With the start of a New Year, investors with stock exposure are asking if they have the appropriate amount, and, given the uncertainty of the current political and economic environment, should they reduce their exposure at this time. On balance, PWA believes that the economy remains strong and that the current expansion can continue. With that said, it is a close call as economic growth is expected to slow. Therefore, we have made some defensive moves in our discretionary portfolios to protect against a broad range of potential risks and further market volatility.
For the purpose of this market outlook, it is critical that clients view the current economic and market data in the context of their unique portfolio strategies that align with their equally diverse individual financial goals and objectives. Given the length of the economic expansion and where we are in the business cycle, predicting economic conditions going forward will become more challenging.
To best frame investment decisions, we must narrow our focus on the key factors that affect the strength of the economy and expected returns for investable assets going forward. While this outlook focuses on several issues that we feel are most important, we are continuing to monitor other domestic and global concerns that will affect markets and our client's portfolios.
Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 68 percent of the U.S. economy, is perhaps the single most important factor to consider when gauging the strength of the economy. In fact, stable or rising levels of consumption can counterbalance and offset other potential concerns elsewhere.
Wages grew 0.4 percent in December 2018, or 3.3 percent over the prior year. More importantly, wages are growing at a faster rate than inflation, providing households with significantly more purchasing power. According to data from the Federal Reserve, household net worth as a percentage of disposable income reached an all-time high the third quarter of 2018, demonstrating that households are in a much better financial position today than they were prior to the recession that began in December of 2007.³ Moreover, the tax cuts that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018, and recent declines in gasoline prices should provide consumers with an additional boost to an already strong financial picture.
Finally, while recent data from The University of Michigan and The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence has softened somewhat recently, both remain at historically high levels. Given the tight labor market, rising wages, and improved household finances, we expect that consumer confidence will remain elevated and continued gains in consumption will drive the already long economic expansion further.
Historically, aggressive tightening of monetary policy has created economic headwinds, undermined the strength of the labor market and led to recessions. Given this relationship, one of the primary concerns troubling markets is the fear that the Fed may be raising the benchmark interest rate too quickly. These concerns escalated at the Fed's December meeting, when it raised rates a quarter of a percentage point for the fourth time in 2018, and Chairman Jerome Powell stated that he "expects" to raise rates two times in 2019 despite market concerns.
By raising interest rates, the Fed is trying to cool the economy but not so much that a recession occurs. While engineering this sort of economic "soft landing" has not been very successful in the past, the other option is not optimal either. Should the Fed keep rates too low for too long, it runs the risk of overheating the economy and creating a severe recession that is more difficult to manage down the road.
The Fed's job will be difficult in the months and years to come. Given that markets are forwarding looking and always digesting information, markets can jump to conclusions when new data on the economy becomes available. Nonetheless, we believe the Fed continues to err on the side of caution as measures show that the current fed funds rate is still below neutral. And, while the recent increases may slow the economy somewhat now, they are likely to extend the expansion, reduce the magnitude of the next slowdown, and give the Fed more room to maneuver when the next slowdown occurs.
The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China escalated in 2018 as the U.S. sought to correct what it considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices and to protect intellectual property, forced technology transfers, and access to China's market. While it can be argued that there are signs of progress on the horizon, it is important to note that tensions between the two nations will continue, especially as China pursues its five-year-old One Belt One Road foreign trade initiative, partnering with other nations and increasing its influence over those regions. Tensions between the U.S. and China are unlikely to go away any time soon, but we do not expect them to deteriorate further from current levels.
With a price return of -6.2 percent (or -4.38 percent total returns once dividends are considered), last year marked the S&P 500's worst returns since 2008.⁵ More concerning was the 20 percent decline the index experienced in the fourth quarter from the highs it reached in September, which evoked memories of the financial crisis and the dot-com bubble before that. While we cannot rule out the prospect of further market declines, we continue to believe that equities will produce more attractive returns than alternatives, such as bonds and cash.
For perspective, from 1950 to 2018, the average annual return on stocks was 11.1 percent, while the return on bonds was 5.8 percent.¹ That's an excess return of 5.3 percent. Over that same time, stocks experienced 12 declines of more than 20 percent and 41 corrections, between -10 percent and -20 percent.⁶ Therefore, while market declines can be uncomfortable and worrisome, equities have proven to be a smart choice over the long term.
3. It is important to consider alternative options or substitutes for equity investment dollars. For example, the yield on short-term bonds or money market funds has recently attracted substantial capital from investors. While these instruments have minimal exposure to market or interest rate risk, dollars invested here will merely keep pace with inflation and not grow real wealth.
Despite the recent volatility faced in the equity markets, equity valuations are far more attractive than they were just several months ago. Assuming the economy avoids recession, we continue to believe stocks can add value when they are properly aligned with the investor's goals and objectives.
As we start 2019, there is no shortage of uncertainties. While economic growth is likely to slow, it does not necessarily signal that a recession is imminent. We believe continued gains in consumer spending, a patient Fed and improvements in China and our trade with the country will calm concerns.
Given the length of the economic expansion and where we are in the economic cycle, forecasting growth going forward will be particularly challenging. While equities are likely to remain volatile, we do believe they can continue to provide attractive returns when they are used appropriately as part of a strategy designed to meet individual client's unique goals and objectives.
Joseph Karl, CFA, is a registered representative of and offers securities through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors and Accountants. PWA is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Investment Advisory Services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc., and Provenance Wealth Advisors.


In this course we will take the social business opportunity that you have identified in the first course to a higher level. Specifically, you will develop a business model using the Business Model Canvas. Gradually you will also start writing your business plan. Moreover, you will be able to assess different organizational forms and select the one that is appropriate for your developed business model. By the end of the course you will be able to compare different social impact investment methods and choose the right funding strategy for your social venture. Note: It is highly recommended to have completed Course 1: 'Identifying Social Entrepreneurship Opportunities' before you start with this Course!
Welcome to the final Module of Course 2. By concluding this Module your social venture will have reached an important milestone in the development process. This session will introduce you to the broad landscape of options you will face when designing the funding strategy for your social business. You will be encouraged to think about the financial needs of your venture and asked to create a plan of how to address those. Guided by insights from a social impact investor and researcher you will develop an elevator video pitch. This will be an important tool to attract startup funding. The final section of this module includes a special on the Impact Investing World Forum held in London in 2017, where Kai spoke to some practitioners who have some insights and good advice!
uses to avoid misspending or outright fraud, is critical.
what they receive in return.
in your group folder, in the discussion form entitled Final Business Plan Groups.
or have a specific focus on your topic.
keep track of fundraising options and to follow up with emerging opportunities.
you will be unable to witness the realization of your initiative.
rely on grants, which is compared to 6% in conventional businesses.
typical practices and considerations of social enterprises.
their overall strategy to attract funding.
to help structure your new firm's market analysis and overall financial needs.
the resources you will need to realize your enterprise.
will be able to present your firm with more conviction and clarity.
what funders will consider when looking over your proposal.
will meet the full spectrum of needs required by your social enterprise.
profit social enterprises clearly look at the rate of financial returns.
And this is their primary focus.
who will offer profits when tackling real world problems.
can be scaled in a way that will impact the greatest number of people.
providing that their investment will generate sufficient social change.
Firstly, how innovative is the business or service model you have developed?
technologies, and governance structure in order to be successful.
potential users of the product or service fundamentally.
Testimonials and reviews are key.
that which you say you do, to actually what you deliver, is necessary.
The second question is the size of the market opportunity.
linked to a specific cause.
of market structure you are seeking is critical.
Please consider what kind of market share your social enterprise seeks to achieve.
and the overall social returns you will be able to generate.
society in a positive and lasting manner.
understand that what you are offering will make a lasting impact.
be able to articulate it in a clear and concise fashion.
your organization in the hopes of scaling the venture.
investor participate based on their own legal requirements?
that it fits with their overall vision and mission.
you seek are within the abilities of the firm to provide.
impressive business opportunities due to their own legal restrictions.
interested in such an initiative.
is the understanding that you may have to develop a network of business contacts.
about what your idea is about and how you wish to execute it.
that it comes across as articulate and confident.
always follow up, either with a phone call or an email.
At the time of your speech, your contact may not have been able to assist you.
the investor may be more open and aware of future opportunities.
Hit the ground running and do not get frustrated.
While you may receive excellent feedback, you may not find funding right away.
coordinate the maximization of your future network.
received funding in the past.
Is there a trend for these initiatives to receive funding?
It is always beneficial to conduct market research on this front.
one, in this week, your group will have to begin to develop its fundraising pitch.
balances you require or wish to establish within your organization.
in the discussion forum entitled Final Business Plan Groups.
who are either specialized in your region, or have a specific focus in your topic.
fundraising options and follow up with every opportunity.
discuss your thoughts on the forum and within your business group.
reading your input about this very important session.


