text:
Current (https://current.org/1996/07/tragic-legend-returns-public-tv-retold-time-opera/)
Tragic legend returns to public TV, retold this time as an opera
By | July 22, 1996
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Not yet in costume, Curt Peterson and Patricia Racette rehearse for Emmeline.
A local tale from Fayette, Maine, that came to public TV seven years ago in an American Experience documentary will return next year as an opera on Great Performances. The musical retelling will be taped later this week during the world premiere of Tobias Picker's new opera, Emmeline, at the Santa Fe Opera.
[The premiere received more than its share of rave reviews, using words like "sensational" and "a triumph." Great Performances' version aired April 2, 1997 on many stations.]
"I'm very happy that it's coming full circle," says Picker. "It shows that public television is so important, because it's capable of generating art."
A recognized symphonic composer, Picker had been looking for the story for an opera for eight years when he came across a rerun of the American Experience documentary "Sins of Our Mothers" in August 1990.
"I was channel-surfing and just happened upon it," he says. "Emmeline and I fell in love. Nothing like that had happened before Emmeline. I had to write Emmeline —I had no choice. It spoke to me directly on every conceivable level."
This is the story: Emmeline Mosher, a poor farm girl, comes to the weaving mills in Lowell, Mass., before the Civil War. She is seduced, becomes pregnant, and flees in shame. Back in Fayette, she gives up the child for adoption and lives alone for years.
In what became Picker's Act II, Emmeline's life, already sad, assumes elements of classic tragedy from the myth of Oedipus: a younger man named Matthew Gurney comes to town, they fall in love and marry —only to find out afterwards that he is her son. He quits the scene, and Emmeline lives on in profound disgrace, shunned and alone.
As Picker watched the documentary, he told himself: "This is an opera. My god, I hope nobody else has done this story first!" It was the Oedipus story, but told from the viewpoint of the wife and mother, Jocasta.
"There are many Oedipus operas, but not a Jocasta opera," Picker exults. "This is not about Oedipus. This is about the mother."
"Emmeline has been victimized all her life and is just completely ground up in a machine beyond her control," says the composer. "But in the end she is alive, defiant and somewhat mad, perhaps. It is something that could happen in America."
Picker noted that Judith Rossner, interviewed in the documentary, had based her novel Emmeline on the Maine legend. He got her phone number through a mutual friend and began arranging to write the opera.
Three years later, the Santa Fe Opera signed Picker to compose Emmeline. J.D. McClatchey, a prize-winning poet and the editor of The Yale Review, agreed to write the libretto.
They based the opera on Rossner's novel, which put Emmeline's wedding in her young adulthood, instead of the documentary, which found that she married in her early 60s. But it was the TV history that first captivated Picker's interest and implanted in his mind the images of Maine women who told the story.
Last summer, public TV came back into the Emmeline story. Picker recalls that he had just finished conducting part of the opera for a workshop at Santa Fe, and was still soaking wet from the exertion, when Jac Venza, executive producer of Great Performances, approached and gave him his card.
A year later, a crew working for Venza is in Santa Fe, preparing to tape the July 27 and 31 performances in digital video.
Laboratory about legend and history
There's another public TV connection to the Emmeline story, though an indirect one: the tale first reached the audience as the result of an ambitious Mobil Oil advertising initiative commissioned 21 years ago by Herb Schmertz, the oil company's imagemaker and founding patron of Masterpiece Theatre.
Schmertz wanted a series of three-minute commercials celebrating the greatness of ordinary Americans, for broadcast around the nation's bicentennial, and one of the dozen salt-of-the-earth folks chosen to be profiled for the series was a small-town Maine newspaperwoman, Nettie Mitchell.
David Hoffman, who headed the crew filming the Mobil ads, says that Mitchell, then 89 years old, was insistent that the filmmakers hear out a favorite story from childhood. Hoffman left, but told his crew to roll some more film.
Nettie Mitchell's story led directly to Judith Rossner's novel —Hoffman took the story to the novelist —and after Mitchell's death her filmed interview became vital material for Hoffman's "Sins of Our Mothers," which aired during the first season of American Experience, 1988-89.
Hoffman and his writer/director on the documentary, Matthew "Rocky" Collins, were not convinced that historical records would bear out the story told by Nettie Mitchell, and later by Rossner, so they set up their film as a detective story, confirming and denying the story with historical sources, piece by piece.
Though there were discrepancies in the ages of the characters and in spelling —it was really Emeline, not Emmeline —there also was enough agreement and circumstantial evidence to impress the filmmakers.
"I think her life was indeed a tragedy —there's no doubt in my mind about that," says Collins, who is now directing feature films in Manhattan. "Enough people believed she had married her son that, for her life, it was almost irrelevant whether she had. Whether she really did may be unknowable."
The memories handed down by Nettie Mitchell and other elders of the town, and all the ensuing media versions of the story, have become elements in a laboratory about legend and history.
Even when Collins was shooting the documentary, the people of Fayette were remembering facts of Emeline's life that were actually fictional embellishments from Rossner's novel, the filmmaker says.
"I'm sure as soon as the movie was done, they were remembering things from my movie," Collins says. And sometime next year, after the opera is broadcast, the memories of Emmeline may become entwined with the drama and music contributed by Tobias Picker.
A sampling of reviews
Chris Shull, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram:
The debut performance was a triumph. … From the opening funeral scene to a final heart-wrenching aria, soprano Patricia Racette was stunning in the title role, wrapping every note in pathos. … Picker's music is American modernism at its best, and Emmeline elicits an emotional pull that is inescapable. … Without borrowing, Picker's music recalls Stravinsky, Bartok, Copland, even Philip Glass, stepping through and beyond their work. Picker's strong distinctive voice as heard in Emmeline will surely secure his place alongside these masters.
The Times, London:
…American composer Tobias Picker has written a sensational, satisfying first opera … one of the most successful American operas in years. … Inevitably, the score will be labelled "Neo-Romantic," the term now used for any music that makes concessions to melody and the limitations of the human voice. … The libretto by American poet J.D. McClatchy bristles with cliches … but at least has the virtue of being clear and singable.
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune:
Picker's unabashedly romantic score floats singable vocal lines over broad fields of tonal harmony … Besides being blessed with music that unerringly illuminates character and situation, Emmeline has a strong libretto by J.D. McClatchey. … That this archetypal American tragedy never descends to melodrama owes much to director Francesca Zambello's artfully stylized production. …
Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News:
…Emmeline was saddled with a poorly thought-out stage design, quirky stage direction and an inconsistent score. … Picker never found his own compositional voice, dabbling in folksiness here (complete with harmonica blowing) and studied atonality there. … Too bad, because the singing was first-rate….
Mark Mobley, USA Today:
The tale has found its rightful telling at the Santa Fe Opera, which premiered Emmeline … Instead of the sensational spectacle Hollywood might have made, this Emmeline —slated for a future PBS telecast —is an affecting, alternately grave and lyrical retelling of the Oedipus legend. … [McClatchy's] words are clear as water, and when you read them, you can hear music. [Picker's] use of the orchestra is brilliant and transparent.
Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal:
This summer [the Santa Fe Opera] struck gold with the world premiere of Tobias Picker's Emmeline. … The collaborators arrived at an emotional truth about the nature of love, particularly the love between mother and child, and created a tour-de-force role for soprano along the way.
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, London
The unquestionable hit of the festival…was Picker's Emmeline. Picker's music may not travel as well as Puccini's —its language draws on American forebears such as Copland, Stravinsky-as-heard-by-Bernstein, and the fashionable American minimalism —but it is accessible, exquisitely crafted and it always serves the drama as both accompaniment and commentary. … I doubt if Zambello's production could be bettered. … A hugely enjoyable occasion that I would gladly relive.
Olin Chism, Dallas Morning News:
This summer [the Santa Fe Opera] is adding an eighth world premiere that has a real chance of getting produced by companies around the world. … Mr. Picker's music is for the most part highly effective. … As drama, the opera works brilliantly.
Allan Kozinn, New York Times:
[Emmeline] is not without flaws, but its conservative, eclectic style puts the story across in a clear, unabrasive way likely to have broad appeal. … Mr. McClatchey's singable, smoothly flowing text had a musicality many contemporary librettos lack. Mr. Picker has wrapped the text in music with a comfortably familiar ring…
Kenneth LaFave, Arizona Republic:
Listening to Emmeline is a little like observing a musical tennis match between Copland and middle-period Stravinsky in which Copland eventually wins. There are moments in the first act, especially, when Picker must have spent a lot of time with Copland's The Tender Land. … The title role is a killer, an expressive tour de force into which Picker has poured his finest and most intense music. The woman who sings Emmeline must have it all: high notes, facility, power, the ability to characterize vocally. Soprano Patricia Racette, singing July 31, had all those things in abundance….
Arts programming
New York's WQXR offers weekly opera show starting Jan. 19
New York Public Radio will launch an opera-focused radio show Jan. 19 on WQXR, its classical station in New York City, and also make the program available nationwide.


text:
Q: Why down and right border of my table is invisible? Why right and down border is invisible?
Here is my table:
http://jsfiddle.net/dFu5e/

A: You're writing white TD borders over the table border.
You can fix the problem by setting the table border to 2 px.
DEMO
But instead of all those border definitions, I would recommend for next time to use CSS. There are many tools helping you define the CSS of tables for your goals. For example :

*

*http://www.somacon.com/p141.php

*http://www.css-generators.com/css-tools/css-table-generator

A: Remove tr and td border.
Use border="1" and cellpadding="0" and cellspacing="0" for table tag:
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
....
</table>

A: Or you can remove the overflow: hidden from the table.

