partners, develop a coherent strategy of advocacy for a new economic and financial architecture. Effective communication strategies are key for successful advocacy initiatives.
Churches should substantially increase the number of staff working on building dialogue on economic and financial developments with decision makers in the fields of politics, the private sector, professional associations, standard setting institutions, research organisations and civil society organisations.
An ecumenical school of Governance, Economics and Management (GEM) should be established to develop economic competencies and empowerment within the ecumenical movement. In addition, educational materials should be developed to enhance the economic and financial literacy of church members.
Churches should affirm a commitment to communication rights to advance the empowerment of communities in developing alternatives to the current financial and economic structures.
The ecumenical movement should accompany alternative social movements from below that protest against the injustices of the present system and strive to develop alternatives (e.g. the World Social Forum and, more recently, the "Occupy" movement).
As a matter of accountability, churches should be asked to report on how they have followed up on recommendations on ethical investments. Such responses could be used to strengthen ecumenical cooperation in this area.
The agenda for transformation is vast, and it is easy to be overwhelmed by all that is required to implement it. Yet numerous alternatives have already been established by people all over the world and that serve as signposts of change:
Organisations and people are making a distinction between material wealth and wellbeing and are advocating that limits be observed for those who are already well off. In this context, efforts are being made to develop new indicators, such as the Human Development Index, in addition to or instead of GDP. The main world religions are well placed to contribute to these initiatives as they are inspired by ideas such as "life in all its fullness".
Initiatives are being taken to promote education and financial literacy and to coach those who need accompaniment in dealing with money and finance.
The various forms of provision of care services (unpaid, paid public and paid private) are key indicators that are as important as financial balances and production of tradable goods and services. Policies ought to be based on these indicators to enhance recognition of the vital role that women play in economic life, and should further promote the role of such indicators.
Other concrete examples are Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) which create their own local economies, the setting up of credit unions, the use of ethical investments, and organisations such as Oikocredit and ECLOF, which are micro finance organisations established by the WCC and partners.
Latin American integration and independence is advancing though political organisations such as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and economic cooperation through MERCOSUR (a regional trade agreement), SUCRE (a regional currency), Banco del Sur and the proposed Fondo del Sur.
In view of the gross injustices that accompany neoliberal policies and structures, nothing less than a metanoia of the international economic and financial system is required. For that we need a people's movement which, like the earlier civil rights, anti-apartheid and Jubilee movements, rejects a world that is unfair, unequal and unjust, and one that is run for the benefit of the "1%".
Ultimately, changes will need to go beyond technical and structural requirements. What the world needs is a change of heart so that financial and economic systems do not have individual gain as their compass but justice, peace and the protection of God's creation.
[1] See http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/central-committee/geneva-2009/reports-and-documents/report-on-public-issues/statement-on-just-finance-and-the-economy-of-life.html
[2] See http://www.wcrc.ch/sites/default/files/Accra%20Conf%20ENG_0.pdf
[3] See http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/poverty-wealth-and-ecology/neoliberal-paradigm/agape-call-for-action-2012.html
[4] See http://cwmission.org/2010/11/09/cwm-theology-statement-2010/
[5] "In using the term 'empire' we mean the coming together of economic, cultural, political and military power that constitutes a system of domination led by powerful nations to protect and defend their own interests" (Accra Confession).
[6] "Ubuntu is an African concept of personhood in which the identity of the self is understood to be formed interdependently through community" (Michael Battle, Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me, Seabury Books, New York, 2009, p.1f).
[7] Sansaeng is the Korean concept of "life together" (International Review of Mission, April 2012, p.15).
[8] Sumak Kawsay in Quichua is the notion of "good living" or "good life".
[9] "Report of the Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, September 21, 2009," New York, United Nations. See http://www.un.org/ga/econcrisissummit/docs/FinalReport_CoE.pdf
Rubrik: Meine Themen, Wirtschaft & Währung


text:
Q: Converting numpy arrays of arrays into one whole numpy array I want to turn my array of array into just a single array.
From something like :
array([ array([[0, 0, 0, ..., 1, 0, 0],
       [0, 1, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 2, 0, 0],
       ...,
       array([[0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 8, 0, 2],
       ...,
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [1, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 1, 0, 0]], dtype=uint8)], dtype=object)

which has size (10,) to just the 3D numpy array which is of size (10,518, 32)
array([[[0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
        [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
        [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
        ...,
        [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
        [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
        [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0]]], dtype=uint8)

I've tried converting everything into a list  then do np.asarray and also tried defining everything as the same dtype=uint8 but I couldn't get it into the 3D form.

A: Perhaps late to the party, but I believe the most efficient approach is:
np.array(arr.tolist())

To give some idea of how it would work:
import numpy as np

N, M, K = 4, 3, 2
arr = np.empty((N,), dtype=object)
for i in range(N):
    arr[i] = np.full((M, K), i)

print(arr)
# [array([[0, 0],
#        [0, 0],
#        [0, 0]])
#  array([[1, 1],
#        [1, 1],
#        [1, 1]])
#  array([[2, 2],
#        [2, 2],
#        [2, 2]])
#  array([[3, 3],
#        [3, 3],
#        [3, 3]])]

new_arr = np.array(arr.tolist())
print(new_arr)
# [[[0 0]
#   [0 0]
#   [0 0]]

#  [[1 1]
#   [1 1]
#   [1 1]]

#  [[2 2]
#   [2 2]
#   [2 2]]

#  [[3 3]
#   [3 3]
#   [3 3]]]

...and the timings:
%timeit np.array(arr.tolist())
# 100000 loops, best of 3: 2.48 µs per loop
%timeit np.concatenate(arr).reshape(N, M, K)
# 100000 loops, best of 3: 3.28 µs per loop
%timeit np.array([x for x in arr])
# 100000 loops, best of 3: 3.32 µs per loop

A: I had the same issue extracting a column from a Pandas DataFrame containing an array in each row:
joined["ground truth"].values
# outputs
array([array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]), array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]),
       array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]), ...,
       array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]), array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]),
       array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0])], dtype=object)

np.concatenate didn't help because it merged the arrays into a flat array (same as np.hstack). Instead, I needed to vertically stack them with np.vstack:
array([[0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       ...,
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],
       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0]])