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Tokyo Sky Tree March 27, 2012
Tags: 634, Asakusa, Burj Khalifa, japan, Musashi, Narihirabashi, Oshiage, pagoda, roppongi, Sky Tree, Sky Tree Town, Solamachi, Sorakara, Sorakara-chan, Sumida, Sumida-ku, tokyo, Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo Solamachi, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo-to, tower, TV Tower
Author's Note: Dru's Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read "Tokyo Sky Tree" complete with photos. http://wp.me/p2liAm-Nv
Tokyo Sky Tree is the newest landmark in Tokyo. It is a culmination of planning and building that spanned over 5 years. Tokyo Sky Tree was officially unveiled to the public when the designs were published at the end of 2006. Tokyo Sky Tree is currently the tallest tower in the world and second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa. Sky Tree was built because of the rapid growth of skyscrapers in Tokyo. In the past, Tokyo Tower, which stands at 333m, was the tallest structure in Japan. With an ever changing landscape and advances in technology, Tokyo Tower was quickly becoming a regular structure rather than the tall tower that was needed. Tokyo Tower is a fully functioning TV Tower that broadcasts terrestrial television and radio programs across Tokyo. With the large towers in Roppongi creating greater problems for Tokyo Tower, the need for a new taller structure was conceived and Tokyo Sky Tree was built.
In 2008, the ground-breaking ceremony for Tokyo Sky Tree was held and the pace of construction has been furious. Like many buildings, the foundation is the hardest part of any construction. It took almost one complete year before the foundations were finished and the main structure could begin to be built. From that point it was very noticeable that Sky Tree was growing daily. It took two full years to reach a height of 600m and aside from a few moments where the tower seemed to stop growing for a month or so, it was very easy to see progress being made to the external structure of the tower. Tokyo Sky Tree is topped by a large antenna that stands 36m tall. The 36m tall antenna was built inside the base of the tower and jacked up to its final position. It was about 10m from its final resting height when the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Thankfully the main structure held up and the tower structure was completed soon after checks were made along the entire tower.
There is a lot of symbolism and technology within Tokyo Sky Tree. The first aspect of Tokyo Sky Tree is the shape. While most pictures will show a circular structure, it is far more complex than that. The design was created to start as a triangular base as it slowly transforms into a circular design by the time it reaches the observation decks. The triangular base was designed to minimize the effect of shadows on the surrounding area. Whether this is true or not is unknown by myself as I don't have the means to test it out. The next piece of technology is the use of old technology. It is often promoted by the designers that Tokyo Sky Tree was built using old ideas with modern technology. Utilizing the ancient designs of pagoda in Japan, they created a centre column with the structure hanging from it at the top. This allows the centre column to "float" independently from the outer structure and help protect it from catastrophic failure in the event of an earthquake. Of course this is using modern upgrades to the design and modern technology and materials. The final symbolism in the structure is the height. Tokyo Sky Tree stands at 634m tall. 634 can also be read as "mu(tsu) (6), san (3), shi (4)" or "musashi". Musashi is the old name of the region. Musashi Province was an area that encompassed Tokyo, Saitama, and part of Kanagawa. It can easily be thought of as the entire region that also includes Chiba.
The official mascot of Tokyo Sky Tree is Sorakara-chan. Sorakara-chan can be loosely translated as the girl from the sky. The simple backstory of Sorakara-chan is that she found Tokyo because Tokyo Sky Tree was able to cut above the clouds and shine very brightly. You can already find her items and souvenirs at the base of Tokyo Sky Tree before the tower has even been opened to the public. It is a typical marketing ploy by the operators of Tokyo Sky Tree and she will definitely make money for them. Tokyo Sky Tree is not just a TV tower. It is also a full scale shopping complex. The main floors are occupied by Tokyo Solamachi. Tokyo Solamachi is the name of the shopping complex that occupies the main building at the base of Tokyo Sky Tree that stands a mere 7 stories tall. Tokyo Solamachi isn't very special as it consists mainly of a typical shopping mall but they have added a dome theatre and aquarium to the top floors. It will be the focal point for the entire neighbourhood and create a bit of competition for neighbouring Asakusa and Kinshicho. It is unlikely that the new area, coined "Sky Tree Town" by the developer will take off immediately. It will take time to build up but it will be very popular once it opens in May.
While Tokyo Sky Tree itself is complete, the entire structure and Solamachi won't be open to the public until May 22nd, assuming there are no last second delays. It will be a very popular destination at first and there are sure to be lines to go to the observation deck and lines to get into the shopping complex for the first year or so. Whether or not it will give people enough reason to keep visiting is anyone's guess. It is likely that the complex will do well into the future. It has the potential to draw a lot of people to the tower as it is located just a stone throw's away from Asakusa.
This is the first in a series of posts about Tokyo Sky Tree. To read more, please head over to Tokyo Sky Tree (Opening Day)
Tokyo – Akihabara (Redux) March 20, 2012
Tags: AKB, AKB 48, AKB48, Akihabara, animation, anime, cafe, chuo-dori, electronics, geek, Gundam, Gundam Cafe, idol, japan, Japanimation, Kanda, Kanda Myojin, Kanda Shrine, Kinshicho, maid cafe, manga, Ochanomizu, otaku, pop idol, Taito-ku, tokyo
Author's Note: Dru's Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read "Tokyo – Akihabara (Redux)" complete with photos. http://wp.me/p2liAm-Na
I have previously written about Akihabara and focused a lot on what is available in the area. 2 years ago, I moved to Kinshicho which is just a few stations away from Akihabara. I have had a chance to learn more and more about Akihabara as well as understand the area in a different light. In the past 2 years since my original post about Akihabara many things have changed, yet many things have remained the same. It is still a mecca for geeks and electronics lovers everywhere and it continues to evolve with time.
Akihabara will always be a mecca for geeks, even though the current mayor of the district is trying to push them out. There are several new large buildings that focus more on businesses, but a lot of the side streets are still filled with great little shops to "get your geek on". A lot of the really old shops that added character to Akihabara have closed down and new larger versions have recently popped up. While the character of Akihabara is modernizing, it is modernizing in a good way for tourists now. A lot of the new buildings are occupied by various larger model and anime shops. The older buildings were a bit of a hazard due to their age and lack of upkeep which created a dingy look. While the gentrification of Akihabara is continuing, in my opinion, the original culture is trying to fight on. While many of the porn shops and shady cafes are gone, many of the original electronics and shops are consolidating into larger outlets. Some of the large buildings with dozens of micro shops are rebuilding in smaller and taller buildings. The variety of stores appears to be improving a bit and tourist friendly big box retailers are moving in slowly. Like the stories in many manga or anime, the geeks may have been knocked down but they still try to maintain their own culture within Akihabara.
Akihabara is quickly becoming known for AKB48. AKB48 is a huge all girl pop idol group that was born in 2005. The founder of AKB48 wanted to create "an idol you can meet" situation when he created AKB48. AKB48 stands for AKihaBara 48. Originally, he envisioned 48 girls in the group. At times, there were less than 48 but due to the popularity of the group it now stands at over 50. The group has become so popular that they spawned sister groups across Japan as well as one group in Indonesia and another one being developed in Taiwan. AKB48 is also one of the most recognized and top selling groups in Japan. The group started off very humbly and in the past 3 years have exploded beyond their imaginations. They are seen on TV at almost all hours of the day. The most popular girls are on primetime TV while the B and C list tend to dominate late night TV with cutesy programs. They tend to promote the fact that they are young, and at ages ranging from 13 to 29, they play the part very well. In the beginning, many thought of the group as a type of soft kiddie porn due to the way they dance and dress. Today, they are now part of Japanese pop culture and integral in how Japan is viewed from outside. It is unlikely that they will go away soon and they will continue to expand. From what started out as a single theatre has now grown to include a new venue where you can eat at their cafe, see their museum, buy fan items, and watch past concerts in a new small theatre.
Themes are a new trend in Akihabara. A Gundam Cafe had opened since my last post about Akihabara. It is a very popular cafe where fanatics of Gundam can enjoy a Gundam themed coffee. In fact, all of the food and drinks come with a Gundam theme. The cutlery, dishes, and even tables have Gundam themes. When entering the washroom, you will be greeted by the most famous Gundam of all. You don't have to wait in line to enjoy the food as you can purchase some items at the store. The store itself is pretty small with only a few, yet exclusive, items for sale. While the Gundam Cafe itself is pretty popular, there are other theme attractions in Akihabara. I mentioned that maid cafes are popular, and they continue to be so. Maid cafes come in all shapes and sizes with various costumes. If you aren't happy with the French maid, or the Japanese style maid, you can always go to one where the girls dress in other costumes. They are harder to find and just as expensive as a normal maid cafe but they tend to be very popular.
An often overlooked area of Akihabara, even by me, is the Kanda Myojin. It is a very important shrine in Tokyo. It is one of the 10 most important shrines in Tokyo. They were selected by a past emperor of Japan and it is considered a small pilgrimage to visit all 10. Kanda Myojin is one of the ten but it is a little off the beaten path. It is located roughly an equal distance from Akihabara Station and Ochanomizu Station. It is a little easier to reach from Akihabara but you must pass through a small residential and business district. Most of Akihabara is centred on Chuo-dori and Kanda Myojin is about 5 minutes from Chuo-dori. It is also easy to be lost on the way to Kanda Myojin but once you are there, you are rewarded with one of the nicer gems of the city. Kanda Myojin is actually more well-known among locals as being a popular place for weddings. It is a little expensive but compared to Meiji Jingu, nowhere near as expensive. There are a few various sculptures in the area and it is worth a visit if you are living in Tokyo, but in reality, if you are pressed for time, don't bother with it. Just enjoy yourself in Akihabara and think about doing a pilgrimage in the future.
Akihabara continues to evolve with the atmosphere has changed only a little in the past 2 years. It will take a lot more time to know whether or not the area will completely lose the atmosphere that once inhabited the area. It is not the same as before but it isn't completely different either. You can still find almost everything you can imagine and the area is upgrading the buildings slowly. The old run down stores that looked like they would crumble in a serious earthquake are, for the most part, gone. They have been replaced by several new buildings that have been repopulated by shops that are similar to the original shops in the area. It definitely feels cleaner but at the same time, some of the character of the old dingy shops is gone. In fact, some of the small shops have probably closed for good due to the economy and the changes in Akihabara. I doubt all of them will go away but I feel that things can never return to the technological and otaku heave it once was.
The Akihabara series continues with Akihabara – For the Civilized and Akihabara – For the Eccentric.
Tokyo – Daimon March 13, 2012
Tags: Chuo-ku, daimon, Hamamatsucho, Haneda Airport, japan, Kyu Shiba Rikyu Gardens, Minato-ku, Prince Hotel, Prince Park Tower, Shiba, Shiba Koen, Shiba Park, The Prince Park Tower, Tokugawa, tokyo, Tokyo Monorail, Tokyo Prince Hotel, Tokyo Tower, zojoji
Author's Note: Dru's Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read "Tokyo – Daimon" complete with photos. http://wp.me/p2liAm-Mz
Daimon is an area that is fairly unknown to a majority of tourists in Tokyo. It is better known as Hamamatsucho or even Shiba. Being Tokyo, many neighbourhoods are so close to each other that it can be difficult to distinguish between the different areas. This is one such area. Stretching from the east side of Hamamatsucho Station all the way to Tokyo Tower, the Daimon area is not the most entertaining areas but one of the secret gems of Tokyo. For those with little time, there is no real reason to visit, to be completely honest, but if you have the time, you will be rewarded with beauty and tranquility that is not found outside of the area.
Daimon itself is a very bland area. It is a modern symbol of how most of Japan's cities look. It has the appearance of being a small city in Japan with rows of boring rectangular buildings. In all directions you look, you will find it difficult to tell where you are unless you can see Tokyo Tower. Adding to the blandness is the fact that the area around Hamamatsucho is very busy transfer point as it is the end station of the Tokyo Monorail which runs to Haneda Airport. The east side of Hamamatsucho is the home of the Kyu Shiba Rikyu Gardens but unfortunately I haven't visited that area yet but I hope to do so in the near future. The garden is considered the most beautiful in Tokyo and must be worth a visit. I often just head straight from Hamamatsucho Station to Zojoji which is just a few minutes on foot.
Zojoji is a very beautiful Buddhist temple located near the foot of Tokyo Tower. It is a large complex that houses one of the most tranquil temples in Tokyo. I have visited many temples and shrines but Zojoji is one of the few inviting temples that encourage people to go inside and pray. In some temples and shrines, the prayer area can feel a bit strange as the doors may be closed, or the setting can feel a little less inviting. It is worth the time to just sit down and soak up the atmosphere inside the temple itself. It is a very quiet atmosphere where you can only hear the various prayers people make as they throw their money into the collection boxes. As I mentioned in a previous post about the best temples and shrines in Tokyo, Zojoji is one of the most picturesque. With Tokyo Tower in the background, you can really get a good sense of history and modernity. The surrounding grounds are also interesting with a small hall adjacent to the main one. Behind the small hall is a mausoleum for some of the members of the Tokugawa shogunate, one of the first shogun clans to rule Japan. They are revered in Tokyo and I would say one of the most, if not the most important clan in Japanese history. Unfortunately you do have to pay a small fee to enter the mausoleum grounds itself.
To the south of Zojoji is Shiba Park. It is not a very popular park and very often overlooked by most people. Most tourists will cut through Zojoji to head directly to Tokyo Tower. I prefer a small stop in Shiba Park as it is somewhat of a unique park in Tokyo. The entrance makes the park look like a very small park. It is an open field with trees in the back. What is hidden is a large mound with stairs heading up the mound at the back of the open field. Few people, aside from the locals visit this area. It is a wonderfully quiet area with mostly local tourists exploring the area. There are a few monuments in the area but for those longing for some nature, specifically a forest like feeling, this area is perfect. With trees blanketing the entire hill, you will be hard pressed to find a lot of natural sunlight as the trees filter out most of the sunlight. There are a lot of interesting corners of the park that can be explored. It won't take a long time to explore the entire park but it is worth it if you have the time.
Flanking Zojoji are two hotels. The Prince Park Tower is located to the south of Zojoji on the west side of Shiba Park. It is a tall modern tower that is a nice hotel to stay in, albeit somewhat less convenient than many other hotels. There is a small open field located next to the hotel that is a nice way to cut through to Tokyo Tower rather than going through the main route next to Zojoji. On the north side of Zojoji is the Tokyo Prince Hotel. This is one of the most written about hotels in Tokyo. Various novels that are set in Tokyo often use the Tokyo Prince Hotel as one of their locations. While it is often referred to in various novels, it is also well known for its swimming pool. In the summer, the pool is open to the public for a fee and it is one of the most popular swimming pools in the city. This is mainly due to the good views of Tokyo Tower next to the hotel itself. Unfortunately, for a regular tourist, this is probably not an important place to visit and the building itself is architecturally boring. The area itself is more important than the hotel but for the curious, there is no harm visiting the hotel itself.
Aside from Zojoji and being a way to access Tokyo Tower, Daimon is not really an important place for tourists to visit. I feel that it is a very nice hidden gem in the city and worth a visit for Zojoji alone. It doesn't take a long time and you can easily visit Tokyo Tower at the same time. Combining it with an afternoon trip to Roppongi can help as well, and Tokyo Tower is pretty well connected to other areas of Tokyo via the Tokyo Metro System. It can be difficult to choose but if time is on your side, make plans to visit the Daimon area.
(Top 3) Chinatown's In Japan February 21, 2012
Posted by Dru in Japan, Kansai, Kanto, Kyushu, Tokyo, Travel.
Tags: Chinatown, Chinese Street, Chukagai, Chuukagai, japan, Kobe, Kobe Chinatown, Minato-mirai, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Chinatown, Nanjing Machi, Nanjingmachi, Top 3, Top 3 Chinatowns, Toyoko, vancouver, Yokohama, Yokohama Chinatown
Author's Note: Dru's Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read "(Top 3) Chinatown's In Japan" complete with photos. http://wp.me/p2liAm-LA
There are 3 major Chinatown districts in Japan. They are located in Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki. I have had the pleasure to visit each one and all of them are different. To me Chinatown is a tourist destination that isn't really an actual Chinese area. When people say you must go to Chinatown, I feel like I am about to head to a tourist trap with various vendors hawking their wares. Japan, unfortunately, continues this stereotypical trend. Being of Chinese descent and having visited China I feel that Chinatown is not a great representation of Chinese people or China in general. While the surrounding areas may be more representative, I feel as if I entered an amusement park where stereotypical Chinese culture is on display.
The biggest Chinatown in Japan is in Yokohama. Located at the end of the Minato-mirai Line, which happens to be connected to the Tokyu Toyoko Line, is the Chinatown where most people will visit when they come to Japan. It also happens to be the most crowded and touristy of the three Chinatowns. I found that the area is almost completely filled with Japanese people and various restaurants selling different types of buns. I never had a great time visiting Chinatown in Yokohama and rarely recommend it to tourists. Japanese people tend to love it there and think that the food is all authentic Chinese food. Unfortunately most of it is Japanese variations of traditional Chinese dishes. It can be hard to get excited when the Chinese chefs adapt their dishes to Japanese tastes, but that is how they make their money. I may also be slightly biased due to the fact that I found a small worm/maggot in a buffet lunch and all they did was use the tongs to throw it in the garbage. Not the most hygienic method of fixing the problem if you ask me. If you enjoy large crowds and Japanese style Chinese food, Yokohama's Chinatown is a nice place to visit.
As you can tell, bigger does not equal better. Kobe has the second largest Chinatown in Japan. It is actually called Nankinmachi (after Nanjing) rather than Chukagai (Chinese Street). It is one of the best Chinatowns in Japan, in my opinion. It is lined with various food stalls and a few touristy souvenir shops as well as the stereotypical Chinese style architecture of Asian styled red roofs. Once you get past the touristy look of this Chinatown, you can get a lot of good food and a large variety of it too. Kobe's Chinatown is also less crowded than Yokohama which makes it a lot easier to move around. Sometimes trying to get around in Yokohama can be a challenge as there are people spread across the entire street making it nearly impossible to move faster than a snail. In Kobe, this is not a problem at all. The only problem with the Kobe Chinatown is the fact that it is very touristy. It is hard to escape the fact that they do cater to tourists but thankfully I also saw many Chinese tourists when I visited so it couldn't be that bad. I'm sure they are curious as to how Japan views Chinese culture just as Japanese people are curious to try sushi in other countries.
The last Chinatown, and smallest is Nagasaki. It spans just a few blocks and it is lined with various large and small shops. Like the other Chinatown's, it is dominated with restaurants but the unique feature of this Chinatown is the number of other types of shops such as fireworks and medicine shops. You can easily notice a huge difference in atmosphere in Nagasaki. I felt relatively safe in Yokohama and Kobe however in Nagasaki I felt it was a little dangerous, comparatively. It could also be the fact that I walked in the area around midnight. In Nagasaki, it is common to see Chinese people as in Kobe but you can also eat the famous Nagasaki Champon, Sara Udon, and Kakuni Manju. These are all delicious, yet Japanese variations of originally Chinese dishes. I do enjoy them the most as they are fairly close to Chinese tastes. Due to the size of Nagasaki's Chinatown, it is difficult to elaborate a lot on the different things in Chinatown as there really isn't a lot.
Chinatown in Japan is something that a resident should see once in their stay in Japan. However for the average tourist, I doubt a trip to Chinatown would be very high on their list of things to see or do. I find it to be overly touristy and focused on Japanese people. As with many other Chinatown's in various other countries, I rarely visit them. I prefer to go to the real thing. I have already visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing. I doubt I could find anything that is specifically Chinese in any Chinatown in the world, even in my hometown Vancouver. The food is good, for the most part, but dealing with the crowds and tourist activities is not as enjoyable for me. I would much rather go to a normal Chinese restaurant in another area than head to Chinatown. In fact, for people looking for a more authentic Chinese food, Ikebukuro is reputed as a secret Chinatown. Many Chinese people take up residence near Ikebukuro leading to many Chinese restaurants being located there. It is also somewhat contentious as the Chinatown merchants in Yokohama have complained openly about the idea of starting a Chinese Business Association in Ikebukuro as they feel it will create a rival Chinatown to their destination. I doubt things will really change in the near future but who knows about the long term.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Mention the word adolescence to many parents and the response is more often than not rich with worry and concern. Despite the challenges for both teens and parents during this developmental period, it can be easily navigated with knowledge, appropriate boundaries, and empathy. During this stage, adolescents are taxed with many important developmental tasks including developing a personal and social identity, making decisions about higher education, and making sense of physical changes. Today all these important milestones are set within the context of social media – a source of information that has altered how we relate with one another. In working with parents, a few guiding principals have helped families transverse commonly asked questions or concerns.
During adolescence, teens naturally shift their focus from family to their peers and social group. A young teen's relationships with peers often will absorb much time and energy. Parents are encouraged to foster their adolescent's interest in relating, while ensuring appropriate boundaries are in place. Young adolescents need personal space and time to devote to themselves, school work, and peer relationships. Teens, although they may never admit to this, need boundaries and support from their parents during this time. It is through these boundaries and limitations (when necessary) that they are able to feel secure in exploring the social world. Staying connected with family is important during this time. As much as parents are processing the changes of their child as they grow into a teenager, so too is the young teen experiencing a host of emotions. As much as parents become accustomed to one word answers, it is important to continue to express interest, set appropriate boundaries, and know about what is occurring for your budding young adult.
Scheduling daily time to discuss school, upcoming events, etc. (e.g., at dinner, before going to sleep).
Scheduling monthly dates to be with your teen, engaging in something that is naturally interesting and enjoyable for your teen. Let your teen teach you something about what he or she enjoys doing.
Allow your teen to be involved in forming specific rules, responsibilities, etc. If they have a voice in a decision, they are more likely to follow that rule and it helps them learn important compromising skills.
Teens should not be in their room for the majority of their day. While they do need their space and time in their room, they should also be around family members. Discussing with your teen the importance of attending dinner and/or interacting with family members is encouraged. When working with teens, we often let them know that if they are involved at home, their parents are less likely to worry or "nag" them about spending time together.
Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D., in a 2008 study, cited parenting styles as a key variable to the impact of Facebook © on a child's well‐being. Rosen found that when parents used an authoritative (parenting) style, their children were able to regulate Internet use and showed less negative consequences. Thus, firm rules or limits should be placed around texting and being on the computer for social purposes. For example, completing homework in a distraction‐free setting is encouraged rather than allowing teens to multitask (e.g., texting while completing homework). Remind your teen that focusing strictly on school work for a period of time will lead to the work being completed sooner.
Parents often take away cell phones or access to social media when providing consequences to their teen (for behavior, decline in grades, etc.). Given the importance of social relationships to adolescences, complete removal of access to friends is discouraged. Instead, think about decreasing the time they have on social media.
If your teen reports cyber bullying or school bullying, it is important that this is brought to the attention of the school.
For help navigating the school environment, Barb Resnick, RNBC's School Liaison, can help to facilitate discussions with the school and present possible solutions. Please call 847–933-9339 to schedule an appointment.
During adolescence, young teens are experiencing physical, social, and psychological changes and growth. In the midst of the excitement about dances, friends, and preparing for college, some teens struggle with stress and mood changes. Some mild irritability is expected (sorry parents!). However, 3–5% of adolescents suffer from depression, and 10–15% display depressive symptoms. Thus, it is important to understand what depression is and know the warning signs. Any significant increase in sadness, agitation (e.g., unregulated, angry outburst), irritability, changes in weight, sleep disturbances, or increased anxiety should be closely monitored. In addition, any decrease in pro‐social behaviors including socializing with friends, declines in grades or withdrawing from once enjoyed activities – are also signs of more significant difficulties.
Parents should check in with their teen to monitor mood or any significant events that may be impacting her behavior.
If parents have concerns regarding their son or daughter's emotional functioning, school based or outpatient individual psychotherapy can help support the teen and family. RNBC offers individual therapy to children and teens. If you have concerns about your teen's mood and would like an evaluation and/or treatment, please call 847–933-9339 to schedule an appointment.
Adolescence is a period we all remember – the drama, the uncertainty, and the excitement. However, all teens are not alike, so each journey through adolescence will look and feel different. Despite the increasing independence, adolescents are still very much in need of their families to help guide this progression. Parents that continue to display empathy, patience, and openness to their young teen will provide an environment for a teen to be self‐confident and assured.