A: It is because you are using overflow:hidden. modified jsfiddle

A: Remove overflow: hidden; from your table style, fiddle here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Cambodian PM Hits Opposition Chief With New Defamation Suit
FILE - Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen looks at his smartphone at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.
PHNOM PENH —
Cambodia's exiled opposition leader is facing two new defamation lawsuits stemming from a Facebook post that accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of offering a young political operative $1 million to attack the opposition.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Hun Sen said opposition leader Sam Rainsy's post was false and demanded $1 million in compensation. The political operative named in the social media post, Thy Sovantha, also denied the accusation and filed a separate defamation case seeking $250,000.
The lawsuits are the latest legal problems for Sam Rainsy, head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. The cases against him are generally considered part of the prime minister's strategy to weaken his opponents ahead of local elections in June and a general election in 2018.
Peaceful Transition in Washington a Lesson for Phnom Penh, Say Cambodian-Americans
Cambodia Cancels Military Exercise with US
In First Correspondents' Dinner, PM Hun Sen Lays Into 'Unprofessional' Journalists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: difficulty inserting into binary search tree I am currently learning C++ and have been researching BST. I took upon myself a task within a workbook but have been struggling to finish the implementation.
I am not allowed to change the header file or any of the function definitions but I am allowed to add helpers.
I have attempted adding some helpers, but whenever I run the test file, no words are inserted into the tree.
I was hoping someone would be able to help me or give me guidance on finishing the implementation.
Any help on the other functions would be greatly appreciated!
My Header File:
#pragma once

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

// Node of the tree
struct Node
{
    std::string data;

    Node *left = nullptr;

    Node *right = nullptr;
};

class BST
{
private:
    Node *root = nullptr;
public:

    BST();

    BST(std::string word);

    BST(const BST &rhs);

    ~BST();

    void insert(std::string word);

    void remove(std::string word);

    bool exists(std::string word) const;

    std::string inorder() const;

    std::string preorder() const;

    std::string postorder() const;

    bool operator==(const BST &other) const;

    bool operator!=(const BST &other) const;
};

My BST file:
#include "bst.h"
#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

string HelperInsert(Node **root, std::string word)
{
    if (*root == nullptr)
    {
        // Create new node
        *root = new Node;
        // Set new value
        (*root)->data = word;
        // Set branches to nullptr
        (*root)->left = nullptr;
        (*root)->right = nullptr;
    }
    else
        if (word < (*root)->data)
        {
            HelperInsert(&(*root)->left, word);

        }
        else
        {
            if (word > (*root)->data)
            {
                HelperInsert(&(*root)->right, word);
            }
        }
}

void HelperExists(Node *root, string word)
{
    Node *temp = new Node;
    temp = root;
    // Run the loop untill temp points to a NULL pointer.
    while(temp != NULL)
    {
        if(temp->data == word)
        {
            cout<<"True "<<endl;
        }
        // Shift pointer to left child.
        else if(temp->data > word)
            temp = temp->left;
        // Shift pointer to right child.
        else
            temp = temp->right;
    }
    cout<<"\n False";
    return;
}

string Helpwr(Node *root)
{
    if(root == nullptr)
    {
        return "";
    }
    else
    {
        return inorderHelper(root->left)
        + root->data + " "
        + inorderHelper(root->right);
    }

}

void HelperPreOrder(Node *root)
{
    if ( root !=nullptr)
    {
        cout << root->data << " ";
        HelperPreOrder(root->left);
        HelperPreOrder(root->right);
    }
}
void HelperPostorder(Node *root)
{
    if (root!=nullptr)
    {
        HelperPostorder(root->left);
        HelperPostorder(root->right);
        cout << root->data<< endl;
        return;
    }
}

BST::BST()
{
    root= nullptr;
}

// Creates a binary tree by copying an existing tree
BST::BST(const BST &rhs)
{

}

void BST::insert(string word)
{
    HelperInsert(*root, word);
}

void BST::remove(string word)
{

}

bool BST::exists(string word) const
{
    HelperExists(root, word);
    return true;
}

std::string BST::inorder() const
{
    string  res = inorderHelper(root);
    int len = res.length();
    if(len >= 1 && res[len -1] == ' ')
    {
        res.pop_back();
    }
    return res;
}

std::string BST::preorder() const
{
    HelperPreOrder(root);
    return std::string("");
}

std::string BST::postorder() const
{
    HelperPostorder(root);
    return std::string("");
}

bool BST::operator==(const BST &other) const
{
    return true;
}

bool BST::operator!=(const BST &other) const
{
    return true;
}

My test file:
 tree = new BinarySearchTree();
    // Test 3 - insertion check
    tree->insert("fish");
    tree->insert("aardvark");
    tree->insert("zeebra");
    str = tree->inorder();

    if (str != string("aardvark fish zeebra"))
        cerr << "test 3 failed" << endl;
    else
        cout << "Test 3 passed" << endl;

    // Test 4 - exists check

    if (tree->exists("zeebra") && tree->exists("fish") && !tree->exists("bird") && !tree->exists("snake"))
        cout << "Test 4 passed" << endl;
    else
        cerr << "test 4 failed" << endl;

A: Seems like an issue of not storing the string words correctly:
your insert method is as follows:
void insert(std::string word);

Which means a value of the string is passed, not a reference.
In order to store the string, you'll have to create a copy of the string and store it in memory:
string HelperInsert(Node **root, std::string word)
{
    if (*root == nullptr)
    {
        // Create new node
        *root = new Node;
        // Set new value
        (*root).data = new std:string(word); // note the setting of a string pointer here!
        // Set branches to nullptr
        (*root)->left = nullptr;
        (*root)->right = nullptr;
    }
    else
        if (word < (*root)->data)
        {
            HelperInsert(&(*root)->left, word);

        }
        else
        {
            if (word > (*root)->data)
            {
                HelperInsert(&(*root)->right, word);
            }
        }
}

Do not forget to delete the string when removing nodes, in order to prevent mempory leaks.
Good luck!


text:
Michael A. Onufer
Partner Litigation
michael.onufer@kirkland.com
Los Angeles +1 213 680 8138
Michael Onufer is a litigation partner in the Los Angeles office with broad commercial litigation and government investigations experience. He has worked in a variety of substantive areas, including securities and shareholder litigation, fraud and breach of contract, and consumer class actions.
Clerk & Government Experience
Currently representing a large global bank in a lawsuit against a hedge fund seeking more than $700 million for fraud and breach of contract claims relating to collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps.
Currently representing a seed manufacturer in multi-district litigation involving tens of thousands of class action and individual lawsuits brought by farmers and export companies alleging damages because of China's non-approval of corn seeds for import.
Represented a satellite cable company in a lawsuit brought by a television programmer seeking damages pursuant to a distribution agreement.
Represented numerous financial institutions in lawsuits seeking damages related to residential mortgage backed securities.
Represented telecommunications company in obtaining dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a large cable company seeking indemnification under a tax sharing agreement.
Represented private equity company in obtaining dismissal of shareholder litigation in Delaware Chancery Court challenging the fairness of a proposed $1.6 billion merger of Ancestry.com.
Represented numerous clients, including individuals in the financial sector, health care consulting company, and telecommunications company, in defense of regulatory inquiries and investigations pending before the SEC and state attorneys general.
Legal InternUnited States Department of Justice, Civil Frauds Division2010
Judicial InternHonorable Alan KayUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia2009
Currently representing landowner challenging the constitutionality of a blight determination by a municipality.
Partnered with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) to represent children from El Salvador who were the victims of gang violence and sought protective status in the United States.
Partnered with KIND to draft an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of a petition of certiorari for a case concerning gang violence in Central America and asylum laws.
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Admissions & Qualifications
2012New York
2014California
The George Washington University Law SchoolJ.D.with High Honors2011
Articles Editor, The George Washington Law Review
University of California, Santa CruzB.A., Global Economicswith Highest Honors2007
03 October 2017 Press Release Kirkland Announces New Partners


Can cities save us all?
Experts from universities in Chicago, London and Melbourne discuss the world's rapid urbanisation on the University of Melbourne's Policy Shop podcast.
A sustainable ecocity relies on political, economic, social and technical expertise. The University of Melbourne explores the outlook in two countries.
Energy intensive high rise buildings are not necessarily a sustainable alternative to low-density housing, argues a University of Melbourne expert.
The way we understand ecocities needs radical change; only this, says a University of Melbourne expert, will empower everyone to co-create a sustainable future.


