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Drew Carey: No More Mr. Fat Guy
September 26, 2010 – 2:42 PM – 0 Comments
By Robert Moritz Parade
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Drew Carey is just a shadow of the man he used to be, and that's the way he likes it. The former star of The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the current host of The Price Is Right has given himself until Oct. 31 to achieve the ambitious goal he set last November. He is aiming to reach 170 pounds—92 less than the desperately unhealthy 262 pounds he used to weigh. Not only has he succeeded in changing his body, he has changed his life.
Sitting down for breakfast at a West Hollywood diner recently, Carey, 52, ordered his new " usual": scrambled egg whites with a side of fruit. In the old days, he'd start his mornings with pancakes and an egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich, washing it down with four cups of coffee sweetened with eight-plus packets of sugar. Now he quenches his thirst with bottomless glasses of water. And he's loving it—really. "The hardest diet I was ever on was the one when I was fat," Carey declares. "You can only wear fat clothes, you don't feel good, your sex life gets damaged, you don't have energy for anything. It's horrible."
Photo Timeline: Drew Carey's Battle of the Bulge
Through better nutrition, daily exercise, and good old-fashioned willpower, the famously funny fat guy from Cleveland with the 44-inch waist and XXXL shirts has given way to a good-looking, fit, and happy 185-pound guy in a short-sleeve shirt (size M) and 34-inch pants. The incredible shrinking Carey rhapsodizes about the divine experience that is healthy living, especially his enhanced clarity of thought and renewed vigor. "This is how you're supposed to feel every day," he says. "This is what I should have felt like my whole life!"
But the comedian is the first one to point out that he's lucky to have made it to this moment. "I always thought I was going to die before I was 60," he says matter-of-factly. "My father died of a heart attack in his 40s. I'm not an idiot. The writing was on the wall."
A former Marine reservist who once aced the Corps' physical-fitness exam, Carey has been battling the bulge ever since he left the military in his 20s and hit the road to do stand-up. As he describes it, his "slow creep" upward commenced with a "That's okay" uptick from size 32 to 34; led to an "Uh-oh, I better start doing something" alarm bell at size 36; and, finally, entered the rationalizing "I'll just go out and buy bigger clothes" phase when he reached sizes 38 and 40. "If the weight gain had occurred overnight, you'd think, What happened to me?" he says with a sigh. But because it was gradual, "you just get used to being sick."
Exclusive Photos: Drew Carey Flaunts His New Frame
Nine years ago, however, Carey got a reality check when he experienced chest pains that were diagnosed as heart disease. He underwent an angioplasty and had a stent inserted in one of his arteries. At the time, it motivated Carey to adopt a healthier lifestyle, and he exercised and lost weight. But when his mother became terminally ill in 2002, his new routine fell by the wayside. Shuttling back and forth between his home in Los Angeles and her hospice in Cleveland, he grew depressed, stopped working out, and haunted diners. "I was miserable," he recalls. "I remember being in Vegas and ordering a burger. When it didn't kill me, I started eating one every day and went back to my old habits."
Fast-forward 2555 hamburgers to November 2009. At 262 pounds—his heaviest ever—Carey was poised to bust the seams on his 44-inch pants, a symbolic barrier for him since it was the largest size carried by the Gap. He had also developed a litany of weight-related health conditions, including type-2 diabetes. But it was Connor, fiancée Nicole Jaracz's 5-year-old son, who gave him the incentive to get serious. "I couldn't keep up with him," Carey admits. The comedian would be left breathless and sweating after just a few minutes of playing. "I'd be like, 'Connor, I can't,' and he'd say, 'C'mon, Dad!' That was a terrible feeling. I thought, I'm never going to see him graduate high school."
Carey sent a plaintive e-mail to Marc Vahanian, the trainer he'd worked with after his 2001 surgery. It said: "Are you still in the lifesaving business? Because I need to have my life saved." Vahanian started Carey on a fitness routine and in February referred him to Dr. Chris Renna, who has 30 years of experience in preventive medicine. Renna devised a customized nutritional and behavioral program. "Drew was at a crossroads, and the distance between where he was and serious medical problems was really very short," the physician says. "His behavior had brought him to the precipice."
Video: Go Behind the Scenes of Drew's PARADE Photo Shoot
For the first two weeks—a detox period—Carey's diet was restricted to lean protein, lots of vegetables, limited fruit, few starches, vitamins and nutritional supplements, and at least 64 ounces of water a day. The austere menu left him "wanting to chew my arm off," he says, yet he stuck with it. By week three, Renna had analyzed Carey's blood-test results to prepare charts of " core," "neutral," and "avoid" foods. The "core" list alone has a huge variety of choices—over 230 items including mahi-mahi, lamb, goat cheese, and rice.
At the same time, Carey began a six-days-a-week workout program. Starting with 30 minutes of light exercise (keeping his heart rate below 126 beats per minute), he progressed over the next six months to 45 to 60 minutes of daily aerobic activity on a treadmill or an elliptical machine, his current regimen. After a few rough weeks, Carey got inspired, both by his rapid decrease in weight and by the increase in compliments.
In March, he broke the 250-pound barrier. To celebrate reaching this first milestone, he went to Neiman Marcus and asked a personal shopper to pick out clothes, a ritual he repeated when his waist shrank to 42 inches and then to 40. He especially relishes the memory of the day he passed the 38-inch mark. "That was a big deal, because it's the cutoff size at many stores."
Soon Carey was looking forward to his morning workouts, something he attributes to his renewed energy and keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the future. "When I was working out, instead of being like, 'I'm so tired,' I thought, I'm going to do a 10K run, and this is how I'm going to feel at mile three and mile four," he recalls. "I could see myself in the clothes; I could feel the breeze. That way, I wasn't just on a treadmill going nowhere. I had a goal in mind."
Before & After: 9 Celebrity Weight-Loss Wonders
Carey's weight kept dropping at the rate of about three pounds a week. After 10 weeks, his doctor told him that his diabetes symptoms had reversed and that he no longer needed to take medication. In June, Carey went on vacation to Africa and carried Connor on his shoulders without breaking a sweat. Finally, on Aug. 15, he tweeted from the finish line of a race: "Just ran my first 10K in almost 25 years. Sub-60. Then I had my first ice cream since January. :)"
But then Carey followed the cone with an entire pepperoni pizza and a cupcake. The next day, he ate another pizza, leaving him a few pounds heavier and feeling sick. He learned a valuable lesson from his relapse which he posted above his bathroom mirror: "Eating crappy food is not a reward—it's a punishment."
According to Carey, being healthy doesn't mean banishing the occasional cupcake or slice of pizza from one's life. "It's no problem if you're eating well all the time. But an entire pizza? I might as well think that hitting myself in the face is a reward," he says, adding that for his next celebration he'll treat himself to a massage or a quiet day with a book.
Carey attributes his remarkable success to two factors: his decision to commit 100% (" Working out and eating right isn't an extra thing I do. I told myself, 'I'm going to make this part of my job'"); and having the support of Nicole and Connor, as well as an experienced team to help him. While he acknowledges that he is wealthy enough to hire an array of specialists, he believes that anyone can find an affordable nutritionist and gym and join a local or online group like Weight Watchers. "You just have to be willing to reach out," he declares.
As for his next goals, Carey is thinking about running more races, maybe even a marathon someday, and is toying with the idea of re-taking the Marine Corps fitness exam.
But ultimately, Carey's most profound triumph can't be seen in a number on a scale or a belt size. Rather, it's the gift of a long and healthy future. The message was poignantly brought home in July after his 64-year-old brother, Neal, died of a heart attack.
"I felt like I could have been attending my own funeral," Carey recalls somberly. At the burial, he turned to his brother Roger, 58—another slim-down success story who went from 240 pounds to under 200—and said, "Man, let's make sure we don't gain our weight back. We don't want to end up like Neal."
Carey is determined to keep his end of the bargain. "Connor doesn't make fun of Dad's belly anymore," he proudly reports. "I look in the mirror and I feel like I'm in my 20s again." He savors a final bite of cantaloupe and adds, "I feel like I have my whole life back. I could live to be 100 now."
A Tale of Two Diets
When Drew Carey decided he wanted to drop to 170 pounds in November, he faced a daunting task: He weighed 262 pounds and had a 44-inch waist. To reach his goal, he needed to exercise and completely overhaul his fat- and sugar-fueled diet. Here, from breakfasts to beverages, is his before-and-after.