text:
Oklahoma Says Bodies Found In Lake Solve Decades-Old Cold Cases
Melissa Stusinski
Bodies found in a lake in Oklahoma solve two cold cases dating back to 1969 and 1970. The cases involved a trio who disappeared while driving near Oklahoma's Foss Lake.
Six bodies were found in two separate cars at Foss Lake last September when police were testing new sonar equipment. Reuters reports that authorities identified two of the six bodies as 16-year-old Jimmy Allen Williams, who went missing in 1970, and 42-year-old Cleburn Hammack, who disappeared in 1969.
The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's office is still working to identify the other four bodies found in the lake.
Williams, Thomas Michael Rios, 18, and Leah Gail Johnson, 18, were last seen in Williams' 1969 Camaro on their way to a football game in Elk City on November 20, 1970.
Hammack was last seen in a 1952 Chevrolet with John Alva Porter, 69, and Nora Marie Duncan, 58, on April 8, 1969. A July 1969 newspaper article published in Oklahoma states that Porter, Duncan, and Hammack were last seen "when their 1953 green Chevrolet car was given a push to help it get started."
All six were placed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Williams purchased his Camaro just six days before he went missing. While they were going to a football game, CNN reports that friends suspected they went hunting instead. Williams was a hunger and two rifles were found rusted and corroded in the Camaro.
Johnson was Native American and, according to Dayva Spitzer, publisher of the Sayre Record and Beckham County Democrat, was said to be a descendant of Sitting Bull, who famously led warriors to defeat George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
The positive identities were found after family reference sample DNA was collected from the presumed families and sent to a DNA reference lab. The names of the remaining bodies will be released when testing is complete and their families have been notified. However, given the identities of the first two bodies found in the lake, the rest of the remains likely belong to Johnson, Rios, Porter, and Duncan.
The rusty cars were found three feet apart in 12 feet of water near Foss Lake's main concrete boat dock. A road narrows into the dock, which could explain how the cars ended up in the water. After a sonar test revealed shapes at the bottom of the lake, divers were sent down, where they discovered the cars, covered by mud and rust.
Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, recalled, "It was quite a shock when the first car came out and we saw what was in the driver's seat."
While only two of the bodies found in the lake have been found, Oklahoma's medical examiner's office will likely release the rest of the identities soon.
[Image: New York Post]