WRASSLIN'! Another year, another WWE game. This year, something's different. WWE 2K19 is, dare I say it, actually a good game for once, thanks to changes that may be incremental but are numerous in scope. From better gameplay options to actually acknowledging that other wrestling promotions such as Ring of Honor and New Japan exist, WWE 2K19 i a weird and thrilling spectacle of watching two men attempt to murder each other for a predetermined result.
One aspect of the 2K Games series that hasn't changed much this year? The superb character creation tool, which is instead a tweaked and perfected version of the suite of options found in each WWE 2K game. The best part of the feature? It's comprehensive, massive in the options available and you're able to put your own face inside the game. If you need a crash course reminder in how to upload your face, then Bombshell Bonthuys is more than ready to school you in the fine art of uploading the perfectly punchable face in WWE 2K19.
Now for a little bit of photoshop wizardry. You don't need to be an expert in all things adobe, as what you want to do here is trim the image down to a decent size. A resolution of 512 x 512 will do the trick, something which can easily be achieved in Microsoft Paint if you wish. Merely take the photo, open it in Paint and if it's already a perfect square, press CTRL+W to bring up the resize option. Easy peasy.
If you are an expert in all things Photoshop, I'd recommend taking that adjusted size, trimming as much superfluous data off of it and making certain that you're only left with a PNG of your face so that the act of pasting your skin on a digital head is even easier.
Next up, head on over to the WWE 2K Upload center which I've conveniently linked right here, and navigate to Face-Photo. By now, the 2K website will have asked you to log in using the details of your platform of choice, to help streamline the process. Fun fact: Any uploads you do here, can also be applied to other custom creation tools in WWE 2K19. So if you've ever wanted to go full Steve-O and have your own face tattooed onto your superstar's back, here's your chance. The possibilities are endless.
With the game running, navigate your way to the WWE Community Creations tab, and then select Image Manager for the next step. Download your face, and get ready to start crafting.
Go to WWE Creations, and select new custom superstar. Go to Face Photo Capture, select your image and start tinkering away! Don't worry if your face looks…weird at first, because your mom thinks you're beautiful and that's all that matters. Instead, line up everything as best as you can, and move on to the next step.
From here, you'll be able to move eyes and other extremities around the facial canvas, adjusting them so that they fit your wrestler properly and don't look that much like an ungodly abomination. You'll be able to tweak eyebrows, your nose, your eyes and your mouth, as well as your general facial shape until you're left with a custom superstar who looks the way that he or she should.
Honestly, the sillier the better here. While you might need to fork out plenty of digital cash to buy wardrobe changes in the career path segment of WWE 2K19, you've got a full suite of costumes, hairstyles and other assorted fashion choices to play around within the full character creation suite. It's silly, ridiculous stuff and I never grow tired of it.


hit by cultural boycott of Israel.
Spare a thought for Israeli music promoter Shuki Weiss. On June 6 he had to announce that US alternative rock band The Pixies, due to perform in Tel Aviv three days later as part of Weiss' Pic.Nic 2010 festival, had cancelled. Just a few days earlier, he'd been obliged to inform ticket-holders that two of the UK bands headlining the festival, punk band Klaxons, and Damon Albarn's Gorillaz, had withdrawn.
The travails of Weiss -- who started in the music business in Israel with a chain of record stores called, surreally, 'Masada' -- began in January this year, when Carlos Santana, whom Weiss was bringing to Israel, cancelled his appearance. Weiss has now issued a press statement saying, 'Events have got out of control. Intense pressure is being applied to foreign artists not to come to Israel. This is cultural terrorism'.
And Jerusalem Post writer David Brinn complains, 'From the moment a high-profile artist is booked into an Israeli venue, a non-stop barrage of emails, open letters and petitions rains down on them like stinging needles, prodding and irritating their consciences'. But what if their consciences fail to be prodded? What if the artists agree with Shuki Weiss, that they're being subjected to 'cultural terrorism'? It seems that's how writers Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh felt about the many appeals to them to decline the $1mn Dan David prize they'd been awarded, or at the very least not go to Tel Aviv to accept it. Their joint speech at Tel Aviv University on May 9 was entirely about their own bravery in facing down what they described as 'bullying': 'Writers are soft targets… They don't have armies, they can't retaliate… The all-or-nothings want to bully us into being their wholly owned puppets. The result of such a decision on our part would be to turn us into sticks with which to beat other artists into submission, and that we refuse to do'.
The idea that two rich and famous writers could be 'bullied' into becoming the 'puppets' of pro-boycott letter-writers is the kind of guff that gives a metropolitan elite a bad name. Their speech nods faintly in the direction of Palestinian rights – 'We are not against fairness and the creation of a long-overdue Palestinian state' – but Atwood and Ghosh's hearts aren't really in it. What they're really keen to do is to say that by turning up in Tel Aviv, they're somehow putting themselves in the long brave line of those many novelists 'around the world [who] have been shot, imprisoned and exiled for their failure to toe someone else's line'.
Extroardinary as it is that household names like Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh could regard themselves as victims because they were lobbied to refuse the Dan David prize -- they, after all, are the ones who get the headlines, the sales, and the awards, while supporters of Palestinian rights are variously damned as anti-semites, hounded by the likes of Alan Dershowitz, and lose their jobs – nonetheless the outright support Ghosh and Atwood got from writers' organisation PEN (at a greasy-fingered event in New York atmospherically described in a New Yorker blog1) means those who advocate the boycott need to keep making clear that cultural boycott is a matter of individual conscience, and it's not in opposition to cultural freedom.
..there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent..
The really significant figure in the development of this issue is Elvis Costello. Israeli journalists are furious with him because when fans first started to lobby him to cancel his June 30 and July 1 gigs, he rang up several journalists to talk to them about Israel, and told them that he opposed cultural boycotts. But what makes Twickenham boy Declan MacManus, aka Elvis Costello, so admirable -- a real hero of individual conscience and cultural freedom -- is that he thought about things and he changed his mind. And he was brave enough to issue a statement to explain his thinking. See his statement on page 3 or read it online.
Costello said that after what he called 'considerable contemplation', he had understood the symbolic importance of performing in Israel: 'There are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent'.
Ghosh and Atwood persuaded themselves that 'the innocent' were – extraordinarily enough – themselves. Elvis Costello's thoughtful and modest statement makes clear he'd reached a different conclusion about who 'the innocent' are: 'It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and selfrighteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts… It is a matter of instinct and conscience'. And instinct and conscience led him to cancel. No, he told the same Israeli journalists who rang him up after he made his statement public, he hadn't been subjected to 'coercion' – no, he hadn't been 'bullied' – he wasn't a victim of what music promoter Shuki Weiss calls 'cultural terrorism'.
In a situation where almost everybody wants to be a victim – Weiss says 'these decisions turn thousands of Israeli music lovers into victims…in the name of suffering they have neither caused nor wish for' – and where Israeli self-interest trumps everything else – Weiss says musicians should act 'in the name of pluralism, camaraderie and mutual respect' without indicating how these are to be extended to the Palestinians – Costello's voice of conscience was, of course, painful for many to hear.
But may it speak to all artists who are considering an invitation to Israel. Costello said that if the 'intimidation, humiliation or much worse visited on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security', on the one hand, and the effects of 'so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation', on the other, are 'subjects too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert', then 'it is quite impossible to simply look the other way'. May all artists hear him.
And may Shuki Weiss continue to have a very bad year.
One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament. Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security. I am also keenly aware of the sensitivity of these themes in the wake of so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation.
Some will regard all of this an unknowable without personal experience but if these subjects are actually too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert, then it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way. I offer my sincere apologies for any disappointment to the advance ticket holders as well as to the organizers. My thanks also go to the members of the Israeli media with whom I had most rewarding and illuminating conversations. They may regard these exchanges as a waste of their time but they were of great value and help to me in gaining an appreciation of the cultural scene.
I hope it is possible to understand that I am not taking this decision lightly or so I may stand beneath any banner, nor is it one in which I imagine myself to possess any unique or eternal truth. It is a matter of instinct and conscience. It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and selfrighteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts.
It's funny how people can be close friends, and yet react so differently to things. You're apparently close friends with Elvis Costello – so close you hosted his wedding to Diana Krall at your 'castle' in Windsor. After just three weeks of people appealing to Elvis Costello not to perform in Israel, he's decided not to go. See his thoughtful statement above.
But months down the line from our first letter to you, with hundreds, if not thousands, of your fans appealing to you to cancel your gig in Tel Aviv (including Canadian film-maker John Greyson at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HSClZbhB5g), you remain silent. Of course you have every right to do so. But we're wondering what this silence means.
Does it mean you think the dirty business of Israeli colonialism and ethnic cleansing has nothing to do with you? That you can play for the officers and conscripts and secret service people who will make up much of your audience in Tel Aviv without giving them the stamp of your approval? You will offer them a few hours' respite from administering beatings and torture and land-theft and house demolition and sieges and destroying wells and denying sick people access to hospital – and the simple fact of your presence will tell them that all this cruel business, which they conduct daily, is okay with you.
Or does your silence mean you think it's more important to stand in solidarity with gays in Israel than with the Palestinians? But what about Palestinian gays? Israel has a record of sending those who've sought refuge in Israel back to the Occupied Territories. So much for Israel being 'gay-friendly'. Palestinian gay rights activist Haneen Maikey (an Israeli citizen) says, 'It's really pathetic that the Israeli state has nothing besides gay rights to promote its liberal image. Ridiculous, and in a sense hilarious, because there are no gay rights in Israel'. To the Israeli state she says, 'Stop speaking in my name. If you want to do me a favour, stop bombing my friends, end your occupation, and leave me to rebuild my community'. Sir Elton! – maybe you've decided, in your generous way, that you'll donate the proceeds of your Tel Aviv concert to the Global Fund, or another AIDS charity (and of course good deeds cannot be spoken about, so you don't announce it). But our appeal to you isn't about money. It's about the meaning of actions. Elvis Costello understood exactly that 'simply having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act…and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent'.
To his great credit, he decided that 'a silence in music is sometimes better than adding to the static'. We are asking to you to abandon the silence of your apparent indifference to our appeal, and that of thousands of your fans, and join Elvis Costello in his musical silence. Please don't play in Israel.
Elvis Costello has cancelled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians. He says 'it is a matter of conscience.. it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way'.
Three of this year's biggest draws to Tel Aviv's Pic.Nic music festival have withdrawn at the last minute in response to the Israeli military attack on a foreign aid flotilla.
Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood will accept the Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University with its $1 million payout. Meanwhile, 40 miles away, students in the besieged Gaza Strip will stilll be struggling to find the ways and means to continue their educations.


