During the Bush administration, it seemed that nary a Republican—and just a handful of Democrats in Congress—spoke out about the government's crackdown on civil liberties. Since a Democrat took power, the silence has spread.
One notable exception is Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wyden continues a lonely battle to generate discussion and accountability where there is virtually none. Among his concerns are how Executive Branch officials resist providing meaningful estimates of whether it is only a few Americans-or vast numbers—who are being monitored without warrants.
For example, while the public is generally aware that judges authorize limited numbers of wiretaps each year, it remains largely in the dark about newer and far more prevalent techniques, such as the routine use of cell phones as sophisticated tracking devices.
Wyden's most recent effort involves placing a "hold" on the Senate's reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court system—until he is able to learn more about how, post-9/11, the Executive Branch is using its powers.
Three other privacy/civil rights experts joining Wyden on the panel praised him for being willing to risk charges that he is "soft on terror" in his bid to revive privacy rights. It's a tough act when a change of administration does not translate into a change of policy on that front. Like the Bush administration, the Obama administration, citing terrorism threats, insists on keeping secret details of all electronic surveillance, including storage and retrieval of the public's phone calls and emails.
Closely related to the privacy battle is that over civil liberties. An example the panel cited is the unprecedented federal prosecution of government whistleblowers who talk to the news media. The tacit argument is that they are little different from spies.
The Obama administration has undertaken six such prosecutions, including its effort to imprison Thomas Drake, a high-ranking former National Security Agency (NSA) official, who attended the seminar. The Obama Justice Department sought to imprison Drake for the rest of his life after he discussed non-classified documents with a newspaper reporter probing an estimated billion dollars in waste at NSA. Drake was fortunate; he had the representation of skilled counsel (Jesselyn Radack of the nonprofit Government Accountability Project—herself a former whistleblower), and his case went to a judge whose rulings paved the way for a fair trial. Authorities then in effect gave up, and settled the once-mammoth prosecution by extracting from Drake a plea bargain to a minor charge.
During the question and answer period, Drake praised Wyden's efforts, and argued that the efforts he supervised proved to him that the NSA never needed to "move to the dark side" in infringing personal liberties in order to protect the nation against terrorists.
Six years ago, New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau and his Times colleague James Risen exposed massive illegal NSA surveillance via a monitoring operation that may have encompassed literally billions of American phone calls and emails. The source of that estimate, now-retired AT&T technician Mark Klein, told me two years ago that no member of the Senate or House has ever dared invite him to a hearing to discuss what he discovered while working for AT&T. In frustration, Klein authored a book about it, Wiring Up the Big Brother Machine…and Fighting It.
Others with expertise, including Drake, have never been invited to testify by any oversight committee. That's hardly surprising, given the interests at stake. Those committees tend to be dominated by politicians of both political parties who routinely defer to national security and military officials, and who are beholden to major corporate donors enriched by the federal contracts related to surveillance.
It's instructive to learn just how handicapped even a member of the Intelligence panel like Wyden is. When I asked him later whether he planned to seek hearings and call witnesses to address his inability to get straight answers from intelligence officials on the scope of surveillance, he explained that that he has no ability to schedule hearings or determine witnesses.
Besides Klein, another important witness Wyden would love to see called—but which he cannot make happen—is former Qwest Communications CEO Joseph Nacchio. The latter argued extensively and unsuccessfully in court papers that he was selectively prosecuted by the Bush administration for securities violations as punishment for his refusal in February 2001 to cooperate with a Bush request for massive surveillance of Qwest customers. Qwest was the only one of the four "Baby Bell" giant telecom companies to resist federal pressure to illegally provide customer records without a court order, evidence has shown.
Wyden is walking a difficult line, seeking to make the public aware of both the abuses and the structural problems that prevent their rectification, while not singling out colleagues for public criticism. He did praise fellow committee member Mark Udall (D-CO).
The Senate Intelligence Committee is chaired by Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA). A former mayor of San Francisco, and therefore perceived by some as a critic of the system, the two-decade senate veteran actually has a long track record of sympathy for military and intelligence contractors, and is widely regarded as a reflexive supporter of government secrecy and vigorous intelligence-gathering. Her record on oversight and investigation is far less apparent. Virtually all hearings by her committee are secret, making it difficult for senators like Wyden and Udall to share with the public even the comparative little they know.
By 2005 her net worth had increased to between $43 million and $99 million….Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement…- characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phone book" - draws clear lines between her assets and those of her husband, with many of her assets in blind trusts.
Feinstein worked closely on the committee with the vice chairman, West Virginia Democrat John D. Rockefeller IV, who chairs the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee. Rockefeller led the way in 2008 for Senate approval of immunity for major telecom companies against customer lawsuits alleging that the companies violated Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches. President Obama, who campaigned against such immunity, switched his position once he had defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
The immunity for telecom companies backed by Feinstein, Rockefeller, and Obama, as well as many Democrats and the vast majority of Republicans, in effect thwarted the right of the public to learn from litigation what has been occurring across the nation as longstanding privacy rights are threatened by massive electronic surveillance.
Wyden said he sees some hopeful signs in recent correspondence with National Security officials. But the details as he reveals them are notable for their Orwellian aspects.
Wyden repeated several times that he and other Senators who are privy (even minimally) to classified information on national security are typically forbidden to say anything unless the administration declassifies the relevant material. In general, he said he believes the government is over-classifying information, thus preventing discussion. But he said he has obtained approval to mention that a ranking official wrote him last week that authorities concede that the FISA court once said that the government had not acted within the spirit of the FISA law in a certain unspecified case.
That doesn't sound like much. Moreover, Wyden said authorities balked at providing even ballpark estimates of how many Americans or messages are under surveillance, saying it would take too much personnel time to compute. Wyden said he is not looking for a count or any other time-consuming exercise, simply a rough estimate of whether the number is high or low.
Lichtblau, a panellist at the Cato event and author of the book Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice, said news reporters face increasing difficulties covering the issue. One problem is what he perceives to be a dwindling public interest in privacy issues over the past few years. Another is that reporters and their sources are under increasing threat of federal prosecution. Lichtblau's Times colleague Risen, author of State of War: The Secret History of CIA and the Bush Administration, faces potential jail time for contempt of court in a long-running effort by federal prosecutors to force him to disclose sources as they seek to convict a former CIA employee, Jeffrey Sterling.
With the House's recent passage of CISPA, legislation authorizing sharing of internet information between the government and tech companies, and the Senate moving to consider another cyber-security bill, Senator Wyden took to the Senate floor in May to affirm his commitment to opposing any bill that asks Americans to make the false choice between secure networks and personal privacy. He argued that "privacy should be the default not the exception" in national security wiretaps. And he noted that "Bad Internet policy is increasingly premised on false choices…there is no sound policy reason to sacrifice the privacy rights of law abiding American citizens in the name of cyber-security."
For now, his is a lonely perspective. Wyden half-joked that, while public approval of the Senate hovers around eight percent, he suspects it is actually much lower. And he gets why: "One of the reasons people are so unhappy with government," he said, is that officials constantly mislead the public. When the American people find out what is really going on in the privacy sphere, he predicted, "they are going to be really angry."