A: np.concatenate should do the trick:
Make an object array of arrays:
In [23]: arr=np.empty((4,),dtype=object)
In [24]: for i in range(4):arr[i]=np.ones((2,2),int)*i
In [25]: arr
Out[25]:
array([array([[0, 0],
       [0, 0]]), array([[1, 1],
       [1, 1]]),
       array([[2, 2],
       [2, 2]]), array([[3, 3],
       [3, 3]])], dtype=object)

In [28]: np.concatenate(arr)
Out[28]:
array([[0, 0],
       [0, 0],
       [1, 1],
       [1, 1],
       [2, 2],
       [2, 2],
       [3, 3],
       [3, 3]])

Or with a reshape:
In [26]: np.concatenate(arr).reshape(4,2,2)
Out[26]:
array([[[0, 0],
        [0, 0]],

       [[1, 1],
        [1, 1]],

       [[2, 2],
        [2, 2]],

       [[3, 3],
        [3, 3]]])
In [27]: _.shape
Out[27]: (4, 2, 2)

concatenate effectively treats its input as a list of arrays.  So it works regardless of whether this is an object array, a list, or 3d array.
This can't be done simply with a reshape.  arr is an array of pointers - pointing to arrays located elsewhere in memory.  To get a single 3d array, all of the pieces will have to be copied into one buffer.  That's what concatenate does - it creates a large empty file, and copies each array, but it does it in compiled code.

np.array does not change it:
In [37]: np.array(arr).shape
Out[37]: (4,)

but treating arr as a list of arrays does work (but is slower than the concatenate version - array analyses its inputs more).
In [38]: np.array([x for x in arr]).shape
Out[38]: (4, 2, 2)

A: One way is to allocate the target array and copy the objects in as a loop.
import numpy as np

x = np.array([ np.array([[0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0],
                         [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 3, 7, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0]], dtype=np.uint8),
               np.array([[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 4, 8, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 0, 8, 0, 2]], dtype=np.uint8),
               np.array([[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
                         [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 5, 9, 0, 0],
                         [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0]], dtype=np.uint8)], dtype=object)

print len(x)

print x[0].shape

y=np.zeros([len(x),x[0].shape[0],x[0].shape[1]],dtype=np.uint8)

print y.shape

for i in range(len(x)):
    y[i,:,:] = x[i]

print y

If I understand what you're asking this is the desired result:
3
(4L, 6L)
(3L, 4L, 6L)
[[[0 0 0 1 0 0]
  [0 1 0 0 0 0]
  [0 0 3 7 0 0]
  [0 0 0 2 0 0]]

 [[0 0 0 0 0 0]
  [0 0 0 0 0 0]
  [0 0 4 8 0 0]
  [0 0 0 8 0 2]]

 [[0 0 0 0 0 0]
  [1 0 0 0 0 0]
  [0 0 5 9 0 0]
  [0 0 0 1 0 0]]]

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Explore! Aotearoa features the amazing true stories of New Zealand's explorers. It follows adventurers like: Kupe, Thomas Brunner and Kehu, Freda du Faur and the Graham Brothers, Tāne Tinorau and Kieran McKay, Kelly Tarlton and Wade Doak. Journey with them over the waves, across the land, up the mountains, beneath the earth, and under the sea.
The author, Bronwen Wall's dynamic narrative has made these wonderful New Zealand explorers approachable and exciting. Bronwen is a regular contributor to the Ministry of Educations' Junior Journal, School Journal and the Connected series. She has also edited and written several adventure books, including Harry Watson: the Mile Eater and the Tararua Adventure Guide.The award-winning illustrator, Kimberly Andrews, has researched and painted stunning watercolours of the adventures, helping capture the excitement, and sometimes desperation, of their adventures. Kimberly was also the illustrator of Tuna and Hiriwa, a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards 2017.Evocative illustrations, maps, photographs and paintings add a rich visual layer to the tales. Chapters begin with cliffhangers that draw readers into the history to learn how each explorer survived their ordeal. The stories are engaging for children and adult readers alike.
Finalist in the 2018 NZ Children's Book Awards for the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction. Recipient of the 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award.


text:
Application For Benefits
Lieutenant William Lebo
Updated On: Apr 11, 2022
Lebanon City Police Department, Pennsylvania
End of Watch Thursday, March 31, 2022
William Lebo
Lieutenant William Lebo was shot and killed as he and other officers responded to a domestic-related burglary in the 1100 block of Forest Street at about 3:30 pm.
The owners of the house had returned home to discover that an emotionally disturbed relative had broken into the home and remained inside. The man was still inside when officers arrived on the scene. As a reaction team entered the home, the man opened fire with a handgun, striking Lieutenant Lebo and two other officers.
Despite their wounds, the officers returned fire and shot the subject, who was later found deceased inside the home.
Lieutenant Lebo was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Lieutenant Lebo had served with the Lebanon City Police Department for 40 years and was scheduled to retire only 30 days later, on May 1st, 2022.
PA STATE LODGE FOP
GRAND LODGE FOP
PA FOP Foundation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hot or cold, Amherst has the experience and technology to install a complete insulation system to enhance thermal performance of mechanical, power and process systems operating at all temperatures. Our insulation products enable more precise control of processing temperatures while reducing surface temperatures to promote a safer and more comfortable working environment. While our product and service are important, we also understand and anticipate your need for security, confidentiality, flexibility, and cost reduction.
Our mission is to: Meet our customer's needs by installing high-performance insulation systems on industrial, commercial,and marine HVAC and mechanical equipment. Deliver the best value in insulation, providing service safely, economically and efficiently with high standards of workmanship and the highest regard for our customer's needs.