Slugs are shell-less members of the molluscan class Gastropoda. Related to snails, but different due to their lack of shell, slugs can cause the same amount of damage in a garden as snails do. The great majority of slug species are relatively harmless to humans, but some are considered to be great pests in agriculture and horticulture. This is because they feed on plants, as well as fruits and vegetables. Not only that, but they cause holes in the crops, making the items unsuitable to sell due to aesthetic reasons, as well as causing them to be much more vulnerable to rot and numerous other diseases.
There's a great variety of vegetables and herbs they can feed on, including flowers such as petunias, chrysanthemums, daisies, lobelia, lilies, daffodils, narcissus, gentians, primroses, tuberous begonias, hollyhocks, irises, and fruits such as strawberries. They also feed on carrots, peas, apples, and cabbage that are offered as a sole food source.
When noticing slugs in your garden, you need to quickly take action against them. Avoid having them take control and decimate your crops, as they will not hesitate in eating everything they can. The first step in making sure they do not have the proper habitat to develop, is to clean up your garden. Slugs love dark, humid places and they can usually be found hiding under piles of leaves or wood, under boards, nursery pots or weeds areas and low hanging leaves at the basis of plants. By cleaning up the area and eliminating any possible hiding places, you will manage to block the quick development of slugs.
Make sure to trim off leaves that reach the ground, put any container you need in a garden a few feet up off the ground, so that they cannot shelter underneath it, keep compost piles away from the garden and make sure the ground is levelled and not too shady.
After making sure you've landscaped your garden and it is now a place where slugs do not feel quite as home as they used too, you can take the next step and go after them, on a gathering mission. Early in the morning, on late evenings and after a rainy period are the best times to remove the effectively. That is when they surface in search for food, so finding them is not that difficult. If you are dealing with a dry weather, you can water your garden and go hunting a few hours after that, as this will help bring them out from their hiding spots. The handpicking of slugs can be easily done with a small or medium sized population. Depending on the extent of your crop, this method can prove to be difficult, but if you just have a small garden and a few of the crops have been affected, it is best to take care of the issue quickly, before the slugs get to other crops as well. Make sure you also check the underside of the leaves and follow any slime trails you see.
To make it easier to collect the slugs, you can set some traps using some of the foods they like. Both snails and slugs love citrus fruits, piles of oatmeal, dry dog food or even cabbage. Placing these under a board will make the perfect gathering space for slugs. Boards can also be used and placed with one side on a stone and the other on the ground. The darkness and humidity that forms there will attract the slugs and trick them towards a safe spot to hide. Remember to always wear gloves when collecting slugs from such places, and put them in a bucket with soapy water. This will kill them and you can then dispose of the mollusks.
Placing bowls of beer is also a good trap for both snails and slugs, and they are quite strong, and these critters love the smell of beer. Falling into the bowl makes them drown and you can then dispose of the contents, refill the bowl, and wait for another round to get caught. You can bury steep cups near important plants, so that slugs get distracted when aiming for the plant and go towards the beer cup instead. By replacing these traps every few days, you should be able to steadily clean up your garden.
To protect your traps, make sure you cover them with an upside-down flower pot that has a small entrance. This will keep your pet from eating the bait themselves, or rain from washing away your bait.
Irrigation of the garden is also important, as it can influence the development of the slug population. As mentioned above, watering the garden does bring the slugs out, so watering it in the morning to give it time to dry before slugs come out at night is the best move. Studies have shown that watering in the morning instead of the evening can reduce the slug population with 80%. You can also install drip irrigation systems, to minimise the use of water. Planting everything with enough space between them is also important, as it allows air flow and prevents the development of mulch as well. Make sure you keep your garden free of debris and mow your yard regularly as well, as it will help with the drying of the soil by nightfall.
When it comes to creating barriers around your plants, the best materials for these are copper, salt, wormwood tea, oak leaf or tobacco mulch. These last two can be prepared and either spread as a barrier around plants, or combined with soapy water and sprayed onto the soil or directly onto slugs. Copper barriers can be placed around the plants or planting beds, but they have to be wide enough that the slug cannot bridge it with its body. Salt is not the best solution, as it can affect the soil and plants as well. It is better to be used around the base of potted plants, or other areas where it cannot come in direct contact with the plants as well. Using it in the garden can be tricky as rain water can easily wash it off into the soil, harming its quality.
Natural barriers can be grown, with the help of plants that deter slugs on their own. Certain plants have a texture, taste or even a certain amount of toxins that slugs avoid. Planting them as barrier around your whole garden, or just some of them near the affected pants, can help you get rid of the pests you are fighting with. Some types of herbs, vegetables and even flowers can do the trick, and the best known for keeping slugs at bay are ginger, garlic, chives, mint, and chicory, kale, spring cabbage, or sprouting broccoli, Astilbe, Dicentra, Digitalis (foxglove), Lobelia, Viola (some pansies and violets), Campanula, Hemerocallis and Mentha.
Plants can also be protected with more powerful barriers, such as those created out of wood ash or Diatomaceous earth. While wood ash can raise the pH of the soil, Diatomaceous earth can also affect beneficial insects. Its sharp edges scrape through the slug's protective mucus layer and skin, causing it discomfort. It does not cause the death of the slugs, as it does with insects whose exoskeleton gets pierced, and they end up dying from dehydration, but it does cause a high level of discomfort, and you will see slugs turning away from the place where they have encountered this powder. To protect a plant from slugs, dust its leaves with diatomaceous earth or sprinkle the material over the ground around vulnerable plants in a protective circle. Moisture renders this material ineffective, so reapply it after each rainfall, or every few days if conditions are humid, to achieve continuous control. A lot of other organic deterrents can be used, such as powdered ginger, talcum powder.
A coarse mulch of something like oak or cedar bark chippings makes a decorative and effective slug barrier. Organic mulches, while beneficial to the soil, harbour slugs with food and moist shelter. A mulch of pine needles however, makes a prickly barrier to keep slugs away from your plants. A barrier of ash and cinders helps keep slugs at bay. The cinders are rough to cross, and the powdery ash also acts as a desiccant. Wood ash and cinders are preferable. Avoid their direct contact with plants. You can also create a sawdust barrier around vulnerable plants. If possible, use sawdust from hardwood because it's sharper and more abrasive.
By encouraging the development of natural predators around your garden, you can also get rid of slugs. Such predators include shrews, mice, squirrels, and other small mammals such as salamanders, toads and turtles. You can also use the help of several types of birds against these pests, whether keeping chickens or ducks, if you have a yard, or encouraging other birds to visit your area, such as thrushes, grouse, blackbirds, and wild turkey.
You can also use nematodes, which are microscopic parasitic worms that live in soil. They can be purchased specifically for killing slugs, and they can be very effective. Once all the slugs are killed, the nematodes will leave the area or die out. However, they need to be reapplied every few weeks or the slugs will reappear and take over again.
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If you are not pleased with the results of these organic deterring methods, you can also choose to apply chemical baits. Most chemicals used against slugs are based on metaldehyde. These products are toxic and can be dangerous for pets (dogs, cats, fish) especially because they resemble their granular food, which is why we recommend using the finest granular chemical baits when pets can be found in the area where the product is applied. The metaldehyde from the chemical products can rapidly dry the slug (it may lose half of its weight and its size can be reduced to one-third) in the case in which it gets poisoned by this substance. But if the degree of poisoning is not so high, slugs infected can recover if they manage to hide in moist soil or if it rains, as their body will get cleansed by this. Another drawback is that after being dampened, metaldehyde products no longer work, so that means every time you water your garden, or it rains, you will need to re-apply it. Many chemical based baits work, but following the instructions on how to use them is mandatory and one must be extremely vigilant in how and where they are applied, as side effects must be avoided. Slug baits with metaldehyde are sufficiently toxic that they are not recommended for use around edible vegetables, and can be harmful to dogs, cats, and fish, as mentioned above.
Solutions made out of water and ammonia can also be sprayed onto slugs whenever present. One part ammonia and six parts water is the necessary combination, but be careful not to spray it directly onto plants, as it can damage the leaves.
Iron phosphate baits can also be used, as they are toxic specifically to snails and slugs. They can stay intact for weeks if you protect them from rain, and they cause slugs to stop eating and eventually die. You can safely use iron phosphate around food crops, ornamentals, lawns, gardens, greenhouses, and berry gardens, as they are safe to use around pets, humans, fish, birds, beneficial insects, and mammals. This type of bait is more effective than metaldehyde-based products, as it does not cease to have effect once it rains on it, however keeping it dry makes the baits last longer. Iron phosphate remains active longer, so less is required to be used to kill more slugs, making this product quite cost-effective.
When it comes to getting rid of slugs, timing is everything. No matter what method you choose, it is best to apply it early in the year, before they manage to lay their eggs. By doing this, you get rid of this generation and future generations as well. Long-term control is best done in autumn, when the weather is quite damp. This way, when spring comes, there will be fewer adults ready to lay eggs, so you will not have a big population to fight against.
After getting rid of an infestation of any size, you will need to apply preventive measures as well, to make sure the slugs do not have the possibility to take over your garden again. Change the way you take care of your yard and vegetation. Till the soil in your garden frequently, especially around your plants and flower beds. This will kill any slug eggs and can help reduce their future population. Clear the debris under your plants, so slugs cannot hide underneath them and apply any other preventive measures that can be found in our article 'Prevent infestation with slugs'. These will help keep your garden clear of such pests, as prevention is the most important step in getting rid of any pest you might be dealing with.
You can find more information in our article regarding ways to prevent infestations with slugs.
In order to prevent slugs from entering your house, you can use the same repellent methods meant to protect your garden, or you can even place a trap near the entrances of your house, as it will also help in monitoring the level of infestation. You can empty the trap every 2-3 days if necessary, and reuse it, which make it a very economic measure.
Weasels are mammals of the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae, which is often aptly referred to as the "weasel family". They are small, but active predators that have been known to eat eggs, poultry, and rabbits from farms. From this point of view, one can understand why they are sometimes considered to be pests.
The wild pig, also known as the wild boar, the wild swine, or, scientifically, as Sus scrofa, is a large mammal, belonging to the family Suidae. The relationship between wild pigs and humans is long-standing, considering the fact that the wild pig is the ancestor of most domestic pig breeds.
Squirrels are medium-sized rodents that belong to the family Sciuridae. Although they do not infest homes in large numbers and are considered by many to be cute, squirrels are also found to be much more invasive than any other type of pests, mainly because of the range of damage they can cause.
Part of the Mephitidae family, and are mammals known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant smell, in order to defend themselves from predators. As they are not pretentious eaters, and can thrive on human waste, they can often take residence near your yard or under your decks. Present in many neighbourhoods, skunks are not necessarily a problem.
Being a marsupial animal found only in the Americas, the opossum has become a pest in those areas, due to its flexible diet and reproductive habits that make them successful colonisers and survivors in diverse locations and conditions. They are considered a nuisance due to the fact that they feed on plants, carry disease and are prone on destroying property.
A nice garden and lawn takes a lot of work, time and money, and all that work can be undone by moles in no time. They can destroy a nice garden with their tunnels and molehills, affecting crops as well, not just the landscape that you have created. Moles can dig lots of tunnels which have large rooms for food storage, and this can affect the roots of plants or make the soil unstable.