The Old Drew The New Drew
An egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich on an English muffin with pancakes; or steak and eggs with toast, hash browns, and pancakes
A turkey club sandwich or tuna melt with French fries; or an entire pepperoni pizza
Spicy chicken fettuccine with a cream-based sauce and bread
A bag of Doritos with ranch dressing
Gallons of Pepsi and multiple cups of coffee with two sugars each
Scrambled egg whites with a side of fruit
A turkey burger (without cheese), steamed broccoli, and a green salad with balsamic vinegar
Grilled chicken breast, a steamed green vegetable, and a green salad with balsamic vinegar
An apple, a handful of grapes, or a sugar-free popsicle
At least 64 ounces of water a day
Drew Carey's Fitness Formula
So how did he do it? Hard work. Drew Carey's new workout regimen consists of a cardio and strength-training mix, resulting in six days of exercise nearly every week. Here's an inside look at Carey's routine from the last week of August.
Type: Bike, treadmill, swimming, water jogging or elliptical
Time: Three 15-minute intervals
Type: Bike, treadmill, swimming, water jogging or elliptical, plus weights
Time: 30 mins, plus time with weights
Time: 45 – 60 mins
Type: Long, slow distance jogging/running
A well-deserved day off!
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Jacksonville lawmaker wants to help officers get off list of troubled cops Brady List
The bill would let officers challenge a list used to identify cops who've been dishonest or convicted of a crime.
Author: Tobie Nell Perkins, Anne Schindler
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville lawmaker wants to make changes to the so-called "Brady List" of troubled police officers.
Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) is sponsoring a bill that would require state prosecutors to allow officers whose names are placed on the Brady List appeal that decision.
Brady material is evidence that must, by law, be turned over to defendants in criminal cases. The Brady list compiled by local prosecutors consists of officers who've either been convicted of a crime or been found to be untruthful.
Jacksonville's police union has pushed for changes to the list, saying being placed on it damages officers' reputations and denies them due process. Duggan won the union's endorsement in the November elections.
As of January 2023, there are 90 officers on the list maintained by the 4th Circuit State Attorney, which includes Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. Not all prosecutors maintain a formal list, though the disclosure of an officer's troubled history is required, regardless. Among the reasons officers are on the list: DUI, domestic battery, sexual assault, evidence tampering, official misconduct and falsifying reports.
Duggan's bill would create a process by which officers could appeal -- and even forestall -- being placed on the list. The bill requires prosecutors to notify officers prior to adding their name to the list.
It would allow them to "review the findings of the prosecuting agency and provide input to the prosecuting agency before the name and information of the officer is placed on a Brady Giglio list." (The list is sometimes called the Brady/Giglio list; Brady signifying potentially exculpatory evidence that must be turned over to defendants, and Giglio related to some deficiency with the testimony of a specific witness.)
It also allow an "officer to request reconsideration," and would require prosecutors demonstrate the officer belongs on the list "by clear and convincing evidence" -- a legal standard used in some criminal proceedings.
While most officers are no longer working, First Coast News reported in February that two Jacksonville Brady List officers were still on the job. Soon after that story appeared, a series of extraordinary legal maneuvers resulted in one of those officers, Sgt. J.C. Nobles, being taken off the list.
An updated list obtained by First Coast News in January again included Nobles' name. However, in a statement, a spokesperson for the State Attorney said that was an inadvertent error:
"Nobles had been removed some time ago in previous iterations of this list — his inclusion on the list you received recently was inadvertent. Public records will be sending you the updated list shortly."
This is the updated list.
Coming off the list
Nobles was initially placed on the list after Circuit Judge Bruce Anderson issued a 2018 order in which said Nobles was "not credible" and "evasive" in his testimony. He said Nobles "had to change his story" under oath in order to support his claim of probable cause for a traffic stop. Anderson threw the case out of court.
Nobles always objected to being on the list, and in early April, the State Attorney's Office filed an unprecedented "motion for clarification" in the long-closed case – directly asking Judge Anderson if he thought Nobles was a liar.
"…[T]he State of Florida seeks further clarification of this Court's Order to determine whether the state is legally obligated to continue to disclose Sgt. Nobles name on the [Brady] list," the state's motion read. It added, "For Brady purposes, there is a significant difference between the Court having found that Sgt. Nobles lied or was intentionally deceptive, as opposed to having made an honest mistake in his deposition."
Five days after the motion was filed, Judge Anderson issued a new order, saying he never "believed nor found that Sgt. Nobles 'lied' … endeavored to intentionally mislead or deceive …or otherwise commit perjury."
He added, "the Court never intended for its findings weighing the credibility of Sgt. Nobles' testimony to have any import beyond" the 2018 case.
Two weeks later, Nobles was off the Brady List.
In his nearly 20 years with JSO, accumulated 65 discipline complaints. He has the third-most complaints of any officer, and the most unnecessary force complaints of any officer, according to a 2018 analysis by First Coast News.
He has also been involved in five officer-involved shootings -- more than any other active duty officer, according to available records.**
**A recent legal interpretation of Marsy's Law defines officers as "victims" in police shootings, so their names are redacted from reports. Nobles' shootings were calculated using news reports and available records, as well as the recollections of JSO officers interviewed for our original story in February.
Read our full report on J.C. Nobles' history here.
Extraordinary remedy: Judge issues rare order in a closed case to rehabilitate officer's sullied reputation
Investigation: Why do 2 officers on the Brady List continue to work in Jacksonville?
A very Brady sequel: State Attorney defends removing officer from Brady list, disagrees that he 'lied'

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Home / Especialidad y productos / Urología / Base de datos de literatura sobre SWL / Base de datos de literatura / Wang D et al, 2017: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is safe and effective for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis.
Wang D et al, 2017: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is safe and effective for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis.
SWL Blog - The shock wave lithotripsy literature database
Peter Alken
Wang D, Bi YW, Ji JT, Xin L, Pan J, Liao Z, Du TT, Lin JH, Zhang D, Zeng XP, Ye B, Zou WB, Chen H, Xie T, Li BR, Zheng ZH, Li ZS, Hu LH.
Department of Gastroenterology, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, China.
Digestive Endoscopy Center, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Department of Gastroenterology, Air Force General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangdu Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
Background and aims: Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) is recommended as the first-line treatment for pancreatic stones. However, how well P-ESWL performs in pediatric patients remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of P-ESWL for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis.
Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis who underwent P-ESWL. Patients aged under 18 years were included in the pediatric group; patients aged over 18 years who underwent P-ESWL in the same period were assigned to the control group. For investigation of long-term follow-up, the pediatric group were matched with patients from the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcomes were P-ESWL complications and pain relief. The secondary outcomes included: stone clearance, physical and mental health, quality of life score, and growth and developmental state.
Results: From March 2011 to March 2015, P-ESWL was performed in 1135 patients (72 in the pediatric group, 1063 in the control group). No significant differences were observed in the occurrence of P-ESWL complications between the two groups (11.1 % vs. 12.8 %; P = 0.68). Among the 67 pediatric patients (93.1 %) who underwent follow-up for 3.0 years (range 1.3 - 5.2), complete pain relief was achieved in 52 patients (52 /67; 77.6 %); this value was not significantly different from that of the matched controls (55 /69; 79.7 %; P = 0.94).
Conclusions: P-ESWL is safe and effective for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis. It can promote significant pain relief and stone clearance, and can benefit growth and development.
Endoscopy. 2017 May;49(5):447-455. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-104527. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
Peter Alken en Miércoles, 22 Noviembre 2017 09:07
This is a report on the safety and efficacy of ESWL done in intravenous sedation analgesia in a rare disease. It is interesting to read the details of this well done study, to see the differences of gastroenterological and urological treatment and to think how each faculty could learn from the other how to handle a stone problem: "The incidence of chronic pancreatitis in children is approximately 0.5 per 100 000 per year. … Pancreatic stones are present in … 12%– 69.7% of pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis." While "Treatment of pancreatic stones in adults is standardized, with guidelines available … a consensus regarding the treatment strategy for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis is not available." In this series "The age of the pediatric patients who underwent P-ESWL was 15.2 ± 2.2 years (range 8.0 – 18.0 years)."
"For each individual patient, the P-ESWL session was repeated on consecutive days until the stone was fragmented to ≤ 3 mm in diameter. No more than 5000 shocks at an intensity of 6 (16 000 kV) on a scale of 1 – 6, at a frequency of 120 shocks/min were delivered during each therapeutic session. The duration of each session was 60– 90 minutes. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was routinely performed 48 hours after the last P-ESWL"
"During the ERCP performed post-ESWL, complete clearance of the stones was achieved in 86.1% of the patients in the pediatric group (62 /72) and 94.4% in the matched controls (68 /72; P = 0.07)." "In the pediatric group, eight complications of P-ESWL occurred in eight patients (8 /72; 11.1%), with five of these patients presenting with mild post-ESWL pancreatitis (PEP), two presenting with moderate PEP, and one presenting with mild steinstrasse."