Love the sweet flowers as a backdrop for the big letters!
Love your cards!! The use of the watercolor stripes die is perfect for not wasting elements & those triangles are so colorful & pretty!
Great cards! Just love that geometric one!
Beautiful cards! Love the colors and bold designs.
Wow! That B&W background really makes the flowers pop up!! What a creative idea! Thanks!
Your cards are so pretty. I'm loving the Shattered Triangle die. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love the black and white background on the cards very petty!
Love the black and white stripes background. I'm also crazy about the triangles!
Great use of the new dies on your cool cards!
Love the bold and beautiful style of the first two cards!! I've got to CASE them!! And you make those triangles look so fun!!
Love that watercolor stripes die. It is a really nice background.
I'm liking all the new items, hard to pick just one.
love the cards, using the the blending technique is great I have to work on that I still get the circle blotches. You did a beautiful job.
Nice combination of flowers and words.
These are absolutely gorgeous cards ! I love the colors !
beautiful cards..love the cover die with the flowers!
The triangle card is eye catching even though it was simple to make, it looks great. I hadn't really looked at the triangle die set, but now I will.
Love those gorgeous big letters & yummy colors!
Love those big bold alpha dies! Fantastic cards!
Thank you for the video…very helpful!
These are all lovely. Love the colors of the triangles and the way they lay so nicely together. I really like that striped background die. Thanks for the video.
Beautiful cards, I really like the triangle frame dies.
The 2nd card really got me thinking about how to use that technique… thanks for sharing!
Your floral cards are great!
Your cards are just beautiful! I never would have thought to put those elegant roses on the brush stroked background like that — and yet you got this lovely hard and soft type contrast. Gorgeous — love the idea of using the negative spaces for a second card as well. Great inspiration — can't wait to try them out myself!