That is, if people even care about such things anymore.
WhoWhatWhy plans to continue doing this kind of groundbreaking original reporting. You can count on it. But can we count on you? We cannot do our work without your support.Please click here to donate; it's tax deductible. And it packs a punch.


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text:
Technology Snapshot
GlycoConnect™
HydraSpace™
toxSYN™ Payloads
Bispecific Antibodies
Peter van de Sande, MSc, MBA, MBL
Prior to joining Synaffix in 2011, Peter held various executive positions at CPS Color (now Chromaflo/Corob), including Managing Director Australia, Director Marketing & Sales APAC, Global Product Manager and Technical & Business Development Director. He received his MSc degree in Chemical Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands), an Executive MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management and a Master of Business Law (MBL) degree from Sydney University (Australia).
Floris van Delft, PhD
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Floris held a position as Associate Professor at the Radboud University Nijmegen, with special focus on click chemistry and protein conjugation technologies, before shifting his professional activities full-time from academic research to Synaffix in 2012. Earlier appointments involved a postdoctoral research position at the Scripps Research Institute (San Diego, USA) and an assistant professorship at the University of Amsterdam. Floris received his MSc and PhD (cum laude) from Leiden University (the Netherlands) in carbohydrate chemistry and stereoselective synthesis. He has authored >130 peer-reviewed publications, 14 patents and serves as the Professor of Bioconjugate Chemistry at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Sander van Berkel, PhD
Founder & VP, R&D Operations
Prior to Synaffix, Sander performed postdoctoral research on novel conjugation methodologies for non-invasive cancer imaging at University of Oxford. Preceding Oxford, he worked at the Leibniz-Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle, Germany, as postdoctoral researcher focusing on the synthesis of antitumor agent epothilone B and its derivatives. He holds a PhD and a MSc in Organic Chemistry from the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He is an inventor on several patents and has been author of 31 peer-reviewed publications and reviews.
Peter Tjeerdsma, MSc, PDEng
VP, CMC & Regulatory Affairs
Ranging from preclinical to commercial-stage assets, Peter has collected broad experience across all aspects of CMC development. Notably, Peter previously served as Director CMC at Janssen Vaccines and more recently as Director of CMC and Head of Operations at Staten Biotechnology. Separately, Peter has supported multiple early biotechs in a strategic CMC consultant capacity related to process and analytical development, as well as regulatory and compliance strategies and filings. His experience encompasses many different drug types, such as antibodies, vaccines, and live bacteria.
Anthony DeBoer
Prior to joining Synaffix in 2014, Anthony served as the Associate Director of Business Development at Allozyne, a Seattle-based biotech, where he was focused on partnering efforts around pipeline programs and antibody-drug conjugate technology leading up to an acquisition by MedImmune. Previously, he studied in the laboratory of Dr. Irv Weissman at the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Anthony is a published co-author in Nature and PNAS and holds a BSc in Biotechnology from Seattle Pacific University.
Copyright Synaffix BV . All Rights Reserved

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Description: Gamay is a grapevine originating in Borgogna in France; it was introduced in Valle d'Aosta in the late 60's. The color is ruby red with crimson hues, the fragrance intense and typical of wine, enriched by floral and spicy notes, the flavor fresh, dry, medium-bodied, slightly bitter at the end. Recommended with Valle d'Aosta salami, delicate or light first dishes, white meat and quiches. Producer: Cave Des Onze Communes.
Conservation: Store in a cool, dry place and protect from sunlight after opening.


If you would like to arrange a group visit to Dungeness lifeboat station, please complete the form here or alternatively, you can download a form to complete and post to the lifeboat station. Before your visit, you will need to read, complete and sign the Terms and Conditions, both forms can be downloaded using the links below. Click here to view some photos from a recent visit to Dungeness lifeboat station.
Please download and read the Terms and Conditions, if you are happy to accept them complete and sign this form. Access to the Lifeboat Station will only be given to persons completing and signing this form.


Pre-holiday and holidays are times of joy and socialization for many of us, but for some people this can be a time of increased loneliness, anxiety, and depression.
During these times, distress in vulnerable individuals can be exacerbated. Frequently, this is connected to commonly held ideas about how the holidays should be a time of happiness and that we should look forward to life, enjoying our time with others.
If we are stressed or already have symptoms of depression or anxiety, it is more difficult for us to experience feelings of joy during the holidays.
At the same time, distress can be caused by estranged relationships with those near and dear to us. This can be the case with the elderly, patients with chronic disease, homeless people, and others that are more isolated already during the year. Common messages during the holidays like those of happiness, closeness, and socializing can cause even greater feelings of being pushed aside, loneliness, and anxiety.
During the holidays, those who have recently lost someone due to death, divorce, separation, or other reasons are especially vulnerable to distress. Similar feelings can also appear when we lose a pet. All of these situations interrupt the established patterns in our lives and our family rituals.
Missing a loved one is a very intense feeling and can bring about feelings of loneliness. Relatives can play an important role in easing these feelings by helping the bereaved individual feel important and valued.
In December, there is only a slight increase in the suicide rate, which is less than we might expect. However, in the spring time the increase in the number of suicides is much higher.
Nevertheless, by monitoring the number of calls to crisis phone lines and the number of views on distress help web pages, we see an increase in the number of individuals expressing distress during the holidays.
The majority of people who are thinking about suicide are trying to overcome their distress. However, it is difficult for them to find a solution alone, because unknowingly they forget about constructive ways of coping with situations. They perceive things that occur to them in a negative manner and as being unfair (we wrote more about that here). Therefore, it is important that other people are there to help and support the person in distress. For example, they can help the distressed person look for healthy solutions to improve their wellbeing.
Holidays can be a good opportunity to offer your time and attention to someone in need. An honest conversation about our burdens (and pleasures) can be the best present.
Media reports are extremely important in this time period and can relieve people from excessive expectations. Those who are in need of help can benefit from media messages on ways to help themselves and where to seek help. In this manner we have prepared a short, media press release. For more information please contact us.


A teenager underwent an 8-hour surgery after being shot in Laurinburg, North Carolina by a cop, the teen's grandmother said.
The grandmother of a North Carolina teen who was shot eight times by a police officer early Saturday recently broke her silence amid her wait for answers and a state investigation.
Police responded to a call around 2 a.m. Saturday about shots being fired at an intersection in Laurinburg, Police Chief Darwin Williams confirmed. One officer was involved in the shooting, Williams said, declining to speak on the specific incident details. The officer and teen's names were also not released as well as information on whether the teen was unarmed.
An Emergency Medical Services director, however, shed some light on what happened during the shooting.
The first individual was taken from a food mart parking lot, and a second person with multiple gunshot wounds was transported to the hospital, according to Hammond.
The teen, who is a Scotland High School senior, suffered 17 wounds and underwent an eight-hour surgery, Bethea said. Her road to making a full recovery will involve more surgeries.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The Scotland County NAACP in also involved in the matter, the Laurinburg Exchange said.