Budapest, Belgrade, March 22, 2007: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), acting in partnership with Bibija, Eureka and Women's Space, non-governmental organisations based in Serbia, submitted a parallel report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The organisations highlighted issues of concern with respect to Romani women in Serbia in advance of the Committee's review of Serbia's compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to take place in May 2007.
The report is based on research undertaken by the partners in 2006 and 2007, involving six Romani women researchers who documented human rights issues facing Romani women in Serbia. Deprivation of rights, especially in such areas as education, health care, and employment, incidence of domestic violence as well as racially-motivated abuse of Romani women, are amongst the main problems experienced by Romani women in Serbia. Romani women currently living in Serbia as internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo or recently returned to Serbia from Western European countries, Germany in particular, are exposed to particularly precarious circumstances.
Violence against women: Domestic violence was reported by the majority of Romani women who agreed to answer questions concerning this issue. Half of the Romani women interviewed declined to talk about domestic violence; of the remaining 81 women, 63 reported instances of physical and verbal abuse by family members. While the problem of domestic violence also affects women from the majority community, Romani women are especially vulnerable due to widespread prejudice and neglect by law enforcement officers as well as by institutions providing support to victims of domestic violence. Romani women testified that police are often reluctant to act to protect them; in some instances, police officers themselves subjected victims to abuse or they acted inadequately to prevent further abuse. Admission criteria in some state funded safe houses effectively exclude of Romani women from accessing the services provided therein.
Romani women and children are also subjected to physical and verbal racist attacks by neo-Nazi groups.
Education: Romani women face serious barriers in accessing education as reflected in higher illiteracy rates among Romani women compared to Romani men and significantly higher rates compared to non-Romani men and women. Barriers arise from high levels of poverty as well as patriarchal traditions in some communities, which result in lower expectations for Romani girls to complete education. Inequalities in access to education are exacerbated by discriminatory practices against Romani children in education such as erroneous placement in special schools for mentally disadvantaged children; segregation in Roma-only classes; and humiliating treatment by teachers and classmates. Lack of personal identity and house registration documents needed in order to enrol in school also impede access to education.
Employment: Many Romani women do not have access to formal employment as a result of low educational attainment levels as well as direct and indirect discrimination on the part of employers. Women working in the grey economy are excluded from social benefits and face insecurity. A number of instances of discrimination against Romani women in recruitment were reported.
Health: Romani women's health situation is significantly worse than that of the general population as a result of inadequate living conditions – such as substandard housing, extreme poverty and the disadvantaged position of some Romani women within their domestic setting. Lack of identity documents, health insurance or health cards prevent many Romani women from accessing health care services. Structural problems in access to health services are compounded by widespread discriminatory practices by medical practitioners with respect to Romani women. Discrimination against Romani women is particularly evident in the areas of reproductive and maternal health and emergency care due to these being the most commonly used health care services.
The research towards the report was carried out with the support of the Open Society Institute Public Health Program.
The full report (pdf) is available here.


From Valencia Airport we offer you your own tailor made private airport transfer to the beautiful costal resort of Benissa Costa.
Once you arrive in Benissa Costa by private airport transfer you will find that the medieval town centre has been largely preserved with its town square, narrow streets, churches. Ironwork balconies and heraldic shields decorate the historic buildings. The Palace of Torres-Orduña is open to the public as a cultural centre and library. Benissa also has a strong Catholic tradition with a Franciscan seminary that has educated many Franciscans followers throughout Spain and a large Neo-Gothic church, the "Catedral de la Marina".
At Valencia Airport for your private airport transfer you will be met in the arrivals hall , where your uniformed driver will take you to your chosen destination in Benissa Costa.


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Disney, HSN Team to Promote Films
HSN today announced a multi-film marketing collaboration with Disney Studios for three of its upcoming films–Maleficent, Cinderella and The Hundred-Foot Journey.
The two-year collaboration will see HSN bring the spirit of each movie to life through products from top designers and brands. This is the first time that Disney Studios has enlisted an omni-channel retailer for a long-term entertainment marketing alliance. The deal follows on similar collaborations with HSN for
in 2010 and 2103's
"HSN curates wonderful collections that speak to the essence of the story and build a real event around the release of our films," says Don Gross, vice president, global promotions, The Walt Disney Studios. "We're excited to collaborate with them again and expand upon these engaging worlds, beginning with
."?
In advance of the release of each film, HSN will create content-driven retail events across all of its platforms–TV, online, social and mobile. The shopping
experiences will feature exclusive, curated assortments inspired by or reminiscent of each of the three films.
The first HSN event will take place during the days leading up to the May 30 release of
Maleficent,
followed by similar events for
in August and
in spring 2015.
HSN's 24-hour programming event for
will launch on May 27, precluded by a special preview of the collection on HSN.com starting May 7. The collection will feature jewelry, fashion and beauty products from some of HSN's top designers including licensed products from Naeem Khan, Heidi Daus and Amika and collections from Giuliana Rancic, R.J. Graziano, Liz Lange, Jean Dousset, Margaret Rowe, Raven Kaufman and Diane Gilman.
"This long-term collaboration is a testament to the success of our entertainment integration strategy that infuses fun and drives heightened engagement across all of our shopping platforms while driving awareness for our marketing collaborators," says Bill Brand, chief marketing and business development officer, HSN. "We're thrilled to expand our alliance with a world-class brand such as Disney to continually reinvent and reenergize shopping through interactive content and storytelling that captures the spirit of their films."
CinderellaHSNMaleficent


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Woven textiles
Tohoku, Woven textiles and more
Kurume traditional resist-dyed textiles Kurume gasuri
Kurume traditional resist-dyed textiles (Kurume gasuri in Japanese) is a woven cloth produced in and around the city of Kurume, Fukuoka prefecture. The breathability assures coolness in the summer and excellent heat-retaining properties provide wa…
Ojiya chijimi textiles Ojiya chijimi
Ojiya chijimi textiles (called Ojiya chijimi in Japanese) is a handicraft produced from ramie in the area around the city of Ojiya in Niigata prefecture. Ramie is a tall plant of the nettle family that has been used to make cloth for centuries. R…
Hakata brocade Hakata ori
Hakata ori refers to the ori or woven cloth produced in and around Hakata, Fukuoka prefecture. Hakata weaving techniques, which originated in China, have shaped this unique cloth. It has been highly regarded for its high quality throughout the age…
Shiozawa tsumugi silk Shiozawa tsumugi
Shiozawa tsumugi is a silk textile produced in the former town of Shiozawa (now a part of the city of Minamiuonuma), Niigata prefecture. The area is known for its heavy snowfall and wet winter climate which are ideal for weaving. Echigo jofu, a fa…
Hon-shiozawa silk Hon shiozawa
Hon Shiozawa is a textile produced in the region surrounding Minami Uonuma City, Niigata Prefecture. It is one of the textiles that represent the Shiozawa region, which is renowned for the Echigo Jofu (a linen textile produced locally). This texti…
Oitama tsumugi silk Oitama tsumugi
Oitama Tsumugi is a fabric produced in the Yonezawa, Hakutaka and Nagai regions of Oitama in south Yamagata Prefecture. Oitama is well-known as a ramie fiber producing region with ramie fiber the raw material of ramie, a linen-like fabric, being s…
Ojiya tsumugi silk Ojiya tsumugi
Ojiya tsumugi silk is a fabric produced in the area around the city of Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture. Ojiya is known as an area with heavy snow. Echigo jofu (a kind of linen textile) has been produced in this area for centuries. Hemp textiles were ac…
Honba oshima tsumugi silk Honba oshima tsumugi
Honba Oshima Tsumugi are 100 % silk fabrics made in the Amami region of Kagoshima Prefecture. They are a yarn-dyed plain material, all made on handlooms such as shime-bata or te-bata. Honba Oshima Tsumugi features distinctive deep and quiet tones …
Uetsu tilia bark cloth Uetsu shinafu
Uetsu Shinafu is a textile produced in the area of Sekikawa, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, and Sanpoku, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture. The neighboring prefectures of Yamagata (Uzen) and Niigata (Echigo) are combined and referred to as Ue…
Tokamachi traditional resist-dyed textiles Tokamachi gasuri
Tokamachi Gasuri is produced in Tokamachi City and Tsunanmachi Nakauonumagun, Niigata Prefecture and the surrounding area. The area of Tokamachi and Uonuma is an area with heavy snow as well as being in a basin so the climate, the topography and t…
Tokamachi akashi chijimi textiles Tokamachi akashi chijimi
Tokamachi Akashi Chijimi is a textile produced in the area surrounding Tokamachi City in Niigata Prefecture. This is a very delicate and thin textile that requires the high-level techniques and precision of the experienced craftsmen. An experiment…
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Die Gran Ferrocarril del Táchira war eine 120 Kilometer lange Meterspurbahn in Venezuela, die von 1895 bis 1955 betrieben wurde.