text:
Evaluating performance of an Appalachian oak forest dynamics model
Elizabeth A. Harrison, Michigan Technological University
Herman H. Shugart, University of Virginia
An Appalachian-oak forest in a small montane watershed was sampled to calibrate and test an existing forest dynamics simulation model. Indices developed in earlier studies by Whittaker were used to estimate the response of different tree species to soil moisture. As is the case in many forest modeling applications, neither detailed environmental data at a micro-spatial scale nor quantitative historical stand data were available for the study. A protocol of both model parameter estimation and simulation output evaluation is developed. The method involves simulation experiments under which the model parameters are allowed to vary systematically with respect to environmental control variables, allowing one to generate a field of potential simulation results that can be searched for patterns shared by the observed data. The degree to which common patterns emerge provides a measure of model sensitivity to patterns at the scale of interest. This protocol can provide an appraisal of the appropriateness of a simulation model to the system of interest and can be used to assess the performance of the model in future applications. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Vegetatio
Harrison, E., & Shugart, H. (1990). Evaluating performance of an Appalachian oak forest dynamics model. Vegetatio, 86(1), 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045130


Chelsea forward Eden Hazard hasn't decided to fully commit his future to his current club with Real Madrid showing interest.
The Belgian international admitted his interest in Real Madrid and paved the way for the Champions League winners to grab his signature.
Hazard seems to be torn with the current manager issues at the London club and is waiting on his decision.
The 27-year-old said: "I wait to see whether the coach will stay or leave, if I stay it's for the club to be better than last season. I don't want to stay for us to be poorer.
"Real Madrid could interest me, the world knows that. But if tomorrow this club does not want me any longer then we will not speak about it any longer.
"If they want to buy me they know what they need to do. I don't want to go there just for the sake of it. There needs to be a project.


Becky with a hip lock take down and waist lock take downs. Becky with a front face lock but Ruby gets to the ropes. Becky pulls Ruby from the ropes and Sarah tries to trip Becky but the interference does not work and Ruby is sent to the floor.
Becky holds the ropes open for Ruby but she stays on the floor. Becky goes to the apron and hits a running forearm to take Ruby down. Ruby is returned to the ring and Becky stays on the floor to avoid an elbow drop. Becky with a dragon screw leg whip followed by arm drags and a flying forearm. Becky gets a near fall. Becky with an arm bar. Ruby misses a forearm in the corner but she kicks Becky. Ruby with more kicks and a snap mare.
Ruby with a seated abdominal stretch on Becky. Becky gets back to her feet and she punches Ruby. Becky with an Irish whip and ruby tries to float over but Becky catches Ruby. Ruby sends Becky into the turnbuckles and then the ring post. Ruby wraps Becky in the ropes and she punches Becky in the ribs. Ruby with a waist lock. Ruby turns it into a body scissors. Ruby rolls over and gets a near fall.
Ruby gets another near fall. Ruby squeezes as she continues to wear down Becky. Becky leans back and gets a near fall. Becky with an elbow and Ruby misses a splash into the corner. Becky with a springboard side kick but Ruby sends Becky to the mat and gets a near fall. Ruby with a knee to the ribs. Ruby with an abdominal stretch. Becky with a hip lock take down. Ruby goes for a suplex but Becky counters with an inside cradle. Becky with forearms and a European uppercut. Becky with a spinning back heel kick followed by a wrist clutch suplex and an exploder.
Becky misses a knee and Ruby with kicks to the ribs. Becky counters into DisArmHer and Ruby taps out.


text:
Alfonso de Pardo y Manuel de Villena (Madrid, 18 de febrero de 1876 - Madrid, 21 de junio de 1955) fue el XIV Marqués de Rafal, IV Marqués de Villa Alegre de Castilla IV Marqués de Valdesevilla, X Vizconde de Peñaparda de Flores y Grande de España desde 1899 hasta 1955. Es el Marqués de Rafal que durante más tiempo ha ostentado el título, tras haberlo portado durante 56 años.

Políticas sucesorias

Su madre ostentó una importante suma de títulos nobiliarios, pero decidió repartir sus posesiones, unas en testamento y otras en vida, siguiendo con las políticas hereditarias que se habían practicado en la última sucesión, en las que no heredaba el mayor de los varones todos los bienes de la familia en función de mayorazgo, sino que los títulos junto a sus posesiones se repartían a gusto de su propietario entre varios de los hijos.

Esta política sucesoria, practicada por José Casimiro Manuel de Villena y Bambalere fue seguida por María Isabel Manuel de Villena y Álvarez de las Asturias, hecho que llevó a Alfonso a ser portador de alguno de los títulos de su madre, que en otras circunstancias hubiese tenido muy difícil por no ser el primogénito y habiendo tenido descendencia éste. Pero también llevó a la disgregación del poderío del Marqués de Rafal, que en los últimos años había ido acrecentándose hasta alcanzar altísimos niveles de riqueza y posesiones, debido a la adquisición de nuevos títulos, bien por herencias, o por concesión de los monarcas, y que siempre iban acompañados de más riquezas y de nuevas tierras.

A pesar de que con el reparto de títulos iba el reparto de las riquezas de la familia, los dos únicos varones eran los herederos con la mejor parte. El heredero de Arturo, su hijo Carlos, había quedado con el condado de Vía Manuel, pilar fundamental de la Casa de Manuel de Villena desde 1625 y el más importante de sus títulos por representar un Linaje Real, al tiempo que había quedado con alguna que otra posesión más, mientras que a Alfonso le otorgaron el marquesado de Rafal con Grandeza de España, que era el título con el rango más elevado de la familia Manuel de Villena desde su adquisición en 1838.

Biografía

Alfonso nació en Madrid el 18 de febrero de 1876 siendo el quinto hijo y segundo varón de María Isabel Manuel de Villena y Álvarez de las Asturias y de Arturo Pardo de Inchausti. En su bautizo tuvo como padrinos al Rey de España Alfonso XII y a la hermana del monarca, la Princesa de Asturias doña Isabel de Borbón y Borbón.

Su madre le cedió en su compleja herencia, por escritura del 17 de abril de 1899, el título de Marqués de Rafal acompañado de la Grandeza de España. La Real Carta de Sucesión fue expedida el 23 de septiembre de 1899.