We all know about, "Hypnosis" and "Weight Loss." Hypnosis is the witty trick to which is followed by people to turn the mind with an analytical technique to help them out with a sustainable solution. Have you ever wonder what the need for this complicated word in weight loss is? Well!, we all are surrounded by hectic schedules, unhealthy eating habits, rolling cozy deeds over couch and more, which makes us gain extra pounds.
Now the mind strings are more vibrating, Does hypnosis for weight loss, is effective? Making up healthy resolutions everytime is still a standard mean to boost yourself for fitness journey. But often most of us, never follow it in the right-tight way forever. Today with the busy lifestyles humans are bound to luxurious habits and which is the principal reason to cause most of us unhealthy. Most of the diseases are the fall of unactive rolling. To plan a gym or a sport is not everything, the self-motivational ability is the prime source to inspire yourself to gain health. Maintaining good health is not that difficult the way we think.
Surprisingly, unhealthy eating habits, random shuffling of schedules is making us more obsessed, overweight which is the dominant reason for many health problems from head to toe. Being fatter, gaining more weight, bulking of tummy for no reason is a sign of laziness and overweight, which gives a warm hug to many health problems.
Just imagine, your food is floating away in space, or a day without eating unhealthy junks. Many people claim that hypnosis for weight loss is the myth, it is not useful either, but everything has its critics. However, some also believe, yes it does work, helps people to lose weight, and boost them with healthy eating habits as well. If you are one of them looking for a change to decrease your extra pounds, then stop blinking your eyes with weird wonders, because, hypnosis works. Yeah! You got the right sound. Hypnosis for weight loss works effectively. Now, you can imagine yourself in the glam look of yours after losing your weight.
Although, this is one of the old fashion strategies to lose weight. But also have scientific pieces of evidence and studies over people. It not only works for weight loss but covers the aspects of the unhealthy regime, and handle false eating habits of the people. Hypnosis is a classified column of psychotherapy with many real secrets, which makes people learn to self-hypnosis regarding weight loss or other problems.
Prenatal Factors: The women during pregnancy makes themselves overweight, obese, diabetic. The maternal smoking or alcoholic habits also is the reason for prenatal overweight.
Genes: The heredity factors comes from parents DNA to offspring determine the genetic overweight problems.
Chemical Subjection in Diet: The consumption of unhealthy food, or chemical exposed food in an indirect way from the diet is defined as chemical subjection in the diet. The extreme use of pesticides, insecticides, DDT, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) and other harmful chemicals is one of the lead cause of weight gain, diabetes, and other health problems.
Hormonal Factors: Changes in the flow of hormones inside the human body is scientifically considered as the reason for many health issues. Like hypothyroidism PCOS, etc. are the chemicals stimulated in the body which causes hormonal changes and risk health with weight gain, nausea, fatigue, etc.
Consuming Certain Medicines: The chemical composition of medicines when reacts with body often leads to problems with hunger, and weight. The patient either can feel to avoid food or can guzzle more as it depends individually.
Some of the common, medicines that react with body chemicals risk the factor of overweight are antidepressants, corticosteroids, anti-seizure and more. However, antibiotics also affect gut bacterias.
Sleeping Disorders: These days most of the people are affected by sleeping problems due to busy day schedules which cause, stress, depression, anxiety this impacts sleep and other changes in the body behavior. Sleeping problems imbalances hormones and eating habits in the late nights which causes weight gain.
Cozy Couch Lifestyle: Laziness in lifestyle, with all luxuries in handy technologies leads to the little movement in us which plays a prominent role in obesogenic habits of overeating, unhealthy guzzling of food. These all lifestyle factors are the sources of weight gain.
We can't change the heredity, genetic or parental factors, or even the exposing of chemical elements. But we can adopt healthy regimes and active lifestyle conditions to reduce the risk of unhealthy habits of obesity and being overweight. Embracing such vigorous deeds will help you to be more fit which will flourish a supreme well being.
Food in Mood: Eating habits vary individually, as some eat more in happiness and some quit the meal while new behaviors. Guzzling over or under is also done in the mood of stress, anxiety and other emotional swings.
Serving in Good Times: Overeating habits while hanging over with family and friends for taste, flavor and attractive aroma in the environments also leads to weight gain. Friendship with calories, processed foods, oily and spicy junks in offices, market or other cozy zones often risk the health with the bundle of problems later.
Fattening, Eating and Feels: The flow of good behavior, and eating is associated with comfort. The illness is one of the rewards to gain taste after cure which endure weight gain. Happy serving in relationships is an achievement to make loved ones giggly, which is the dominant reason for the weight increase.
Eating With No Hunger: This is one of the depressive ways to show anger, sadness, anxiety and other problems without actually communicating. Often people show many mood swings by eating the leftover meals, with no feels of hunger or appetite. Instead of discussing issues in such situation, eating with no feeling of emptiness in the stomach will leave people to distress themselves by overeating habits, which leads to weight problems and obesity.
Hypnosis Motivation: Take hypnosis as a therapy to cure the problem of overeating which will automatically work on losing weight. Inspire yourself, be self-motivator to get rid of extra weight. This will ensure a transformation in your personality in future.
Be Restless, Leave You Laziness: We all have gained the habit of laziness over couch all the time. Moving little, settling yourself in comfort always welcomes many health problems. Start burning your fat, adopt a healthy lifestyle, and fix your schedule to exercise or to make a habit of regular playing of sports. Encourage yourself with fat-calorie burning routines which will increase metabolism and other health processes.
Healthy-Wealthy Suggestions: People should take hypnosis as a learning to adopt fitness regime and healthy lifestyle not as lesson focusing on weight loss. Adopting good eating habits and living good routine will help them to gain nutritious wealth more. Take knowledge about, "Fake Food" and "Real Food" will robust, healthy well-being forever.
Eat Healthily, Live Healthily: Body need are much more critical than melting of taste buds. Be conscious of the eating habits. To increase the excellent being modify your eating habits from junk to nutritional diets.
Feel Light, Eat Right: Good food habits, will stimulate activeness, which automatically works in the way of reducing extra calories. The feeling to feel light is right, which will make a vogue change in outlook as well. Notice the before-after changes with the lighting of the body will motive your self-esteem too. Looking aerobatic, slimmer will make a fit and excellent future.
Many scientific explorations are claiming surprising facts about hypnosis for weight loss. However, there are shreds of evidence of the effectiveness of weight loss in a positive manner. A study done 1986, claimed that overweight females who took over a programme of hypnosis for losing weight lost 17 pounds. Another health research and analysis in the 90s found that who took weight losing regimes via such hypnosis lose pounds more than twice as aspected, than those who didn't opt for weight loss hypnosis.
However, a health analysis in the year 2014, found that women who are adopting the schedule of hypnosis for weight loss has improved their health and weight, BMI and even has changed their eating habits.


Mouse monoclonal antibody raised against a partial recombinant GMPPA.
Western Blot analysis of GMPPA expression in transfected 293T cell line by GMPPA monoclonal antibody (M01), clone 2F1.
Lane 1: GMPPA transfected lysate(46.291 KDa).