text:
Japan, 1870-1950
YEN (obsolete)
Page in progress, looking for more illustrations as not too many examples of variations in hand!
With the Meiji Restoration came a revising of the monetary system including adopting a decimal system.
The basic unit was the gold yen, with the sen being 1/100 of a yen, and the rin being 1/10 of a sen. Gold coins were to be minted in 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yen values, with design, weight and fineness as determined by the government and serving as legal tender. Coins minted under the 1 yen denomination were 'subsidiary coins' meant to facilitate transactions and theoretically had limits in a larger transaction (ie up to 10 yen in silver coins or 1 yen in copper).
The 1 yen silver coin was initially to be minted in a limited fashion as a coin used for trade at the treaty ports, and were not legal tender outside those ports. The values were set at 100 silver yen = 101 gold yen. This became problematic later when larger amounts of silver were discovered and the price of silver dropped, resulting in an exodus of gold from Japan.
In Meiji 11 (1878) the silver one yen coins and trade dollars were made legal tender throughout Japan. The coinage act of 1897 removed the silver yen as a legal tender denomination. The silver yen struck from 1901 (M. 34) and later were minted for use in overseas areas (i.e. Taiwan and Korea), and were not for domestic use.
The Gold Yen
Meiji 4 (1871), NGC MS-65. High dot variety. This example has some interesting doubling on the reverse. A newer photo of this coin is posted on the gold page. For now at least, I'll keep this one here as it is a good contrast in how different photos can make the same coin look.
Meiji 3 (1870), NGC MS-65. Type I. This example has some rather interesting die cracks.
Type I yen detail
Type II yen detail
The Meiji 3 dated coins were (per one resource) minted from year 3 through year 5. Originally intended as a trade coin, it was legal tender in Japan from M.11 through M31. The basic categories of variety are I, II and III. Type III is incomplete or 'lacking' in that it is missing the lower of the two horizontal strokes, marked as present with the red arrows in the above photos. Type I is notable for the shorter stroke at the lower aspect of the character, vs. the more equal length noted on Type II, as marked by the blue arrows above.
The JNDA illustrates the styles, with some artwork variation noted over a decade. However, it is apparent how the distinctions between the three types are made.
An acquaintance translated the captions as "normal", "regular" and "lacking", but I haven't confirmed this or even exactly what this refers to (though the 'lacking' makes sense').
Meiji 15 (1882), NGC AU-58. I was completely unable to catch the underlying (if muted) luster under the toning.
The 'gin' counterstamp. Literallly means 'silver'. The one yen coins were theoretically removed from circulation and stamped for export and use overseas. The Osaka mint placed the gin mark to the left, and the Tokyo mint placed the gin to the right. Far more were counterstamped in Osaka, about 10 million vs 1 million. Both coins were appallingly scrubbed at some point in their careers sadly.
Meiji 34 (1901), NGC MS-65
Taisho 3 (1914), NGC MS-64
Showa 24 (1949), NGC MS-63


text:
package com.inspiring.pugtsdb.rollup.purge;

import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.PugTSDB;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.PugTSDBOverH2;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.metric.DoubleMetric;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.metric.Metric;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.repository.Repositories;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.rollup.RollUp;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.rollup.aggregation.Aggregation;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.rollup.aggregation.DoubleSumAggregation;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.time.Granularity;
import com.inspiring.pugtsdb.time.Retention;
import cucumber.api.java.After;
import cucumber.api.java.Before;
import cucumber.api.java.en.Given;
import cucumber.api.java.en.Then;
import cucumber.api.java.en.When;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.PreparedStatement;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.Statement;
import java.sql.Timestamp;
import java.time.Instant;
import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
import java.time.temporal.ChronoUnit;
import java.util.stream.Stream;

import static com.inspiring.pugtsdb.util.Temporals.truncate;
import static java.time.ZoneId.systemDefault;
import static java.util.Collections.emptyMap;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;

@SuppressWarnings("Duplicates")
public class RollUpPurgeSteps {

    private Metric metric;
    private Aggregation aggregation;
    private Retention retention;
    private RollUp rollUp;
    private PugTSDBOverH2 pugTSDB;
    private Repositories repositories;
    private Instant executionInstant;

    @Before
    public void prepare() {
        pugTSDB = new PugTSDBOverH2("/tmp/pug-rollup-test", "test", "test");

        repositories = Stream.of(PugTSDB.class.getDeclaredFields())
                .filter(field -> {
                    field.setAccessible(true);
                    return field.isAccessible();
                })
                .filter(field -> field.getType().isAssignableFrom(Repositories.class))
                .map(field -> {
                    try {
                        return (Repositories) field.get(pugTSDB);
                    } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
                        return null;
                    }
                })
                .findFirst()
                .get();

        executionInstant = Instant.now();
    }

    @After
    public void cleanup() throws Exception {
        if (pugTSDB != null) {
            try (Statement statement = pugTSDB.getDataSource().getConnection().createStatement()) {
                statement.execute(" DROP ALL OBJECTS DELETE FILES ");
            } finally {
                pugTSDB.close();
            }
        }
    }

    @Given("^a double metric named \"([^\"]*)\"$")
    public void aDoubleMetricNamed(String name) throws Throwable {
        metric = new DoubleMetric(name, emptyMap());
        repositories.getMetricRepository().insertMetric(metric);
        repositories.getMetricRepository().getConnection().commit();
        repositories.getMetricRepository().getConnection().close();
    }

    @Given("^a SUM aggregation of double values$")
    public void aSUMAggregationOfDoubleValues() throws Throwable {
        aggregation = new DoubleSumAggregation();
    }

    @Given("^a retention of (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\"$")
    public void aRetentionOf(long value, String unitString) throws Throwable {
        retention = Retention.of(value, ChronoUnit.valueOf(unitString.toUpperCase()));
    }

    @Given("^a rollup from (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\" to (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\"$")
    public void aRollupFromTo(long sourceGranularityValue, String sourceGranularityUnit, long targetGranularityValue, String targetGranularityUnit) throws Throwable {
        Granularity sourceGranularity = granularityOf(sourceGranularityValue, sourceGranularityUnit);
        Granularity targetGranularity = granularityOf(targetGranularityValue, targetGranularityUnit);
        rollUp = new RollUp(metric.getName(), aggregation, sourceGranularity, targetGranularity, repositories);
    }

    @Given("^a rolled up point on \"([^\"]*)\" (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\" with a double (\\d+)$")
    public void aRolledUpPointOnWithADouble(String timestampState,
                                            long timestampDiff,
                                            String timestampUnit,
                                            Double value) throws Throwable {
        String sql = ""
                + " INSERT INTO point_" + rollUp.getTargetGranularity()
                + " (\"metric_id\", \"timestamp\", \"aggregation\", \"value\") "
                + " VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?) ";

        Timestamp timestamp = resolveTimestamp(timestampState, timestampDiff, timestampUnit);

        try (Connection connection = pugTSDB.getDataSource().getConnection();
             PreparedStatement statement = connection.prepareStatement(sql)) {
            statement.setString(1, metric.getId());
            statement.setTimestamp(2, timestamp);
            statement.setString(3, aggregation.getName());
            statement.setBytes(4, metric.valueToBytes(value));
            statement.execute();
        }
    }

    @When("^the rollup executes$")
    public void theRollupExecutes() throws Throwable {
        rollUp.run();
    }

    @Then("^the rolled up point on \"([^\"]*)\" (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\" wont be purged$")
    public void theRolledUpPointOnWontBePurged(String timestampState,
                                               long timestampDiff,
                                               String timestampUnit) throws Throwable {
        String sql = ""
                + " SELECT * FROM point_" + rollUp.getTargetGranularity()
                + " WHERE \"metric_id\" = ?   "
                + " AND   \"timestamp\" = ?   "
                + " AND   \"aggregation\" = ? ";

        Timestamp timestamp = resolveTimestamp(timestampState, timestampDiff, timestampUnit);

        try (Connection connection = pugTSDB.getDataSource().getConnection();
             PreparedStatement statement = connection.prepareStatement(sql)) {
            statement.setString(1, metric.getId());
            statement.setTimestamp(2, timestamp);
            statement.setString(3, aggregation.getName());
            ResultSet resultSet = statement.executeQuery();

            assertTrue(resultSet.next());
        }
    }

    @Then("^the rolled up point on \"([^\"]*)\" (\\d+) \"([^\"]*)\" will be purged$")
    public void theRolledUpPointOnWillBePurged(String timestampState,
                                               long timestampDiff,
                                               String timestampUnit) throws Throwable {
        String sql = ""
                + " SELECT * FROM point_" + rollUp.getTargetGranularity()
                + " WHERE \"metric_id\" = ?   "
                + " AND   \"timestamp\" = ?   "
                + " AND   \"aggregation\" = ? ";

        Timestamp timestamp = resolveTimestamp(timestampState, timestampDiff, timestampUnit);

        try (Connection connection = pugTSDB.getDataSource().getConnection();
             PreparedStatement statement = connection.prepareStatement(sql)) {
            statement.setString(1, metric.getId());
            statement.setTimestamp(2, timestamp);
            statement.setString(3, aggregation.getName());
            ResultSet resultSet = statement.executeQuery();

            assertFalse(resultSet.next());
        }
    }

    private Granularity granularityOf(long granularityValue, String granularityUnit) {
        ChronoUnit unit = ChronoUnit.valueOf(granularityUnit.toUpperCase());
        return unit == ChronoUnit.MILLIS ? null : Granularity.valueOf(granularityValue, unit);
    }

    private Timestamp resolveTimestamp(String state, long diff, String unitString) {
        ChronoUnit timestampUnit = ChronoUnit.valueOf(unitString.toUpperCase());
        ZonedDateTime timestamp = truncate(executionInstant.atZone(systemDefault()), timestampUnit);

        if (state.equalsIgnoreCase("past")) {
            timestamp = timestamp.minus(diff, timestampUnit);
        } else if (state.equalsIgnoreCase("future")) {
            timestamp = timestamp.plus(diff, timestampUnit);
        }

        return new Timestamp(timestamp.toInstant().toEpochMilli());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Happy Wednesday, makers! This week I am working hard on my next pattern as well as some upcoming fall projects! I will be participating in the Refashioners 2017, so I've got a suit jacket that looks like it's been through hell on my sewing table, ripped to pieces and spilling interfacing guts everywhere. I'm also fulfilling my denim jacket dreams by making the Hampton Jacket from Alina Design Co. I can't wait to finish these up so I can get them on the blog! What are you working on for fall?
Liesl + Co. released the All Day Shirt pattern for men and the Recital Shirt Pattern for women.
OhhhLulu released the Delphine Thong.
Tessuti released the Lois dress (I am obsessed with this one!).
Sew Over It released the Cocoon Coat.
Itch To Stitch released the Brasov Wrap Top.
All of my patterns are 15% off this week! No coupon code required.
Pattern Scissors Cloth made a seriously awesome pair of orange trousers.
This Aldaia dress from Sunny Gal Studio is so pretty.
Oonaballoona shares a great wax print dress along with some thoughts on wearing wax prints and cultural appropriation – don't miss this!
Self Assembly Required shares a fab Bettine and Marigold Mashup jumpsuit.
Male Pattern Boldness made a wedding dress and it is STUNNING.
The Fringe Association made her first pair of jeans and they are so good!
I am loving this Lupin Jacket from Rue Des Renards.
A Robot Heart shares a gorgeous handmade wedding dress she made for a friend.
Randomly Happy shares how to embroider your clothes.
Melly Sews shows us how to stamp fabric.
The Last Stitch shares 8 tips for sewing active wear.
I am really into these pieces by Maria Svarbova. The colours and patterns are so captivating!
Thanks for sharing the images by Maria Svarbova – they are stunning!
Such a lovely collection of inspiring links! Thank you for including my dress <3.
I think the Lois Dress will look fabulous on you Helen!
Thank you for mentioning my list of activewear tutorials! BTW I have just binge listened to your podcast and really like it! You have such a great rapport together, plus the sound quality and your delivery was so great even in episode 1, it made me think you have done this before in some capacity! I added it to my sewing podcast resource page now as well. People have been telling me about you guys for quite a while but I wanted to listen to several episodes before I added your podcast to my list. Great work and keep it up!