La marquesa María Isabel, madre de Alfonso, decidió ceder algunos títulos en vida, cediendo en 1896 a Isabel el marquesado de Puebla de Rocamora y en 1899 algunos títulos correspondientes a sus hijos varones, quedando María Isabel con los condados de Vía Manuel y de Granja de Rocamora, teniendo que esperar Arturo y Josefa a su fallecimiento en 1929 para poder tomar posesión de ellos. Arturo fallecería en 1907 sin haber podido tomar posesión del condado de Vía Manuel.

A partir de 1899, Alfonso, a sus 23 años, ostentó el título de Marqués de Rafal y Grande de España, título al que sumaría el Marquesado de Villa Alegre de Castilla tras su rehabilitación.

Alfonso, que era licenciado en derecho, fue Senador del Reino, Caballero de la Soberana Orden Maltesa de San Juan de Jerusalén, Gran Cruz de San Miguel de Baviera, Tesorero de la Asamblea de la Real Academia Española, Gentilhombre Grande de España con ejercicio y servidumbre del Rey Alfonso XIII y Vocal del Consejo de la Diputación de la Grandeza de España.

Fue condecorado con las medallas de Alfonso XIII, Regencia, Sitios de Zaragoza y Brihuega, esta última perteneciente a la Real Academia de la Historia.

Alfonso formó parte de la Real Academia de la Historia por la Diputación de la Grandeza. Llevó a cabo varios estudios sobre las aportaciones de sus antepasados en las distintas guerras históricas acaecidas en España, como la de Sucesión, la de la Independencia y las Guerras Carlistas.

Matrimonio y descendencia

Alfonso casó a los 22 años en Madrid con Ignacia María de Egaña y Aranzabe el 10 de junio de 1899. Ignacia era dama de la Orden de las Damas Nobles de la Reina María Luisa. Tuvieron cuatro hijos:

 María Isabel Pardo-Manuel de Villena y Egaña (6 de abril de 1900 - 1956), XI Vizcondesa de Peñaparda de Flores.

 Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena y Egaña (16 de mayo de 1901 - 19 de diciembre de 1977), XV Marqués de Rafal, V Marqués de Valdesevilla.

 Ignacio Pardo-Manuel de Villena y Egaña (18 de julio de 1907 - 30 de septiembre de 1983), V Marqués de Villa Alegre de Castilla.

 María Inmaculada Pardo-Manuel de Villena y Egaña (24 de abril de 1909 - 10 de mayo de 2010), Condesa de Asumar.

Reparto de títulos

El 8 de enero de 1955 falleció en Madrid a los 78 años Alfonso de Pardo y Manuel de Villena.

Alfonso había decidido dejar en herencia un título a cada hijo varón, heredando Fernando el marquesado de Rafal con Grandeza de España y su hermano Ignacio el marquesado de Villa Alegre de Castilla. Las hijas de Alfonso terminarían obteniendo títulos de nobleza, siendo María Isabel Vizcondesa de Peñaparda de Flores y María Inmaculada Condesa de Asumar.

Enlaces externos
 Congreso de los Diputados de España

Referencias

Bibliografía

 Javier Baeza Valero (2008 - 2009): III estudio sobre: Casas nobles de España
 Antonio García Griñán (1994) Historia de Rafal y sus gentes

Marqueses de Rafal
Marqueses de Villa Alegre de Castilla
Casa de Pardo-Manuel de Villena
Académicos numerarios de la Real Academia de la Historia
Diputados de la XIV legislatura de España de la Restauración
Diputados por Orihuela de las Cortes de la Restauración
Nacidos en Madrid
Miembros de la Asamblea Nacional Consultiva
Fallecidos en Madrid

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Videos & Screens
Evolve Is Getting A Brand New Support Character - Dr. Kala Kapur
News 1/27/2016 at 1:00 PM by Enoch Starnes 0
"When I asked her about why she was so late, I think she snarled at me?"
We all know a few folks who fall under the "late to the party" description. We tell them to meet us somewhere at 8:00, and at 8:15 they inform us that, due to an unforeseen chimpanzee emergency, they're just now leaving their underground science compound. By now, I think it's safe to assume that the rest of the Evolve cast has long since given up on Dr. Kala Kapur and any hope of her joining them on their hunting excursions. Thankfully, they'd be wrong.
Starting today, Kala will meander into Hunter HQ, act like nothing's amiss, and ask if she can hop into the next session. She'll be taking on the Support role, which has been held primarily by Hank, Bucket, Cabot, and Sunny. To differentiate herself, she's decided to get into the whole "genome splicing" thing all the kids are into and combined Monster DNA with that of her own. She's also brought a teaser trailer that she'll no doubt throw onto the HQ's projector and act surprised when it starts playing.
Admittedly, Kala may be a latecomer, but her abilities do seem pretty fascinating. I'd be willing to forgive just about anyone's tardiness if they managed to teleport me away from the onrushing claws of a spider-monstrosity.
Evolve is just about to reach its first year anniversary and, with the release of Kala, has completed three DLC packs in the time since release. If you're interested in picking up the game, I'd recommend checking out our review first, then looking into Evolve: Ultimate Edition, which contains the base game, the "Monster Expansion Pack", "Hunting Season 1", and "Hunting Season 2". Oh, and I guess you should come to terms with the inevitable number of times you'll be treated like a man-sized chew toy.
Evolve Update 4.0 Goes Live, PC Hotfix Added
Welcome 4 New Hunters with the Latest Evolve Trailer
My Savage Goliath, Let Me Show You It
Co-Op Release Alert for the Week of 2.8.2015
All Evolve DLC Maps Will be Available for Free
New Characters Announced for Evolve
Buy This Game!
Amazon.com - $3.99
Amazon.co.uk - £9.89
Amazon.ca - $14.76
(Xbox One)
(PlayStation 4)


text:
Q: Writing a Data to Matrikon OPC UA Server I have using matrikon flex ua sdk server for opc ua server and conect this server via python. I can connect server and get value of a node. But when i want to write a value to a variable in server, it gives me

'DataValue object has no attribute set_value'

error message.
In the client_examples.py script , there are examples to write value to server like what i do. Help please?
This is the error:

A: You need to do node.set_value instead of myStoredVariable.set_value.