Among the secondary outcomes of this study the statistically significant reduction of the mean number of days absent from school from 40.0(4.0 – 334.0) to 0.0 (0.0 – 120.0) days is even more impressive than the pain reduction.
Because of the quality of the study on this "orphan disease" this is my second reviewer's choice and the first one on a gastroenterological publication
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This is a report on the safety and efficacy of ESWL done in intravenous sedation analgesia in a rare disease. It is interesting to read the details of this well done study, to see the differences of gastroenterological and urological treatment and to think how each faculty could learn from the other how to handle a stone problem: "The incidence of chronic pancreatitis in children is approximately 0.5 per 100 000 per year. … Pancreatic stones are present in … 12%– 69.7% of pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis." While "Treatment of pancreatic stones in adults is standardized, with guidelines available … a consensus regarding the treatment strategy for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis is not available." In this series "The age of the pediatric patients who underwent P-ESWL was 15.2 ± 2.2 years (range 8.0 – 18.0 years)." "For each individual patient, the P-ESWL session was repeated on consecutive days until the stone was fragmented to ≤ 3 mm in diameter. No more than 5000 shocks at an intensity of 6 (16 000 kV) on a scale of 1 – 6, at a frequency of 120 shocks/min were delivered during each therapeutic session. The duration of each session was 60– 90 minutes. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was routinely performed 48 hours after the last P-ESWL" "During the ERCP performed post-ESWL, complete clearance of the stones was achieved in 86.1% of the patients in the pediatric group (62 /72) and 94.4% in the matched controls (68 /72; P = 0.07)." "In the pediatric group, eight complications of P-ESWL occurred in eight patients (8 /72; 11.1%), with five of these patients presenting with mild post-ESWL pancreatitis (PEP), two presenting with moderate PEP, and one presenting with mild steinstrasse." Among the secondary outcomes of this study the statistically significant reduction of the mean number of days absent from school from 40.0(4.0 – 334.0) to 0.0 (0.0 – 120.0) days is even more impressive than the pain reduction. Because of the quality of the study on this "orphan disease" this is my second reviewer's choice and the first one on a gastroenterological publication
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text:
Larry Summers: Goldman Sacked
for Reader Supported News
Joseph Stiglitz couldn't believe his ears. Here they were in the White House, with President Bill Clinton asking the chiefs of the US Treasury for guidance on the life and death of America's economy, when the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers turns to his boss, Secretary Robert Rubin, and says, "What would Goldman think of that?"
Then, at another meeting, Summers said it again: What would Goldman think? A shocked Stiglitz, then Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, told me he'd turned to Summers, and asked if Summers thought it appropriate to decide US economic policy based on "what Goldman thought." As opposed to say, the facts, or say, the needs of the American public, you know, all that stuff that we heard in Cabinet meetings on The West Wing.
Summers looked at Stiglitz like Stiglitz was some kind of naive fool who'd read too many civics books.
R.I.P. Larry Summers
On Sunday afternoon, facing a revolt by his own party's senators, Obama dumped Larry as likely replacement for Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
Until news came that Summers' torch had been snuffed, I was going to write another column about Larry, the Typhoid Mary of Economics. (My first, in The Guardian, 15 years ago, warned that "Summers is, in fact, a colony of aliens sent to Earth to turn humans into a cheap source of protein.")
But the fact that Obama even tried to shove Summers down the planet's throat tells us more about Obama than Summers—and whom Obama works for. Hint: You aren't one of them.
All these Cabinet discussions back in the 1990s requiring the blessing of Goldman Sachs revolved around the Rubin-Summers idea of ending regulation of the US banking system. To free the US economy, Summers argued, all you'd have to do is allow commercial banks to bet government-guaranteed savings on new "derivatives products," let banks sell high-risk sub-prime mortgage securities and cut their reserves against losses.
Stiglitz, who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, tried to tell them exactly what would go wrong. But when he tried, he was replaced and exiled.
Summers did more than ask Rubin to channel the spirit of Goldman: Summers secretly called and met with Goldman's new CEO at the time, Jon Corzine, to plan out the planet's financial deregulation. I'm not guessing: I have the confidential memo to Summers reminding him to call Corzine.
[For the complete story of that memo and a copy of it, read "The Confidential Memo at the Heart of the Global Financial Crisis".]
Summers, as Treasury official, can call any banker he damn well pleases. But not secretly. And absolutely not to scheme over details of policies that could make a bank billions. And Goldman did make billions on those plans.
Example: Goldman and clients pocketed $4 billion on the collapse of "synthetic collateralized debt obligations"—flim-flam feathers sold to suckers and dimwits i.e. the bankers at RBS. (See Did Fabrice Tourre Really Create The Global Financial Crisis?)
Goldman also cashed in big on the implosion of Greece's debt via secret derivatives trades permitted by Summers' decriminalization of such cross-border financial gaming.
The collapse of the euro-zone and the US mortgage market caused by Bankers Gone Wild was made possible only by Treasury Secretary Summers lobbying for the Commodities Futures Modernization Act which banned regulators from controlling the 100,000% increase in derivatives assets, especially super-risky "naked" credit-default swaps.
The CMFA was the financial equivalent of a fire department banning smoke alarms.
Summers took over the Treasury's reins from Rubin who'd left to become director of a strange new financial behemoth: The combine of Citibank with and an investment bank, Travelers. The new bank beast went bankrupt and required $50 billion in bail-out funds. (Goldman did not require any bail-out funds–but took $10 billion anyway.)
Other banks-turned-casinos followed Citi into insolvency. Most got bail-outs … and got Larry Summers–or, at least, Larry's lips for "consulting" or for gold-plated speaking gigs.
Derivatives trader D.E. Shaw paid Summers $5 million for a couple of years of "part-time" work. This added to payments from Citigroup, Goldman and other finance houses, raising the net worth of this once penurious professor to more than $31 million.
Foreclosure fills the Golden Sacks
When Summers left Treasury in 2000, The New York Times reports that a grateful Rubin got Summers the post of President of Harvard University—from which Summers was fired. He gambled away over half a billion dollars of the university's endowment on those crazy derivatives he'd legalized. (Given Summers' almost pathological inability to understand finance, it was most odd that, while President of the university, he suggested that humans with vaginas aren't very good with numbers.)
In 2009, Summers, Daddy of the Deregulation Disaster, returned to the Cabinet in triumph. Barack Obama crowned him "Economics Tsar," allowing Summers to run the Treasury without having to be questioned by Congress in a formal confirmation hearing.
As Economics Tsar in Obama's first term, did Summers redeem himself?
Not a chance.
In 2008, both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain called for using the $300 billion remaining in the "bail-out' fund for a foreclosure-blocking program identical to the one Franklin Roosevelt had used to pull the US out of the Great Depression. But Tsar Larry would have none of it, although banks had been given $400 billion from the same fund.
Indeed, on the advice of Summers and his wee assistant, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Obama spent only $7 billon of the $300 billion available to save US homeowners.
What would Goldman think?
As noted, Goldman and clients pocketed billions as a result of Obama's abandonment of 3.9 million families whose homes were repossessed during his first term. While American homeowners were drowning, Tsar Summers torpedoed their lifeboat: a plan to prevent foreclosures by forcing banks to write-off the overcharges in predatory sub-prime mortgages. Notably, Summers' action (and Obama's inaction) saved Citibank billions.
Loan Shark Larry
The deregulation disaster machinery is not done with mangling Americans. While not-for-profit credit unions, lenders of last resort for working people and the poor in the US, have been under legal and political attack, a new kind of banking operation has bubbled out of the minds of the grifters looking for a way to make loan-sharking legit.
One new outfit, for example, called "Lending Club," has figured out a way to collect fees for arranging loans charging as much as 29%. Lending Club claims it cannot and should not be regulated by the Federal Reserve or other banking police. The recent addition to its Board of Directors: Larry Summers.
If you want to know why Obama would choose such a grifter and gamer to head the Fed, you have to ask, Who picked Obama? Ten years ago, Barry Obama was a nothing, a State Senator from the South Side of Chicago.
But then, he got lucky. A local bank, Superior, was shut down by regulators for mortgage shenanigans ripping off Black folk. The bank's Chairwoman, Penny Pritzker was so angry at regulators, she decided to eliminate them: and that required a new President.
The billionaires connected Obama to Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan, but most importantly to Robert Rubin, former Treasury Secretary, but most important, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and mentor of Larry Summers. Without Rubin's blessing and overwhelming fundraising power, Obama would still be arguing over zoning on Halsted Street.