Gleisbau
Die Bahn hatte eine Spurweite von 1000 mm. Das Metergewicht der Schienen betrug 20 kg/m (40 Pfund/Yard) und die maximale Steigung war 2 Prozent bei einem minimalen Kurvenradius von 80 Metern.

Streckenverlauf
Die Gran Ferrocarril del Táchira verlief von Encontrados am Río Catatumbo, der um 1922 vom Maracaibo-See für Dampfschiffe mit geringem Tiefgang aufwärts schiffbar war, in südlicher Richtung bis zu ihrem Endpunkt an der Station La Uraca in Richtung San Cristóbal, der Hauptstadt des Bundesstaates Táchira. Sie war die Hauptverkehrsverbindung für den venezolanischen Staat Táchira und den Passagierverkehr des kolumbianischen Departements Norte de Santander.

Es gab sechs Brücken mit einer Gesamtlänge von 332 Metern. 110 Kilometer der Strecke verliefen durch ein ziemlich ebenes Gelände, aber die letzten 10 Kilometer der Strecke lagen in einem Vorgebirge.

Die durchschnittlichen Baukosten pro Kilometer wurden mit nur 61.135 Bolívar (11.799 $) für die ersten 110 Kilometer der Strecke angegeben, aber die Kosten für die weiteren 10 Kilometer betrugen im Durchschnitt 93.333 Bolívar (18.013 $).

Schienenfahrzeuge
Es gab 7 Lokomotiven (mit einem durchschnittlichen Gewicht von 30 Tonnen), 6 Reisezugwagen, 34 Flachwagen, 32 gedeckte Wagen und 4 Tiertransportwagen.

Tarife
Der Passagiertarif von 1922 betrug 6,8 Cent/Meile für die erste Klasse und 3,4 Cent/Meile für die zweite Klasse. Der Frachttarif für den Export in den Norden betrug 21 Cent pro Tonnenmeile, und der Frachttarif für den Import in den Süden betrug 5 Cent pro Tonnenmeile.

Verkehrsaufkommen
Die jährlich beförderte Frachtmenge variierte stark, je nach Preis und Größe der lokalen Kaffeeernte. Im Jahr 1902 beförderte die Bahn insgesamt 11.113 Tonnen und im Jahr 1903 sogar 27.582 Tonnen, wobei letztere die höchste jemals beförderte Tonnage war. Der Personenverkehr ist von etwas mehr als 1.000 Personen auf die hohe Zahl von 19.070 im Jahr 1919 angestiegen.

Finanzierung
Das Stammkapital der Gesellschaft betrug 7.000.000 Bolívar (1.351.000 $), voll eingezahlt. Amerikanische Investoren besaßen einen Teil des Aktienkapitals und entgegen der in Venezuela üblichen Regel waren fast das gesamte Material und die Ausrüstung aus amerikanischer Herstellung.

Aufgrund der mäßigen Investitionskosten und der niedrigen Baukosten lag der Anteil dieser Eisenbahn 1913 bei 10,88 Prozent, verglichen mit 8 Prozent für die nächstbeste Eisenbahn. Die Hauptschwierigkeiten dieser Strecke lagen in den Überschwemmungen des Catatumbo-Flusses, die den Flusshafen von Encontrados zu zerstören bedrohten. Das größte Hindernis für das Wachstum des Verkehrsaufkommens war die Tatsache, dass die für ihr Territorium bestimmten Waren auf ihrem Weg so viele Umschlagvorgänge durchlaufen müssen, dass die Kosten stark ansteigen und der Verbrauch entsprechend abnimmt.

Die Bruttoeinnahmen für 1919 beliefen sich auf 1.571.381 Bolívar (303.277 $) und die Betriebsausgaben auf 625.638 Bolívar (120.748 $).

Einzelnachweise

Bahngesellschaft (Venezuela)
Bahnstrecke in Venezuela
Táchira

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Set sail with Schooner Freedom Charters for a one-of-a-kind sailing experience! Come on board, help raise sails, and then kick back and relax while you learn fascinating new facts about dolphins from Marineland Dolphin Adventure's very own educators and trainers. It's very common to see dolphins in the wild during these tours, so come prepared to ask … Continue reading "Fins & Freedom Sailboat Tours"


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Home / 100 years / evolution of cinema / guest post / indian cinema / tribute to cinema
The Evolution Of Indian Cinema Over The Last 100 Years
Murtaza Ali Khan 7:27:00 PM 100 years , evolution of cinema , guest post , indian cinema , tribute to cinema Edit
Celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema
A Potpourri of Vestiges Guest Post
By Sanjeev Kumar
A Still from Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra
May, 1913 saw the release of the first epochal film in Indian cinema. The film was "Raja Harishchandra" in Marathi language, and it was directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, also noted as the Father of Indian Cinema. Fast forward to 2013 and we have films like "Barfi!", written and directed by Anurag Basu, another eminent director of his own legion. From silent films to 3D entertainment, Indian cinemas continue to thrill. In this article, we will see the evolution of Indian cinema through various phases.
After Raja Harishchandra movie, several other filmmakers joined the bandwagon and continued to create silent films till 1931. From 1913 to 1931, we see Madras rising as the center of Indian film industry, followed by Bombay (now Mumbai). The time produced eminent film producers like SS Vasa and Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu. In 1927, the Indian Cinematograph Enquiry Committee (ICC) was created by the British Government to promote British films in India more than the American ones.
A Still from thefirst Indian talkie Alam Ara
The Musical Talkie Era
On 14 March 1931, the first talking Indian film was released in the name of "Alam Ara" by Ardeshir Irani. The film surpassed all expectation and the next couple of years saw movies like "Bhakta Prahlada", "Jamai Shashthi", "Kalidas", "Dev Devyani" and "Indra Sabha".
It was during this time that film actors realized that acting could become a great way to make comfortable living. Song and dance sequences emerged. This era is also known as "musical era" because actors were expected to sing their own songs. Films were mostly being made in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Hindi language.
This age was also notable because for the first time ever, an Indian film was screened at the Venice Film Festival. The film was the 1936 movie "Sant Tukaram".
A Still from Do Bigha Zameen
Turbulent 1940s to 1960s
The 1940s was the time of Second World War and Indian Independence struggle was in full swing. The impact of the social and political surroundings could be seen in the films too. The landmark film of the 1940s was "Kismet", starring Ashok Kumar. It dealt with unconventional issues like unmarried pregnancy and the concept of anti-hero. The music industry grew by leaps and bounds with lyricists and singers like SD Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Madan Mohan, Salil Chaudhury and Naushad.
Films in India were made in multiple languages more than ever. The era saw the coming of quintessential filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Shantaram, Satyajit Ray, K Asif, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak, Ramu Kariatm, Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Guru Dutt, KV Reddy, LV Prasad, Sivaji Ganesan, NT Rama Rao, Prem Nazir and Rajkumar.
Some of the memorable films of these decades are "The Apu Trilogy" by Satyajit Ray, "Neecha Nagar" by Chetan Anand, "Nagarik" by Ritwik Ghatak and "Do Bigha Zameen" by Bimal Roy.
A Still from 36 Chowringhee Lane
Social Changes of '70s and '80s
If the earlier decades were the Golden Age, the next two decades brought in sweeping social changes that changed the way Indian film industry was working. Various social and economic changes could be felt in filmmaking. The content of films, the characterization and the narrative style change a lot.
The trend was to produce "masala" films because of its instant entertainment value. The patrons of the "masala" film genre were Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Nargis, Waheeda Rehman, Sridevi, Smita Patil, Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Rekha and many more.
The decades were also important for parallel cinema, also known as arty flicks. Films like "Arth", "Paroma", "Sparsh", "Ek Pal", "Salaam Bombay!", "36 Chowringhee Lane" and "Chashme Buddoor" were symbolic of these times. Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji Karun, Ritwik Ghatak, Shyam Benegal and Satyajit Ray were the prominent directors of Indian art cinema.
A Still from LSD aka Love Sex Dhokha
The '90s to Recent Times
The advancement in sound technology, choreography and technological special effects paved the way to bring Indian cinema onto a global platform like we see today. The 90s were a time when corporate world was slowly making headway into the film industry as producers.
The era saw films in horror, mystery, comedy, action, thriller and romantic genres. The actors and actresses became "celebrities" enjoying stardom like never before. From conventional and time-tested movie plots, we moved on to the burlesque, queer, experimental and innovative films like "Udaan", "Guzaarish", "LSD", "Pan Singh Tomar", "Gangs of Wasseypur" and others.
The Bollywood film industry has become an intrinsic part of the global film heritage. Our films are screened at international film festivals and foreign film makers are showing a heightened interest in the Indian cinema. We also have a sizable overseas market contributing to the Indian film industry revenue.
The Indian film industry has come a long way from the first silent film and it has a long way to go.
About Author -
This guest post is written by Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, an avid movie buff and part of Movieplus.com. He loves to write on Hollywood & Bollywood Movies, Celebrities News, Gossips, etc. Find him on Google +.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
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Home Sports Real Madrid and Juventus agree £105m Cristiano Ronaldo transfer
Real Madrid and Juventus agree £105m Cristiano Ronaldo transfer
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as agreed to Juventus in a transfer deal worth around £105m.
The 33-year-old Portuguese forward said he is ready for a "new stage" in his life after agreeing to join the Italian champions in a four-year deal.
In a statement, Real Madrid confirmed Ronaldo had asked to leave after nine seasons with the Spanish football giant.
"Real Madrid would like to express its gratitude to a player that has proved to be the best in the world and has carved out one of the most brilliant eras in the history of our club and world football," the club said.
Continue Reading..... Cristiano Ronaldo Crowned Player Of The Year At The Globe Soccer Awards
"Real Madrid will always be his home."
In an open letter, Ronaldo said his years in Madrid were "possibly the happiest of my life" but "the time has come for a new cycle".
"I believe that the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that is why I have asked the club to accept transferring me," he said.
"Real Madrid has conquered my heart, and that of my family, and that is why more than ever I want to say thank you."
Continue Reading..... DOWNLOAD VIDEO: Sevilla 1–2 Barcelona – Super Cup Highlights & Goals 2018 Mp4
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli was at Ronaldo's hotel in Greece on Tuesday as discussions continued over the transfer.
At the same time, Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes was believed to be meeting Real Madrid.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 for a then world-record fee of £80m.
He has gone on to become the Spanish club's all-time top scorer with 451 goals.
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As well as the individual records, Ronaldo has also added two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and four Champions Leagues to his trophy collection during his time in Spain.
Ronaldo has been on holiday in Greece after Portugal crashed out of the World Cup against Uruguay in the last 16.
He had captained his national team at the tournament, scoring an incredible hat-trick in the country's opening 3-3 draw against rivals Spain.
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Kashmiris defying a Hindutva supremacist regime: PM Imran
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir have continued to lay down their lives and defy a Hindutva supremacist regime attempting to wipe their identity.
In a series of tweets on Kashmir Martyrs Day, the prime minister hailed Kashmiris for their continued struggle against the illegal and barbaric Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
Today, on Yaum-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir, we salute Kashmiris for their continued struggle against the illegal & barbaric Indian occupation of Jammu & Kashmir. The Shuhada of 13 July 1931 were the forefathers of today's Kashmiri resistance.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 13, 2020
Pakistan has always stood steadfast for the Kashmiri right to self-determination and will continue to support this just struggle till IOJK is liberated from the clutches of Indian illegal occupation. That day is not far.
He said the martrys of 13th July, 1931 were the forefathers of today's Kashmiri resistance. Their descendants have laid down their lives for freedom and continue to valiantly fight and defy a Hindutva supremacist regime bent on change the demography to wipe out the Kashmiri people and their identity.
"Their descendants have, generation after generation, laid down their lives for freedom and today they continue to valiantly fight and defy a Hindutva Supremacist regime bent on demographic engineering to wipe out the Kashmiri people and their identity," he added.
The prime minister added that Pakistan will continue to support the Kashmiris right to self-determination till it is liberated.
Pakistan, US should interact truthfully: Robin Raphel