A: In the server side you can not modify the whole variables. Some variables can be only readable. You probably try to modify readeable variable.
Try to read the variable. Can you read properly and also you can use UAExpert Software. It is OPC-UA cilent. You can access whole variable and you can see the variables readable and writeable.


text:
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OAS » IACHR » Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples » Reports » Annual Reports
About the Rapporteurship
Decisions and Jurisprudence
IACHR
IACourtHR
Protection System
Provisional Measures
Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Chapter III - Activities of the rapporteurships, country and thematic reports, and promotional activities
A. Activities of the rapporteurships
1. Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigeno us Peoples
Chapter IV .B - Countries
IV. Situation of vulnerable groups and collectivities
B. Indigenous Peoples
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Chapter IV .A - Panorama of the Human Rights situation in the Hemisphere
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F. Reparation mechanisms
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H. Economic, social and cultural rights
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Reference to indigenous peoples
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I. Preparation of an Inter-American Instrument of the Indigenous People
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II. Instrument Concerning Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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...and paddled out of Croton Bay.
My objective was finding a historic location mentioned in Nathaniel Philbrick's book, Valiant Ambition. Philbrick describes the location as follows "...amid a grove of fir trees near where the Long Clove gap is bracketed by the jagged peaks of High and Low Tor on the west bank of the Hudson." Using that description and a nautical map of the area I was attempting to follow the route a small row boat took to that locale in the middle of the night back in September 1780. According to Philbrick's detailed description the boat contained four men...brothers Samuel and Joseph Cahoon were rowing using sheepskin-muffled oars, while their employer Joshua Hett Smith was steering. The fourth man, their passenger known to them as Mr. John Anderson, was actually the British Army officer Major John Andre who'd just been picked up from the British sloop of war "Vulture" and was being brought to the locale for a rendezvous with the American commander of West Point, General Benedict Arnold. All four men carried passes issued by Arnold.
Until reading Valiant Ambition I admit to knowing little of the historical facts involving Benedict Arnold's treason. I only remember as a kid not ever wanting to be called a "Benedict Arnold". Upon reading Philbrick's account of the actual events I was intrigued by the important role the Hudson River played in the whole affair.
Was this the spot where Joshua Hett Smith and the Cahoon brothers patiently waited in their boat while John Andre and Benedict Arnold walked off a bit to discuss the surrender of West Point in the wee hours of September 22, 1780?
A 38' green navigational marker "21" is just offshore and warns of submerged piles from when this location served as Snedekers Landing in the 1800s. Several abandoned stone buildings remain from those days.
A group of shore fishermen occupied the tip of the landing and were fishing for striped bass. I suspect the eagle was doing the same.
I didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked due to a quickly-gathering southwest breeze, and knowing it would be a four mile crossing back to Echo Landing. I decided to revisit the site on Tuesday morning when I'd have more time to look things over.
The canons were brought out to Teller's Point by the American Colonel James Livingston, and his firing upon the HMS Vulture caused the British vessel to retreat downriver. This act on Livingston's part served to gum up the works, so to speak, and resulted in Major Andre needing to travel by land in order to get back to British lines.
This time I had the spot all to myself and was able to look around a little more.
When Arnold and Andre weren't able to conclude their discussion before daybreak they mounted horses and quite likely ascended this pathway en route to Smith's home in Haverstraw. Smith and the Cahoon brothers were left to row the two miles to Haverstraw.
Only later did it occur to me that it may have been inscribed with the name of John Andre to mark the spot.
Both boulders have plaques commemorating the events of September 1780. However both plaques are in need of cleaning as they're difficult to read.
BETWEEN THIS BOULDER AND THE RIVER IS THE PLACE WHERE BENEDICT ARNOLD FIRST MET MAJOR JOHN ANDRE, ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE BRITISH ARMY TO PLAN FOR THE SURRENDER OF WEST POINT TO THE BRITISH. ANDRE LANDED FROM THE VULTURE THE EVENING OF SEPT. 21, 1780. EARLY THE FOLLOWING MORNING THE CONSPIRATORS REPAIRED TO THE HOME OF JOSHUA HETT SMITH ABOUT THREE MILES TO THE NORTH WHERE ARNOLD FINALLY AGREED TO SURRENDER WEST POINT FOR TEN THOUSAND POUNDS AND A COMMISSION IN THE BRITISH ARMY. FROM THE SMITH HOUSE ANDRE ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO THE BRITISH LINES. HE WAS CAPTURED AT TARRYTOWN AND TRIED, CONVICTED, AND EXECUTED AS A SPY AT TAPPAN OCT. 2,1780.
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT ON THE 21st OF SEPTEMBER BENEDICT ARNOLD, THE TRAITOR AND JOHN ANDRE, THE SPY MET AT WATER'S EDGE WHERE THE GUN POINTS TO PLOT THE FALL OF AMERICA'S FREEDOM.
Once back home and writing this post I stumbled upon information pertaining to a historical marker located very close, perhaps less than 50 yards from where I landed my boat. It's the Andre the Spy marker. If you visit the link and check out photo 2 taken by Joe Harness you can see the marker's proximity to the spit of land where I landed. The navigational marker "21" can also be seen.


Sanofi announced this morning that NDA for lixisenatide was accepted by the FDA for review which should translate into an action date sometime in October 2013. The NDA was based on the GetGoal programme which included 11 trials and more than 5 000 patients suffering from type II diabetes most of which uncontrolled despite different treatment lines including basal insulin. The filing also included some data from the cardiovascular outcome study ELIXA that was required by the US agency. This acceptance of filing should not come as a big surprise however.