Rubin picked Obama and Obama picks whom Rubin picks for him.
Because, in the end, Obama knows he must choose a Fed chief based on the answer to one question: What would Goldman think?
Special thanks to expert Lori Wallach of Public Citizen without whom our investigation could not have begun.
For the complete story of the investigation of Larry Summers, the "End Game" memo and the finance crisis, see Palast's highly acclaimed book Vultures' Picnic.
Get a signed hardbound copy and support our work with a tax-deductible contribution of $50.
Also visit the Palast Investigative Fund's store or simply make a tax-deductible contribution to keep our work alive!
Greg Palast is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Armed Madhouse.
Subscribe to Palast's Newsletter and podcasts.
Follow Palast on Facebook and Twitter.
www.GregPalast.com
and the Secret "End-Game" Memo


text:
Displaying items by tag: PCCW Global
PCCW Global makes Console Connect IoT SIM available to Spanish telco
Written on Wednesday, 12 August 2020 10:41
PCCW Global has signed a collaboration agreement with Spanish technology company Nayar Systems that will provide the European technology specialist with access to a global telecommunications network and fabric, with coverage of over 120 countries using PCCW Global's Console Connect IoT SIM connectivity.
Nayar Systems is a major industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology developer serving the global elevator industry, and the collaboration will enable it to significantly reduce the time and cost associated with deploying the telecommunications services most required by modern high-tech elevator systems.
In addition to its IoT relationships in the elevator industry, PCCW Global's growing portfolio of IoT vertical markets already include the media, logistics, aviation and transportation industries.
PCCW Global will provide Nayar Systems with Console Connect IoT single SIM technology, which delivers a global fabric of connectivity and enables Nayar Systems to offer a complete IoT solution to their clients worldwide.
Through the Console Connect IoT management portal, Nayar Systems has the ability to activate, monitor, and manage any number of IoT SIMs remotely in over 120 countries where the company has presence, enabling immediate 4G connectivity for the telemetry, safety and remote control functions of its elevators.
Incorporating single SIM IoT technology into the elevator production process will result in a significant reduction in time and costs related to provisioning for telecommunications services at the point of production.
Nayar Systems' customers and end-users will benefit from simplified installation and the deployment of reliable elevator communications using single IoT SIM technology over extensive worldwide mobile partner networks, supported by PCCW Global's high-speed, robust and secure international IPX infrastructure.
In addition to supporting both single SIM and eSIM technology across a global infrastructure, PCCW Global's Console Connect IoT connectivity service offering includes an intuitive self-service portal, 24x7 international NOC monitoring and multilingual service hotline, fully private on-demand connectivity to clouds and data centres, Software Defined Network (SDN) orchestration, and support for a universal API facilitating connectivity monitoring and management.
Craig Price, Senior Vice President, Mobility Product and Marketing, PCCW Global, said, "We are proud to be powering Nayar System's IoT solution, and we look forward to assisting to deliver this integrated IoT solution to the international market. It is exciting to be the enabler of such an innovative service, which will deliver real benefits to Nayar Systems' end-users."
José Luis Sanchis, CMO, Nayar Systems, said, "The collaboration will allow us to expand the business footprint around the globe and provide after-sales service in real-time to our clients. All problems related to elevator telecommunication connectivity are solved as the manufacturer controls the condition of the lift remotely at all times, without the installer having to deal with the problem of obtaining telecommunications connectivity from a local supplier."
Published in Reports
Telecom Review virtual panel discusses instrumental role of wholesale industry in navigating the crisis
Written on Wednesday, 22 July 2020 13:28
Telecom Review, the leading global telecoms news platform, held a virtual panel on 21 July, attended by 346 participants, to discuss the latest and most pressing issues in the wholesale and capacity space. Telecom Review mobilized an impressively unique panel with representatives from Etisalat, MTN GlobalConnect, PCCW Global, Tata Communications, SES, Orange and GBI.
Following the success of its previous virtual events, the panel titled, 'Capacity and data traffic: Enabling a seamless experience', was held at 16:00 UAE time on July 21st.
The session was moderated by Founder of Telecom Review and CEO of Trace Media, Toni Eid, and the panelists included: Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer at Etisalat; Frederic Schepens, CEO of MTN GlobalConnect; Marc Halbfinger, CEO of PCCW Global; Vaneet Mehta, AVP & Region Head- MECAA at Tata Communications; Elias Zaccack, EVP of Global Sales at SES; Cengiz Oztelcan, CEO of GBI and Emmanual Rochas, CEO, International Carriers at Orange.
The globally renowned panelists discussed the management of the sheer amount of data which was generated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of the cloud in ensuring a seamless remote experience and the challenges that COVID-19 posed to the wholesale industry.
Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer at Etisalat, said, "Organizations were less concerned about security and remote working because of cloud readiness. Everyone has to be cloud equipped and this showed during the pandemic. This was really quite important that people could connect from anywhere and from any device."
Frederic Schepens, CEO of MTN GlobalConnect, stated, "When COVID-19 hit our operations, we already had more backups and strengthened networks. In certain markets, we saw 30-35% growth. Voice also increased because people were calling each other to make sure everyone was OK. As an industry, we can do a lot of good to make sure we support all these changes with a reliable, robust infrastructure and also ensure that we facilitate the digitization process."
Marc Halbfinger, CEO of PCCW Global, said, "The one thing that I'm certain of as a result of COVID-19 is that I'm not certain of anything. The situation has made forecasting an art form. We need to consider as many possibilities as may exist. We don't know when this issue will be resolved or how governments will deal with it. COVID-19 has demonstrated that anything that is driving new age automation is necessary."
On the business Impact of COVID 19, Vaneet Mehta, Region Head, Tata Communications, mentioned, "In terms of wholesale segment, we had growth in data traffic, on account of OTT content consumption. But the enterprise segment saw decision making getting delayed."
Vaneet, was still bullish on the enterprise segment, in markets like Saudi Arabia, UAE and certain select countries of Africa. He also touched upon the recent news of the recent Tata Communications local telecom license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Elias Zaccack, EVP of Global Sales at SES, said, "Without dismissing the severity of COVID-19, we are seeing is a lot of opportunities. One of those opportunities is digitization. A lot of countries are moving a lot faster to digitization. What we have realized is just how essential satellites are to the global infrastructure."
"For many years we've been talking about digitalization, we also learnt that most governments are nowhere near being digital especially during the lockdown. We suffered a lot of time wastage in terms of organizing basic processes. Also, security is currently in the back burner because people are just trying to be connected. It's a good time for us to think about this, but the market will demand better security eventually," commented Cengiz Oztelcan, CEO of GBI.
Emmanual Rochas, CEO, International Carriers at Orange, said, "This crisis has been dramatic in terms of human impact. It also had a massive impact on our international wholesale business. We have experienced a very strong shift in usage in terms of our businesses. Our networks have either been emptied or overloaded. We have seen an increase in domestic voice whilst international voice suffered. We had a very strong increase in public networks due to increase in consumption of entertainment."
Published in Infrastructure
PCCW Global's Console Connect extends its reach to the US
Written on Tuesday, 22 January 2019 06:54
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and data center and cloud specialist TierPoint announced a collaboration to offer US-based enterprises the world's first global software-defined interconnection platform using TierPoint's infrastructure, with access to PCCW Global's Console Connect.
As enterprises migrate critical applications and content to the cloud, they are discovering that the public internet was not designed or built with business connectivity in mind, especially when it comes to reliable performance, predictability and security. PCCW Global's Console Connect answers these business challenges by delivering an affordable platform that makes connections to cloud-based applications, partners and client IT infrastructure simple, easily managed, predictable and secure, with seamless access to the world's major cloud hosting services, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud and Yunify.
Console Connect will initially be available at TierPoint facilities in Andover, MA, Bethlehem, PA, and Durham, NC, enabling enhanced performance, visibility, monitoring and security. TierPoint's data center tenants will also gain additional benefit from having access to the digital innovation capabilities delivered via fast and secure direct connectivity provided by PCCW Global's Tier 1 IP network, which spans more than 150 countries worldwide.
TierPoint's customers will have an opportunity to easily provision on-demand direct access to their business-critical applications. Console Connect is also able to connect all points in a network with simple-to-use automation software that eliminates the complexity of network configuration while simultaneously reducing cost. Furthermore, the platform brings enterprises and cloud providers from around the world together by building a networking community, created by network engineers for network engineers, with the goal of improving communication and collaboration toward delivering improved data services.
Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer, PCCW Global, said, "The various Console Connect points of presence in TierPoint's data centers will deliver simple and dynamic access to applications by pairing network and cloud more easily."