A day off walking and time for some foot care. We've been walking fast especially first thing in order to keep warm and the pounding has hurt our feet. Time to repair and reflect.
The hostal Moratinos is superbly well run by Daniel and Martina: clean, efficient, simple but smart. For example there is underfloor heating which is pure luxury after weeks of those cold tiles. And last night we ate spinach omelette without chips. Muesli for breakfast. Yum.
Lots of nice things in Spain.
Good ordinary wine "water to refresh, wine to fortify". Ok can do.
Very smart pharmacies. No matter how decrepit the town: there may be 70s window displays, falling masonry, dogs running wild and free, I guarentee the pharmacy will be sparkling clean but sparsely stocked. They offer tiny tubes of Vaseline, a lubricant we slather on religiously everyday and which we need in industrial quantities. There will also be a large display of Compeed, magic skin.
I am back on food and feet: let's try to raise the tone.
Churches, bell towers, corbels (Look it up. We had to.) Immense gilded altar pieces under huge vaulted stone roofs. Every village has one and The Way passes many. Sadly I get very little sense of the presence of God or even much spirituality. It may be that as this is not my tradition and so it leaves me cold, but the truth is it does not warm me.
I do feel wonder at the skill and artistry shown by people in an age where mere survival was precarious. But mostly my wonder is at the natural landscape. Northern Spain is stunning. While it is unseasonably cold, spring is underway and the sky is full of birds. Swifts and swallows, buzzards and storks. Yes storks! Building their nests on the church tower, up and up, and how are they not blown away in this blasted wind?
Wild flowers, rippling wheat and barley.
Very few cars pass us. I know that will change as we carry on.
Walking across the meseta is mesmerising. Our friend Sue did the Camino in September /October when all was brown and scorched: she found it sublime. Our meseta is verdantly alive but strangely empty nonetheless. We have lots of thinking time. We keep a regular walking pace which allows thoughts to flow freely. Now and then I look northward where, under the clouds, lie some menacing looking mountains, to my shame I can't name them. They are still covered in snow. Surreal is the word that springs to mind.
Helen and I often refer to The Lord of the Rings. We have a sense of journey and a desired goal. The countryside plays its part in this: sometimes it feels dark and menacing as if it could swallow us up. We'd disappear and it would be as if we never existed. Sometimes, like today, the places we stay are so warm and benevolent, we don't want to leave. This feels like Rivendell or the last homely house before the sea.
We are entering the second half of the Camino and are more aware now of the challenges and pitfalls than we were. But the pull to Santiago is very strong. We so want to walk there. Our fellow walkers are encouraging as they face their own doubts and health problems. We urge each other on. I am sure this all sounds very cheesy but I don't care. It's something very real, not slick or glamourous. Not very 21 st century. But strangely more and more people are choosing to walk the way and the infrastructure is struggling to cope with them . There are three places to stay in this village of 30people. Tonight we are going to eat pizza at the other albergue. Yum.
Sleeping somewhere different every night. We've slept in albergues and apartments. In hostels and a swanky hotel. We walked into Granon and looked at the donativo albergue which offered forty yoga mats side by side on a church floor. And walked on. Later we heard someone we met decided to sleep in the yoga mat cupboard. Smart move.
Further up that street was a Franciscan donativo hostel which Helen looked into and said yes we'll take it. Then over lunch it came out that the 'room for two' had no door and no floor. Under construction perhaps. It was all a little dark and dingy and hostage like she said. Made her think of John McCarthy and Brian Keenan. And she wouldn't have said yes had she not just turned down the offer of the yoga mat.
No one else appeared to be staying in No door No floor. We looked up the street for one of our favourite characters, Pilgrim Pete who we first spotted at Stansted, who's been keeping pace with us over the weeks now. Weirdy beardy scout leader type. Big staff. And big heart. We decided if he or another male pilgrim turned up we'd stay, otherwise we'd rescue our rucksacks and run.
No one came, so we made our excuses and walked another 8k to the chocolate hotel. A truck stop, a transport cafe with rooms. Very unprepossessing, very cheap, a vibrant citrus colour bedroom and the best sleep we've had yet.
Pilgrim Pete whose name I think is Art. Looks like a cartoon but I instinctively like him.
Sad Gerda, not her real name.
The symbiotic sisters from Brazil who share food halfie/halfie all the time.
A young Spanish man with a neat backpack and nice bum.
Kevin and Sharon, lovely ordinary people who are walking and praying for a sick friend.
Heinz, a retired German banker who said this was his last Camino and he had no religious faith at all.
A group of three French couples who are doing the Way ten days at a time over several years to mark and honour the death of a friend. They will finish in two years In Santiago by which time one of them will be 77.
Two daughters from New York, with their dad, Tom, 82!
So many people swinging in and out of our path. We don't see them for days and then they appear at the next dinner table, smiling and waving as if we were friends. Which we are, for this short while.
We slept last night in Burgos in a hotel from which I can see a corner of the splendid cathedral. Yesterday was a long day: up before dawn because of yet another blessed snorer. Otherwise the albergue was delightful, attached to a hotel it served wonderful hot tasty food on its pilgrim menu. My favourite dish so far lentils and chorizo soup. Mostly you get hake and chips – fries really- I am learning to differentiate I am eating so many. And lots of white bread. Oh and half a bottle of vino tinto thrown in.
I didn't intend to write about food and sleep but they are two of our main preoccupations.
Walking into Burgos yesterday we were pretty much exhausted 38/40k in very hot sun and sketchy food. The last 10k took us past the airport up a long dusty track during which we listened to Van Morrisson and picked up the otherwise flagging pace. After that we sheltered behind a container and swigged some water and scoffed some almonds. Then the long march into Burgos along the river bank. It was the most scenic and shady route, the alternatives looked grim, but it was long.
My inclination is to just go for it but that does turn the whole thing into a route march as Helen remarked. Her phrase is 'Dig deep' which is useful and we had to.
After a small eternity of walking past gushing streams and being overtaken by wizened joggers, we accosted three little spanish ladies and asked them to look at our map and tell us which bridge we were on. To our dismay they turned back a page! But not long now they reassured us, maybe two kilometres? Mmm. Kind but not true.
Eventually we began to see portentous stone buildings and some lovely simple street art and sculpture. We knew we were nearly there. Over a stone bridge, through a magnificent arch (I am running out of superlatives) and wow the cathedral … Even better, sorry to be shallow, our hotel.
I love the walking. I love getting up and seeing the sunrise over the mountains behind us. Our packs are feeling lighter. ( Everything is metaphor on the Camino).The distances are getting longer and we are getting dustier. Our clothes need a washing machine, not a rub through in a sink.
Entering the city we were tired and smelly and grubby looking. We passed clean normal people which we of course are. Usually. It was embarrassing.
This is our choice. At any point we could pull the plug and come home. But along the way you see people who have no choice. Lets face it every day we see them. They may well be obsessed with food and sleep and keeping their small number of possessions safe. Almost certainly they would not choose go unwashed.
Many many people old and young smile at us and wish us a Buen Camino. It is so heartening that small moment of connection. And if nothing else in my shy self conscious English way, I might try to emulate that.
Today we're in Viana, in a flat attached- loosely – to an albergue. Albergues are like youth hostels and mostly our experience of them has been good. They're clean and friendly. Personally I like the ones with bossy rules eg don't wash your boots in this sink: yes too right, I love it: lights out at 10 pm, doors locked till 6am.
Our first stop was run by the Dutch confraternity. Super organised and spruced despite 100+ dirty tired pilgrims coming through every day. One volunteer did our washing and drying for 2 euros. Although since then we've had hospitalero Josu who will do it for half that and peg it out. Weird and best not to think about it. We indulged him anyhow.
The dutchies were great and organised us rookie pilgrims, waking us gently a woman walking through the immense and mixed dorm, singing a sweet Taize song at 6am. This did seem harsh as we had staggered over the Pyrenees in vile conditions only the day before, but there's no pussying about. On your way pilgrim.
Actually Helen and I were glad to leave, we had endured the semi final of the European snoring championship up our end of the dorm. UK were eliminated in the first round.
by his mother who slept next to me – I thought she was the culprit – she apologised in the morning and hoped that we could spend some time together later on the camino. Not if I see you first I thought, having spent the night with ears bulging with plugs and head wrapped round with scarves, under my pillow.
Since then however despite the pilgrim meal which features mucho vino, we have slept well. It might have something to do with the 20+km a day we're all walking. Everyone's tuckered out and asleep by ten. Very civilised. Like.
We've slept in a monastery, a sparkling hotel room, a cathedral sized church in Pamplona, a pension in dismal Zubiri (crap food, great wine), a swish apartment in Estella, a swimming cubicle with bunks and a Heidi like eyrie in Los Arcos, with Josu. Only he was downstairs, rinsing out our smalls and making cake for our breakfast.
It's raining and so it's difficult to love Viana but to be fair I think it's a (another) pretty town on a hill with a (another) stonking great church and if the sun were shining it would be lovely.
I am so enjoying the walking despite huge tiredness and sore feet. Every day when I release the laces of my boots my toes wriggle like a child's and press sweat happily onto the cold tiles. Every morning I pack and review my stuff and wonder what I can send home to lighten the load. Nothing yet, but I am hoping to lose my sleeping bag soon as the weather improves. Hint. Please God.
Still the countryside is beautiful and lush after the grim winter we've all endured. Everything is bursting into life and the birds unimaginably busy. Frogs are courting and making a lot of noise about it.
We are walking and talking and laughing a lot. I realise how much we laugh. There are many quiet reflective people, contrasting with some crazy Japanese who sound angry all the time, a Korean woman in a poke bonnet quietly doing her rosary. An Australian couple listening to the Beach Boys?? Lots to smile about.
We are happy to be walking across northern Spain in pleasant company and pretty good health. We don't know where we'll be sleeping tomorrow but it will be ok. Viana is ok, it's given us what we need tonight. Food and shelter and companionship. Thank you.