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use Cake\Database\Type;
use Cake\Datasource\ConnectionManager;
use Cake\Error\ErrorHandler;
use Cake\Log\Log;
use Cake\Mailer\Email;
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use Cake\Utility\Security;

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Lucy gave Luc Besson's career a little bit of a boost. It's not like the producer of countless action movies needed the help, but Lucy was the director's biggest hit in years, and it most likely afforded him the opportunity to make Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The pricey sci-fi film is currently shooting, but once that picture wraps, Besson will be turn his attention to Artificial Intelligence, an original show from TNT and EuroCorp TV USA.
Learn more about the Artificial Intelligence series below.


text:
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text:
Jewish Independent
Where different views on Israel and Judaism are welcome.
עניין בחדשות
A roundup of news in Canada and further afield, in Hebrew.
From the JI
Celebrating the Holidays
The Daily Snooze
Cartoons by Jacob Samuel
Help the JI and JMABC fill in the gaps in our archives.
Organizations, Etc.
Other News Sources & Blogs
JI Chai Celebration
[email protected]! video
Coming Feb. 17th …
A FREE Facebook Watch Event: Resurrecting Dead Fairy Tales - Lecture and Q&A with Folklorist Jack Zipes
Worth watching …
A graphic novel co-created by artist Miriam Libicki and Holocaust survivor David Schaffer for the Narrative Art & Visual Storytelling in Holocaust & Human Rights Education project. Made possible by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience is scheduled to open soon.
Ethiopians' long road home
Let's create more land
Chapter soon behind us
A long life working, helping others
Camps plan tentatively
A moving documentary
Demand almost double
Graveyards and Gardens premières
More than meets eye
Critical to take a stand against hate
I owe a Dutch family my life
Kindness a blessing to share
Aliyah despite COVID
Israeli ventilation invention
Books foster identity
Getting rid of landfill garbage
Olive trees have long history
Cookin' old school meatloaf
Fruits for the holiday
קנדה חסמה רכישה סינית של מכרה זהב בארקטיקה
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Tag: Nora Krug
Reckoning with family's past
Writer and illustrator Nora Krug spoke with the Globe and Mail's Marsha Lederman at a virtual event Oct. 27. (photo by DW Deutsche Welle)
The first time Nora Krug heard the word "Jew" was in elementary school during religion class, which was taught by the local priest. He told students that Jews killed Jesus.
Born in the German city of Karlsruhe, Krug is now associate professor of illustration at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, and author of the book Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home. She spoke with Marsha Lederman at a virtual event Oct. 27 presented by the German Consulate General in Vancouver, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria. Lederman is the Western arts correspondent for the Globe and Mail and her own book, Kiss the Red Stairs: Intergenerational Trauma, the Holocaust, and Me, is to be published in 2022.
"I came home from school that day and confronted my mother about it," Krug recalled. "I said, 'Are Jews evil?' She got really angry because [it was] so obvious to her that this was something that nobody in Germany should ever think or say."
A few years later, in her early teens, when she began learning about the Holocaust, she made a yellow star and intended to wear it as an act of solidarity with the Jewish people. Her mother, again, set her on a more appropriate path.
Krug explores her own struggles with her family's past, as well as that of her country, in the book, a visual memoir that incorporates prose, graphics and photography. (See jewishindependent.ca/creative-engaging-memoir.)
The book was challenging on many fronts, Krug said, including her intention to tell one family's story about the war era without downplaying German atrocities or doing anything that would appear to paint Germans as victims. While Germans did suffer during the war, it was ultimately a result of their own government's actions.
"I'm not saying that Germans did not suffer during the war. I think they did," she said. "But it was a self-imposed suffering."
Like many aspects of researching a family's or a country's past, some things are unknowable and, at times, evidence can raise more questions than it answers. For instance, Krug had been told that her grandfather was a lifelong social democrat. But, when she dug through archives and found the military questionnaire that Germans in the American sector of occupied Germany were required to fill out to explain their war-era activities, he had acknowledged being a Nazi party member. Holding the document in her hands – not a facsimile, but the very document on which her grandfather had responded to more than 300 questions – was chilling, she said. The knowledge of her grandfather's relationship with the Nazi party could only lead to speculation when she pieced two other facts together.
Krug had always known the location where her grandfather's office had been in Karlsruhe. But only when she was researching the book did she discover that the Jewish centre and a synagogue were right across the street. Where was her grandfather when the synagogue was attacked on Kristallnacht and Jews were beaten in the streets? In the book, she posits four possibilities, from watching out his office window to laying home in bed sick to the most alarming possibility: that maybe he was among the mobs perpetrating the attacks.
Having lived for the past two decades in the United States – and being married to a Jewish man and having a 5-year-old daughter who is beginning to ask questions about history – all impacted her decision to write the book.
"I don't think I would have done that had I not left Germany because I think, when I lived in Germany, I felt like I learned everything there is to learn about the war, what else is there to investigate?" she said. "That was my thinking. But, since I've been living in New York, I'm an individual and I am a German representing my country."
Being away from her homeland also made her consider history more from an individual perspective.
"I think when you live as a German among Germans you accept the collective understanding of how we grew up learning about the war," she said, crediting Germany with doing a good job addressing the topic as a nation. "But I think where we have to really still catch up is to do it on an individual basis, to really go back into our families, into the archives, into the cities where we grew up, what happened in our streets, in our houses, and investigate more deeply on an individual level."
These are complex challenges and Krug sees a problem with the way Germans struggle with their national identity because of the terrible history of the 20th century.
"I think Germans really need to learn to love their culture," she said. "I have a problem with it, too. I'm not saying I know how to do that. But I do think it's a dangerous thing to only highlight our guilt. I think we need to learn, as Germans, to replace the word guilt or shame with the term responsibility."
By struggling to express national pride, she said, Germans tend to abandon that to a fringe element.
"The problem is a lot of Germans who are willing and open to looking back at the past from a critical angle cannot express this love for their culture," she said. "I think Germans should try to learn to do that because, otherwise, we leave it to the extreme right to do it for us and that's a big problem."
After Krug's conversation with Lederman, a high school teacher submitted a question noting that some Canadian students are expressing fatigue at learning about Canada's history of residential schools and asked whether German kids are getting tired of learning about the Holocaust. Krug acknowledged this might be the case and suggested ways of teaching that make the lessons more directly relevant for the present.
"If we had learned in Germany, for instance, more about the German resistance movement, we could have applied that knowledge to the present as well and asked ourselves, how can I help minorities that are harassed today or how can I make sure that we defend our democracy?" she said. "I think the more important question to ask is not what would I have done back then but what am I doing today on a daily basis to reflect on the issues that we have in our countries, no matter what country that is."
Format ImagePosted on November 13, 2020 November 11, 2020 Author Pat JohnsonCategories LocalTags antisemitism, Germany, history, Holocaust, memoir, Nora Krug, Second World War
Creative, engaging memoir
Nora Krug's Belonging offers a thoughtful and artistic exploration of identity and history. (photo by Nina Subin)
Nora Krug's Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home (Scribner, 2018) opens with a page made to look like it's written in pencil on yellow graph paper. The illustration of a bandage takes up half the page, which is ostensibly "From the notebook of a homesick émigré: Things German." Entry No. 1 is about Hansaplast, a type of bandage created in 1922 that Krug associates with safety, her mother having used it, for example, to stop Krug's knee from bleeding after a roller-skating accident at age 6. "It is the most tenacious bandage on the planet," writes Krug, "and it hurts when you tear it off to look at your scar."
Belonging is the written and illustrated account of what happens when Krug decides to rip off the Hansaplast and examine the scars left by the history of her family – which had only been related to her in vague terms – and her country of birth, Germany. It is a creative and engaging memoir about Krug's efforts to define for herself and reclaim for herself the idea of Heimat, tarnished by the Nazis' use of it in propaganda.
Heimat can refer to an actual or imagined location with which a person feels familiar or comfortable, or the place in which a person is born, the place that played a large part in shaping their character and perspective. Krug's exploration of identity comprises archival research, interviews with family members and others, and visits to her mother's and father's hometowns – Karlsruhe (where Krug grew up) and Külsheim, respectively.
Alternating with the narrative of her discoveries are several notebook entries, on a range of items, from bread to binders to soap, which are both points of pride, as they are quality-made items, and metaphors. For example, Persil is "a time-tested German laundry detergent invented in 1907," which Krug uses. However, she writes, "Some referred to the postwar testimonials written by neighbours, colleagues and friends in defence of suspected Nazi sympathizers as Persil Certificates. Persil guarantees your shirts to come out as white as snow."
As well, Krug includes pages "From the scrapbook of a memory archivist," which present odd and sometimes disturbing arrays of items found at flea markets on her research trips to Germany. These include Hitler Youth trading cards, a letter from the front containing a lock of hair and photographs of soldiers petting or holding various animals, mostly dogs.
But the main intrigue of the book comes from what Krug shares as she persists in her research, asking questions and scouring documents. She wants to find out all she can about her family's involvement in the Holocaust, in particular that of her maternal grandfather, who died when Krug was 11, and her paternal uncle, who was drafted at 17 and shot and killed at age 18, before her father, a postwar baby, was born; her father was named after the brother he never knew. Despite her efforts, many of Krug's questions remain unanswered.
At the end of Belonging, it's not even clear if Krug – who readers find out early on married into a Jewish family – feels any less guilty or any more secure in her self and in her past. But she does manage to start the healing process on some family rifts. And she highlights a couple of steps towards healing that she witnesses in Germany. For example, of Külsheim – which had, in 1988, the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht, abandoned a proposal for a memorial plaque where the synagogue once stood, before it was burned down the night of Nov. 10, 1938 – she writes: "Plans are made to restore Külsheim's old mikvah, and a memorial stone is erected where the synagogue used to be, 'as a manifestation of sadness and shame,' Külsheim's new mayor says on the day it is installed."
The book ends as it began, with a notebook entry. No. 8 is Uhu, "invented by a German pharmacist as the first synthetic (bone-glue-free) resin adhesive in the world, in 1932." Despite its world-record strength, which is why Krug imports it to repair everything from the soles of her shoes to broken dishware, Uhu "cannot cover up the crack."
Format ImagePosted on September 20, 2019 September 17, 2019 Author Cynthia RamsayCategories BooksTags Germany, graphic novel, history, Holocaust, memoir, Nora Krug
Milestones … Shapira, Or Shalom, Baumel Joseph, Respitz & Krug
Adi Shapira brought home a silver medal for British Columbia in the 2019 Canada Winter Games. (photo by Peter Fuzessery Moonlight Canada)
From Feb. 15 to March 3, Red Deer and central Alberta hosted the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Among those taking home a medal was Adi Shapira.
Winning the silver in the archery recurve, individual female event, Shapira said in a Team BC article, "It is an amazing reward for all the training I have been doing and it is just an amazing accomplishment."
Adi Shapira prepares for a shot. (photo from Team BC)
According to the Canada Winter Games website, Shapira, "who had taken up archery following a school retreat in grades 8 and 9, fought hard in the gold medal match, but Marie-Ève Gélinas, came back to win the gold for Quebec."
Shapira, 16, is part of the SPARTS program at Magee Secondary School, which is open to students competing in high-performance athletics at the provincial, national or international level, as well as students in the arts who are performing at a high level of excellence. Last November, she won the qualifying tournaments against other female archers ages 15 to 20 to represent the province of British Columbia in the February national games.
The 2019 Stylin' Or Shalom fashion models. (photo from Or Shalom)
Stylin' Or Shalom on Feb. 20 was not just a beautiful evening: the event raised $1,600 for Battered Women's Support Services so that they can continue their important work.
Models for the fashion-show fundraiser were Ross Andelman, Avi Dolgin, Val Dolgin, Carol Ann Fried, Michal Fox, Dalia Margalit-Faircloth, Helen Mintz, Ana Peralta, Avril Orloff and Leora Zalik. About 50 people attended and, between cash donations and purchases from the My Sister's Closet eco-thrift store, this year's show raised about $600 more than did the inaugural Stylin' Or Shalom event held in 2017. In addition, many people brought clothing donations, which will be sold at the store, generating further funds for the organization.
The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies has announced that Dr. Norma Baumel Joseph is the 2019 recipient of the Louis Rosenberg Canadian Jewish Studies Distinguished Service Award. Joseph brings together the highest standards of scholarship, creative and effective dissemination of research, and activism in a manner without rival in the field of Canadian Jewish studies, as well as being a respected voice in Jewish feminist studies more broadly.
Dr. Norma Baumel Joseph
Joseph's scholarship is remarkable for her mastery of both traditional rabbinic sources and anthropological methods. Her work on the responsa of Rabbi Moses Feinstein, including an award-winning article published in American Jewish History 83,2 (1995), is based on a close reading of some of the most technical and difficult halachic texts. Her mastery of these sources is also apparent in articles on women and prayer, the mechitzah, and the bat mitzvah. She has used her knowledge of halachah in her academic work on Jewish divorce in Canada, including an article in Studies in Religion (2011) and is a collaborator in a recently awarded grant project, Troubling Orthopraxies: A Study of Jewish Divorce in Canada.
As a trained anthropologist and as a feminist, she realizes that food is also a text and she has made important contributions to both the history of Iraqi Jews in Canada and to our understanding of the history of food in the Jewish community. Her Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-funded research has resulted in recent essays such as "From Baghdad to Montreal: Food, Gender and Identity." Her ongoing reflections on Jewish women in Canada, first appearing as early as 1981 in the volume Canadian Jewish Mosaic, are foundational texts in the study of Jewish women in Canada.
Joseph has chosen to disseminate her research and wisdom in a variety of ways. Her undergraduate and graduate students at Concordia praise her innovative student-centred teaching. Recently, she instituted a for-credit internship at the Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish archives, which has been beneficial to both the student and the archive. She is in demand as a lecturer in both professional and lay settings. Her work in film has reached a wide audience. In Half the Kingdom, a 1989 NFB documentary on Jewish women and Judaism, she explores with sensitivity the challenges – and rewards – of being both a feminist and an Orthodox Jew. She served as consultant to the film, and was a co-author of the accompanying guidebook.
Since 2002, Joseph has also committed herself to public education by taking on the task of writing a regular column on Jewish life for the Canadian Jewish News. Her views are based on a deep understanding of Judaism and contemporary Jewish life and are worthy of anthologizing.
Joseph is a founding member of the Canadian Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get and worked for the creation of a Canadian law to aid and protect agunot. As part of her Women for the Get work, she participated in the educational film Untying the Bonds: Jewish Divorce, produced by the Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get in 1997. She has also worked on the issue of agunot, as well as advocated for the creation of a prayer space for women at the Western Wall among international Jewish organizations.
Joseph helped in the founding of the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies at Concordia, and convened the institute from 1994 to 1997, when a chair was hired. She was also a founder and co-director of Concordia University's Azrieli Institute for Israel Studies. In 1998, she was appointed chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives Committee, and has remained in the position since then, under the new designation of chair of the advisory committee for the Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives (CJA). In this capacity, Joseph has been a forceful and effective advocate for protecting and promoting the preservation of Canadian Jewish archival material and for appreciating the professionalism of the staff. She has lent her time and experience to multiple meetings and interventions at various crucial junctures in the recent history of the CJA, during which she has balanced and countered arguments that would have led to the dissolution or extreme diminishing of the archives as we know it. Her work on behalf of the archives has drawn her into diverse committees and consultations. Notably, she contributed her expertise to the chairing of a sub-committee convened by Parks Canada when their Commemorative Places section was in search of Canadian Jewish women-related content. Her suggestions made during the 2005 meetings have resulted in several site designations over the course of the past 12 years.
Joseph has had a unique role in Canadian Jewish studies and Canadian Jewish life, and is richly deserving of the Louis Rosenberg Award.
In February, Janie Respitz of Montreal won the prize for best interpretation of an existing Yiddish song at the final Der Idisher Idol contest in Mexico City. She performed "Kotsk," a song about a small town in Poland, which was the seat of the Kotsker rebbe, the founder of a Chassidic dynasty in the 18th century. The win included $500 US.
Respitz holds a master's degree in Yiddish language and literature and, for the past 25 years, has performed concerts around the world. She has lectured and taught the subject, including at Queen's University and McGill University, and is on the faculty of KlezKanada, the annual retreat in the Laurentians.
Respitz was among nine finalists, both local and foreign, who were invited to perform at Mexico City's 600-seat Teatro del Parque Interlomas before a panel of judges and a live audience.
The competition is in its fourth edition, but Respitz only heard about it last year. She submitted a video of her performing "Kotsk" in September and received word in December that she was in the running.
A Yiddish song contest in Mexico City may seem odd, but the city has a large Jewish community, many with roots in eastern Europe, much like Montreal. The winner for best original song was Louisa Lyne of Malmo, Sweden, who's also a well-established performer of Yiddish works.
– Excerpted from CJN; for the full article, visit cjnews.com
On March 14, at the New School in New York, the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) announced the recipients of its book awards for publishing year 2018. The winners include Nora Krug, who was given the prize in autobiography for Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home (Scribner). "Krug creates a stunningly effective, often moving portrait of Krug's memories and her exploration of the people who came before her," said NBCC president Kate Tuttle.
Krug's drawings and visual narratives have appeared in the New York Times, Guardian and Le Monde diplomatique. Her short-form graphic biography Kamikaze, about a surviving Japanese Second World War pilot, was included in the 2012 editions of Best American Comics and Best American Nonrequired Reading. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Maurice Sendak Foundation, Fulbright, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and of medals from the Society of Illustrators and the New York Art Directors Club. She is an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York and lives in Brooklyn with her family.
The National Book Critics Circle was founded in 1974 at New York's legendary Algonquin Hotel by a group of the most influential critics of the day. It currently comprises 750 working critics and book-review editors throughout the United States. For more information about the awards and NBCC, visit bookcritics.org.
Format ImagePosted on March 29, 2019 March 27, 2019 Author Community members/organizationsCategories Local, WorldTags ACJS, Adi Shapira, archery, art, Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, books, Canada Winter Games, Janie Respitz, music, National Book Critics Circle, NBCC, Nora Krug, Norma Baumel Joseph, Or Shalom, sports, tikkun olam, women, Yiddish