Peace Plan? Lieberman? Oh, yes. Contrary to everything you thought, Lieberman wants peace, indeed is yearning for peace. So much so that he has spent days and nights working out an entire Peace Plan of his own.
Lieberman knew, of course, that Netanyahu was negotiating with the Turks in order to put an end to the conflict. The minister of defense, Ehud Barak, and the army chiefs were putting pressure on him to reestablish good relations with Ankara, and especially with the Turkish military – relations, they believe, that are of major strategic value for Israel. The Turks on their part, know that Israel controls the U.S. Congress and therefore also believe that a compromise would be good for them. Netanyahu's emissary was looking for a formula that would be short of an apology and yet satisfy Ankara.
Lieberman has put an end to this appeasement. Netanyahu cannot afford to look like a wimp next to his macho foreign minister. So he declared that he would never, ever apologize.
But Lieberman does not rest on his laurels for a moment. At the same meeting with the select 170, he laid out his great plan, Plan B.
Netanyahu, of course, has no peace plan. His declared position is that the Palestinians must return to direct negotiations without prior conditions, but only after they officially recognize Israel as "the state of the Jewish people" (or, in another version, as a "Jewish and democratic state"). It is clear that the Palestinians cannot be expected to agree to any such prior condition.
True, this matter could be settled easily: Israel could enter negotiations and offer a peace plan within the parameters set by President Bill Clinton and adopted by Barack Obama. If the Palestinians refuse, we would not lose anything, and they would be shamed before the whole world.
Why not legitimate? Here Lieberman is revealed as the principled democrat he is. Mahmoud Abbas's term of office has expired. The Palestinian Authority has held no new elections. Can one demand of Israel, the beacon of democracy in the Middle East, to make peace with a leadership that has not been lawfully elected?
For Lieberman, as for Netanyahu, the continued existence of the present coalition is clearly more important than reaching a "permanent settlement." True, one could easily set up an alternative coalition, based on Likud, Kadima, and Labor, but for Lieberman – and, so it seems, for Netanyahu, too – this possibility is not worth considering.
Well, first of all, the foreign minister is not just "any minister." The political musings of the deputy minister of transportation (if any) may be unimportant, but the foreign minister is the international spokesman of the state, the representative of the government abroad.
In practice, it is Netanyahu himself who is holding up the negotiations, because he refuses to freeze the settlements and he demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." And even if negotiations were resumed, they would soon come up against a wall, because of our government's attitude toward East Jerusalem and the borders.
So, what remains? Interim forever!


text:
package com.ugurcan.springdemo.mvc;

import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull;
import javax.validation.constraints.Size;

import com.ugurcan.spring.demo.mvc.validation.CourseCode;

public class Customer {

	private String firstName;

	@NotNull(message="Required")
	@Size(min=4,max=25 , message="must be between 4 - 25 characters")
	private String lastName;

	@CourseCode
	private String courseCode;

	public String getFirstName() {
		return firstName;
	}
	public void setFirstName(String firstName) {
		this.firstName = firstName;
	}
	public String getLastName() {
		return lastName;
	}
	public void setLastName(String lastName) {
		System.out.println("| "+ lastName + " |");
		this.lastName = lastName;
	}
	public String getCourseCode() {
		return courseCode;
	}
	public void setCourseCode(String courseCode) {
		this.courseCode = courseCode;
	}

}


text:
import { removeElement } from 'domutils';
import { Document, isDocument as checkIsDocument, } from 'domhandler';
/**
 * Get the parse function with options.
 *
 * @param parser - The parser function.
 * @returns The parse function with options.
 */
export function getParse(parser) {
    /**
     * Parse a HTML string or a node.
     *
     * @param content - The HTML string or node.
     * @param options - The parser options.
     * @param isDocument - If `content` is a document.
     * @param context - The context node in the DOM tree.
     * @returns The parsed document node.
     */
    return function parse(content, options, isDocument, context) {
        if (typeof Buffer !== 'undefined' && Buffer.isBuffer(content)) {
            content = content.toString();
        }
        if (typeof content === 'string') {
            return parser(content, options, isDocument, context);
        }
        const doc = content;
        if (!Array.isArray(doc) && checkIsDocument(doc)) {
            // If `doc` is already a root, just return it
            return doc;
        }
        // Add conent to new root element
        const root = new Document([]);
        // Update the DOM using the root
        update(doc, root);
        return root;
    };
}
/**
 * Update the dom structure, for one changed layer.
 *
 * @param newChilds - The new children.
 * @param parent - The new parent.
 * @returns The parent node.
 */
export function update(newChilds, parent) {
    // Normalize
    const arr = Array.isArray(newChilds) ? newChilds : [newChilds];
    // Update parent
    if (parent) {
        parent.children = arr;
    }
    else {
        parent = null;
    }
    // Update neighbors
    for (let i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
        const node = arr[i];
        // Cleanly remove existing nodes from their previous structures.
        if (node.parent && node.parent.children !== arr) {
            removeElement(node);
        }
        if (parent) {
            node.prev = arr[i - 1] || null;
            node.next = arr[i + 1] || null;
        }
        else {
            node.prev = node.next = null;
        }
        node.parent = parent;
    }
    return parent;
}
//# sourceMappingURL=parse.js.map


Climate change is as challenging as it is complicated. Join us as we break down its complexity and offer a narrative you can relate to.
Jacopo Bencini and Sander Chan, of the German Development Institute, were in Nairobi, Kenya at the Seventh UNECA Conference on Climate Change, Development and Africa.


text:
Adds an AWS::Config::OrganizationConformancePack.ConformancePackInputParameter resource property to the template.
Input parameters in the form of key-value pairs for the conformance pack, both of which you define.
Keys can have a maximum character length of 255 characters, and values can have a maximum length of 4096 characters.

## SYNTAX

```
Add-VSConfigOrganizationConformancePackConformancePackInputParameter [-ParameterName] <Object>
 [-ParameterValue] <Object> [<CommonParameters>]
```

## DESCRIPTION
Adds an AWS::Config::OrganizationConformancePack.ConformancePackInputParameter resource property to the template.
Input parameters in the form of key-value pairs for the conformance pack, both of which you define.
Keys can have a maximum character length of 255 characters, and values can have a maximum length of 4096 characters.

## PARAMETERS

### -ParameterName
One part of a key-value pair.

Documentation: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter.html#cfn-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter-parametername
UpdateType: Mutable
PrimitiveType: String

```yaml
Type: Object
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: True
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
```

### -ParameterValue
One part of a key-value pair.

Documentation: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter.html#cfn-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter-parametervalue
UpdateType: Mutable
PrimitiveType: String

```yaml
Type: Object
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: True
Position: 2
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
```

### CommonParameters
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see [about_CommonParameters](http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).

## INPUTS

## OUTPUTS

### Vaporshell.Resource.Config.OrganizationConformancePack.ConformancePackInputParameter
## NOTES

## RELATED LINKS

[http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter.html](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-config-organizationconformancepack-conformancepackinputparameter.html)


text:
Majestic wins exclusive rights to Graham Norton's Sauvignon Blanc
By Mathew Lyons
Published: 20 October, 2015
BBC chat show host Graham Norton is to launch his own wine in the UK through an exclusive distribution agreement with Majestic Wine.
Graham Norton's Own Sauvignon Blanc 2015 was produced in partnership with New Zealand's Invivo winery.
Norton tasted a range of samples with the Invivo team. His final preferred blend consisted of equal portions from the Marlborough sub-regions Wairau River and Awatere Valley.
Tim Lightbourne, co-founder of Invivo, said: "The classic tropical flavours of the stony Wairau soils have blended exceptionally well with the punchy, vibrant and herbaceous characters of the more rugged Awatere Valley - something not always easily done."
Norton's wine won a Silver medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London last month.
Invivo has supplied Norton's chat show with its Invivo Awatere Sauvignon Blanc since 2011. Norton is now also a shareholder in the company.
Graham Norton Sauvignon Blanc
Matt Pym, Majestic's buyer for New Zealand, said: "We're really excited to be stocking Graham's Sauvignon Blanc, especially as it's the first time that the wine has been available in the UK and it is exclusive to Majestic."
It is available in-store and on-line from Majestic Wine at a multi-buy price of £8.99.
All of Norton's royalties from the sale of the wine will be donated to the Dogs Trust charity.
Invivo has produced a promotional film about Norton's involvement with the company, which is available online here.
HWS - Nigel Huddleston
Mathew Lyons
Graham Norton's Own Sauvignon Blanc proves runaway success
Armit unveils rare vintage release from La Rioja Alta
Borough Wines boosts team with two key hires
Graham's Port and BBR mark royal birthday with unique limited edition release
Premium yuzu liqueur from Isake International goes on sale in Selfridges