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The "cow case" and how it might affect Texas tort reform law
On behalf of Marynell Maloney Law Firm, PLLC posted in Medical Malpractice on Thursday, March 12, 2015.
Medical malpractice law is ordinarily a way in which medical professionals can get into trouble for making negligent mistakes. And in the vast majority of cases, this is the angle that courts and juries consider. But what happens if a doctor can use the Texas medical malpractice law defensively, as a way to avoid liability? This is the theory being tested in a case involving an accident between a car, and a cow owned by a retired doctor.
The facts of the case suggest an ordinary negligence case: cows owned by the retired doctor were on a public road when a pickup truck being driven by the plaintiff ran into them. The plaintiff suffered injuries that allegedly cost more than $700,000 in medical expenses. The plaintiff's lawsuit against the retired alleges negligence in the form of failure to inspect or maintain fencing, to keep watch over the cows, and to warn travelers.
But the defense attorney is hoping to persuade the court that the retired doctor, because of his at status as at least a former medical professional, should be entitled to defend the case as a medical malpractice action. If that is the case, then the plaintiff's failure to provide a health care expert report required by the medical malpractice statute invalidates his lawsuit.
There may be some legal support for this interpretation of the law; in a prior case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that when doctors are sued, even if the lawsuit is not a direct medical malpractice claim, the expert medical report still needs to be filed.
To bolster his reasoning, the defense attorney is arguing that other Texas judicial decisions have applied the state's medical malpractice law to situations that were only tangentially related to the practice of medicine, such as patient slip-and-fall accidents, a patient bitten by a spider, or a nursing home resident who was attacked by another resident of the facility.
What is also interesting in this case is that the defense attorney is actually more of a plaintiff's attorney, and is admittedly seeking to "guinea pig" this case to bring attention to what he believes has been an over-extension of medical malpractice law as a defensive technique in the hope that courts or the state legislature will restrict the practice in the future.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "How a wayward cow could change Texas' tort reform law," Brian M. Rosenthal, March 9, 2015
Related Posts: Medical malpractice suit may be filed against nurse practitioner, Parents file medical malpractice suit after death of daughter, Medical malpractice claim vs psychiatrist is based on negligence, Substantial sum given to family in medical malpractice situation
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Bill Cosby Thanks Boosie BadAzz for Supporting Him in Random Shout-Out
Aleia Woods
Gilbert Carrasquillo / Paras Griffin, Getty Images (2)
Just when 2020 couldn't get any more peculiar, incarcerated actor Bill Cosby hops on Twitter to show love to Boosie BadAzz.
On Thursday (Dec. 10), the currently incarcerated actor-comedian, who is serving three to 10 years behind bars for aggravated indecent assault, tweeted a note of thanks to Boosie for his support following Cosby being accused of drugging and sexually assaulting 60 women. Cosby also sent Boosie well wishes after the Baton Rouge, La. rapper sustained a leg injury and was required to undergo surgery after getting shot in Dallas last month.
"On this 10th day of December 2020...I will pay homage to those who have supported me and my family, simply by saying, thank you," Bill Cosby wrote on Twitter. "The first person to be recognized on Thank You Thursday is Rapper @BOOSIEOFFICIAL Thank you for your support & I'm praying for you to have a speedy recovery and for your mobility to be restored. Again, thank you very much. #ThankYouThursday #ThankYouBoosie #GetHealthyBoosie."
Bill Cosby quickly began trending on Twitter today after posting the tweet with people confused about why he is expressing gratitude for Boosie's support. Truthfully, Cosby reaching out to Boosie from prison isn't a far cry from the other weird occurrences that have transpired throughout the year.
One person tweeted, "Who had 'Bill Cosby giving Boosie a Twitter shoutout" on their 2020 Bingo card?."
Another person tweeted, "Not bill Cosby givin boosie Dumbazz a shout out from prison..."
In any event, although folks appear to be perplexed by the shout-out, Boosie actually vocalized support for Cosby via Twitter once before. Unfazed by the controversy his message would spark, in September, Boosie called for Cosby to be released from prison and even suggested a petition be launched.
"Free Bill Cosby Let's Start A Petition," Boosie tweeted back on Sept. 1.
boosieofficial via Twitter
That wasn't even the first time Boosie BadAzz defended the comedian. Last June, Boosie compared Cosby with disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and said race played a factor in Cosby being imprisoned while Weinstein was still a free man at the time despite similar allegations being made against him. Things have obviously changed since then as Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison back in March for rape and sexual assault after numerous women accused him of sexually assaulting them.
There's 21 days left in 2020. Here's to hoping that things will be different and less baffling in the new year.
See more reactions to Bill Cosby giving Boosie BadAzz a shout-out on Twitter below.
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Source: Bill Cosby Thanks Boosie BadAzz for Supporting Him in Random Shout-Out
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The first scenes of the film "Last Frontier" were shot with Sergey Bezrukov
The studio "Voenfilm" continues shooting the military-historical picture "Last Frontier" about the feat of the Podolsk cadets in October 1941 near Moscow. The first scenes were shot with the participation of People's Artist of the Russian Federation Sergey Bezrukov, who in the film plays the role of the Soviet military front-line scout Ivan STARCHAK.
"Everything here is so thought out both technologically and formally. Feeling that you are immersed in 1941. When you know what happened in October 41 in this direction, on the Warsaw Highway, you know the feat of the Podolsk cadets, then it's impossible to talk about it without tears. The enemy – these professional warriors who have traveled all over Europe – here, near Moscow, was stopped by the young guys, many of them were only 18 years old. I am happy to participate in this project. It is a great honor to play a historical personality – Captain Starchak, who fought along with them. This is part of our heroic history, "Sergey Bezrukov said in a short interview.
Ivan Georgievich Starchak is a legendary Soviet military intelligence officer, paratrooper, in October 1941 – captain, commander of reconnaissance and subversive detachment, one of the leaders of the defense on the Warsaw highway.
A group of paratroopers led by Captain I.G.Starchak made sorties to the rear of the enemy. The enemy called his squad "white death". "Starchakovtsy" in the enemy rear destroyed bridges, burned trucks, tanks, cars, seized and destroyed many weapons and ammunition of the enemy.
The film crew of the movie "Last Frontier" honored the memory of Podolsk cadets
On the territory of the Ivanovskoye estate in Podolsk an old flower bed was restored