Immunoprecipitation of GMPPA transfected lysate using anti-GMPPA monoclonal antibody and Protein A Magnetic Bead (U0007), and immunoblotted with GMPPA monoclonal antibody.
GMPPA (NP_037467, 321 a.a. ~ 420 a.a) partial recombinant protein with GST tag. MW of the GST tag alone is 26 KDa.
GMPPA Antibody (monoclonal) (M01) is for research use only and not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
This gene is thought to encode a GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase. This enzyme catalyzes the reaction which converts mannose-1-phosphate and GTP to GDP-mannose which is involved in the production of N-linked oligosaccharides.
Towards a proteome-scale map of the human protein-protein interaction network. Rual JF, et al. Nature, 2005 Oct 20. PMID 16189514.Sequence comparison of human and mouse genes reveals a homologous block structure in the promoter regions. Suzuki Y, et al. Genome Res, 2004 Sep. PMID 15342556.Transcriptome characterization elucidates signaling networks that control human ES cell growth and differentiation. Brandenberger R, et al. Nat Biotechnol, 2004 Jun. PMID 15146197.Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs. Ota T, et al. Nat Genet, 2004 Jan. PMID 14702039.Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences. Strausberg RL, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2002 Dec 24. PMID 12477932.


text:
Dems Divided
For state Democrats, the Arnold era has ushered in a period of political back-stabbing and uncertainty. Can they recover?
By Jeff Kearns
Fabian Núñez won the race to become speaker of the Assembly, but when he takes over next year, he may wish he hadn't.
If they banded together, the 10 Assembly Democrats meeting after hours in the Capitol knew, they'd have the power to pick the next speaker of the Assembly. The four-way race had dwindled to a stalemate between two remaining candidates, neither of which could round up the necessary 25 votes out of the 48-member Democratic caucus. It was November 18, the day after Arnold Schwarzenegger's swearing-in. With a new Republican governor following the recall, they needed to get their act together fast and unite behind someone.
The 10 holdouts, mostly moderates, were gathered in the top-floor office of Dario Frommer, who was ready to cut a deal to throw his support behind Fabian Núñez of Los Angeles. And some members of the group were leaning against the other remaining candidate, Jenny Oropeza of Long Beach.
"Someone," Frommer said, "needed 25 votes, and no one was getting there. You had to move on. I made a calculation and thought Núñez could do it."
Before backing Frommer, of Burbank, as a candidate, the moderates originally had supported a fourth candidate who already had dropped out: Joe Nation, of Marin County, who also was in the room that night. The group supported Frommer next, but he couldn't lock up enough votes, either. Núñez and Oropeza had agreed to be interviewed by the moderate group before it made up its collective mind.
The Assembly speaker is one of state government's top three jobs. As the leader of the lower house, the speaker has the power to organize committees, decide the fates of bills and negotiate directly with the governor. A speaker also needs to raise large amounts of campaign money, protect his flock and set a policy agenda. Because Democrats control the 80-member Assembly, the caucus gets to select one of its own by a majority vote on the floor.
Picking a new speaker should have been a positive experience for Assembly Democrats, some of whom had been putting pressure on Speaker Herb Wesson, of Culver City, to step aside. Although former Speaker Willie Brown once ruled the Assembly like a pharaoh, the power of the speaker has faded. Since Brown, speakers have come and gone every two years, which dilutes the power of the office. And although Wesson is well-liked by members, he isn't regarded as a strong leader.
Wesson, who will be termed out at the end of 2004, had no clear successor, so the jockeying to succeed him had dragged on for the better part of a year as the four candidates worked to form alliances and raise money for the caucus. Wesson had favored Núñez from the start, giving him a leadership role as majority whip as soon as Núñez took office. But it was a testament to Wesson's lack of influence that his preferred heir had to struggle.
Without a clear successor in line, the political process dragged on and distracted members of the Democratic caucus from more important tasks. Assembly Republicans named their new leader in September, uniting quickly and painlessly behind Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.
That night, Núñez spoke to the moderate group first. He was impressive, according to Assembly members in the room. Oropeza was interviewed next. She didn't come across as well. Oropeza, a Latina, had the support of many of the women in the caucus, but she had not performed well as chairwoman of the important Budget Committee, and members didn't see her as someone who could protect incumbents in 2004 races. The youthful Núñez, on the other hand, had a long history of working behind the scenes in Los Angeles politics.
Oropeza had the most committed votes and had been ahead the whole way, but she couldn't get to 25. As the regular session ended in September amid recall-fueled chaos, rumors swirled that Oropeza was the chosen one and that members might vote for speaker before leaving town. Two months later, it looked like the moderates would bet instead on Núñez, who had been the last to join the race and had lagged behind for most of it.
Then, out of nowhere, Oropeza dropped a bombshell: Núñez already had cut a deal to throw his support behind her. Or had he?
Leadership succession always touches raw nerves in Sacramento, but this speaker fight probably was the messiest since Brown seized power by cutting a deal with Republicans in 1980. It's emblematic of where Democrats stand these days: disorganized and divided. When they come back on January 5, they'll be dealing with a fiscal disaster as well as their own fractures. And there's no clear indication that Sacramento's once-dominant party knows how to meet the challenges. Democrats are worried about the 2004 elections and an imposing new Republican governor.
A year ago, Democrats ran this town. Now, they're on the defensive.
In spite of the party's historic sweep of all statewide offices in November 2002, Gray Davis nearly lost to a bumbling GOP challenger, and Democrats fumbled two Assembly seats and one Senate seat. Then, it got worse, as voters forced Davis to walk the plank.
Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza says Fabian Núñez reneged on a pledge to drop out of the race and support her for Assembly speaker instead.
Since the recall, Democrats appear to have done little thinking about what to do next. Interviews with dozens of Democratic lawmakers paint a picture of a divided group that has not confronted the bigger questions it must answer: How can Democrats erase the public's disdain for the Legislature, which has earned them approval ratings even lower than those of Davis? How can they keep from getting steamrolled by Schwarzenegger? What's their message?
"I don't think there's a cohesive response yet," said Frommer.
Assembly Democrats around the state held a conference call two days after the October 7 recall vote. Some members agitated for a return to Sacramento to get their heads together. It never happened.
A number of Democrats contacted for this article said that the party is naturally fractured and doesn't have a serious problem. But those responses were outnumbered by those of lawmakers who said they need to stop hitting the snooze button and wake up.
"There is a recognition that we need to pull together. There is some concern that we haven't had the time to focus," Nation said, adding that another member recently had complained to him that Democrats "are completely rudderless" on the governor's proposed fiscal plan.
Before dropping out of the speaker race, Nation spoke up at a caucus meeting when the Legislature returned to extend Megan's Law at the end of September. He believed Wesson should step aside to make the transition easier. "No disrespect to you," Nation recalled saying, "but because of term limits, you won't be here next year. We need to think about our agenda for next year. We need to think about the elections in November 2004." Wesson responded by saying for the first time that he would agree to step down in March 2004.
On the Senate side, there is less division. Although Senate President Pro Tem John Burton will be termed out in a year, the charming crank commands respect in his caucus. Still, Democratic senators acknowledge that they need to sit down for some difficult conversations.
"I think we're in therapy right now," said Senator Jackie Speier of San Mateo. "I mean, we got socked pretty good in the stomach, and we're not down for the count by any means, but we've got to go into training. We've got to be more fit and more ready for the battles that come. And we've got to take the time to get in touch with our voters."
So, it was against this turbulent backdrop that the selection process to name a speaker turned into a mess that shook some members' faith in the person who eventually would become their leader.
In addition to Frommer and Nation, the group that met that night also included Democrats Joe Canciamilla of Pittsburg, Manny Diaz of San Jose, John Dutra of Fremont, Barbara Matthews of Tracy, George Nakano of Torrance, Pat Wiggins of Santa Rosa, Lois Wolk of Davis and Leland Yee of San Francisco. Some flatly declined SN&R's requests to answer questions about the meeting. According to several who did give their accounts, Dutra asked Núñez about his ties to powerful political consultant and lobbyist Richie Ross. Though many Democrats depend on Ross for strategic advice, others fear that he holds too much sway over the members he advises and over the Legislature as a whole. (For more on Ross, see "Cruz controlled," SN&R Cover, October 2.) Núñez told the group he had no present or future relationship with Ross.
When it was Oropeza's turn, she lit the fuse by mentioning that she'd met with Núñez 10 days before at the Burbank Hilton. Núñez had cut a deal, she said. He would back Oropeza for the speakership in exchange for becoming majority leader, the No. 2 spot. She said they shook hands on it.
Frommer asked: Who witnessed the handshake?
Richie Ross, Oropeza replied, was the only other person there, and Núñez had invited him as a trusted ally.
This surprised everyone. Ross is known as a close adviser to Oropeza, though she doesn't formally employ him. Oropeza admitted as much in the meeting, though she does not like to advertise her closeness to Ross. Lawmakers and lobbyists following the race believed that Ross was guiding Oropeza's bid for speaker and that Ross had had a falling out with Núñez after helping to get him elected in 2002. "More than one member was skeptical that he'd bring Ross as a witness," said one lawmaker, adding that Ross had threatened legal action against Núñez over an unpaid consulting bill. "Everyone knew Richie was advising her," the Assembly member added.
Oropeza left. Núñez was summoned. Canciamilla questioned him on the meeting with Oropeza and the agreement of support. Núñez got ticked about being put on the spot. Canciamilla then explained the allegations, sources said.
If outgoing Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson looks worried, it may be because some members of his caucus didn't have much faith in his leadership.
One member, who would not be quoted by name, said Núñez denied that the deal or meeting ever happened: "Fabian says, 'That's bullshit. It's an absolute lie. It never happened.'" At that point, it was 10 p.m., and everyone was tired and confused about who was telling the truth. They wanted to decide and agreed to meet at lunchtime the following day. "At that point, we were still trying to decide who was telling the truth," the legislator said.
Several other lawmakers who attended the meeting confirmed the story. "People said he lied," said another attendee. "Others said they didn't know. I couldn't tell. But Jenny, I felt, seemed to be honest. Everyone said that we can't support him if he was dishonest."
Later, according to multiple sources, Oropeza's staff produced notes supposedly from the hotel meeting. They suggested there was an agreement, and they were in Oropeza's handwriting, on stationery from the Burbank Hilton.
The issue, over who said what to whom, and who was telling the truth, was never resolved. The moderates met the next day, Wednesday, and threw most of their votes to Núñez. The group had more confidence in him as a leader, although a couple of members split from the moderate group. With a clear majority of the caucus now behind Núñez, Oropeza bowed out, and the race was over. Press releases soon went out announcing Núñez as the 66th speaker of the California state Assembly. A formal floor vote is expected in January.
Later, Núñez flatly refused to discuss the meetings. "I'm not even going to get into that. I think that's old news," he said. "I'm not going to bring our internal disagreements public." He also declined to explain his relationship with Ross, other than to say that he "was not working with him on the speaker's race."
Oropeza confirmed details of her meeting with the group and stuck to her guns about the Burbank meeting with Núñez. "It did happen," she said. "I can prove that it happened. He and I know that it happened. I don't want to talk much about it, but what I said was true."
Ross isn't talking about the Oropeza-Núñez situation. "There's a reason people can trust me," he told SN&R.
Though it is apparent that Oropeza and Núñez still don't agree on what happened with the meetings, both said it was time to unite and move on. But that's not going to be easy.
The week after the inauguration began with another headache, when Democrats retreated on Senate Bill 60, trying to remove the albatross of one of their biggest political mistakes from their necks.
The bill, to license undocumented drivers, had been kicking around the Legislature long before Democrats painted themselves into a corner on the issue. After four years of defeat, Los Angeles Senator Gil Cedillo's bill passed and was signed by Governor Davis at the height of the recall. It immediately backfired with many voters, giving Republicans an opening. Schwarzenegger campaigned to block it. Republicans gathered signatures to get a repeal on the ballot.
On Monday, November 24, Senate Democrats already had decided to kill SB 60. They had no choice. Republicans reportedly had gathered more than enough signatures to put the issue before voters, and polls showed that a repeal would win handily.
That day, outside the Senate Transportation Committee meeting, the glare of TV cameras surrounded Dolores Huerta. The elderly Latina labor hero, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez, openly trashed the Democrats for their retreat. "It's a racist issue," she said. It was the exact same quote Burton had used at a packed press conference the week before. Except now, even Burton had backed off and had approved the repeal.
"I think I'm about to lose faith in those Democrats," Huerta told SN&R after the cameras left her alone in the dimly lit corridor. "We already have the bill. Let's stand up and fight. Let's get some guts. I'm extremely angry about this."
Democrat and Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Murray of Los Angeles opened the packed hearing with a warning that "anyone who uses the word 'racist' will be removed."
"I'm asking senators to vote to repeal SB 60," Cedillo told the committee, visibly shaken by his own words. Cedillo's wife of 29 years died of cancer last year, and in one of their last conversations, she made her husband promise to make the bill his top priority. After five years of trying, he had reached his goal. And watching the bill die now weighed heavily on him. "This is a very difficult request," he said.
Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, right, shakes his fist at Republicans. With Gray Davis gone, that's Burton's duty as Sacramento's top Democrat.
Cedillo told the committee that he'd recently met with Schwarzenegger and had been assured that they would work together on a new bill next year.
Huerta spoke next, comparing the unpopularity of the bill to once-unpopular causes like slavery abolition and the civil-rights movement. She fought back tears. "These are hate, wedge issues, and I just want to ask Democrats to stand up for the people who have stood up for you," she said.
The committee approved the repeal, sending it to the Senate floor. Later that afternoon, Senators approved the repeal 33-0 as Huerta watched from the back of the chamber.
Armed with Democratic blunders like SB 60, Republicans have been trying to get every last bit of mileage out of the recall. In floor debates, Republicans are fond of holding up Schwarzenegger's landslide victory as the electorate's unmistakable rejection of Democratic positions.
California, of course, is still overwhelmingly Democratic, but the party seems constantly on the defensive, saying that voters tossed Davis, not Democratic values.
"I don't think the voters rejected where the Democratic Party stands on key issues," said California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres. Democrats have been heard saying that a lot lately.
If that's the case, however, it's at odds with what Torres said next. "We're seeing a change in Democrats being fiscally responsible," he said, tacitly acknowledging one of the main reasons for the recall's success: Democrats are seen as the ones who drove the state off a fiscal cliff.
Although many individual lawmakers enjoy high approval ratings at home in their districts, lawmakers are acutely aware that polls showed approval ratings for the Democrat-controlled Legislature slumping into the teens this year—even before Davis got the boot.
Part of that disapproval is reflected in how well the recall did in many Democratic districts. According to data compiled by the state, Schwarzenegger was the top vote-getter in all Republican Assembly districts, as well as in 23 of 48 Democratic districts. The recall itself passed in 19 of 48 Democrat-held Assembly districts.
Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, co-authored with John B. Judis the influential 2002 book The Emerging Democratic Majority, which detailed how demographic and economic trends favor Democrats in the long run. Teixeira said that's especially true in California, which means the state won't be in play in 2004's presidential or U.S. Senate races. "Solid blue," he said. In other words, Democrats still own California. But there are problems.
"In a demographic, political sense, they dominate the state, but they're not maximizing their potential. They need a way to do that, to reinvent, to reinvigorate the party," he said. "It's pretty much dedicated to getting re-elected, and they had a pretty good model there for a while, pretty standard—you know, have a lot of money, spend a lot on TV, take advantage of your opponents' weaknesses. But they need to get more energy in the campaign."
One place to look for insight, Teixeira said, may be Howard Dean's presidential campaign.
"A party needs to be a little bit of a movement and give people a sense it stands for something rather than just getting re-elected and getting as much money as possible to win as many re-elections as possible. People want to know what you're about, and they're tired of the BS. If you do that, you can really galvanize a lot of people, and maybe that's something that the California party needs."
Solid blue or not, some Democrats concede that they're not confident about keeping all of their seats in next year's Assembly and Senate elections.
San Diego Senator Dede Alpert said there's a possibility that Assembly Democrats could lose seats next year or even forfeit their majority.
Democrat Dario Frommer has been offered the Assembly's No. 2 position: majority leader.
Some Democrats talk as if they've already kissed goodbye two Democrat-held Assembly seats: Bakersfield and Long Beach. Voters in both of those districts, 30 and 54, chose to dump Davis and elect Schwarzenegger by healthy margins that were above the statewide average. Senator Mike Machado of Stockton also faces a bloody battle with a Republican challenger.
And those are just California's legislative contests. In Washington, Democrats are shut out of power, thanks to the party's disastrous showing in the 2002 midterm elections. In San Francisco, one of the most solidly Democratic cities anywhere, lavishly funded Democratic mayoral candidate Gavin Newsom beat the Green Party's Matt Gonzalez by just 5.62 points. Democrats brought Al Gore and Bill Clinton to town at the last minute, if only to demonstrate how terrified they were of losing. Outside of the Legislature, Democratic Attorney General Bill Lockyer has boasted of voting for Schwarzenegger, whom he likely will challenge in 2006. State Treasurer Phil Angelides, another Democratic gubernatorial hopeful, traveled around bashing Schwarzenegger's bond proposal but had little impact on negotiations back at the Capitol. Taken together, these are bad signs for Democrats.
"Burton said in caucus that we really need to do a better job explaining our issues," said Alpert. "We don't have a consensus on our message."
Alpert said the Democratic message tends to be more complex than what the governor's been saying over the last few months. Government is complicated and messy, sometimes obscured by its own language—a clear contrast to Schwarzenegger's facile "clean house" sloganeering. Accordingly, it's hard to get a complex message across—especially when dealing with a hard-to-understand issue like the labyrinthine state budget.
"We haven't figured out how to say it in 30 seconds and get people more engaged," said Alpert, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. "But we are not willing to lie down. That is agreed on."
Alpert may be talking tough, but she's also termed out of the Legislature. And her San Diego seat is one of the more vulnerable next November. Republicans have been aggressively registering voters there, where the recall fared remarkably well.
San Diego also was the first stop in Schwarzenegger's campaign-style effort to build support for his fiscal package before the December 5 deadline. Schwarzenegger also appeared in Bakersfield and Tracy. All three cities are places where Republicans hope to topple vulnerable Democrats in November. To the Democrats, the appearances were unmistakably intended to rattle their cages, especially because of Schwarzenegger's threat of "serious consequences" for lawmakers who didn't support him.
On Monday morning, just before zooming off to that first appearance in San Diego, Schwarzenegger met for the first time with the Assembly Democratic caucus. Nervous Democrats quizzed him about whether or not he was campaigning against them while saying he wanted to work with them. "He said he wouldn't go after members," Assemblywoman Wilma Chan of Oakland said later.
After Schwarzenegger left the caucus meeting, Democrats stayed behind closed doors for two hours, trying to decide what to do about his fiscal package. It was the first of many long caucus meetings they had that week. At the same time, there were still a lot of nervous members of the caucus wondering how the speakership transition would work out.
"Right now, it's a very unstable situation," said Wolk, a freshman from Davis who supported Núñez. "Fabian has a challenge in front of him. He needs to first unify the caucus and reassure those that were opposed to him, then respond to the challenges that are facing the Democrats in March and November. I think he can do it. It's just a real challenge."
After Núñez got the nod from his peers, the Capitol buzzed with rumors about the new speaker's lineup, especially about who would chair which committee. Committee chairs have a great deal of influence over which bills live or die, and certain committees are a goldmine for fund-raising purposes.
As Núñez works on rearranging the Assembly leadership, he must balance competing demands of allies who backed him early with those of other members who are more experienced or have raised more money for the party. Several legislative sources said key committee chairs would get the boot early and that some freshmen who had backed Núñez for speaker would be rewarded with plum chairmanships.
Núñez would not comment on committee assignments but said some of the committees wouldn't change hands until as late as June or August. He also said he had offered the majority-leader position to Frommer, who'd been part of the moderate group that gave Núñez his winning votes for speaker.
Few expect that Oropeza will continue chairing the Budget Committee, especially given her performance in that role.
Democratic Assembly Speaker-elect Fabian Núñez, left, and his new counterpart, Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, lower right, are both 36-year-old rookie lawmakers.
Insiders expect three freshmen to come out on top in the reorganization: Cindy Montañez of San Fernando, Ron Calderon of Montebello, and Lloyd Levine of Van Nuys.
"That core group was something that brought others on board," said Montañez, who, at 29, is the state's youngest lawmaker. "We're obviously going to have a key role in this new leadership team."
Montañez said she's talking to Núñez about getting everyone going in the same direction. There also will be more of a grassroots political approach, she said, which will involve new ways to mobilize different constituencies, strengthen field operations and develop a message to get out across the state.
"It will begin to change people's perception of the Legislature," she predicted.
On the fund-raising side, Democrats are working on getting away from their usual fund-raising base in Sacramento, where they mingle in a clubby atmosphere with lobbyists who've delivered checks from interest groups. One top Sacramento Democratic fund-raiser said there will be more of a focus on raising money in the districts—and that although the party is well-positioned for a good fund-raising cycle next year, nothing's being taken for granted.
During all this upheaval, Núñez was busy soothing ruffled feathers. He allows that there are still "internal disagreements" over the speakership race and the disputed meeting with the moderates. He's been reaching out to Oropeza's backers. "Over the last few weeks, I have met with just about every member of my caucus that did not support me," he said.
Other members asserted privately that they were positive Núñez had lied about his meeting with Oropeza and relationship with Ross. None would go public with their concerns and risk crossing the new speaker, though, especially while he's reorganizing the house.
Though the speaker-elect may have detractors, many more members are hopeful he can turn the caucus around. Núñez, who is just 36, has never held office before, has only served one year and has a youthful face that makes him easy to mistake for a legislative aide. But he was picked with the future in mind, not the past. Núñez won't be termed out for five years, so he can end the post-term-limit trend of two-year speakerships. Republicans made a similar gamble with McCarthy, the incoming Assembly minority leader, who also is a 36-year-old freshman lawmaker with no previous experience in elected office. The two often shoot hoops together.
If Núñez can consolidate power, he could reverse the erosion of power from the Assembly, which has taken a back seat to the less-volatile Senate. The Assembly used to be the dominant house, but in recent years, it has stiffened into a dysfunctional atmosphere of extreme partisanship in which the level of political discourse sometimes sinks to near bar-brawl levels.
"We want to bring stability to the Assembly with a longer-term speaker that has more years to set a more cohesive long-term agenda for the caucus," said Núñez, whose opponents for the speakership all were sophomores.
Núñez has a long background in politics. Previously, he was the Los Angeles Unified School District's top lobbyist. Before that, he was political director for the all-powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He grew up poor, one of 12 children of immigrant day laborers, but went on to graduate from Pitzer College.
"Is he young? Absolutely," said one Assembly Democrat. "But he was savvy enough to become speaker of the California state Assembly. Assuming that he has what it takes, it's to his advantage that he has four or five years. We have not been well-served by having the speaker du jour. It's hard to have any power when people know your power is transitory."
Miguel Contreras, who runs the labor federation, said his longtime friend Núñez combines the operational knowledge of a grassroots organizer and the strategic experience of a political consultant—a rare mix.
"This guy's a fighter," Contreras said, alluding to Núñez's background as a championship boxer. "He's not afraid to get dirty."
In spite of all these problems, Democrats have reason to be optimistic about the coming year's battles if their first staredown with Schwarzenegger was any indication. Democratic lawmakers stuck together and emerged from the confrontation over the fiscal package unscathed. Even though Schwarzenegger got to claim victory, he'd caved on key provisions.
As Democrats blew off the December 5 budget-plan deadline, and essentially told the governor to buzz off, they seemed to be a little more confident and unafraid, maybe showing the first sign of settling into a role they'll be playing for a few years.
In a floor speech a couple of hours before the midnight deadline, Senator Don Perata said what everyone in the building already knew: Schwarzenegger wouldn't get his way. The Oakland Democrat, who occupies the No. 2 spot as Senate majority leader and is considered a likely successor to Burton, also seemed to be speaking on behalf of his fellow party members.
Perata stood up for career politicians, sounding peeved that the governor had traveled around the state bashing Sacramento (code for Democrats). "What we are about is complicated public-policy making. It does not fit on a bumper sticker, or the mouth of some radio talk-show host," he said.
"Democrats are not fools," Perata said. "We can read the newspaper. We know the box score. We got our asses kicked a couple months ago. We get that."
It was an unusually honest assessment by one of the once-omnipotent Democrats, who, as a group, are still coming to grips with the fact that California, though still solidly Democratic turf, isn't a one-party state anymore.
So, as they go forward, it looks like the only thing Democrats would need to do to reclaim the state would be to give a good explanation of why it belongs to them—maybe even something that does fit on a bumper sticker.
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text:
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Adrian and Sharon, January 28th 2019


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Located in San Marcos TX, roughly 35 miles between Austin and San Antonio, The Corridor Council consists of two staff members and a 20-plus member Board of Directors.
The Austin-San Antonio Corridor is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, currently home to 4.5 million people and expected to grow to 6-7 million people by 2030.
Historically, each 1% of regional population increase translates into 3-4% increase in traffic on Interstate 35. Because of our geographical location in the center of the country at the convergence of two Interstate highways (the north/south IH-35 and the east/west IH-10), and midway between North and South America, the Corridor has become a nationally-significant hub for international commerce – a fact highlighted by the signing of the North American Free Trade Act in San Antonio in 1994.
Today, 48% of the nation's $900 billion in NAFTA trade either originates in or is destined for Texas – the vast majority of it traveling by truck up Interstate 35 through our region. This river of trade fuels millions of Texas jobs, but it comes with a price: Interstate 35 in the Austin-San Antonio Corridor has been ranked as the 4th most congested Interstate in the US, and the 3rd most-congested spot for trucks anywhere on the US Interstate System. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, this congestion is costing the Austin-San Antonio Corridor over $1 billion per year in lost time, wages, and fuel costs.
A study of Interstate 35 from Mexico to Canada (1700 miles across six states) by the Federal Highway Administration found that the highest vehicle counts, the worst congestion, the slowest average speed-per-mile, the lowest levels-of-service, the most accidents, and the most fatalities (more than 100 per year) all occurred along IH-35 in the Austin-San Antonio Corridor.
Freight rail traffic through the Corridor is impacted by the same pressures of population growth and increased NAFTA trade that confront Interstate 35. The Union Pacific Railroad line that parallels IH-35 from Laredo to Round Rock - built nearly 150 years ago - currently has 137 at-grade crossings in the Corridor, creating public safety issues (eight 'serious' accidents per year), traffic congestion at grade crossings, and the threat of hazardous materials moving through populated areas.
Growth in rail volumes and traffic is expected to also increase dramatically over the next several decades with expansion of the US and Mexican economies and as a doubling of capacity at the Panama Canal comes online in 2014.
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Bus Stops as Heritage and Historical Markers?
Our Prime Minister Lee, Singapore's Chief Railway Fan
A Heritage Planted by Lee Kuan Yew Outside the Rai...
The Two Ends of the Rail Corridor
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station Shuts Its Gates Afte...
A Heritage Planted by Lee Kuan Yew Outside the Railway Station
While the enlightened prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia are credited with moving bilateral relations forward with the return of railway land to Singapore, we must not forget the genesis of the land exchange started with our Former Primer Minister Lee Kuan Yew. I was acutely reminded of this today while walking along Spottiswoode Park Road back to Si Pai Por, after checking out the former railway station.
The heritage planted by Lee Kuan Yew almost 21 years ago would have escaped most last-minute visitors to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as it is located a good 100m away from the perimeter fence. With all attention and cameras focused on the main terminal building, to have the national monument and memories captured on film means any time outside the station was a luxury. The heritage is certainly well-concealed, even when I became a regular visitor to the station in June, I did not see the heritage despite having walked past it multiple times.
