What Causes Children to Misbehave?
There are probably as many answers to that question as there are children.
For many children, negative attention is better than no attention at all. If your child appears to be acting out with the purpose of gaining attention, then the solution is simple: GIVE YOUR CHILD MORE ATTENTION (but do so when he or she is behaving appropriately).
* Acknowledge your child when he or she is being positive.
* Get to know your child by spending more time talking and asking non-intrusive questions.
* Devote a segment of time each day to spend quality time together.
* Ignore behaviors that are meant to annoy - such as whining, mocking, complaining, begging, pouting, etc.
Many negative behaviors are brought about by the need to exert power and/or control over others. Some of the more common behaviors of children motivated by power and control are: dawdling, picky eating, bossiness, always having to be "first," passive-aggressiveness, threatening, engaging in power struggles, etc. These children will typically respond better when given choices rather than demands. Choices allow children to "control" what happens.
Gaining insight into the influences and/or motivations of your child's misbehavior will certainly help you to better handle these behaviors as you are confronted with them. Start by minimizing the negative environmental factors in your child's life as much as you can. Next, consider having your child assessed for biological and/ or psychological problems. Remember to keep the lines of communication open and take the time that is needed to care for yourself. Help is only a phone call or support group away!


text:
Tiefencastel (en romanx Casti) és un municipi del Cantó dels Grisons (Suïssa), situat al districte d'Albula.

Referències

Municipis del Cantó dels Grisons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Once again, the memories come back to haunt my family as the images of Kozo Akomoto the world wide infamous terrorist glorify newspapers worldwide.
An Israeli human rights organization is filing a lawsuit against North Korea over a 1972 terrorist attack at Ben-Gurion International Airport that left more than 20 people dead and over 50 wounded, Haaretz has learned.
While two of the terrorists were killed over the course of the attack - one of them committing suicide - the third, Kozo Okamoto, was captured and sentenced to life in prison.
Okamoto was subsequently released from Israeli prison 13 years later, in 1985, as part of the Jibril prisoner exchange deal - one of the 1,150 security prisoners released in exchange for three Israelis captured during the first Lebanon war.
The lawsuit against North Korea stems from claims it sponsored the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army, providing material support to both organizations and assistance in planning the attack. The three terrorists arrived on an Air France flight from Paris and drew automatic guns and hand grenades, firing randomly at anybody in sight once their luggage came through the baggage claim.
"This attack was for Israelis what the September 11th attacks were for Americans," Ze'ev Sarig, the former manager of Lod Airport, explained in his testimony before a judge in Puerto Rico. "The attack changed how we viewed security at the airport and in Israeli civil aviation."
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the founder of Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, filed the $30 million lawsuit at a U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico on behalf of 12 of the victims' families.
Preliminary hearings to examine evidence began in Puerto Rico on December 2, 2009. Israeli experts - including Sarig and various experts on terrorism - were flown in to testify at the hearings. The claims were then translated and transferred to North Korean authorities which, according to Darshan-Leitner, have yet to respond to the charges.


Last night while walking Baka, the full moon was large and bright behind hazy clouds that constantly shifted across its face. It was a classic image right out of a Hallow's Eve, headless horseman, and/or werewolf story.
Of course I was rewarding late in the night with the sounds of rolling thunder and heavy rain. I got up and open a few windows so that I might hear the sound more clearly and drift back to contented sleep under a warm duvet. I love a good storm.
This morning I woke early and took Baka for his walk before my morning run. I was wearing sunglass, though my regular clear lense glasses would have been sufficient. The overcast dawn was dark enough that I didn't really need sunglasses, but I like the ambient light effect. While a touch darker, they give some tint to the grey light that shows the highlights in the cloudy sky, makes the roads look wetter, leaves a deeper green, or those that have fallen a darker brown. I'm sure the people who drive by me as I'm road running think I'm just a tad weird, but hey, what can I say, other than I like the view.
I find that I really like the range of style from heavy rock beats, dark lyrics, to gruff Germanic vocals contrasted by a soft female voice. Rich and varied mix in both English and German. A welcomed change from Riviera Radio's current play list that lacks new blood. Riviera Radio is good for English radio in France, but the music grows tiring after a while (I've come to hate Bob Marley and Barry White music); their best sets are typically during the Monaco Grand Prix, when their morning DJ's get to let loose more.
So I suspect I'm in a Gothic frame of mind. Maybe I should watch Underworld tonight just to slake my thirst for something different.
This has nothing really has nothing to do with my post other than the hope my mum will read it over the weekend and take the hint. Mmm, Eat-More (order on Amazon). Hmm, wonder if Eat-More might be considered Gothic? It's certainly dark.
Updated 2010-06-08: Corrected changes in radio station URLs.
This entry was posted in Poetry, Thoughts and tagged gothic, haiku, radio, rain, storm by Anthony Howe. Bookmark the permalink.


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This computer graphic depicts the orbit of comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) through the inner solar system.
Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will come within about 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) of Mars in October 2014, according to the latest estimate from the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
The trajectory of 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is still not known well enough to rule out a dramatic comet collision with Mars, though that could change.
"At present, Mars lies within the range of possible paths for the comet and the possibility of an impact cannot be excluded," JPL officials wrote in an update today (March 5). "However, since the impact probability is currently less than one in 600, future observations are expected to provide data that will completely rule out a Mars impact."
As seen from Mars, Comet Siding Spring should reach a visual magnitude of zero or brighter, officials added. That means the comet should be at least as bright in the Red Planet sky as Saturn is at its most brilliant in Earth's night sky, so spacecraft such as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter could get a decent show.
The prospects for Earth-based stargazers aren't as exciting, unfortunately.
Astronomer Rob McNaught discovered the comet on Jan. 3, 2013, using observations made by Australia's Siding Spring Observatory. Since then, researchers have unearthed archival observations of the comet going back to October of last year.
The size of Comet Siding Spring is unknown, with estimates of its diameter ranging from 5 miles to 30 miles (8 to 48 km). The icy wanderer probably hails from the distant Oort Cloud — which begins nearly 1 light-year from the sun — and has been speeding toward the inner solar system for more than a million years, researchers said.


text:
Anne Faith Nicholls
Looking Out From Within: Buffalo
Home › Looking Out From Within: Buffalo
Framed Size: 63.75" x 51.75"
acrylic on canvas with gold enamel
60 x 48 - $9,850
"Looking Out From within: Buffalo" is part of Anne Faith Nicholls' "Bell Jar Series" which includes "Looking out from within Buffalo." "Looking out from within Narwhal." "Looking Out from Within Fox-Headed Girl." and "Looking Out from Within Bird-Headed Girl." Anne Faith Nicholls' "Bell Jar Series" series features naked women encased in bell jars, seemingly "collected" as objects d'arte, each adorned with a mask of an endangered animal. This is a surrealistic, symbolic commentary both on the collection and the endangerment of species, and what that means to us humans, as a species ourselves. The bannered phrase "Looking Out from Within" can be interpreted as a narrative about a life lived under a microscope of examination. Looking out, from within, their hands pressed against the glass, the anomalies stare back at their collector and seem to ask "Well then, what is strange, unique, and collectible about you? Aren't you, in some ways, just like me?" But much like critically endangered species, they are trapped within the confines of our protection, suspended within their existence, forever on display, beautiful and tragic at the same time. One may draw parallels to our own treatment or segregation of unique people within our society.
Correctly, the buffalo head and body pierced with arrows can draw parallels with the marginalization of Native Americans and Native Species, with the fight for women's civil rights in American History. The indicators also allude to martyrdom and classic religious iconography. "Looking Out From within: Buffalo" is a 60 x 48 – inch acrylic on canvas with gold enamel.
Anne Faith Nicholls is a truly unique addition to the contemporary art scene—she provides a refreshing look at the soul of the modern woman and artist. Born with a backwards heart, Nicholls has an inner strength that is inspirational and captivating. Her sense of adventure and exploration began in Victoria, British Columbia. Restless to travel to new places, she made her journey south to San Francisco, graduating from the Academy of Art University, and then on to Los Angeles where she resides today. She has traveled the world with a focus on studying the masters. This commitment to traditional painting has contributed to the development of her own unique style of utilizing both oil and acrylic to achieve a signature layered look and a saturated, antiqued, color palette.
More from Anne Faith Nicholls
Woven Snakes (Strange Botanica Series)
wall sculpture $4,950
Wild Thoughts (Strange Botanica Series)
mixed media on paper $3,475
Untitled, 2016 (Waves #2, Waves Series)
Untitled, 2016 (Waves #1, Wave Series)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Given a series defined by recursion. Prove that there are integers $S$ and $T$ such that $a_{n+1} = S a_n + T a_{n-1}$ I have this problem from an old exam that I can't solve.

Let $\{a_i\}_{i \geq 0}$ be the series define by recursion as:
$a_0 = 2$
$a_1 = 3$
$a_{n+1} = \frac{a_n^2 +5}{a_{n-1}}$ , $\forall n \in \Bbb N$
Prove that there are integers $S$ and $T$ such that $a_{n+1} = S a_n + T a_{n-1}$

I've been trying with induction but I guess that there must be a direct, and more algebraic, way of proving it.
Any thoughts?? Thanks!

A: Define a series $a_{n+1} = \frac{a_n^2 +k}{a_{n-1}}$ with some $a_0, a_1$ for $n\ge2$. Assume there are $S$ and $T$ such that $a_{n+1} = S a_n + T a_{n-1}$.
$$a_{n+1} = \frac{a_n^2+k}{a_{n-1}} \\
S a_n + T a_{n-1} = \frac{a_n^2+k}{a_{n-1}} \\
S a_n a_{n-1} + T a_{n-1}^2 = a_n^2+k \tag{1}
$$
now
$$a_{n+1} = \frac{a_n^2+k}{a_{n-1}} \\
a_{n+1}a_{n-1} = a_n^2+k \\
a_{n+1}a_{n-1} - k = a_n^2
\tag{2}
$$
combine the two:
$$
S a_n a_{n-1} + T(a_n a_{n-2} - k) = a_n^2+k \\
a_n(Sa_{n-1} + Ta_{n-2}) - Tk = a_n^2+k \\
a_n^2 - Tk = a_n^2+k \\
T = -1
$$
now find $S$:
$$
a_{2} = \frac{a_1^2+k}{a_{0}} \\
S a_1 - a_{0} = \frac{a_1^2+k}{a_{0}} \\
S = \frac{a_0^2+a_1^2+k}{a_{0}a_{1}} \\
$$
and in this case: $$S = \frac{2^2+3^2+5}{2\times3} = \frac{18}{6} = 3$$
So $S$ is an integer if it exists.
Prove by induction that $$S a_n - a_{n-1} = \frac{a_n^2+k}{a_{n-1}}$$ (note that the base case $n=2$ is covered by how we set $S$). Assume the equality is correct for all $n+1\ge k\ge3$.
$$
a_{n+2} = \frac{a_{n+1}^2+k}{a_{n}} \\
a_{n+2} = \frac{(S a_n-a_{n-1})^2+k}{a_{n}} = \frac{S^2 a_n^2-2S a_n a_{n-1}+a_{n-1}^2+k}{a_{n}} = S^2 a_n-2Sa_{n-1}+\frac{a_{n-1}^2+k}{a_{n}} \\
a_{n+2} = S(S a_n-a_{n-1})-Sa_{n-1}+\frac{a_{n-2}}{a_{n}}\frac{a_{n-1}^2+k}{a_{n-2}} = S a_{n+1} -Sa_n + \frac{a_{n-2}}{a_{n}} a_n \\
a_{n+2} = S a_{n+1} -Sa_n + a_{n-2} = S a_{n+1} -Sa_n + (S a_{n-1} - a_n) = S a_{n+1} - a_n
$$
As required.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Ford urges other automakers to follow California clean air rules
New Ford Mustangs for sale in Carlsbad, California. A top Ford executive has encouraged his competitors to unify in supporting more stringent automotive clean air standards set by California. | REUTERS
Ford Motor Co. is prodding other automakers to embrace more stringent automotive clean air standards set by California in another blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to limit the state's ability to set tougher emissions rules as the industry prepares for the Biden administration.
A day before an industry trade group meeting, a top Ford executive encouraged his competitors to unify in supporting the California standards to prepare for more stringent rules expected from President-elect Joe Biden. The plea comes a week after General Motors Co. dropped its support for Trump's efforts to strip California of its authority on auto emissions.
"During the last year and a half of the Trump Administration, we essentially split into two camps," Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and international markets, wrote in a Monday letter seen by Bloomberg News. "The Biden Administration will not let the Trump standards stand, and either by way of litigation and/or a regulatory reboot, the new team will move in a different, more stringent direction."
Ford last year supported the California regulations, along with Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and BMW, which earned them the wrath of Trump, who tweeted they were "foolish executives." Ford also backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's order banning gasoline-powered cars in his state by 2035, which he signed on the hood of an electric Mustang Mach-E.
GM, Toyota Motor Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV sided with Trump in a lawsuit aimed at stripping California of it regulatory power over autos.
Rachel McCleery, a Ford spokeswoman, declined to comment on the letter but reiterated the company's support for basing national standards on the California model.
"From the beginning we've said that our agreement with California is the best path forward for the environment, our customers and the short and long-term health of the auto industry," she said in an email.
On a visit to a Ford factory last May, Trump expressed his displeasure to Executive Chairman Bill Ford that the automaker was not standing with him.
"He wasn't very happy," Bill Ford recalled to Automotive News in an article published Monday. "I explained to him that it's the right business decision and that frankly, if we have to engineer things twice — Product A for certain states, Product B for the rest of the states — it's not a great position to be in."
Galhotra made a similar argument in his letter to rivals, which was reported earlier by Reuters.
"The process to get to new standards is disjointed and complicated and that means the predictability we all crave will be hard to find," Galhotra wrote. "Given the outcome of the election, and the pressing issues that extend beyond fuel economy and the scope of these standards, it would be an enormous value for the industry to be able to pivot quickly and move forward with a single standard."
Japan to offer up to ¥800,000 in subsidies for electric vehicles
The secret origins of China's 40-year plan to end carbon emissions
California, carmakers, emissions, Ford


The LRT214 and LRT224 share the same manual. I commented in my review of the LRT214 that the manual was a "a bit sparse on explanations, lacking configuration examples, and with a few technical errors." The LRT2x4 manual has since been updated, and I noticed the technical error I cited has been corrected.
Further, there are now quite a few configuration examples provided in the FAQ section of the LRT2x4 support pages. Specifically, I noticed Linksys has posted configuration examples for IPsec Gateway to Gateway tunnels, IPsec Client to Gateway tunnels (for both the IPSecuritas and Shrewsoft client), PPTP tunnels, and OpenVPN tunnels.
A minor issue, still not corrected, is the LRT2x4's options for Daylight Savings Time. The menu only allows configuring daylight savings based on month and day instead of the US daylight savings rule which goes from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
The menus for the LRT224 with firmware v1.0.2.06 have a few differences from the the menus for the LRT214 with firmware v1.0.1.02. I've bolded the new menu options in the below chart. There is an Outgoing Mail Server option, which I'll discuss in the VPN section. Dual WAN configuration is unique to the LRT224, and the Session Control menu is new to firmware v1.0.2.06.
I'll cover both in the next section of this review. Also new to the menu are the EasyLink VPN options which I'll cover in the VPN section of this review.
The LRT's default for Dual WAN operation is to automatically load balance traffic across both WAN links. Alternatively, you can specify one WAN link as primary and the other as secondary.
To detect WAN failure at Layer 3, which can occur if your physical WAN connection is up but there is a problem with your ISP, you can enable Network Sevice Detection. Network Service Detection, shown in the screenshot below, will ping your WAN default gateway, a host on your ISP network, a host somewhere on the Internet and/or a DNS resolved domain name. You can select any combination of these ping checks, but each selected check has to fail to trigger a failover.
WAN failover works well on the LRT224. I tested WAN failover on the LRT224 by running a continuous ping to google.com (ping google.com -t) from a PC connected to a LAN port on the LRT224. I then pulled the Ethernet cable connected to the WAN1 interface. Only one ping failed before the LRT224 redirected traffic to the WAN2 interface. Failover from the WAN2 interface to the WAN1 interface was equally fast with the same test.
To manage traffic flows over dual WAN links, you can map specific traffic types to a specific WAN link. For example, I set up a Protocol Binding rule to map SIP (VoIP) traffic to the WAN1 interface, shown below. However, the manual is a bit confusing regarding Protocol Binding, referencing an option called "Assigned Routing" which doesn't appear in the Protocol Binding configuration menus.
I successfully tested Bandwidth Control in my review of the LRT214. The LRT224 allows bandwidth control rules to be applied in the same manner as the LRT214 by WAN interface. This means you can specify how much bandwidth a specific application is permitted to consume by protocol, port, and source/destination IP addresses.
Session Controls are also available to manage individual users Internet usage. Session controls by source IP can be applied to limit each device on your network to a maximum number of total sessions or a maximum number of UDP and TCP sessions. Alternatively, you can disable a device's access to the Internet for up to 1440 minutes once it exceeds a specified maximum number of sessions.
I observed in my review of the LRT214 that "the port setup screen only shows speed options for 10M and 100M." This remains the case in the LRT224. The manual has been updated to explain that you can configure a port at 10M or 100M, or use Auto Negotiation which should configure the port at 1000M if connected to another Gigabit Ethernet device.
I connected a LAN port on the LRT224 to a Gigabit Ethernet port of a Cisco SG200-26 switch. The LRT224 status screen, shown below, confirms the LRT224 successfully auto-negotiated a 1000Mbps connection.
The LRT2x4 supports up to five 802.1Q VLANs. Each LAN port on the LRT must be an untagged member of one VLAN and can be a tagged member of 1-4 more VLANs. The LRT provides a DHCP server for each VLAN so devices on each VLAN can be automatically addressed with different subnets.
The LRT2x4 routers also support IPv6. Specifically, IPv6 6to4 tunnels are supported. 6to4 tunnels are a method to pass IPv6 traffic through an IPv4 network. Enabling support for IPv6 and 6to4 tunnels on the LRT2x4 requires a click to enable Dual-Stack mode to support both IPv4 and IPv6, as well as enabling 6to4 as the IPv6 transition method.


text:
Taiwan Elects Tsai as First Female President
A supporter of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen celebrates to preliminary results at their party headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 16, 2016.
[Editor's Note: The audio will follow shortly. Thank you for your patience.]
The ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) of Taiwan lost the presidential election Saturday.
Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will become the first female president of the island nation. Tsai takes over from President Ma Ying-jeou, who had served eight years.
The changes are expected to bring historic changes to Taiwan, one of Asia's most vibrant democracies.
Tsai will face the tasks of dealing with China, which is Taiwan's biggest trading partner. Making stronger Taiwan's failing economy and wages — particularly for young workers — are other challenges she will face.
In a speech hours after voting ended, KMT candidate Eric Chu apologized for failure and congratulated his opponent,
"We've lost," Chu said. "The KMT has suffered an election defeat. We haven't worked hard enough and we failed voters' expectations."
Ma could not run again because of limits on how long he could serve.
William Ide of VOA News reported this story. Kathleen Struck of VOA Learning English adapted it.
historic -- an event that will be marked in time because of its importance
vibrant -- bright, exciting, colorful, active, lively
democracies -- the system of government in which the majority rules
Way Forward for China, Taiwan Remains Unclear
US Announces $2 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan
Taiwanese Voters Look to Economic Issues


You can beat it if you can figure out the reason.
Now, I know this sounds pretty basic, but it's pretty key to how you approach getting rid of chronic pain. Everyone agrees about these two things, except that a lot of the tools and diagnostic tests employed to beat pain don't work in the long run.
Let's look at the medical treatments available. Does a hip replacement restore your ability to run around and play sports? No. It just displaces your pain (like up into your back or off into your other hip). Does ibuprofen address the actual cause of your inflammation and discomfort? No. It just reduces the inflammation that's there to protect your body from the damage of something being tweaked out of place. Do fibromyalgia drugs uproot the cause of the fibrotic, tense texture of your muscular tissues? No! They put your brain in a dysfunctional haze that blocks the pain sensations flying around your body.
So what else is available besides drugs and surgery? Well, there are a few. Physical therapy is a pretty good one — on the off chance that you find a physical therapist who has a very good understanding of how to find the cause of your pain (rather than just focusing directly on the point where you feel pain). Massage therapists may work for you as well, if they have a good understanding of what's going on and how to deal with it and if the problem is limited to one thing being tight. Just lying on the ground and relaxing may be useful as well (as your hip flexors may finally get a chance to relax and stop throwing your completely out of whack).
I've never had luck with acupuncture or straight rack-em-and-crack-em chiropractic. I've had short-lived temporary relief from both modalities, despite strong promises that all would be solved quickly. When my practitioners couldn't actually help me solve the pain for longer than a few hours, they'd resort to statements like, "it must have a psychological/spiritual component" (this one might be familiar to some chronic pain sufferers out there who can't find relief from their doctors), and I have never, ever been satisfied by that.
3. If someone attributes your pain to some ill-defined psychological or spiritual cause, it means they have no clue what's causing your pain.
If you have chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome, consider this: your whole body is completely out of alignment and it's working hard to keep you upright. Your body has gotten so far out of its physiologically efficient posture to one that requires muscles all over your body to do work they cannot efficiently do. If your hip muscles aren't doing their job, your ankle muscles need to compensate. If your shoulders slump forward, your spinal muscles must compensate and do work that they aren't designed to do.
If you address the underlying structural dysfunctions (something neither doctors nor psychiatrists have bothered to try), your body will feel much better and your stamina will increase. I speak from experience both personal and professional. Pain is a signal of underlying dysfunctions. Relief doesn't always happen in a split second, but if you find the right way to treat it, positive change should be felt quickly.
I know there are other ways to approach pain: mindfulness based stress reduction and other psychological approaches to pain can be useful. Therapies geared toward greater acceptance of your pain can be useful if you really have a situation that is completely intractable, but it's best to do some personal work to make sure it's intractable before you start to really accept the physical limitations that accompany your pain.


Our intelligent food search platform scooped in the Health and Care Award at the second AXA PPP Health Tech & You Awards. The healthcare portal and consumer app was recognised for its help in managing food conditions.
"We are delighted that FoodMaestro has been recognised so soon after its launch as a valuable addition to the new wave of tools helping health care providers and individuals take charge of their health. We've combined our skills and expertise to produce a powerful service that offers transparency and enhances food product options when shopping. The FoodMaestro app puts you in control of searching, scanning and discovering safe foods for you and your family with our allergen, ingredient and wellness filters." says Dharmendra Patel, co-Founder of FoodMaestro.
FoodMaestro allows users to set up multiple profiles containing different dietary requirements (there are over 200 ingredient filters) and this data is used to check food suitability when shopping. Upon scanning the barcode or simply performing a product search, the app presents a sad or smiley face, which indicates if foods are safe and can be added to personalised shopping lists.


Native grass mix for Northeastern area of US. This mixture was developed and blended for use for Rangeland, Ornamental and Ecological purposes (Wildlife, etc.) rather than for fast stabilization of soils. Native grasses usually take more than one season to properly establish.
17 lbs alone / 8 lbs with wildflowers per acre.
Contains Virginia Wildrye, Silky Wildrye, Canada Wildrye, and Little Bluestem.


New York — Newly-published Palestinian textbooks for schools students in the Palestinian Authority (PA) teach that hating and working to destroy Israel is a religious duty, and it is against Islam to recognize Israel, according to a new report published by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). The new PA schoolbooks were devised and written by Fatah-appointed officials at the Center for Developing the Palestinian Curricula, which is directed by former PA Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Naim Abu Al-Humos and formally released by that department.
In one of the new PA textbooks, 'Arabic Language, Analysis, Literature and Criticism,' the authors write of the 1948 war, "Palestine's war ended with a catastrophe that is unprecedented in history, when the Zionist gangs stole Palestine and expelled its people from their cities, their villages, their lands and their houses, and established the State of Israel." The PMW report comments on this passage that "defining Israel's founding as a 'catastrophe unprecedented in history,' a theft perpetrated by 'Zionist gangs,' together with numerous other hateful descriptions of Israel as 'colonial imperialist' and 'racist,' compounded by the presentation of the conflict as a religious war, leaves no latitude for students to have positive or even neutral attitudes towards Israel. The well-meaning student is left with no logical justification or religious option to accept Israel as a neighbor or to seek coexistence" (Jerusalem Post , March 19).
According to the PMW Report, the schoolbooks, the products of the official education arm of the PA, written by Fatah-appointed officials at the Center for Developing the Palestinian Curricula and published by the PA Ministry of Higher Education, are also used by schools in eastern Jerusalem that are under the jurisdiction of -- and receive funding from -- Israel's Education Ministry. Shlomo Alon, the deputy head of the Pedagogic Secretariat in Israel's Education Ministry, told the lawmakers the ministry would cut funding for schools found using them. MK Zeev Elkin (Kadima) called on the government to put in place "sanctions against the PA for such violations [of the Oslo Accords]," which he called "more dangerous than security violations in the long run" (Jerusalem Post, March 20).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, "As this latest PMW study shows, the PA, even those departments of it that remain under the control of Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, promotes, lauds and encourages terrorism, extremism and hate, making the prospect of peace an impossibility. All the elections, negotiations and concessions in the world will not bring peace so long as the Palestinian Arabs' educational system is based on promotion of hatred and violence against Jews and Israel. If in fact a Palestinian state would be established, it would only strengthen the ability of this terrorist PA regime to promote their frightening policies.
"As with last year's report on PA textbooks from the Intelligence and Terrorism Center , these finding demonstrate that no change for the better has taken place in Palestinian education over the past few years. On the contrary, the Palestinian educational curriculum continues to inculcate rejection of Israel and the intention of one day destroying her. The PA educational curriculum is but one example among many why the PA, especially now that there is a Hamas/Fatah unity government built on a extremist platform (the Mecca Agreement) which said nothing about peace, reconciliation, renouncing terrorism or anything else essential to peace, should be ineligible for any foreign aid until it meets its obligations under the signed Oslo agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan, including that of ending incitement to hatred and murder.


text:
How ALEC Serves As A 'Dating Service' For Politicians And Corporations
Leaked internal documents reveal new insights into the goals and finances of the America Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC brings together stat legislators and representatives of corporations to develop model bills that lawmakers try to pass in their state legislatures.
Ed Pilkington
Leaks (Disclosure of information)
Legislative bodies--U.S. states
Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 10, 2013: Interview with Ed Pilkington; Review of The Beach Boys' box set "Made In California"; Review of the novel "Death of a Nightingale."
A Nostalgic — But Bumpy — Journey With The Beach Boys
In 2012, the band became another rock group that was celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year, it released Made in California, an eight-hour, six-disc retrospective of their career that, perhaps inadvertently, shows how this once-great force in American popular music faded from public view.
Frustrating Heroine Stars In Fresh, Feminist 'Nightingale'
Nina Borg, the heroine of Death of a Nightingale, is a Red Cross nurse on a mission to save the dispossessed. But she neglects her own family as a she rescues those in need in Agnete Friss and Lene Kaaberbol's elaborately plotted page-turner.
Guest: Ed Pilkington
DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross. New insights into the goals and finances of the secretive group, ALEC, as revealed in a batch of internal documents that were recently leaked to the British newspaper The Guardian. ALEC is an acronym for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that brings together state legislators and representatives of corporations.
Together they develop model bills that the lawmakers introduce and try to pass in their state legislatures. Through these model bills, ALEC has worked to privatize public education, cut taxes, reduce public employee compensation, oppose Obamacare and resist state regulations to reduce global warming gas emissions. Our guest, Ed Pilkington, broke the story of those documents last week.
He's the chief correspondent for the Guardian U.S., which is the American website edition of The Guardian. He's The Guardian's former national and foreign editor. He spoke with Terry Gross yesterday.
TERRY GROSS, HOST: Ed Pilkington, welcome to FRESH AIR. Before we talk about the documents that were leaked to you, let's just talk a little bit in general, how would you describe what ALEC is?
ED PILKINGTON: ALEC is sort of almost a dating service between politicians at state level, local elected politicians, and many of America's biggest companies and it brings them together much as a dating service would do. And it sits them in rooms behind closed doors where three times a year they come together to think about what should be the next wave of state-based legislation.
And they have presentations from the companies that say what they would like to see done legislatively in states right across America, and then they have a vote and the legislators begin. Hundreds of state legislators across America belong to ALEC and come to these meetings. They begin having a vote on what they'd like to do in the next state assembly session.
And after the legislators have voted, the companies get to vote and essentially they have a veto. If they don't vote by at least 50 percent to approve a piece of legislation going forward, it doesn't happen. If they think they do approve of it, it goes ahead and becomes a model bill which is like a blueprint for a piece of legislation that ALEC wants to see spread across America, and that's what happens.
Legislators pick out a bill, they return to their state assemblies, they put it before their colleagues or their elected politicians and quite often it becomes law. And so ALEC is like an incubator of predominantly conservative legislation, the vast majority of the model bills are conservative in their sort of inception.
GROSS: So these model bills are basically made in partnership between corporations and legislators?
PILKINGTON: Yes, and that's what's special about ALEC. I don't think anyone in America would have any trouble with the idea of corporations making clear what they wanted done by politicians. I mean, that's a very important part of the democratic process, bearing in mind that the corporations we're talking about are among the largest employers in the country. So it's important that they should be able to transmit and communicate their views into the political process.
What's special about ALEC, and I think what some people have difficultly with in terms of dealing with is that they give corporations actually a vote, and I mean that literally, in those closed-door sessions. The corporations will have an equal vote to elected politicians at state level and they have this veto which, you know, goes beyond airing what corporations would like to see done by state assemblies and actually gives them a sort of direct plug-in to the system.
GROSS: So what's the breakdown of the vote? Fifty percent of the corporations have to...
PILKINGTON: This is actually on both sides.
GROSS: Fifty percent of each side.
PILKINGTON: Of both sides and legislators go first, then corporations and more than 50 percent of both sides have to approve for it to go ahead.
GROSS: So does that mean that the corporations are getting a disproportionate amount of vote because there's fewer corporate representatives at these meetings than there are state legislators?
PILKINGTON: Yes, and it's even more pronounced than that. I mean, essentially they're getting an equal vote because it's a sort of veto unless both sides approve by the majority that something should be turned into a model bill. It will not go ahead. And if you look at the membership figures, it's something like 1,800 on the public side, 1,800 state legislators belong to ALEC. And on the other side, there's something like 220 or so corporations belong to ALEC, so yes it is a, you know, it's a great inflation of their influence, that they get an equal vote.
GROSS: What are some of the model bills that ALEC has put forward in the past that have had the most traction?
PILKINGTON: Well, the most controversial has been the Stand Your Ground law and I'm sure we'll come on to talk about this because it's very pertinent to the documents The Guardian obtained last week. In 2005, Florida introduced the country's very first Stand Your Ground law, which gave homeowners the right to self-defense beyond the actual home.
And what ALEC did, it saw that bill, it liked that bill in discussions between state legislators, and corporations in their thrice annual meetings they liked it too, and they adopted it into a model bill. And it was ALEC that helped spread Stand Your Ground right across the country. There are now something like 26 states who have it on their books in some degree or other, modeled upon ALEC's work.
And when Trayvon Martin was killed in February 2012 by George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted for second-degree murder, ALEC became embroiled in that controversy. And that has had a real impact on ALEC going forward in terms of its reputation, its dealing with big corporations.
But there are many, many other areas of - it's sort of any area of really frontline controversial, ideologically conservative legislation that you see spreading in states across America. You're likely to find ALEC somewhere behind it and I'm talking about the fight against Obamacare at state level; the attempt to keep back Medicaid; attempts to reduce the pension entitlements of public employees; and keep low the minimum wage.
And in education, the spread of voucher systems which are used to sort of forward home education and private education and, to some degree, undermine public schools.
GROSS: Now, the documents that were leaked to you, were these all planning documents from ALEC?
PILKINGTON: They're internal documents that went through a whole range of different things. They talked about their actual agenda, they talked about their budget, which showed the degree of which they're in financial difficulty post the Trayvon Martin controversy. And one of the things that leapt out at me was a page titled "Prodigal Son Project," and beneath it was a list of 41 major companies, and I mean major.
They're among the biggest in the country and most iconic. There's Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Amazon, General Electric. And those are all companies that quit as members of ALEC in the two or three months after Trayvon Martin died. And by dint of that name, "Prodigal Son Project," it suggests that ALEC is very keen to get them back. And you sort of can start to understand why when you realize the funding structure of the network.
The vast majority of something like 98 percent of its funding comes from the corporation side as well as sort of major foundations, sort of conservative think tanks and funding bodies. So although they get an equal vote, the corporations, alongside the politicians, they pay the lion share of the money.
GROSS: And this is in their dues, in dues membership to become a member of ALEC?
PILKINGTON: Yes. I mean, the dues work something like state legislators pay very minimal amounts, something like 50 bucks a year. The corporations can pay a membership fee of up to $25,000 a year. And then there's a sort of extra level of subsidy, of donations of gifts we know less about because being a 501(c) charity in its construction, ALEC, they don't have to reveal where they received their money from.
GROSS: OK. So you found out through this document about the "Prodigal Son Project" that Alec was trying to woo back a lot of major corporations who have left the organization or no longer paying dues, and that's creating a funding crisis for ALEC. Why did they leave? Was it because of the Trayvon Martin controversy - or more specifically because of the controversy of the Stand Your Ground Legislation?
PILKINGTON: Yes. I think it's fair to say that. I have to qualify it because most of the companies, when they suspended their membership, they gave a very sort of bland explanation. They said, well, you know, it's the end of the financial year; we've decided not to renew. Maybe they said they had some budget issues themselves, they didn't want to spend this money. But if you look at the timing of it, Trayvon Martin died in February. These corporations dropped off one after another in March, April, May of 2012. So the timing is extremely suggestive. And some of them made it clear. Wal-Mart made it clear that they had joined ALEC because they wanted to be party to the economic discussions that ALEC forwards, predominantly how to reduce say, corporate taxes or to reduce government regulation on corporations so that they can do their business, you know on a more untrammeled way. And Wal-Mart said they didn't like the way that ALEC had strayed into more social political areas, such as Stand Your Ground, notably. And there are other areas too, such as voter ID laws. ALEC has been incredibly influential in spreading voter ID laws around the country. And those laws, as we know, critics, like the NAACP, say make it more difficult for African-Americans, for poorer Americans, for maybe elderly Americans, to get to the polling stations and cast their votes.
GROSS: So what is the extent of the budget loss for ALEC since so many corporations chose not to renew their membership?
PILKINGTON: Well, what we saw was an internal budget document. And it showed that in terms of incoming revenue, in the first six months of this year, they had about a 50 percent hole in their projections. And overall, there was about a third of their income was down. And I think there's a sort of interesting a story beyond that, beyond the pure finance of it, and for me it raises interesting issues about what happens with sunlight, is the way I think of it. ALEC's been in existence for 40 years. And until 2011, when a similar dump of leaked documents came out, until then, most people didn't even know ALEC existed. And part of its power has been secrecy. Corporations have been able to meet elected politicians behind closed doors without anyone knowing what they've been doing and agree the next session's legislations within those state legislatures. And it's worked very well for them. It helped them with a bottom line. It's helped them beat back regulation and get laws on their box which have allowed them to make more profits.
When it's become out and open after 2011, and with Trayvon Martin - which drew ALEC into a huge national foray, the corporations haven't liked it all. And I think there's an interesting lesson there. Corporations dislike two things intensely: they dislike taxes, corporate taxes, they dislike regulation. But they dislike even more the sort of fallout of public attention and bad publicity.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Pilkington. He's the chief reporter for The Guardian U.S., which is the American website edition of the British paper The Guardian. We're talking about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council - which shapes and promotes legislation at the state level across the U.S. ALEC brings together state legislators and corporate representatives to shape, model legislation that is introduced at the state level. Let's take a short break here, then we'll talk some more.
This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. And if you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Pilkington. He's the chief reporter for The Guardian, U.S., which is the American website edition of the British paper, The Guardian. He just published a series of stories based on leaked documents from ALEC. ALEC is the acronym for the American Legislative Exchange Council. This is a group that brings together primarily conservative state legislators with corporate representatives together. They work out model legislation that then the state legislators bring back to their state legislature.
Before publishing anything about the documents from ALEC that were leaked to you, you had a correspondence with the public relations person from ALEC. His name is Bill Meierling. And I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, so I hope he will forgive me if I'm not. But he said to you that there is no funding crisis in ALEC. And he also said that ALEC did not draft Stand Your Ground policy. So how does that fit into your analysis?
PILKINGTON: Yes. Well, I'd like to point out that we did have this exchange, and it was a very full and frank one. And I think that in itself is significant because as I say, a group that has been noted for its secrecy and for being withdrawn from public debate actually engaged with us considerably in a very open exchange of email - which, you know, we were very grateful for because it helped us get our story as accurate as we could. So I think there is something going on in ALEC in the sense that they're trying now to be more open and transparent, and I think that they see that as an important way of winning back the trust of those Prodigal Son companies that have withdrawn membership.
GROSS: I should also add though that in Bill Meierling of ALEC concedes that whether the connection between ALEC and Stand Your Ground is true or untrue, accusations about ALEC and Stand Your Ground cost members.
PILKINGTON: Yes, he did concede that. And to be fair to ALEC, it's true that they had nothing to do with the Florida law on which the whole controversy around Trayvon Martin happened, simply because the Florida law was the first in the country. And it was that law that ALEC then took and made into a model bill and spread it around the country. So I think quite a lot of people have becoming confused about that. I don't think that that removes ALEC from the controversy around Trayvon Martin because although ALEC has now shut down the taskforce that dealt with law and order issues and those Stand Your Ground laws, in that same taskforce, they shutdown and involvement in voter ID laws that is sped around the country through their model bills. So they're no longer involved in that area at all. But they have left behind a legacy. There are something like 26 states with Stand Your Ground laws on their books partially, if not totally, based on ALEC model bills. I'm assuming there's something like 35 states around the country with voter ID laws that make it more difficult for certain voters to get to the ballot box. So there is a sort of mess that ALEC has helped create that is still there and I think they still have public issues to answer for.
GROSS: So you found out through leaked documents that there is this Prodigal Son Project to try to woo back corporations who dropped their membership from ALEC. Do you know what the approach is going to be in trying to woo these corporate members back?
PILKINGTON: Well, I think it was a significant comment from Bill Meierling in his exchange with me, that he said we would be transparent from now on. And I generally think that's their main - and perhaps their always strategy is just to be seen to be more aboveboard. And I think everyone would welcome that, including critics of ALEC. I think it's also worth mentioning that Dana Milbank of The Washington Post last week, when ALEC had its most recent meeting - this one was in Washington, D.C., Dana Milbank was allowed into the ALEC meeting. Now that in itself as far as I'm aware is the first. Journalists previously have not been welcome. But he only got so far. He was allowed to see - to sit in on sort of side meetings and to hear the big keynote speeches - Ted Cruz of Texas - addressed the meeting. But when he asked me go into a task force meeting - this is the closed-door session where politicians sit down in the same room with corporate lobbyists and discuss what they should do in the next session of the state legislature, they said to him well, this is a private meeting and we can't let you in. So I think that they've opened the doors but only so far, and that's, I think, going to be another sort of controversy going forward.
GROSS: Yes. Milbank quoted ALEC public relations person is saying they want to introduce transparency but quote; "ALEC can't just kick the doors open."
PILKINGTON: Right. And I think Dana Milbank then went on to say yes, they can. But that's his opinion. Yes. I mean ALEC has always stood behind the defense that it is a private members club, you know, a bit like a golf club, and that therefore, it shouldn't be subject to the same scrutiny, public scrutiny, as other institutions in public life. And that's also been very significant and the other big thing that we discovered from our documents - which is the whole issue of lobbying.
Now ALEC says it doesn't zero lobbying. And it says that literally because with the IRS, with the tax man in America, it has to disclose how much lobbying it does because that affects its charitable status. And year by year, in its tax returns, ALEC has said it does their own lobbying.
What we learned in our documents is that ALEC is now planning to set up a side organization called "The Jeffersonian Project," which would have a slightly different charity status. It would be a 501(c)4, rather than a 501(c)3 - which it would allow ALEC, going forward, to do more overt lobbying. And I think that opens a window into a huge area of public life in America that has not been given much discussion, or thought or critical thinking, and that is the area of lobbying beyond the actual election process.
Most of the focus in America at the moment is on big money going into actual election campaigns. You know, we think of Karl Rove and American Crossroads and groups like that. Apparently, $300 million was spent in the 2012 election cycle by corporations and other sort of interest groups on funding the election process. So, you know, there's good reason for focusing in on that. But what people then don't think about is the lobbying that happens at the next stage which is, you know, arguably actually more important, and that is what do those elected politicians do when, you know, given power by the voters to go to the state legislature, put bills in front of their colleagues, vote on them, and actually change the lives of individuals through these laws which really do change people's lives, whether your pension and you find your pension has been reduced or, you know, the minimum wage is not going up. It really changes lives. And yet people aren't really talking about the lobbying that happens at that stage.
DAVIES: Ed Pilkington is the chief correspondent for the Guardian, U.S., the American website edition of the British newspaper The Guardian. He'll be back in the second half of the show. I'm Dave Davies and this is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross.
We're listening to Terry's interview recorded yesterday with Ed Pilkington, the chief correspondent for the Guardian, U.S., about leaked documents that reveal new information about the group ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC brings together corporate representatives and state lawmakers who develop model bills, usually conservative ones, with the hope of getting them passed in state legislatures.
GROSS: What's in it for a state legislator to be part of ALEC - to be a member of ALEC.
PILKINGTON: Well, I think you have to sort of put yourself in the mind of some of these state legislators. They're, you know, they're often very poorly funded, even poorly paid. I mean in Texas the base salary of a state legislator is $7,000 a year. Though often have very small staff and few resources to help them do the business of being an elected politician. Which can include, you know you, it's really difficult to actually draft legislation because you haven't got the legal advice, you haven't got the staff to produce it, you haven't got even staff to research the subject. You know, if ALEC comes along and says well, here's a model bill for you. It's all written for you. It's all been way we searched. You can just take it and put it in front of your group of politicians in your state, then that's quite attractive. And a slightly darker side perhaps, is the attraction of being taken to one of these three times a year meetings. Sometimes your air travel is paid for you by ALEC. And then you get into a room and you meet some of the biggest and most sort of influential and iconic companies in the U.S. And that must be a sort of appealing just in itself. What we don't know is whether that then later down the line in any way - and it may not, but we just don't know - sort of filter through to financial help for politicians when they come to say, stand for reelection in their states. And it's possible perhaps that having made those initial contacts in the ALEC room that they can keep in touch with the companies and benefit from that.
GROSS: ALEC sponsored at least 77 energy bills in 34 states last year. What are some of the things you learned through the leaked documents about what kind of energy-related bills ALEC is sponsoring?
PILKINGTON: Yes. Well, the most, sort of, grabbed me was this idea relating to solar panels. My colleague, Suzanne Goldenberg, partially based on the documents we obtained, found out that ALEC was very keen to try make it more difficult for people to put solar panels on their roofs. Now if you're an American lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of sunlight, you can put solar panels on your roofs, which on one hand increases your own income, because you can sell the energy to the energy companies, and it also allows you to do your bit to try and help the planet, so it can make you feel good as well is there a little bit of extra money.
If you think of some of the backers that ALEC has, among them are the really giant energy companies in America, including Exxon Mobile, Koch Industries owned by the Koch Brothers, and they're largely carbon related companies - the coal, oil, they're involved in fracking. So there came to me sure that renewable energy sources are kept in their place because there is a direct economic competition with them. So what ALEC is talking about with solar panels is to charge individual homeowners extra fees for offloading their energy from the sun into the system. They're calling those homeowners free riders because they don't pay very many fees to keep the upkeep of the energy network. And in other areas, ALEC is thinking about ways in which they can hold back the Environmental Protection Agency. And there's also very keen to whittle down, or even eradicate regional deals between states. There is a big one in the Northeast of America involving nine different states, where state legislators have required energy suppliers to take a percentage of their energy from renewable sources. So it's a sort of multi-fronted attack. And you can see that right across the board - whether it's education or health care or workers rights and pensions. They have the same approach. The have ongoing, maybe four or five different attacks at any one time. And overall, they're putting forward maybe 130 model bills, different model bills to state legislators every year.
GROSS: What is the argument for charging, basically for charging fees to people who have installed solar panels on their roof, as opposed to granting incentives to encourage you to install solar panels?
PILKINGTON: Well, ALEC says that the cost of putting a network of energy transmission across the country runs into billions of dollars and therefore, homeowners should pay their way. I think other people might say, you know, if we are to encourage pollution free energy and to try and combat climate change, we need to do everything we can to incentivize people to come forward. And that by introducing impediments, you're going to make it much less likely that people will do it. The real critics of ALEC, they would say though that's the intention, that the intention is to stop renewable sources becoming a major competitor with some of the big member corporations of ALEC who are the carbon related energy companies.
GROSS: Now do some of the model bills that ALEC has been working on in the energy area related to limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's powers to regulate fracking?
PILKINGTON: Yes. Fracking has been another big area in which ALEC has been active for now several years. And they have, it's something like a 10th of their overall output is dedicated to fracking model bills. So it is a big real concern for them. They put a lot of energy into that area.
GROSS: If ALEC succeeded in limiting the EPA's ability to regulate fracking, then it would fall to like the states and there would be a lot of different regulations. Do you know if ALEC feels it would have more control over the state level, if the EPA's powers were limited, that ALEC would have more input into how much states control fracking?
PILKINGTON: Well, I think this is one of the dichotomies of the ALEC model. The reason they - we talked earlier about the desire to set up a site organization called The Jeffersonian Project. The reason they call it The Jeffersonian Project is because of Jefferson's belief in federalism. And federalism is one of the big key words of ALEC. They want states to have the priority share of control of politics in America, and they want federal government to be reined right back. And that's a genuine conservative view that they hold and adhere to. But there is a sort of dichotomy here because while wanting power to return to the state level, to the state legislature, they also want to have more central control over what their state legislature does - which is totally, you know, overt in their model because that's what they do, they produce model bills that are uniform. They're drafted the same. They're put in front of states politicians in exactly the same wording. And so, while wanting states to be handed back, say control from the EPA over energy policy, they then want ALEC to come in with the model bills and to sort of systematize and unitize what those states are doing.
GROSS: You published your stories about the leaked ALEC documents just before ALEC had a policy Summit. And that summit was held last week. Do you have any idea whether the results of that summit changed the story, in any way, that you've published?
PILKINGTON: No. We haven't heard anything. I mean it was interesting the exchange I had with ALEC, that they said, they said to me, we don't understand why you're publishing leaked documents. If you'd asked us for those documents we would've handed them to you. So I have now asked ALEC that question: Will they share with me the, sort of, paperwork that came out of last week's meeting question, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to that. But, no. We don't really know. All one can assume, I think, is that it's kind of business as usual. Although they're suffering from this funding hole, they are moving forward. They're still hundreds of state legislators attend their thrice yearly meetings. Still, many of the biggest companies in America are still on their books. They include Glaxo Smith Kline, Pfizer, from the pharma area, Altria, the tobacco giant, AT&T from telecom - are still members. So, you know, it would be wrong to give the impression that ALEC is moribund or is on its last gasp. That's not true at all, it's still very active and still extremely influential, which is why I think it's still worth having this discussion.
GROSS: What are some of the questions you would now like answered about ALEC?
PILKINGTON: Well, I'd really like to hear the conversation in that room. I mean one can sort of enter into it in one's head.
GROSS: In the room where corporate members and state legislators get together and discuss model legislation, that room?
PILKINGTON: Precisely. I mean we've managed to piece together little snippets of what happens in there. You know, we know that there are these PowerPoint presentations by the companies, and that they then move to vote - legislators first and then the companies move to vote. But you sort of want to know that the whole tenor of the discussion because that's what it's all about. It's a formalization of companies having sway over the political process. And we may come out of that meeting, if we're ever allowed into one and say wow, this is fine, you know, it's just a discussion. It's just a grown up adult discussion about what should be done over energy policy, or health care, or education. Or you might come out thinking this is kind of odd. It's why are companies dictating what elected politicians do. And one of the documents we found, what we obtained, was a draft agreement which ALEC was putting forward to their state chairs. Now the state chairs are very senior state legislators, overwhelmingly Republican, and they're asked to sort of look after the ALEC business in their state. And the draft agreement, which I should point out ALEC said was not adopted, but it had been proposed. One of the lines said that the state chair would agree to put the interests of the organization first. So just sort of think about that phrase, the interest of the organization first, it means an elected politician is being asked to put the interest of a third party before the interests of the people who elected them.
GROSS: And the third party is a party with a large corporate vote to it.
PILKINGTON: With large corporate backers. Now in America, the idea of big companies giving a lot of money to politicians is not, you know, it's not the first time we've heard this. But it is - I think it's that vote that counts here. You know, they give the money, then they get a vote. And that is, I think, the significance of what ALEC does.
GROSS: Ed Pilkington, thank you so much for talking with us.
PILKINGTON: It was a pleasure. Thank you.
DAVIES: Ed Pilkington is the chief correspondent for The Guardian, U.S. you can find a link to the leaked documents described in his interview at our website FRESH AIR.npr.org.
Coming up, Ed Ward on a new boxed set retrospective of The Beach Boys. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVE DAVIES, HOST:In 2012, The Beach boys became another rock group celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year, they released "Made in California," an eight hour six disc retrospective of their career.
Rock historian Ed Ward has a review.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CATCH A WAVE")
THE BEACH BOYS: (Singing) Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world. Don't be afraid to try the greatest sport around. Catch a wave. Catch a wave. Everybody tries it once. Those who don't just have to put it down. You paddle out turn around and raise. And baby that's all there is to the coastline craze. You gotta catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world.
(Singing) Not just a fad...
ED WARD, BYLINE: The early Beach Boy story is pretty well known: The three Wilson brothers - Brian, Carl and Dennis - were music-crazy, and lived near the Pacific in Hawthorne, California. Dennis loved surfing, and egged on by their father Murry, a failed musician, they made a record in 1962 with one of their cousins, Mike Love, and a friend, Al Jardine.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SURFIN'")
BOYS: (Singing) Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing. Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing. Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing. Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing. Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing. Bom bom dip di dit, surfing, surfing.
(Singing) Surfing is the only life. The only way for me. Now surf, surf with me Bom bom dip di dit. Bom bom dip di dit. Surfing...
WARD: "Surfin'", heard here on home taped rehearsal, was released on a local label, and then with Murry's help, the boys got a contract with Capitol Records in Hollywood, which had ultra-modern recording facilities, and great studio musicians who could be called in to augment The Beach Boys' modest instrumental skills. Their musical skills, honed by Brian, became incredible.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE LONELY SEA")
BOYS: (Singing) The lonely sea, the lonely sea. It never stops for you or me. It moves along from day after day. That's why, my love, that's why my love you cannot stay...
WARD: The "Lonely Sea" isn't an outtake from their 1966 masterpiece "Pet Sounds." It's a track from 1963's "Surfing U.S.A." album and just gets better as it goes along. The Beach Boys took everyone by surprise. They didn't fade away with the surf craze. Brian had his finger on the teenage pulse and they also celebrated motorcycles, girls, cars, girls, school, and dancing...with girls.
It was hard to go wrong, especially with the group's vocals and Brian's writing and arranging skills. Between 1962 and 1965, they charted 22 singles, nine of which hit the Top Ten and two of which topped the charts. They started 1966 with a stumble, an odd song called "She's Not the Little Girl I Once Knew" which hid an ambiguous story behind an upbeat melody.
But they quickly went back to the top with an arrangement of an old calypso tune.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SLOOP JOHN B")
BOYS: (singing) We come on the sloop, John B. My grandfather and me. Around Nassau town we did roam. Drinking all night. Got into a fight. Well, I feel so broke up I want to go home. So hoist up the John B's sail. See how the mainsail sets. Call for the captain ashore. Let me go home. Let me go home. I want to go home. Yeah, yeah. Well, I feel so broke up I want to go home.
WARD: Brian had left the touring group in 1965 and had been hard at work at an album that was like nothing anyone had ever made before, let alone a surf band. When Paul McCartney heard "Pet Sounds" he realized how much the ante had been raised and went back to London to start making "Sgt. Pepper." By the time "Pet Sounds" was finally mixed to Brian's satisfaction and released, though, he'd already started on his next album, "Smile."
It was his undoing - a number of acrimonious conflicts within the band, an album unfinished, and Brian retreating to his house where the word got that he'd suffered a nervous breakdown. Eventually, an album called "Smiley Smile" emerged with a hit on it, "Good Vibrations," recorded before "Pet Sounds" had even been finished. Brian continued to contribute to the band but their next album, "Friends," in 1968 was uneven.
Fortunately, Dennis and Carl were slowly coming up with some good material.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SLIP ON THROUGH")
BOYS: (singing) Lots of people with no place to go. I know a place where you can go. You've got the ticket. Come on, slip inside and let my song take you for a ride. Baby, baby, baby. Come on. Won't you let me be by your side for now and eternity? 'Cause I love you. Baby, I do now. Can't you see what has come over me? Oh, my life is growing like a big oak tree.
(singing) 'Cause I love you. Baby, I do now. Can't you see?
WARD: Dennis' "Slip on Through" comes from the 1970 album "Sunflower" and at least integrates some contemporary flavor to the Beach Boys' formula. But with very few exceptions, the 1970s were creatively a disaster as the band swung from hippie-ish meanderings to painfully crafted songs of nostalgia. Their only Top Ten record in the whole decade was a version of Chuck Berry's "Rock n' Roll Music."
Brian's well publicized problems eventually receded and yet although the Beach Boys had made the leap from a fad to a vehicle for serious work, neither Brian nor anyone else - Dennis died in a swimming accident in 193 and Carl died of cancer in 1988 - could turn them into anything but a nostalgia act which, sad to say, is pretty much what they became.
DAVIES: Rock historian Ed Ward reviewed "Made in California," the career retrospective box set from the Beach Boys.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "THAT'S WHY GOD MADE THE RADIO")
BOYS: (singing) Tuning in the latest star from the dashboard of my car. Cruising at seven, push button heaven, capturing memories from afar in my car. That's why God made the radio. That's why god made - so tune right in everywhere you go. He waved his hand, gave us rock n' roll, the soundtrack of falling in love. Whoa. Falling in love. Whoa. Falling in - that's why God made the radio.
DAVIES: Coming up, John Powers reviews the latest in a Danish mystery series. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVE DAVIES, HOST:Scandinavia has some of the world's lowest crime rates and, our critic-at-large John Powers says, some of the highest rates of great crime writers. The Danish writing team of Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis launched a series about a driven Red Cross nurse named Nina Borg with their bestseller "The Boy in the Suitcase." John says their latest book, "Death of a Nightingale," is a blend of the exciting and the dead serious.
JOHN POWERS, BYLINE: There's an unforgettable moment in the diary of the great Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz. He's on the beach and he spots a beetle that's been blown on its back by the wind and now lies there helplessly, legs wiggling, unable to right itself. Gombrowicz saves it by turning it over. He sees another upside-down beetle, and turns it over. Then, another. Looking along the sand, he realizes that there are so many beetles he can't possibly save them all. Eventually, he gives up trying.
Most of us would do the same. But not everyone is capable of stopping. One such woman is Nina Borg, the Red Cross nurse who's the heroine of a series of mysteries by the Danish team of Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis. First introduced in the bestselling book "The Boy in the Suitcase," Nina is so obsessed with helping the vulnerable that she joins the sisterhood of run-amok heroines like "Homeland's" Carrie Mathison and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
Nina doesn't just have a bee in her bonnet - she has a whole hive. And it's buzzing away in her latest adventure, "Death of a Nightingale," an elaborately plotted page-turner that flits from today's liberal-minded Denmark and mobbed-up Ukraine to the starvation-racked Soviet Union of the Stalinist '30s. At its center is Natasha Doroshenko.
She's a Ukrainian emigre who Nina first met a few years earlier when, fleeing a sexually abusive Danish fiance, Natasha took refuge at the Red Cross crisis center where Nina works. Since then, Natasha has been imprisoned for trying to murder her fiance, but as this novel begins, she escapes from custody. When her fiance is found murdered a few hours later, the cops think she's gone back and finished the job.
But Nina doesn't believe Natasha's a killer. Nor does she want Natasha's young daughter, Rina, to be either grabbed by her fugitive mom or used as a pawn by the police. Taking charge of Rina, she tries to find out what led Natasha to suddenly snap and flee the authorities. What Nina doesn't know - but Natasha knows all too well - is that the cops aren't the only ones after Natasha.
She's also being pursued by Ukrainian agents and by a mysterious, deeply sinister old woman she thinks of simply as The Witch. Now, if you read much Scandinavian crime fiction you know that - compared to the American, British or Italian models - they're steeped in social conscience. This is strikingly true of the Nina Borg novels.
For starters, all three books are haunted by the westward Diaspora of Eastern Bloc people in the wake of Soviet communism's collapse, a wake so violently messy that its ripples are felt in Western Europe. These ripples are felt first by those like Nina, whose vocation puts her in daily contact with Lithuanians, Hungarians and Ukrainians fleeing their past and seeking a new life in Copenhagen.
At the same time, Kaaberbol and Friis take the migration theme in a fresh, feminist-inflected direction. They don't revel in the usual stereotypes - you know, vulgar Russian gangsters with diamond-studded teeth or tragic, long-legged prostitutes. Instead, books like "Death of a Nightingale" focus on the most powerless, and thus the most endangered, of migrant newcomers: women and, especially, children.
Working with victims, not criminals, Nina encounters kids threatened with all manner of ghastliness and the desperate mothers who'll do anything to save them. We understand why Nina's driven to get involved. Yet her boundless sympathy with the dispossessed, born of childhood trauma, also makes her a real pain.
She's both heroic and frustrating, the kind of person who judges other people for not caring enough - even as she forgets to care about her own family. She routinely fails in simple maternal duties, like picking up the kids from school, because she's so busy helping somebody else's children. She's on a, quote, "one-woman crusade to save the world," complains her estranged husband, Morten, a crusade that sucks their own children into what he calls her personal war zone.
Still, even as Nina knows that she goes too far - often putting herself in harm's way - she can't rein herself in. And as "Death of a Nightingale" makes clear, the world of Red Cross work doesn't help her out. Like Gombrowicz on the beach, she keeps coming across suffering beings who need to be rescued. But unlike him, she keeps on rescuing. For Nina, compassion fatigue isn't a real syndrome. It's merely an excuse.
DAVIES: John Powers is film critic for Vogue and Vogue.com. You can download podcasts of our show at fresh.npr.org. Follow us on Twitter at nprfreshair and on Tumblr at nprfreshair.tumblr.com.
Who's Really Writing States' Legislation?
A group called ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — "is at the forefront of an effort to push business-friendly, conservative legislation at the state level," says reporter John Nichols. He discusses what recently leaked documents reveal about the organization.
National Chairman Of ALEC Responds To Report.
Louisiana state Rep. Noble Ellington is the national chairman of ALEC, a membership-only group that brings together state legislators, interest groups and corporate representatives to draft model bills. He responds to a series of pieces about the organization recently published in The Nation.
'Times' Deputy Counsel On Fighting For Press Freedom In The Trump Era
David McCraw of The New York Times talks about legal issues he's faced on the job — from the president's lawyer threatening to sue for libel to the decision to publish WikiLeaks documents.


I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called Instant Pot Date Night Low Carb Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce and is located at https://www.anediblemosaic.com/instant-pot-date-night-low-carb-creamy-roasted-red-bell-pepper-chicken/.
Instant Pot Date Night Low Carb Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce features juicy dark meat in a rich creamy sauce; serve it over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles to make it a full meal!
Don't save all your date nights at home for Valentine's Day or a special occasion! Meals like this that are easy enough for weeknight cooking, but delicious enough to impress are the perfect way to surprise your sweetheart.
If you're not familiar with an Instant Pot, it's an electric pressure cooker that has become wildly popular as of late! It makes a healthy and delicious homemade meal attainable with minimal effort even on the busiest of weeknights.
I held out on joining the Instant Pot craze for as long as I could. I thought I could make do with my slow cooker, and after I saw a stovetop pressure cooker mishap (where thankfully no one got hurt!), I swore off conventional stovetop pressure cookers altogether. But the Instant Pot is easy to cook with (the electric version is so much easier to use than the stovetop version), and bonus, instead of having to remember to get dinner started in the slow cooker before heading off to work in the morning, you can whip up any number of things after work in well under 30 minutes.
The only thing I don't love about cooking skin-on chicken in the Instant Pot is that the skin doesn't stay crisp, even if you sauté it first. Nobody I know likes soggy chicken skin, so there are a few ways I know of to deal with this issue: 1) take the skin off before cooking (which I don't like to do because I find that the skin adds flavor to the dish as it cooks; 2) take the skin off after cooking (which is my preference because this way you don't have to give up the flavor that the skin adds); or 3) broil the chicken under the broiler after cooking it in the Instant Pot (which I don't usually do, just because it's an additional step and the whole point of the Instant Pot is to simplify cooking). Like I mentioned, my preference is to just remove the skin after cooking.
It seems like everybody and their brother wants chicken dinner recipe ideas, lol! Scratch that, easy chicken dinner recipe ideas. It doesn't get much easier than cooking in an Instant Pot, and this chicken dinner requires just five minutes of hands-on prep time before it gets pressure cooked. And as far as ingredients go, it's mostly just fridge and pantry staples. I bet you already have almost everything on hand, and the roasted red pepper cream sauce makes turns it into something special!
The difference between white and dark meat chicken affects the cooking method. (Note that the USDA recommends cooking chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F. Check it in the innermost part of the thigh and wing, or the thickest part of the breast.) Chicken breasts usually cook faster than legs and thighs, which is only an issue when you're cooking a whole bird. To prevent the white meat from drying out before the dark meat is fully cooked, there are different methods that can be used to keep the white meat moist. Some people roast a chicken breast-side down, or to help ensure even cooking throughout, spatchcock the bird (i.e., to butterfly it, cutting it along the back and cooking it flat). Another method is to line the breasts with bacon, which renders down as the bird roasts.
Since the breasts are low in fat, they do well with fast and hot cooking methods, like grilling or pan-searing. To help tenderize dark meat, it generally does better with roasting, braising, or other slow-cooking. I also like pressure cooking for dark meat because it does the job of slow cooking in much less time.
Dark meat has a stronger flavor than white meat, and it also tends to be juicer and more tender. Many people have a very clear taste preference for one type of meat over the other, but I like both white and dark meat.
One of the things I love most about low-carb cooking is that it doesn't sacrifice flavor. Many carbs are typically quite bland (think rice, pasta, etc.) and need to be doctored up with something (like butter on bread or sauce on pasta) to give them flavor. Low-carb cooking isn't low-fat cooking, and as the saying goes "How do you spell flavor? F-A-T!" This cream cheese-based sauce is seasoned simply with garlic, roasted red pepper, and dried Italian herb seasoning, and yet it's absolutely packed with flavor.
It's fairly easy to keep this meal low-carb. Serve it with mashed cauliflower, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles to soak up that glorious roasted red pepper cream sauce.
Other than the Instant Pot, the real star of this dish is the roasted red pepper cream sauce! In addition to how delicious it is, the best part is that this sauce basically cooks itself. After the chicken cooks in the Instant Pot, I add cream cheese, roasted red bell pepper, and dried Italian herb seasoning to the liquid in the pot and whisk to combine. That's all there is to it!
Turn pressure cooker on, press "Sauté", and wait 2 minutes for the pot to heat up. Add the ghee or oil and the chicken thighs (skin down), and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Press "Cancel" to stop sautéing.
Add the onion, garlic, water, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Turn the pot on Manual, High Pressure for 15 minutes and then do a quick release.
Use thongs to transfer the pieces of chicken to a plate; let them cool slightly, and then remove the skin (unless you don't mind soggy skin).
Press "Sauté", and whisk in the cream cheese, roasted red bell pepper, and dried Italian herb mix. Continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickened slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes. Return the chicken back to the sauce.
Serve along with cauliflower mash, cauliflower rice, or something else to soak up the sauce.
I would like to see the nutritional value of this recipe. How many carbs per serving, etc.
Christina, Thanks so much for your comment! I just added nutritional information to the recipe.


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Sec. 1558. Mistake As To The Person Contracted With
As has been seen, an offer can be accepted only by the person to whom it is addressed;90 and a transaction, therefore, where the parties have not agreed to contract each with the other is void; but the fact that one or both of the parties are under a mutual mistake as to who the party is, with whom he is contracting, will not have this effect. In most of the cases where such circumstances have been shown, the mistake was induced by fraud;9I but there seems no reason to doubt that not only where the mistake was induced by fraud, but also where there was a mutual mistake, without misrepresentation the transaction would be voidable. Whether a unilateral mistake of one party as to the identity of the person with whom he was dealing would justify avoidance of the contract, would logically depend on the general question whether unilateral mistake should justify rescission.92 As the jurisdiction of equity is confined to written contracts, and as a mistake of identity is not generally made in a written contract, any possible relief ordinarily must be given by a court of law.
An error in regard to person may occur not only with reference to parties to the contract but also with reference to other persons who may be referred to in it as a means of defining the thing to be done or the property to be transferred. In the latter case the mistake concerns the identity of the subject-matter of the contract.92
90 See supra, Sec. 80.
91 The cases are collected, supra, Sec. 1517.
92 See infra, Sec.Sec. 1573 ef seq. In Jones v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co., 102 Neb. 853, 170 N. W. 170, a flour company, having a contract to sell a quantity of flour to F at a price much below the existing market price by mistake had entered the contract on its books as one with the plaintiff, and therefore shipped the flour to him with a draft for the price, which he paid. The seller discovering its mistake obtained redelivery of the flour from the carrier, the plaintiff in the meantime having obtained the bill of lading by paying the draft. The Court sustained the seller's contention on the ground that there was no meeting of minds, and no contract. There seems reason to suppose that the plaintiff had good reason to guess from the amount of the draft and from the fact that he had ordered no flour, that a mistake had been made. If so the sale though not void would be voidable, and the decision correct. On any other assumption it is inconsistent with the views expressed in this treatise of the requisites for the formation of a contract and of the impropriety of allowing rescission for unilateral mistake. 93 Thus where a remainder (Colyer
prev: Sec. 1667. Rescission
next: Sec. 1559. Error In Regard To An Object To Which The Contract Relates


A Paris apartment to rent that has an exceptional location : on the border of the 6th and 7th districts, it has one foot in Saint Germain and the other one in Montparnasse. This is a very pleasant and upscale area, very residential and safe. Very close to Rodin museum, the Ecole Militaire, the Invalides and also the Eiffel Tower and downtown is not too far from this apartment in Paris either. In the very same street bakeries, a butcher and many other shops, especially the Bon March are just waiting for your visit to offer you a glimpse of the French way of life. The closest subway stop to the vacation rental in Paris is Vaneau, but Sevres Babylone and Duroc, where you can catch different lines, are five minutes away by foot.
This building was the barracks of the musketeers of the King so it is filled with history and has its own spirit. Who knows if you are not going to sleep in D'Artagnans' bedroom and slide into his dreams of justice and glory? The building, with its wooden beams, is very authentic, and comes from the 17th century. The courtyard is also charming and was at that time a way for the musketeers horses. The access is secured by a door code and a second gate with an intercom. The apartment is locate on the 2nd floor without lift. It is quiet (the windows are double-glazed), luminous, the windows overlook the courtyard.
This 32sqm apartment has been entirely renovated in November 2013. It has a separate bedroom and can sleep two guests. The entrance directly gives on the living-room. It features a comfortable couch and two small coffee tables. The beautiful library features a desk if you want to sit and work there. You will find a television with cable TV channels behind the painting (very easy to remove if you want to watch TV). A central unit separates the living area from the fitted kitchen, open on the main room. The central unit can accommodate up to four guests. The kitchen is very well equipped, you will find anything you need if you want to cook. A corridor will lead you from the living-room to the bedroom. Two sliding doors have been installed, one for the main room, the other for the bedroom. The bedroom features a double bed 140x200, a television (with French channels only), two wardrobes and a chest of drawers made-to-measure. Note that near the entrance door you will find a closet for your coats and luggage. The bathroom is next to the bedroom, accessible from the corridor. It has beautiful tiles and features a walk-in shower and a washbasin. The toilet is in a separate room, in front of the bathroom. This apartment is perfect for a couple. You will feel so good in this quiet and comfortable place. It has been decorated with much taste and harmony, you will love this place which happily mixes vintage style furniture with contemporary features. This place is comfortable, perfect for long stays and for short vacations, it has nothing but top of the range equipment, it is very bright, quiet, beautifully arranged : we love it !
Note that ARAMIS is in the same building as SEVR89C, and at the same address as ATHOS, AT-HOME and SEVR89, so if you are a large family or group of friends, you can combine ARAMIS with another apartment !