Chief Revenue Officer at TierPoint, Tony Rossabi, commented, "A growing number of companies are seeking more reliable and secure alternatives to the public Internet for cloud connectivity. This new collaboration with PCCW Global helps address that need, further expanding the options available to clients in our leading, edge-capable facilities."
Published in Enterprise Cloud Computing
JUPITER cable system connecting Asia to US scheduled for 2020 launch
Written on Sunday, 05 November 2017 12:17
PLDT, NTT Communications, PCCW Global, SoftBank, Facebook and Amazon have selected TE SubCom to install a high-capacity transpacific cable system scheduled to launch in 2020. TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. Company, is an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology.
"The demand for bandwidth in the Pacific region continues to grow at a remarkable rate, and is accompanied by the rise of capacity-dependent applications like live video, augmented and virtual reality, and 4k/8k video," said Koji Ishii of SoftBank, co-chairperson of JUPITER consortium.
The JUPITER cable system will connect the following locations: Maruyama, Japan; Shima, Japan; Los Angeles, California; and Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines. The new transpacific route will provide greater diversity of connections and enhanced reliability for customers, as well as optimal connectivity to data centers on the West Coast of the United States.
"JUPITER will provide the necessary diversity of connections and the highest capacity available to meet the needs of the evolving marketplace," Ishii added. "TE SubCom has a proven record of success in the design and implementation of innovative, scalable and robust transoceanic cable systems, making the company the most reliable choice for the JUPITER supply partner."
Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom, said submarine cables continue to have a critical impact on the global economy, as well as cultural, educational and medical advancement around the world.
"It is our privilege to help facilitate the growth of global connectivity and provide reliable, high-capacity and low-latency transmission to regions where bandwidth is at a premium," Chowbey said. "We look forward to the next phases of what will be a high quality and industry leading system implementation."
PCCW Global launches Online Cloud Connect to Microsoft Azure
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, has launched the Online Cloud Connect service providing connectivity to Microsoft Azure.
This is an innovative Network-as-a-Service product that extends a customer's MPLS network service to both Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Office 365, benefiting them by providing a service which is insulated from the public Internet with improved and predictable performance and vastly reduced latency.
The Online Cloud Connect service leverages the capabilities of PCCW Global's Software Defined Network (SDN) and is an evolution beyond traditional and existing cloud connect services in the market. Enterprises and institutions gain flexibility, scalability, reliable performance and control over their connectivity to the cloud to fit their requirements at any given time.
Mr. Jordick Wong, Senior Vice President, Product and Vendor Management, PCCW Global, said, "Through an intuitive, easy to manage online service portal, our MPLS customers can now establish their own private connection to Microsoft Azure very easily and conveniently."
Wong added, "The service portal offers online ordering and automatic provisioning together with flexible subscription packages starting from as little as a one-hour timeslot. Customers can subscribe to the bandwidth they require from a range of 50 to 1000 Mbps at the point of demand, and pay as they go without any human interaction being required."
The Online Cloud Connect service is in the process of further extending its online ordering and automatic provisioning capabilities to include other major public cloud service providers.
STC's Q3 net income up 18.2% to reach SAR 7.5bn
Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Saudi Arabia's largest telecom company, announced the company's interim financial results for the period ending at 30 September 2017. The group's net income for the 3rd quarter of 2017 increased 18.2 percent compared to the comparable quarter last year, and for the 9 months period of 2017, net income reached SR 7.5 billion, an increase of 10.4 percent compared to the comparable period last year.
The company's operating profit for the 3rd quarter increased 23 percent compared to comparable quarter last year, while earnings per share for the 9 months period of 2017 grew to reach SR 3.76 compared to SR 3.41 for the comparable period last year.
STC CEO, Dr. Khalid Biyari, said the results reflect growth in enterprise and wholesale sectors which achieved revenue despite a decline in consumer revenue during the period. The results were also achieved, he said, despite various economic and regulatory conditions in the domestic market.
STC adopted a strategy years ago to focus on diversifying sources and introducing innovative programs to achieve operational efficiency. Therefore, net income for the 3rd quarter increased 18.2 percent compared to the comparable period last year, and for the 9 months period of 2017 net income increased 10.4 percent compared to the comparable period last year.
Dr. Biyari said that STC, through its various subsidiaries, works "hard and steadily side by side with public and private sector in the Kingdom to establish a contemporary environment for the digital transformation in Saudi Arabia and to establish a modern environment that contributes to the spread of the digital environment."
STC's growth strategy adopted recently seeks to achieve the kingdom's Vision 2030 and the NTP 2020 which means entering into major transformation. The telecom sector, said Dr. Biyari, is seeking new opportunities outside of traditional services. The transformation will provide STC with new opportunities outside its core business, and thus its market capitalization will rapidly increase.
"As an example of a new era for Sales and Distribution, (STC channels) was re-launched recently with an innovative digital vision and new spirit as an important selling and distribution arm of the group, which is an important part of the transition to digital channels in the service of our clients and providing innovative new services," Dr. Biyari said. "This will be followed by successive steps in the near future that will bring us closer to our objectives in meeting the customers' needs and achieve attractive returns for the investors."
In accordance with the approved dividend policy for three years starting from the 4th quarter 2015 which was announced on 11 November 2015, and have been ratified during the General Assembly Meeting on April 4th 2016, STC will distribute a total of SR 2,000 million in cash dividend for Q3 2017, representing SR 1 per share.
PCCW Global to collaborate with Canonical and CPLANE NETWORKS to create new cloud services
Written on Sunday, 21 May 2017 06:26
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, is collaborating with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, the leading OS for container, cloud, scale-out and hyperscale computing, and CPLANE NETWORKS, the leader in multi-site OpenStack cloud orchestration, to create new cloud services for its customers.
Implementation at PCCW Global's two next generation data centers in Reston, VA, US and Hong Kong is currently underway, with plans to expand to other strategic cities around the world over time. Cloud services provided in these centers are designed to enable "self-service" provisioning to accelerate service deployment for customers as well as seamless integration with and easy consumption of existing PCCW Global integrated communications solutions.
Mr. Bret Rehart, Chief Network and Information Officer of PCCW Global, said: "As applications continue to move closer to the network edge, the demands for workload agility and mobility are becoming increasingly important for our customers. Customers have needs for new applications for NFV and Internet of Things (IoT) and want them faster, at the right location, and tailored to their specific needs."
"Our aim is to provide dynamic network and cloud based services that not only automatically flex in response to our customers' policies and service level commitments, but also self-adjust based on rapidly changing network conditions. The approach we have taken, working with Canonical and CPLANE NETWORKS, will enable us to deliver a level of performance, scalability and automation that would otherwise be unachievable with traditional service configuration solutions."
The delivery of additional value-added services such as security, video or application suites can be easily added on-demand as well as integrated with connectivity to public clouds and other infrastructure to create enhanced, enterprise-level services, a truly hybrid private to public cloud offering.
Using Ubuntu OpenStack and CPLANE's Multi-Site Manager, Canonical and CPLANE NETWORKS will deliver unmatched performance and scalability for a truly global OpenStack cloud.
Canonical's Juju Charms will also extend the Canonical / CPLANE OpenStack solution by providing an automated mechanism to deploy base OpenStack cloud services, and enables a full ecosystem of value-added services for enterprise and edge applications, NFV and IoT enablement.
Mr. Brandon Williams, Chief Executive Officer of CPLANE NETWORKS, said: "The two great market forces of today, the proliferation of mobile / IoT devices and the conquering wave of public clouds, are growing at a phenomenal rate. But they are growing apart; the first is becoming more distributed and fragmented while the latter is becoming cheaper and more centralized. Canonical and CPLANE NETWORKS have bridged this gap with a hyper-distributed cloud solution for service providers. PCCW Global will be the first to market with an edge-cloud offering for the applications that will power this new frontier."
Mr. Anand Krishnan, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Cloud, Canonical, said: "Canonical in partnership with CPLANE NETWORKS is enabling PCCW Global to deliver new cloud services. These services will be supplied to the edge of the network, meeting customer's growing need for services at scale and speed with the economic benefit of an automated OpenStack deployment. Using Ubuntu OpenStack, the most widely deployed OpenStack in production clouds today, and CPLANE NETWORKS' Multi-Site Manager, Canonical and CPLANE NETWORKS are delivering unmatched performance and scalability for a truly global OpenStack cloud."
PCCW Global, Caton Technology to deliver Taiwan's 29th Summer Universiade to viewers
Written on Thursday, 04 May 2017 12:14
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and Caton Technology Corp. (Caton), a technology provider of advanced video transmission and managed file transfer solutions, will work together to deliver to international viewers the exciting 29th Summer Universiade, a global student sporting and cultural event to be hosted by Taipei, Taiwan in August.