This time, what looks like a plaque hiding behind some shrubs caught my eye as I walked past the multi-storey carpark at Spottiswoode Park Estate. It must be the fair weather and my relaxed mood, after all there was no pressure to shoot anything before the deadline; the deadline was already over. The two factors have also a direct relationship according to one Chinese saying (心静自然凉).
Curiosity brought me forward for a closer look.
As the man responsible for the garden city vision, this chief gardener would plant trees during tree planting day in November (first Sunday in November), the start of the rainy season so as to minimize watering. The Cocos Nucifera is another name for coconut palm; I'm not sure why the plaque calls it a dwarf coconut.
Most people would just shrug it off as another tree planted by an MP of the constituency. As I saw the great name, his title and the date the tree was planted, it began to dawn on me that the date and my location next to the railway station could not have been more coincidental. Now, have you realized the "historical significance" of the plaque?
November 1990 must be a special month in the political career of Lee Kuan Yew. The tree planting day on the 4th turned out to be his last as Prime Minister and also the last for Singapore [link]. On the 28th, he would pass the mantle of leadership officially to Goh Chok Tong. A day before on the 27th, it was transpired later that he signed the Points of Agreement (POA) with the Finance Minister of Malaysia Daim Zanuddin, a landmark deal that attempted to resolve the thorny bilateral issue of railway land in Singapore.
Signing the POA was to be his final political legacy as Prime Minister. Its execution is so classic, a day before the great transition so to leave his successor with a clean slate (he would invoke the "clean slate" again when he relinquished his Minister Mentor position), that I still cannot believe he managed to pull it off (assuming Daim also signed on the same day; I have yet to find the news report on the signing ceremony).
The chief gardener with a shovel. Archival photo from NAS shows the Cocos Nucifera planted on 4th November 1990. Today a plaque marks the VIP tree in front of the multi-storey carpark (yet to be built in this photo).
Since political deals are seldom made at the eleventh hour especially with Singapore politicians, our chief executive cum chief gardener must have known - what's more he could see three steps ahead while most people only see one - what is to come on the 27th November as he planted the coconut sapling on the 4th. The train platforms of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station would be very visible to him and if the time was right, a train would be parked there or if he was lucky, he would even see and hear a train leaving or arriving at the station. God knows what was in his mind at that moment.
The POA was his final but unfinished legacy as Prime Minister. I guess things didn't turn out well for his Malaysian counterpart Daim Zainuddin either who resigned three months later in 1991. The POA was also not recognized by Dr Mahathir and consequently not ratified by the Malaysian parliament. Negotiations reached an impasse, damaging bilateral relations. It would take his son and the son of Malaysia's second Prime Minister to finally put down the historical baggage and go for a "win-win" situation.
The VIP coconut palm today, a far cry from its sapling days when it was planted by the chief gardener (then only a man's height). For two decades, it witnessed the development in Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, from Singapore shifting its CIQ to Woodlands (as agreed in the POA) and finally Malaysia vacating the station on the night of June 30.
Two decades, the time it took to settle the POA, was a long time indeed. By coincidence our chief gardener's political career as SM and MM spanned the same length of time. Ironically a banner beside the VIP tree today shows MP Indranee Rajah standing in for Lee Kuan Yew for meet-the-people session. You can't deny even the "man with a shovel" has retired.
Labels: politics, Tanjong Pagar ·
How come PM of Singapore signed agreement with minister-level from Malaysia? Should it not be 2 PMs of 2 countries signing. Leaves me to wonder the reasons for this anomaly.
Any comments anybody?
I also wonder about that. Furthermore I smell conspiracy, considering Daim was not in Mahathir's good books. And Daim was not even Foreign Minister!
Protocol dictates "same rank" can shake hands. Can we get an answer from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law or PM Office?


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Tag Archives: Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg
MYRKUR – Announces New Live EP 'Mausoleum,' Shares "Jeg er guden, I er tjenerne"
Amalie Bruun, Arch Enemy, Bathory, Behemoth, Christopher Amott, Darkthrone, Deafheaven, Decibel Magazine, Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Håvard, Jeg er guden I er tjenerne, Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg, M, Mausoleum, Mayhem, Myrkur, Nidingr, Norwegian Girls Choir, NPR, Pitchfork, Relapse Records, SPIN, Stereogum, Stormvild, Teloch, Ulver
On the one year anniversary of her critically-acclaimed, masterful debut full-length, M, Danish black metal artist Myrkur unveils a captivating live recording from the historic Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway. Aptly titled Mausoleum, the album features beautifully dramatic & stripped-down acoustic reinventions of seven songs from M plus one brand new song and a Bathory cover; all accompanied by the Norwegian Girls Choir and Håvard (ex-Ulver) on guitar. Captured in a cold, dimly-lit tomb covered in morbid frescos that depict the circle of human life from conception til death, Mausoleum is an incredible showcase of Myrkur's sublime yet haunting voice in a truly chilling, unrivaled atmosphere.
Photo credit: Stormvild
Mausoleum is due out this August 19 on CD/LP/Digital via Relapse.
From the darkness of Scandinavia emerges Myrkur. Hailing from Denmark, the one-woman project signed to renowned independent label Relapse Records in 2014 off the strength of just one EP, its eponymous debut (released September 2014). Envisioned and realized by classically-trained multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Amalie Bruun, Myrkur combined the rawness of second-wave black metal bands like Ulver and Darkthrone with a natural, ethereal sonic beauty. Myrkur introduced a wholly unique perspective on the genre of black metal––one that immediately put her on the map and caught the attention of listeners and publications worldwide.
Though the word "myrkur" means "darkness" in Icelandic, Bruun's music is far from monochromatic. With its distinct sense of Nordic isolation, Myrkur's compositions are at once brutal and delicate. Choral and folk elements abound, lending the music a mystical, legendary quality and an untouchable equilibrium between dark and light. Myrkur's influences range from nature to traditional Scandinavian folklore to Norse mythology and far beyond. Bruun elaborates, "I always dreamed about becoming a Huldra, an Elver girl, a Valkyrie, the goddess Freja. These powerful women in Norse Mythology have an element of beauty and mystique, but they are also deadly."
That power was more than evident on Myrkur's debut EP, but fully came into its own on Bruun's first full-length, M, released by Relapse in August 2015. Featuring production and guest appearances from renowned metal legends such as Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg (Ulver), Teloch (Mayhem/Nidingr) and Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy), M showcases Bruun's learned and mature perspective on black metal alongside her prodigious compositional and vocal talents. In its 8/10 review, Decibel Magazine characterized M as "a black metal record that respects tradition without drowning in it." Publications including NPR, Stereogum, Pitchfork, Spin and dozens of other outlets worldwide have shared this sentiment, hailing M and Myrkur as the very thing they stand for – not a drastic reinvention, not an atavistic homage, but a unique, timeless, and true expression of black metal. With two acclaimed releases, US and EU tours with Behemoth and Deafheaven, and a number of worldwide festival appearances under her belt, Myrkur is ready to help her homeland reclaim its role as a global leader in extreme music.
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