text:
Cambria Will Not Yield
Name: CWNY
When Black Weds White
A Tale of Three Idiots
Segregation: A Moral Imperative
That Within Which Passeth Show
Tintagel vs. Haiti
Of Peccaries and Wal-Mart
What Do Bin Laden, Star Wars, and Harry Potter Hav...
The Whiteman Unchained, Part II
Kinism.net
Spirit Water Blood
Natural Consequences
Lee in the Mountains
Pilgrimage to Monsalvat
Vanishing American
Tomorrow in Vinland
Politically Incorrect T.V. Shows
The liberals, you may have noticed, throw terms around like racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic and fascist in the same way pre-Vatican II popes used to hurl anathemas. The pre-Vatican II popes, however, usually had very meticulously detailed reasons to explain why they felt compelled to hurl their anathemas. The liberals can never explain their anathemas; indeed, questioning the validity of the liberals' anathemas only proves to them that you are completely outside the ken of Liberaldom and therefore outside the realm of humanity. Thus, if you question the wisdom of the civil rights movement, pointing out the meteoric rise in crime that has accompanied it, you are, ipso facto, a racist. If you maintain that a woman's place is in the home and near the hearth, you are, ipso facto, a sexist. If you maintain that any organized body opposed to the Mystical Body of Christ is one that bears watching, particularly since organized Jewry has never been a friend to the Christian West, you are, ipso facto, an anti-Semite. If you maintain that sodomy is not a legitimate life option, you are, ipso facto, a homophobe. And if you think there are better forms of government than that of the American democratic system, then you are, ipso facto, a fascist.
In order to restore some balance to the political correctness debate, I would like to propose some politically incorrect television shows. If we start production on them immediately, they should be ready for the fall season.
1. The Segregationist – In a small town in Mississippi lives a God-fearing white man named Billy Bob McCoy. Billy Bob's town is virtually crime-free because it is racially homogenous and because almost every male in the town carries a firearm. However, in the neighboring town trouble rears its ugly head. A liberal bitch from the local area has gone on to Hollywood and become a famous actress. She has just bought the town next to Billy Bob's, and she plans to import blacks into the town. Billy Bob, from the time he was knee high to a grasshopper (he's 36 years old now), has been sending money to churches in Africa in order to feed little black children who have, according to the ads, never eaten. But Billy Bob knows what happens to towns that integrate. He has a wife and four children and he loves his neighborhood. By making a few strategic visits with some of his friends to the actress's house, Billy Bob manages to head off the plans for integration.
At the end of the first episode, we see Billy Bob sitting on the front porch of his Andy-of-Mayberry-type house, playing the guitar and singing "Jimmy Cracked Corn" to his children and some neighbors. In subsequent episodes, Billy Bob journeys to a nearby city and helps his friends keep their golf course segregated. He also thwarts a plan for forced busing from his town to the big city.
[Advice to the Director: It's important to always portray Billy Bob and his friends as kindly, good-natured fellows, and to portray the integrationists as mean-spirited bigots who look on themselves as divinely-appointed ambassadors for integration.]
2. The Wife Beater – When John Wolford married Jan McKensey, he thought his life would be one of peaceful contentment. Jan was pretty, God-fearing, and traditional-minded. But after six years of marriage, something was wrong. While John was at work, Jan had started taking the kids, a boy of two years, and a girl of four, with her to some local meetings for women. Every time Jan went to one of these meetings, John noticed she came back seething with resentment toward him and the children.
In the opening episode, John comes home from work early one day and finds his wife in the upstairs bedroom with one of her "lady" friends. John says nothing, but merely closes the door, goes downstairs, gathers up the children, and drives to the rectory of his parish church. He asks to talk with the older, retired priest in residence, named Father O'Connor, who is 86 years old. John, for obvious reasons, does not tell Father Mark, age 28, who answers the door of the rectory, why he wants to talk to Father O'Connor. Father O'Connor has to get around with the aid of a walker, and he wears a hearing aid, but he still has all of his considerable mental powers intact. It should be noted that Father O'Connor has not gone to any of the Church 'Renewal' courses. When his superiors got around to ordering him to attend, he pleaded ill health, and nobody ever bothered to pursue it any further.
John tells Father O'Connor about his marital problems. Father O'Connor listens and then asks John, "Do you still love her?"
John says, "Yes, I do."
"Then," Father O'Connor says, as he places his hand over John's hand, "you must beat her."
"But how, Father, can I hit my wife?"
"You will not only hit her, you will beat her, that is, if you really love her. If you do not beat your wife, you will be committing the sin of Adam. You will be trying to please your wife outside of God's law. If you do that, you will be placing yourself and your wife permanently outside of God's loving orbit."
As John leaves the rectory, he turns and asks Father O'Connor one last question. "Father, what shall I beat my wife with?"
Father O'Connor replies, "You should beat her with a big, brown belt."
That night John Wolford beats his wife and locks her in the cellar. Two days later, he lets her out of the cellar and beats her again. After four months of living in the cellar and being beaten, Jan comes out of the dark cellar and walks into the light. Together Jan and John receive the Holy Eucharist, and except for a few lingering sore spots, Jan is a spiritually and physically restored woman. Every day of Jan's life, she thanks God for sending her a husband that loved her enough to beat her.
In subsequent episodes, Jan and John help other husbands learn to overcome their fears and to beat their wives.
3. Zorro Rides Again – In the pilot episode, we meet the great, great, great, great-grandson of Zorro, who starts riding throughout the Los Angeles area, cutting off the heads of doctors who perform abortions. In one episode, the Pope, at the instigation of the liberals, visits Los Angeles and urges Zorro to stop his violent activities and turn himself in to the legitimate government of the U. S. Zorro replies, by means of a flaming arrow, that he will turn himself into the legitimate U. S. government as soon as the country acquires one. In the meantime, Zorro says, "Si, Papa; No, Ratzinger; I will fight to the death."
Every subsequent episode will show Zorro killing abortion doctors and escaping just as the law dogs seem to be closing in on him.
4. The Fascist – In this series, we will follow the efforts of a retired American army officer to infiltrate the ranks of the U. S. Army, infuse an elite band of troops with his Fascist ideology, and then lead a counter-revolutionary offensive against the U. S. government.
You get the general idea. Other shows will have such winning titles as Jack Brito and the Anti-Sodomite Legionnaires, The Knights of the Cross Fight Zionism, and so on.
Tune in this fall to see all these (and more) exciting shows!
posted by CWNY | 4:12 PM


For some, the trend of designing and building came and ended upon stepping on their first Leggo, while for others, the passion for creating, programming and working with a group of friends with the same goals to construct something so precise that it might just literally "crush their enemies" is a fire that never died out.
Although only two years old and not widely advertised at Northwest, The Robovikings, Northwest's tightly-knit robotics club, has qualified for the First Tech Challenge State Championship both years.
"I think it's pretty impressive for a beginning team to make it to States twice, let alone come in 27th the first time and 17th the second," junior Chris Marble said.
Under the supervision of Ray Alford, a network engineering and digital forensics teacher at Northwest, the club consists of around 20 students, each with a different vital role to play on the team.
According to Marble and freshman Andrew Collin, the judges focus heavily on the electronic notebook which is a record that stores information following everything that has happened to and by the robot since from its construction to its presentation.
Yet even without the early mornings and grueling Saturdays spent among other teams itching for an award taken into consideration, the club's breaks are minimal.
"We basically spend the entire year working on this one robot and try to make every little thing fit and hope we've done enough that it'll work the day of our competition," White said.
With their 2016-2017 season over, The Robovikings have taken the initiative to jumpstart their plans on next year's plans.
Reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses, the club agrees that although they all "got along pretty well" and everyone "showed a lot of productivity and willingness to commit," their main weakness laid in the fact that there were simply too many people on the team which often made progress more difficult to come by than it could be.
"Next year we're looking at making and establishing two different teams [as well as becoming] more organized and creating more of a name for Robovikings. We also want to move past States and probably get to Superregionals," Mutya said.
While not all 20 students wish to go into fields pertaining to the skills primarily used in robotics, not a single student showed a sign of regret or hesitancy in his or her desire to continue with The Robovikings in their upcoming high school years.


There is an addition to our browser plug-ins. "Visitlead Connect" A small icon with surprisingly many - and practical functions.
Switch to the Visitlead tab with one click. A blessing, especially with a lot of tabs open. Especially if there are so many, that only the Favicon will be displayed, it can sometimes take a while until you find the right one. Just click and the problem is solved.
See your own status. It happens from time to time that you miss a chat and the system puts you on "red" or you will be logged out through timeout. Or the other way around, you simply forget to log in. One look is enough.
Are there visitors on the website? And how many? Next to the desktop notification (active in the user settings) and the acoustic message "New Visitor" it is another aid not to miss any interesting visitors. Do I have visitors in workspace - the little number will display it.
If a chat comes in, that can occasionally be overlooked or missed. The icon will help here too. With a new chat the Icon will "flash" and with one click you are in the Visitlead tab.
The plug-in is free - if you like it, please leave 5 stars in the store.
Explanatory note: Like Screensharing this plug-in is currently only available for the Chrome browser. The base function (activate tab) is available in Opera.


text:
Claude Gabriel Buffet, né le  à Reims dans la Marne et guillotiné le  à Paris , est un ancien légionnaire français, devenu délinquant et criminel récidiviste. Jugé coupable, avec son complice Roger Bontems, dans une affaire de prise d'otages sanglante, il est condamné à mort et guillotiné.