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6104 Braidwood Court, Acworth, GA, 30101
Courtesy of: Harry Norman Realtors
VaughanElementary School
Lost MountainMiddle School
HarrisonHigh School
Address: 6104 Braidwood Court
County: Cobb - Ga
City: Acworth
Neighborhood: Brookstone
Nestled in the coveted Brookstone community, this beautiful 5 bed / 3 bath traditional home is one you don't want to miss! The inviting entrance foyer welcomes you with gleaming hardwoods and is flanked by a dining room and home office. The main level features a fireside family room, a kitchen with white cabinets, double wall ovens, an expansive island with an electric cooktop and attached table, a butler's pantry, a bedroom and a full bathroom. Upstairs, the Primary bedroom features tray ceilings, a fireplace, a walk-in closet, a gorgeous bathroom with a soaking tub, a shower, and separate vanities on each side. Three generously sized secondary bedrooms share a bathroom. The upstairs hallway features a laundry room and a closet for storage. The spacious, fenced backyard features a retaining wall and an expansive patio, great for entertaining guests. Located in the coveted Harrison High School district. Option to join the Brookstone Country Club with excellent amenities, including a clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, and more! This home has all the features for your family to enjoy for many years!
Courtesy of: Harry Norman Realtors Listings on this website come from the FMLS IDX Compilation and may be held by brokerage firms other than the owner of this website. The listing brokerage is identified in any listing details. Information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. If you believe any FMLS listing contains material that infringes your copyrighted work please go to the following link to review our DMCA policy and learn how to submit a takedown request: https://www.fmls.com/dmca.htm. © [2022] FMLS. Updated: 29th January, 2023 4:56 AM (UTC)


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NHL players encouraged to play through concussion symptoms, Montador lawyer says
Posted on March 4, 2020 January 3, 2022 by Sam Trusner
The National Hockey League is deceiving retired, current and future players by continuing to downplay the long-term health risks of repeated brain trauma, lawyers for the estate of former NHL player Steve Montador allege in new court filings.
"The NHL is not honest or upfront with its players," William Gibbs, a lawyer for Montador's estate, wrote in documents filed Feb. 28 in U.S. district court in Chicago.
The documents were filed in connection with a request made by the NHL in January for summary judgement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Montador's family. If the NHL's request is granted, a judge would make a ruling and the case would conclude without depositions or a trial. Montador's lawyers are fighting the NHL's motion.
Gibbs wrote that multiple scientific studies over the past decades have established a link between repeated brain trauma and neurocognitive diseases and disorders, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
"The NHL denies this reality," he wrote. "Every time that a former NHL player's brain reveals CTE, the league posits that 'it's way premature to be drawing any conclusions at this point; regarding NHL play and CTE.' Even to this day, after repeatedly informing its players and the public that it is the 'leader' in concussion care, knowledge and research, the NHL boldly informs all NHL players, past, present and future, that there is no proven scientific or statistical evidence demonstrating a connection or correlation between repeated impacts to the head sustained in the NHL and long-term neurodegenerative diseases.
"These false proclamations harm NHL players. By inserting doubt into the equation, the NHL implicitly encourages players to disregard the significance of head injuries and play through the symptoms."
Montador played 571 NHL games during a 14-year pro career that included stints with the Flames, Panthers, Ducks, Bruins, Sabres and Blackhawks. He was 35 when he died on Feb. 15, 2015. Three months after his death, researchers with the Canadian Sports Concussion Project at Toronto's Krembil Neuroscience Centre disclosed the former defenceman had suffered from CTE.
Montador had 19 documented concussions during his pro and junior hockey career and was repeatedly cleared to return to the NHL by team doctors after four concussions in 12 weeks in 2012, his family says.
Montador's family sued the NHL in December 2015, alleging the league has promoted violence and profited off of it while not adequately advising players of the risks of repeated long-term brain injuries.
The Montador family's lawsuit against the NHL was put on hold for four years while the NHL fought a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by more than 100 former NHL players. After a settlement in that case – one that bars nearly 300 former players and their families from pursuing legal action in the future in exchange for a $22,000 (U.S.) per player settlement – Montador's case moved forward.
The NHL has alleged that any legal claims related to Montador's injury "may be barred, in whole or in part, from recovery due to his contributory and/or comparative negligence."
"Any injury or damage sustained by [Montador] was caused, in whole or in part, by [Montador's] own lack of due care and fault, and/or by pre-existing conditions; and/or the lack of due care of others for whom the NHL has no responsibility or control," the league wrote in a July 2019 answer to the Montador family's lawsuit.
In his Feb. 28 filing, Gibbs referenced an email sent by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on September 11, 2011, to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and other colleagues after three NHL enforcers — Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Wade Belak — died in a span of four months. Daly wrote that hockey fighting leads to head injuries and concussions, more cases of depressions, and more instances of "personal tragedies."
"While the NHL has long known that its players involved in fights were susceptible to brain damage and/or depression and/or substance abuse, due to the extreme physical and emotional toll fighting placed upon them, [it] failed to put an end to the problem," Montador's lawyers wrote. "While unnecessary violence, including brutal fist-fighting, has permeated NHL games, the NHL has been on notice that multiple blows to the head can lead to long-term brain injury, including but not limited to memory loss, dementia, depression, addiction and CTE and its related symptoms… the NHL said nothing to its players about any of it."
The NHL has until March 13 to reply to the plaintiff's filing.