Licenced broadcasters at the games will be able to contribute and distribute their live videos and big media files seamlessly from the International Broadcasting Center back to their home countries via the integrated delivery solution provided by this collaboration.
PCCW Global and Caton will jointly deliver new, innovative, cost-effective, and reliable services that redefine the workflow for global media contributions and distributions. PCCW Global will integrate Caton's professional video transmission and managed file transfer solutions using Caton's Real-Time Transport Protocol (R2TP*) and Fast Files Transfer Protocol (F2TP*) technologies, into PCCW Global's reliable Global Television Network (GTVN) and Global Internet Access (GIA) networks.
These innovative technologies and service solutions will be installed and utilized at the 2017 Summer Universiade, a major international event staged every two years. Second only to the Olympic Games in significance and prestige, the Universiade covers 12 days of sporting competition, allowing university student-athletes from all over the world to celebrate with the host city in a true spirit of friendship and sportsmanship. This year's competition will involve a total of 22 sports and 270 gold medal events. More than 150 countries are expected to participate in the Summer Universiade, confirming its status as a major media event with global connections.
Mr. Jordick Wong, Senior Vice President, Product and Vendor Management, PCCW Global, said, "We are extremely excited about our collaboration with Caton, which gives us another opportunity to serve international broadcasters with our robust global fiber infrastructure which delivers 99.999% service availability to our customers. By integrating Caton's R2TP and F2TP technologies with our GTVN and Tier 1 GIA network, we are able to provide services with a perfect balance of cost, quality, reliability, and lead-time for live video signal and large media file delivery over the Internet."
Mr. Eric Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer, Caton Technology Corp., said, "In 2011, Caton foresaw the need for dramatic improvements in how we support the surging demand of video on the Internet. We developed R2TP and F2TP technologies to enable more flexible, stable and reliable transmission even under the most demanding conditions. Now, building on our long standing partnership with PCCW Global, our combined solution will provide additional capacity, reliability and security to the global market."
These integrated solutions are now available from PCCW Global and ready to service world class sports events, such as the Universiade, other live events, and worldwide media content contributions and distributions.
Published in Telecom Operators
PCCW Global and Ideal Systems collaborated for world's first live 360 virtual reality broadcast
Written on Tuesday, 25 April 2017 05:43
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and Ideal Systems, Asia's largest broadcast and media systems integrator, have successfully delivered the world's first live 360° and 3D multi-camera coverage of the 2017 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens with the support of Now TV, the official host broadcaster of the event, providing viewers with a totally immersive virtual reality (VR) viewing experience.
PCCW Global's expertise in live mega event management and new media technology delivery, together with Ideal Systems' broadcast solutions and virtual reality expertise, enabled the team to deliver this complex solution in less than six weeks from project initiation.
The collaboration involved Ideal Systems delivering the content acquisition using a number of pitch-side Nokia OZO 360° cameras. These cameras provided a UHD IP signal which was delivered over HKT fiber to Nokia servers in the control room, to facilitate live stitching from each of the cameras' eight 2K lenses to create multiple stitched 3D UHD streams.
These 360° audio and video streams were switched and passed through to the Harmonic Electra VS encoders for delivery to the PCCW Global media delivery network. Six streams were routed from the stadium for live distribution by Now TV to consumers' mobile devices, PCs and VR headsets, including Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Zeiss VR One Plus and Google Cardboard via YouTube 360.
The challenges of real-time live VR streaming compared to traditional TV revolve around the complexity of dealing with data rates which are significantly larger and more demanding on the delivery networks - with close to 6Gbps of uncompressed video coming from each OZO Live Server. By way of comparison, reports from Broadband Forum suggest that even basic VR video requires 17 times the bandwidth of normal HD video.
From Ideal Systems' side, the project involved its live production teams for the on-site set up and live "stitching and switching" production. It also involved Ideal Systems' software development department, which developed and published the downloadable apps utilizing the Nokia OZO API for the VR headsets and provided onsite network security and publishing platforms.
Mr. Mike van den Bergh, Chief Marketing Officer of PCCW Global, said, "This world's first delivery of a complete source-to-screen solution for immersive 360 VR viewing was one of the most exciting projects our team has been involved in, because while it truly showcased our innovation and media delivery capabilities, it also tested our abilities fully, leveraging as it did both our extensive experience in delivering mega sports events, and our ability to successfully put such a complex solution together in a very short space of time."
Mr. Jim Butler, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Systems Group, said, "We are very excited to be on the bleeding edge of this next wave of broadcast innovation and are honored to have been chosen as the 360 VR partner by PCCW Global. We had no play book to go by and are writing the rules as we go. It is a bit daunting to be first, especially with an event of this magnitude and duration. We are delighted that it has been such a successful project for us and PCCW Global and ultimately Now TV's viewers."
Published in Internet of Things
PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres' brand new International Carrier Exchange (ICX) forges faster interconnects for businesses in Hong Kong
Written on Sunday, 09 April 2017 07:27
PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres Holding Pte Ltd (Keppel Data Centres) have launched the PCCW Global-Keppel International Carrier Exchange (ICX) in the international telecommunications hub of Hong Kong to provide faster interconnects for businesses.
PCCW Global is the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, while Keppel Data Centres is a joint venture between Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd (Keppel T&T) and Keppel Land Limited.
The PCCW Global-Keppel ICX is based on robust design requirements and features more than 7,800 square feet of dedicated network facility management space with redundant power configuration.
The ICX is located at the same building of the AAE-1 city Point of Presence (PoP) and connected to the submarine cable landing stations of Hong Kong and other hyper scale data centers via an extensive fiber network supplied by HKT. The optimal and secure global network connectivity meeting point makes it a preferred choice for companies looking to establish network edge PoP.
PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres entered into the long-term collaboration agreement for the development of the ICX in 2016. The collaboration seeks to utilize the vast submarine cable capacity in the region to provide fast, quality interconnections with Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.
Leveraging PCCW Global's extensive global network connectivity and Keppel Data Centres' technical expertise and operational track record, the ICX venture aims to address the demand for access performance and network security arising from cloud services, big data, and rich media in business critical applications.
Mr. Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global, said, "We are very pleased to see the exciting ICX opening which highlights our very positive relationship with Keppel T&T. Our customers and carrier partners now have more low-latency Hong Kong Island choice in accessing digital solutions for responding to the increasing cloud adoption in the region."
Mr. Thomas Pang, Chief Executive Officer of Keppel T&T, said, "The ICX marks Keppel T&T's first step into the Hong Kong data center market and brings together the best that PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres have to offer under one roof. Customers in our ICX will enjoy connectivity to the city PoP of the AAE-1 cable as well as the global network of data centres from both companies."


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Home / Sufism / Ibn 'Arabi / Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn' Arabi
Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn' Arabi
Author: Michel Chodkiewicz
Translator: Liadain Sherrard
Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn' Arabi quantity
Founded on a careful analysis of the relevant texts, Chodkiewicz's work examines this essential aspect of Ibn Arabi's doctrine of sainthood, defining the nature and function of sainthood, while also specifying the criteria for a typology of saints based on the notion of prophetic inheritance.
'An extraordinarily good book about an extremely difficult thinker…Chodkiewicz not only knows the texts remarkably well, but also avoids and rejects certain errors of perspective common among other scholars.'
– TLS
Categories: Ibn 'Arabi, Sufism
For a saint, to be the heir of one of the prophets is always to be the heir of Muhammad. Indeed, 'the prophets were his deputies in the created world when he [i.e. Muhammad] was pure spirit, aware of being so, prior to the appearance of his body or flesh. When he was asked, 'When were you a prophet?', he replied, 'I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay', meaning: when Adam had not yet come into existence. And this was so until the appearance of his most pure body. At that moment the authority of his deputies came to an end … the authority, that is to say, of the other messengers and prophets.' As we will see later, other texts by Ibn Arabi define more clearly the nature and function of this primordial Muhammadan Reality (haqiqa muhammadiyya), of which every prophet since Adam, the first prophet, is but a partial refraction at a particular moment of human history.
What is the real meaning of the word haqiqa, which we have translated as 'Reality'? According to the Lisan al-arab, it signifies the true meaning of a thing as opposed to its metaphorical meaning (majazi); it also signifies the 'heart' of a thing or matter, its true nature, its essence, and thus the inviolable inmost self of a being, its hurma. The concept of a Muhammadan reality which is not only fully constituted and active before the appearance in this world of the person named Muhammad, but is also situated prior to history, has been the subject of heated debate in Islam. Ibn Taymiyya and several other writers, in accordance with their usual practice, attempted to prove its innovative and aberrant nature (bid'a) by challenging the main scriptural reference for it, which is the hadith quoted above where Muhammad says, 'I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay'. For the Hanbalite polemicist, this hadith is a forgery and the only permissible version of it is the one quoted by Ibn Hanbal and Tirmidhi, where the Prophet apparently says, 'I was a prophet when Adam was between spirit and flesh' (bayna'l-ruh wa'l-jasad). Without stressing the fact that the differences in phraseology between these two concurrently existing forms of the same statement seem to us, ultimately, to be minor, we should point out that the criteria by which traditionists judge the authenticity of a hadith are purely external and have reference essentially to the reliability of the chain of transmission. Yet Ibn Arabi, who, even when an old man, never ceased to study the hadith in the usual ways and knew everything there was to know about the traditions, says on several occasions that an 'unveiling' (kashf) is the only sure way of judging the validity of a particular remark attributed to the Prophet, and in so saying he challenges the doctrinal authority of the doctors of the Law.
On the other hand, even though the phrase haqiqa muhammadiyya made its appearance late and in this sense is indeed a bid'a or innovation, the concept that it represents in abstract terms is one of the most traditional in Islam, where it is clearly symbolized as the 'Muhammadan light' (nur muhammadi, nur Muhammad). Moreover, the association of the Prophet with a symbolism of light is not, in Islamic terms, a human invention, but is based on the actual words of God. In the Qur'an (33:46), Muhammad is called 'a torch which illumines' (sirajan muniran); another verse (5:15) says that 'a light has come to you from God', which is interpreted by the commentators as a reference to the Prophet. For Muslims, this 'light' is not simply a metaphor. Ibn Ishaq, who was born only seventy years after the Prophet's death, reports that the Prophet's father Abdallah, just before his marriage with Amina, met a woman who tried in vain to seduce him. When he saw her again on the day after his wedding, and the Prophet had already been conceived, this same woman turned away from him, and on being asked why, said, 'The light which was upon you yesterday has left you'. Ibn Ishaq explains that his own father told him that this woman had seen between Abdallah's two eyes a radiant white mark, which disappeared when the Prophet was conceived. According to a slightly different version of this story, as related by Ibn Ishaq, the woman speaking to Abdallah was no other than the sister of Waraqa ibn Nawfal—the Christian from Mecca who, when questioned by the Prophet after the first visit of the angel Gabriel, assured him of the authenticity of the Revelation—and had been warned by her brother of the imminent coming of a prophet. What she had perceived in the face of Abdallah was the 'light of prophethood' of which he was the transmitter.
This story was taken up by later historians such as Tabari (died 310/923) and widely diffused by all the writers who wrote 'histories of the prophets'. The interpretation of it very soon introduced the explicit theme of the verus propheta, based, among other things, on a hadith quoted by Bukhari in which the Prophet, 'borne' century after century and generation upon generation (qarnan fa-qarnan), appears to be travelling through time towards the point where his physical nature becomes manifest. Is this journeying of the prophetic Seed to its final birth to be understood as taking place in the 'loins' of his ancestors, of his carnal lineage, or as a series of stopping-places in the persons of the successive bearers of the Revelation, the one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets of whom he is both the forefather and the final Seal? Ibn Abbas (died 68/687), the tarjuman al-qur'an or 'interpreter par excellence of the Qur'an', commenting on verse 26:219, seems to favour the second meaning: according to him, Muhammad goes from prophet to prophet (min nabiyyin ila nabiyyin) until the moment when God causes him to 'emerge' (akhraja) as a prophet in his turn. Ibn Sa'd, who cites this, also refers to a hadith which Tabari likewise mentions, and in which Muhammad says, 'I am the first man to have been created and the last to have been sent [i.e. as a prophet].' The truth is that both these themes are bound up with each other, for the traditional genealogy of Muhammad also includes a series of prophets, among whom are Abraham and Ishmael. However, another hadith, which is absent from the canonical collections, and in which explicit reference is made to Nur muhammadi, was destined to play a major part in the meditation on the Prophet's primordiality. It is mentioned by one of the Companions, Jabir ibn Abdallah, and runs as follows: 'O Jabir, God created the light of your Prophet out of His Light before he created things.'
'This is by far the best available explanation of the central importance of sanctity for understanding both the practical and the theoretical teachings of Sufism.'
- William Chittick
This book was originally written in French by Michel Chodkiewicz under the title Le Sceau des Saints and was published in 1986. It is the most important book on the concept of sainthood in the writings of Ibn al-'Arabi. Chodkiewicz begins the book with a brief survey of the history of Ibn al-'Arabi studies in Western scholarship and then devotes a good deal of time to discussing the idea of sainthood in Islam before Ibn al-'Arabi. Here he shows how devotion to the saints in classical Islam was not simply a manifestation of popular piety. On the contrary, it seems to have been a natural consequence of Islamic practice. Michel Chodkiewicz's depth of knowledge on the subject matter is particularly noteworthy. Bringing over forty years of knowledge of the works of Ibn al-'Arabi to this study, he draws on the many texts written by the Shaykh and presents his ideas in as coherent a fashion as possible. But he also takes into account what members of the school of Ibn al-'Arabi had to say about their masters' ideas, how thinkers in the later Islamic tradition responded to his notion of the Seal of Muhammadan Saints, as well as the severe criticisms leveled against Ibn al-'Arabi and members of his school by, for example, Ibn al-Taymiyyah. Chodkiewicz does an especially good job in this book of showing how the Haqiqah Muhammadiyyah (The Muhammadan Reality) is at once the beginning of all sainthood in Islam and the end, as it were, and how this reality is percolated throughout the generation of Prophets and Messengers sent by God. His discussion of how the cosmic hierarchy, with the Qutb, Awtad, Imams, Hawariyun etc. (who are all Afrad at the same time) are a physical "Refraction" of the Muhammadan light (Nur Muhammadi) was particularly appreciated; and especially how he was able to tie this in with the fact that the many generations of saints who belong to similar cosmic hierarchies are themselves in turn reflections of the refractions of Muhammadan light. The vast spiritual anthropology of the Sufi cosmic landscape is often overwhelming and this book certainly makes it much easier to understand the basic ideas upon which these complex hierarchies are based. At the same time, although it does seem like not enough was said about the connection between the Insan al-Kamil (the Perfect Man) and the role of the Qutb and the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood, Chodkiewicz did successfully manage to explain how it is that there could be other people after Ibn al-'Arabi who also claimed to be Seals of Sainthood without fundamentally challenging the Shaykh's exclusive claim to being the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood. Furthermore, something must be said about the replies Michel Chodkiewicz offers to several of the interpretations of Ibn al-'Arabi by the great Iranologist, Henry Corbin. Chodkiewicz seems to fundamentally disagree with any Shi'i interpretation of Ibn al-'Arabi insofar as such interpretations would make Ibn al-'Arabi out to be a Shi'i. The cause for alarm is justifiable, since it would be, in Chodkiewicz's own words, difficult to "uncover a clandestine Shi'ite in the writings of a self-confessed Sunni" (p. 5). At the same time, Corbin's work on Ibn al-'Arabi cannot be dismissed in just a few footnotes, not that this is what Chodkiewicz was trying to do. But it appears as though he could have referred to some of the instances where he does agree with Corbin, or offered some explanations as to why it is that he and Corbin are coming up with such different readings of the Shaykh al-Akbar's work. Seal of the Saints appears to be a rather un-intimidating book. But it is certainly a very "heavy" read: each of its almost two hundred pages requires the utmost attention. This is undoubtedly due to the complexity of Ibn al-'Arabi's ideas on Sainthood, but part of it also has to do with the fact that Chodkiewicz does not "waste" any of his words. Because of his range of scholarship and his gifted ability to synthesize and explain the Shaykh's ideas, one must read each page several times in order to follow his arguments. A missed point on one page may cost the reader two chapters later. Thus, while the book is a very enjoyable read, it is also quite tedious work getting through a single chapter, especially since the discussions in the footnotes for each chapter are often just as dense as the text itself. Some may feel that the absence of diagrams in the book make understanding Ibn al-'Arabi's doctrine of sainthood an even harder task. But it can be argued that this also forces readers to think about Ibn al-'Arabi's doctrine of Sainthood in non-pictorial and thus relatively unsystematic terms. And this is precisely where the "unity" in Ibn al-'Arabi's doctrine of Sainthood paradoxically lies: it is, like Wujud (Being) itself, formless and traceless, placeless and nameless.
-Mohammed Rustom, Deenport.com


Welcome to BROWNS Jobs Club!
Our Jobs Club is a free service for our students that want to take advantage of the many job opportunities that are available during their stay in Australia. There are four stages of our Jobs Club before you can go and start looking for a job.
To start with we have a series of Accelerate lessons that you can do during your self-study hour each day. Please ask the Accelerate teacher about these. For example, in pack 1, you will find 'Important information, sample resumes and cover letters' and in Pack 2, you will find information about 'how to find work and preparing for job interviews'.
network with peers and teachers to benchmark against best-practice efforts.
You should then have all the necessary knowledge to prepare for your job search.
Am I allowed to work in Australia and how many hours am I allowed to work?
Your ability to work in Australia depends on your visa type. If you are on a tourist visa you are not permitted to work. If you are on a student visa you can work up to 40 hours per fortnight, and anything more than this is illegal. If you are on a working holiday visa, you can undertake temporary employment in Australia for up to six months with any one employer. For more detailed information, you can go to the Department of Home Affairs website or login to VEVO, a website that allows eVisa holders to enquire about their immigration status and work allowance.
What are my rights as a worker in Australia?
Australian employers are generally fair and treat their employees well. Some employers may try to offer you less than the minimum wage. This is generally illegal so do not accept a job like this. Go to IMMI for more information on the exploitation of foreign workers. You can also look at the Fair Work Commission website. Do not be afraid to talk to someone if you think you are being treated unfairly. Employers cannot cancel your visa or threaten you in any way.
What types of jobs are common for foreign students in Queensland?
BROWNS students do a variety of jobs, but common jobs include working as a barista, a bartender, a waiter or waitress, a cleaner, a cook, or a nanny. Those who are on a working holiday visa often spend time picking and packing fruit and vegetables. BROWNS offers a number of courses to help you prepare for work. Speak with us to learn how the Barista@BROWNS program can help you prepare for a job in hospitality, how BROWNS can assist with organising a professional workplace internship, or how you can work as an Au Pair or Demi Pair while studying English.
How much can I earn in Australia?
How much you earn in your job will depend on many factors such as the industry you are working in, your qualifications, your experience in that field, and when and where you are working. During weekends and holidays wages are usually higher than on working days - normally your regular wage multiplied by 1.5 for weekends and by 2.5 for public holidays. This rule is not generally applicable for all employers. Many service jobs also get tips.
There is legislation in Australia which requires employers to pay a minimum wage rate paid in certain ways. You can check the minimum wage you're entitled to with Fair Work Australia, a government body, at Fair Work Minimum Wage. Fair Work Australia also includes an Ombudsman who you can report unfair work treatment to.
What tax do I pay??
In addition, if your monthly wage is more than AU$450, your employer must contribute an additional sum equal to 9% of your wage into a superannuation (pension) account for you. You will need to advise your employer of your superannuation fund, or they may be able to assist you with setting up your first one. In most cases, you can access your contributions when you leave Australia permanently, although the contributions will be taxed. To check your eligibility to claim your superannuation and to apply for your payment, visit: Australian Tax Office Superannuation.
How do I get a tax number?
Every worker in Australia needs a 9 digit Tax file Number (TFN). It is very easy to get and can be applied for online. You will need an address for this: ATO Tax File Number. This is a very important number to remember as it is your TFN for life.
What skills or qualifications do I need??
This depends on the job you are applying for. Bartenders need to complete the RSA qualification (Responsible Service of Alcohol). Baristas and sometimes waiters/waitresses require a Barista qualification. Nannies require a qualification (either cert, diploma or university degree) completed in any field relating to child-care, first aid, teaching etc. If you're working with children under 18 years old, you will also need a Blue Card license.
Most students will wait for employers to phone them when an opportunity becomes available. Be confident and practice what you are going to say to the manager before you go. It is important you are confident when seeking a job opportunity.
Where can I find samples of a good CV and cover letter?
Have your CV ready for the face to face session and the teacher can proof-read it for you.
What is an interview like in Australia?
It is very important in Australia that you show off your personality and a smile is always the easiest and most important way to greet anyone.
When you first meet someone in Australia, it is normal to shake hands strongly (lightly with women is fine).
Be polite but friendly whenever speaking to someone; don't be shy and too quiet.
You need to show that you have great conversational English skills. It is very normal to be talkative (not overly) and ask your own questions in an interview; be confident and prepared for any communication you may have while looking for work.
Further tips can be found here.
What do I need to take to an interview and what should I wear?
Take a copy of your CV and any references that you might have, although in most cases, referees are contacted by email or phone. Also, take a copy of your passport and visa.
What you wear depends on the type of position you are applying for, but in general, like most places, having a neat and tidy appearance will improve your chances of being accepted. If you are applying for a job in a hotel, then you should go in formal dress. For positions in a restaurant or bar, smart casual would be in order.
How can I open up a bank account?
Opening a bank account can be done on arrival, just visit a bank with your passport and relevant documentation. Most people manage to open up a bank account with relative ease. The biggest banks are ANZ, Commonwealth, Westpac, National and Suncorp. You just need a passport, Tax File Number (TFN), address and a copy of your visa grant. Learn more about applying for a Tax File Number.


I recently heard on the news, Water is outselling Coke Cola in the USA. Good news for them since they sell both for almost the same price. Makes no difference to them More Water, less Coke Cola. They will not be loosing any money. It is brilliant capitalism to sell us Water, just fill the container with H2O, change a few words in the Advertising and bingo, you are on your way again to even higher profits.
Its terrific, Water is no heavier than coke, so they can use the same trucks for delivery to every corner of the world! They sell water, coke but without the sugar! No need to deal with environmental control people snooping about, testing the quality of Coke Cola, they are selling Water!
Do you recognize this business format?
Coke cola is not alone, it is just one of the largest companies using the American Way, the brilliance of capitalism, free enterprise and consumerism. Pepsi has also taken up selling More Water, less Coke Cola, they call their Water Brand LIFEWTR. Yup, Life in a bottle don't we all want some! Do not be fooled, this whole More Water, less Coke Cola is designed for them not us.
Suggestions for our More Water, less Coke Cola world.
How about heavily taxing all companies who use plastic bottles. The plastic tops alone are sadly lethal for the penguin population down there in the unseen south pole. Those guys eat the tops but cannot digest them, after eating enough tops their little stomachs cannot take any more tops or fish so they starve to death. I imagine Coke Cola has been thinking about this stuff, at least I hope they have. Yet, since we are so irresponsible about all the bottles we use, maybe they think we the consumer should be the ones taxed for drinking…Water.
Why don't we pass a law demanding companies like Coke Cola to invest in the research to bring about the change. They have the money and resources to design containers for their industry to curb environment destruction. Maybe they could use their profits to create bio degradable containers and packaging for their industry. They can clean up the environment they have helped destroy!! What a concept. Manufacturing has been free to ignore any obligations to care for the natural order which they have taken so much from. Water included. God knows and they know who came up with the brilliant campaign to sell us More Water, less Coke Cola.
Does Cola Cola own part of Tibet ?
Ice caps are full of pristine water, or shall I say, whats left of them. Ironically the carbon foot print for the transport and manufacturing of products with business plans like Coke Cola and now Water contribute a considerable amount to global warming and general pollution in the world. It is a fact. These huge companies work all night, 365 days a year manufacturing plastic containers, we have an environment which has also been working all night to repair itself because of them.
Think about opening your tap at home to have a glass of water. Most of us did this as kids. Make your own taste test and see if the difference is really worth the cost of supporting this horrific industry of 'More Water, less Coke Cola'. Paying for Water, two times a day, leaving bottles everywhere and supporting an industry which is not interested in humanity or penguins is not going to change unless our attitude and heart changes. How often do you buy that small 'baby' bottle of Water and leave it someplace, unfinished? Can't you wait one or two hours to have that incredibly desperate sip! Water is a bit like air, if we do not have it we die. I live in the desert of Mexico and the need for water is clear, the environment waits for water.
The mind that drives more profits for More Water, less Coke Cola has no interest in you, me or penguins. January 29, 1892, Atlanta, Georgia, Coke Cola got the ball rolling producing the most desirable bubble drink in the history of human kind. They flooded the market with Sugar and Water and now just Water. Its not so bad really, the sugar part was nice till we found out how bad it was for our teeth and too much glucose in your blood. Maybe we will find out that blowing water into hot new plastic bottles is not so good for us either? They have accepted no responsibility for their huge effect on the human body or the environment. Their unregulated profits and freedom are endless. They win and we loose because we are weak and apathetic consumers.
P.S. if you do not agree with this tirade, I am not surprised. Perhaps you are not paying attention to love, peace, wholeness, and the great wonder of being human on the planet.
You have the power to be an example for industry, and steer your company in a new direction.