Biographie

Jeunesse
Claude Buffet naît le  à Reims, dans le département de la Marne.

Issu d'une famille modeste, il est le fils de Lucien Alfred Buffet, peigneur de laine — père violent, buveur et dépensier —, et de Madeleine Lucile Françoise Dubois, embouteilleuse. Le jeune Claude devient un adolescent rebelle et désocialisé. Appelé au  RIC, il ne le rejoint pas.

En 1953, Buffet s'engage dans la Légion étrangère, il est alors âgé de . Envoyé en Indochine, il quitte son unité le  et reste absent pendant  et .

Le , au terme de son absence, Buffet est finalement repris puis placé en détention pour avoir déserté. Il est rapatrié en Algérie pour parfaire ses  d'engagement et sert notamment au  REI au Maroc.

À sa démobilisation, le , Claude Buffet est . Il travaille plus ou moins régulièrement comme majordome ou chauffeur routier. En 1958, il épouse sa marraine de guerre, Huguette, à qui il va bientôt imposer plusieurs maîtresses.

En 1959, Buffet devient père. Mais son parcours conduit peu à peu ses délits à des crimes de sang.

Premier crime
Claude Buffet se spécialise dans les vols à l'arraché et les agressions à main armée.

En , Buffet se met à repérer des jeunes femmes isolées afin de leur voler leur sac à main. Lors de ses passages à l'acte, il utilise le même mode opératoire : il se sert d'un pistolet factice afin d'impressionner ses victimes, puis d'un pistolet réel et armé. Le rythme de ses agressions est régulier, au cours duquel quarante-deux victimes sont agressées, entre  et  ; il agit dans quelques cas avec la complicité sa maîtresse, Marie Ansoine.

Le , Buffet vole un taxi. Vers 23h, se faisant passer pour un chauffeur, il prend en charge Françoise Bésimensky, une jeune femme de 26 ans élégamment vêtue qui le hèle. Au lieu de suivre la direction demandée, Buffet l'entraîne dans une voie isolée près du bois de Boulogne. Se retournant vers elle, il la menace d'un pistolet et réclame son sac. La jeune femme refuse et hurle. Buffet tire une balle en plein cœur et la victime s'écroule. Afin de détourner les soupçons, il maquille le crime en acte sadique, dénudant le corps de sa victime et enfonçant un poudrier dans son sexe. Sa quarante-troisième agression fait de lui un criminel.

À ce stade de l'enquête, la police pense d'abord que la victime, mannequin mariée à un médecin, a été assassinée par un satyre.

Le , Buffet tente d'étrangler une fillette à Ris-Orangis. Sa mère pense à une vengeance de Buffet, qui avait tenté de la séduire et qu'elle avait éconduit. Bien que cette tentative de meurtre n'ait pas de rapport commun avec le meurtre de Mme Bésimensky, des détails font douter les enquêteurs qui parviennent rapidement à remonter jusqu'à Buffet.

Le , Buffet est arrêté au volant d'une Citroën volée, avec sur lui un pistolet de même calibre que celui qui a tué Françoise Bésimensky. Au cours de la garde à vue, il reconnaît spontanément une soixantaine d'agressions en région parisienne, parfois avec sa maîtresse et complice Marie Ansoine ; puis avoue l'homicide mais prétend qu'il s'agit d'un accident. Au terme de sa garde à vue, Buffet est placé en détention provisoire.

Procès
Le , le procès de Claude Buffet et Marie Ansoine débute devant la cour d'assises de Paris. Durant la semaine du jugement, l'avocat général Dubost ne réclame pas la peine capitale, arguant que Buffet n'est pas destiné à la guillotine et qu'il vaut mieux qu'il expie son crime sa vie durant derrière les barreaux.

Le , le jury condamne Buffet à la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité et sa complice Marie Ansoine à trois ans de prison avec sursis. Mécontent du verdict car il veut être condamné à mort, Buffet quitte le prétoire en vociférant qu'on n'a pas fini d'entendre parler de lui.

Après un passage à la maison d'arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis, il est envoyé à la maison centrale de Clairvaux dans l'Aube. Il partage sa cellule avec un autre condamné, Roger Bontems, qui a déjà à son actif plusieurs tentatives d'évasion.

Bontems entraîne Buffet dans un projet d'évasion ; celui-ci accepte, ayant même l'intention de tuer les futurs otages.

Prise d'otages à la Maison Centrale de Clairvaux
Le , à l'heure du petit déjeuner, Claude Buffet et Roger Bontems se plaignent de douleurs abdominales. Ils sont envoyés à l'infirmerie, accompagnés par quatre gardiens. À peine y sont-ils entrés que Buffet repousse un jeune surveillant, qui en entraîne deux autres dans sa chute. Avec Bontems, il s'enferme dans l'infirmerie avec trois otages : le gardien Guy Girardot, 27 ans, l'infirmière Nicole Comte, 35 ans, mère de deux enfants, et un détenu-infirmier finalement relâché.

Les deux otages restants sont tenus sous la menace de couteaux, que Buffet et Bontems ont tirés de leur poche : Bontems a un Opinel acheté à la cantine de la prison, Buffet a acheté, par le biais d'un réseau de détenus, une arme avec une lame longue de  (lame de matelas forgée par un détenu forgeron), effilée comme un rasoir. Toute la journée, la France suit l'événement via la télévision et la radio.

Le  à  du matin, le ministre de la Justice René Pleven fait donner l'assaut par les forces de l'ordre, qui neutralisent les deux mutins par de puissantes lances à eau. Les deux otages, exécutés pendant l'assaut, gisent sur le sol dans une mare de sang, la gorge tranchée.

Second procès
Jugés devant la cour d'assises de l'Aube du  au , Roger Bontems et Claude Buffet sont tous deux condamnés à mort, avec exécution prévue dans l'enceinte de la prison de la Santé à Paris.

L'instruction et le procès ont montré que Bontems n'a tué aucun des otages, mais sa complicité active à la prise d'otages pousse les jurés à le frapper de la même peine que Buffet qui, cette fois-ci, est ravi. Pendant le procès, à plusieurs reprises, il fait d'ailleurs part de son désir de finir guillotiné :

Seul Bontems signe un pourvoi en cassation, lequel est rejeté le . De son côté Buffet, pressé d'en finir, refuse de signer le sien.

Exécution
Le , les avocats des condamnés, Thierry Lévy et Rémi Crauste pour Buffet, Robert Badinter et Philippe Lemaire pour Bontems, vont plaider devant le président de la République Georges Pompidou la cause de leurs clients et demandent la grâce présidentielle. Même si Georges Pompidou n'a jamais laissé exécuter un condamné à mort depuis son arrivée au palais de l'Élysée en 1969, l'opinion publique est hostile à cette grâce et l'attitude de Buffet (qui lui a envoyé de sa prison une lettre ou il demande à être exécuté) ne l'incite pas à la clémence.

Le  au soir, les quatre avocats reçoivent un coup de téléphone leur annonçant que l'exécution de leurs clients aura lieu le lendemain matin, vers .

Le , vers , à la maison d'arrêt de la Santé, Buffet et Bontems sont réveillés et conduits au greffe pour l'ultime « toilette ». Buffet se montre satisfait, mais ne fait aucun coup d'éclat et demande au sous-directeur de la prison de donner un message à Bontems :  avant de refuser l'alcool, apparemment soucieux que cela se passe le plus rapidement possible. À , Bontems est guillotiné par le bourreau André Obrecht. Sept minutes plus tard, c'est au tour de Buffet.

L'exécution est décrite en détail dans le magazine L'Express, enfreignant la loi de l'époque qui l'interdisait : Françoise Giroud, Philippe Grumbach et Jacques Derogy seront condamnés à  francs d'amende pour cette publication. Robert Badinter note toutefois que cette disposition n'était plus appliquée, et voit dans l'incrimination de l'Express un .

Cette exécution est la dernière qui a lieu à Paris. Après Buffet et Bontems, seuls quatre condamnés sont guillotinés en France. L'avocat général Dubost se refuse, par la suite, à tout commentaire.

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie
 Robert Badinter, Roger Bontems et Claude Buffet, L'Exécution. (Le procès contre Claude Buffet et Roger Bontems, « les assassins de Clairvaux »), Lausanne : éditions Ex Libris, 1974
 René Vigo, Tragédie à Clairvaux : la vérité sur Buffet et Bontemps, Paris : Flammarion, 1974
 Bernard Fillaire, Bontems, Buffet, Fleuve Noir, 1994

Documentaire télévisé
 « Buffet et Bontems : les mutins de Clairvaux » dans 50 ans de faits divers sur  et sur Planète+ Justice, le 27 décembre 2013

Émissions radiophoniques
 « Buffet et Bontemps, les derniers condamnés à mort parisiens » dans L'Heure du crime de Jacques Pradel sur RTL, le 8 avril 2015
 « L'affaire Buffet-Bontems » dans Hondelatte Raconte de Christophe Hondelatte sur Europe 1, le 2 décembre 2016

Articles connexes
 L'Exécution
 Exécutions en France
 Liste d'affaires criminelles françaises
 Peine de mort en France

Liens externes

Personnalité ayant servi à la Légion étrangère
Prisonnier de droit commun français
Personnalité française condamnée pour crime
Personnalité condamnée à un emprisonnement à perpétuité en France
Naissance en mai 1933
Naissance à Reims
Décès en novembre 1972
Décès dans le 14e arrondissement de Paris
Décès à 39 ans
Condamné à mort guillotiné
Condamné à mort exécuté en France dans les années 1970
Personnalité inhumée au cimetière parisien d'Ivry

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia