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Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Euro Area
Mirdala, Rajmund (2015): Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Euro Area. Published in: Journal of Applied Economic Sciences , Vol. 10, No. 5 (September 2015): pp. 778-794.
Time-varying exchange rate pass-through effects to domestic prices under fixed euro exchange rate perspective represent one of the most challenging implications of the common currency. The problem is even more crucial when examining crisis related redistributive effects associated with relative price changes. The degree of the exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices reveals its role as the external price shocks absorber especially in the situation when the leading path of exchange rates is less vulnerable to the changes in the foreign prices. Adjustments in domestic prices followed by exchange rate shifts induced by sudden external price shocks are associated with changes in the relative competitiveness among member countries of the currency area. In the paper we examine exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices in the Euro Area member countries to examine crucial implications of the nominal exchange rate rigidity. Our results indicate that absorption capabilities of nominal effective exchange rates clearly differ in individual countries. As a result, an increased exposure of domestic prices to the external price shocks in some countries represents a substantial trade-off of the nominal exchange rate stability.
exchange rate pass-through, inflation, Euro Area, VAR, impulse-response function
E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles > E31 - Price Level ; Inflation ; Deflation
F - International Economics > F4 - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance > F41 - Open Economy Macroeconomics
Rajmund Mirdala
ANDERTON, R. (2003) Extra-Euro Area Manufacturing Import Prices and Exchange Rate Pass-Through, [ECB Working Paper, no. 219], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 31 p.
BACCHETTA, P., VAN WINCOOP, E. (2002) Why Do Consumer Prices React Less than Import Prices to Exchange Rates? [NBER Working Paper, no. 9352], Cambridge, National Bureau of Economic Research, 26 p.
BARHOUMI, K. (2006) Differences in Long Run Exchange Rate Pass-Through into Import Prices in Developing Countries: An Empirical Investigation. Economic Modelling, 23(6): 926-951
BERGIN, P.R., FEENSTRA, R.C. (2007) Pass-through of Exchange Rates and Competition Between Floaters, [NBER Working Paper, no. 13620], Cambridge, National Bureau of Economic Research, 45 p.
BETTS, C., DEVEREUX, M. (2000) Exchange Rate Dynamics in a Model of Pricing-to-Market, Journal of International Economics, 50(1): 215-244
BURSTEIN, A., EICHENBAUM, M., REBELO, S. (2007) Modeling Exchange Rate Pass-Through after Large Devaluations, Journal of Monetary Economics, 54(2): 346-368
BUSSIÈRE, M. (2013) Exchange Rate Pass-through to Trade Prices: The Role of Nonlinearities and Asymmetries, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 75(5): 731-758.
BUSSIÈRE, M., PELTONEN, T. (2008) Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Global Economy-The Role of Emerging Market Economies, [ECB Working Paper, no. 951], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 46 p.
CA' ZORZI, M., HAHN, E., SÁNCHEZ, M. (2007) Exchange Rate Pass-Through in Emerging Markets, [ECB Working Paper, no. 739], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 31 p.
CALVO, G., REINHART, C. (2002) Fear of Floating, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(2): 379-408
CAMPA, J.M., GOLDBERG, L.S. (2005) Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Import Prices, Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(4): 679-690
CAMPA, J.M., GOLDBERG, L.S., GONZÁLEZ-MÍNGUEZ, J.M. (2005) Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Import Prices in Euro Area, [NBER Working Paper, no. 11632], Cambridge, National Bureau of Economic Research, 49 p.
COOK, D., DEVEREUX, M.B. (2014) Exchange Rate Flexibility under Zero Level Bound, [FRB of Dallas, Working Paper no. 198], Dallas, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 52 p.
CORSETTI, G., DEDOLA, L., LEDUC, S. (2008) High Exchange-Rate Volatility and Low Pass-Through in Business Cycle Models, Journal of Monetary Economics, 55(6): 1113-1128
CORTINHAS, C. (2007) Exchange Rate Pass-Through in ASEAN: Implications for the prospects of Monetary Integration in the Region, [NIPE Working Paper, no. 2.], Minho, Universidade do Minho, 31 p.
CHOUDHRI, E.U., FARUQEE, H., HAKURA, D.S. (2005) Explaining the Exchange Rate Pass-Through in Different Prices, Journal of International Economics, 65(2): 349-374
CHOUDHRI, E.U., HAKURA, D.S. (2012) The Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Import and Export Prices: The Role of Nominal Rigidities and Currency Choice, [IMF Working Paper, No. 226/2012], Washington D.C., International Monetary Fund, 34 p.
CHRISTENSEN, J.H.E., GILLAN, J.M. (2015) Does Quantitative Easing Affect Market Liquidity?, [FRB of San Francisco, Working Paper no. 26], San Francisco, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 55 p.
DE BANDT, O., BANERJEE, A., KOZLUK, T. (2007) Measuring Long Run Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, 2(March): 36 p.
DEVEREUX, M.B., ENGEL, C. (2002) Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Exchange Rate Volatility, and Exchange Rate Disconnect, Journal of Monetary Economics, 49, 913-940
DEVEREUX, M.B., ENGEL, C., STORGAARD, P. (2004) Endogenous Pass-Through when Nominal Prices are Set in Advance, Journal of International Economics, 63(2): 263-291
DORNBUSCH, R. (1987) Exchange Rates and Prices, American Economic Review, 77(1): 93-106
ENGEL, C. (2000) Local-currency Pricing and the Choice of Exchange-rate Regime, European Economic Review, 44(8): 1449-1472
FAUST, J., ROGERS, J. (2003) Monetary Policy's Role in Exchange Rate Behavior, Journal of Monetary Economics, 50(7): 1403-1424
GAGNON, J.E., IHRIG, J. (2004) Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Pass-Through, International Journal of Finance and Economics, 9(4): 315-338
GAULIER, G., LAHRÈCHE-RÉVIL, A., MÉJEAN, I. (2008) Exchange Rate Pass-through at the Product Level, Canadian Journal of Economics, 41(2): 425-449
GHOSH, A., WOLF, H. (2001), Imperfect Exchange Rate Pass-Through: Strategic Pricing and Menu Costs, [CESifo, Working Paper No. 436] Munich, CESifo, 27 p.
GOLDBERG, P., KNETTER, M. (1997) Goods Prices and Exchange Rates: What Have We Learned? Journal of Economic Literature, 35(3): 1243-1272
GUST, C., LEDUC, S. VIGFUSSON, R. (2010) Trade Integration, Competition, and the Decline in Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Journal of Monetary Economics, 57(3): 309-324
HAJEK J., HORVATH R. (2015) Exchange Rate Pass-Through in an Emerging Market: The Case of the Czech Republic, [IES Working Paper, no. 8/2015], Prague, Institute of Economic Studies, 25 p.
HAHN, E. (2003) Pass-Through of External Shocks to Euro Area Inflation, [ECB Working Paper, no. 243], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 57 p.
HETZEL, R.L. (2015) Should Greece Remain in the Eurozone?, [FRB of Richmond, Working Paper no. 15-04R], Richmond, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 30 p.
KARDASZ, S.W., STOLLERY, K.R. (2001) Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Its Determinants in Canadian Manufacturing Industries, The Canadian Journal of Economics, 34(3): 719-738
KENNY, G., MCGETTIGAN, D. (1998) Exchange Rates and Import Prices for a Small Open Economy: The Case of Ireland, Applied Economics, 30(9): 1147-1155
KLEIN, M. (1990) Macroeconomic Aspects of Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Journal of International Money and Finance, 9(4): 376-387
LIAN, A., WANG, J. (2012) Exchange Rate Pass-through: Evidence Based on the Vector-Autoregression with Sign Restrictions, Open Economies Review, 23(2): 359-380
MCCARTHY J. (2007) Pass-through of Exchange Rates and Import Prices to Domestic Inflation in Some Industrialized Economies, Eastern Economic Journal, 33(4): 511-537
MENON, J. (1995) Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Journal of Economic Surveys, 9(2): 197-231
MIRDALA, R. (2013) Exchange Rate Pass-through to Domestic Prices under Different Exchange Rate Regimes, Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, 8(4): 466-489
MICOSSI, S. (2015) The Monetary Policy of the European Central Bank (2002-2015), [CEPS Special Report, no. 109], Brussels, Centre for European Policy Studies, 37 p.
OBSTFELD, M., ROGOFF, K. (1995) Exchange Rate Dynamics Redux, Journal of Political Economy, 103(3): 624-660
PARSLEY, D C., POPPER, H.A. (1998) Exchange Rates, Domestic Prices, and Central Bank Actions: Recent U.S. Experience, Southern Economic Journal, 64(4): 957-972
PEERSMAN, G. (2011) Macroeconomic Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy in the Euro Area, [ECB Working Paper, no. 1397], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 33 p.
SHAMBAUGH J (2008) A New Look at Pass-Through, Journal of International Money and Finance, 27(4): 560-591
SMETS, F., WOUTERS, R. (2002) Openness, Imperfect Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Monetary Policy, Journal of Monetary Economics 49(5): 947-81
TEAM OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ECONOMETRIC MODELLING OF THE ESCB (2012) Competitiveness and External Imbalances within The Euro Area, [ECB Working Paper, no. 139], Frankfurt am Main, European Central Bank, 74 p.
TAKATOSHI, I., SASAKI, Y.N., KIYOTAKA, S. (2005) Pass-Through of Exchange Rate Changes and Macroeconomic Shocks to Domestic Inflation in East Asian Countries, [RIETI Discussion Paper Series 05-E-020], 55 p.
TAKATOSHI, I., KIYOTAKA, S. (2006) Exchange Rate Changes and Inflation in Post-Crisis Asian Economies, [NBER Working Paper, no. 12395], Cambridge, National Bureau of Economic Research, 49 p.
TAKHTAMANOVA, Y.F. (2008) Understanding Changes in Exchange Rate Pass-Through, [Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper, no. 13.], San Francisco, 40 p.
TAYLOR, J.B. (2000) Low Inflation, Pass-Through, and the Pricing Power of Firms, European Economic Review, 44(7): 1389-1408
TOSHITAKA, S. (2006) Time-Varying Exchange Rate Pass-Through: Experiences of Some Industrial Countries, [BIS Working Paper, no. 202], Basel, Bank for International Settlements, 34 p.
WEHINGER, G.D. (2000) Causes of Inflation in Europe, the United States and Japan: Some Lessons for Maintaining Price Stability in the EMU from a Structural VAR Approach, Empirica, 27(1): 83-107
YANG, J.W. (1997) Exchange Rate Pass-Through in U.S. Manufacturing Industries, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 79(1): 95-104

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Book Review: The Dark Lake By Sarah Bailey
On February 14, 2020 February 23, 2020 By rlsmithwritingIn Reviews
Secrets are at the heart of a good mystery and Sarah Bailey packs them into her debut psychological mystery, The Dark Lake.
The house turned out to hold more of Robbie's secrets than I had ever expected, though I am sure there are many more that we will never know
The Dark Lake
Gemma Woodstock is a cop in Smithson, the small town in New South Wales where she grew up. She's good at her job but a personal train wreck, which stems back to the suicide of her first boyfriend at the end of high school ten years earlier. Her relationship with her loving partner and father of her child is distant, she is sleeping with her married work partner Felix, struggles to be a good parent to the son she loves, and drowns her emotions in booze.
Probably I should move away, leave Smithson, but starting over has never been a strength of mine. I have trouble letting go.
When high school drama teacher Rosalind Ryan, who Gemma went to school with, is murdered, the small town is shocked. Gemma and Felix start to investigate the crime and the intertwined secrets of Rosalind and Gemma start to emerge. The investigation almost undoes Gemma in her effort to keep her own history and emotions separate from the case.
I allow myself to process the fact that Rosalind Ryan is dead. I suddenly feel startled to find myself a fully grown adult.
The book is a well written slow burner and hooks you in with a compelling and complex story line. It's character driven with a well drawn cast who are easy to like and/or hate. The story shifts from the present to ten years earlier, gradually revealing the interlinking stories as the secrets are revealed.
Set in between a burst of mountain ranges, Smithson is a little oasis of greenery in the middle of endless fawn-colored acres of Aussie farmland.
I liked it enough that I will read the next in the series, Into the Night.
book reviewSarah BaileyThe Dark Lake
Taking a writing break
Write, edit, submit…
2 thoughts on "Book Review: The Dark Lake By Sarah Bailey"
Into The Night is certainly worth reading. I think it's the best of the three Gemma Woodstock novels.
I'll check it out!


You will learn how to practice and conduct a HAZOP study using various examples of operational plant, equipment and processes.
The purpose of this course is to explain and demonstrate the principles and practices of Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Studies.
A Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) is a systematic tool/methodology used to investigate elements of a process to identify the ways in which process parameters or conditions can deviate from their intended design and therefore create hazards or operability problems.
To identify potential operability issues with the process, plant or operational system and, in particular, identify causes of operational disruptions and production abnormalities. An important benefit of HAZOP is that the resulting knowledge, obtained by identifying potential hazards and operability problems in a structured and systematic manner, provides the investigation study team to be more informed when determining appropriate remedial measures and therefore process safety barriers or safeguards.


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UK project achieves 97% diesel-free operation
By Mike Hayes2019-05-20T12:10:00+01:00
The Llanwern 'Site of the Future' initiative used solar power to achieve 97% diesel-free lighting and welfare
Network Rail and Colas Rail say they have proven the viability of sustainable construction, by operating a 97% diesel-free "site of the future".
The companies used innovative solar lighting and power generation to support a major rail renewal project in Llanwern, South Wales.
During the 14-day trial, two 25 kW solar generators, supplied by UK-based renewable power specialist Prolectric, replaced conventional diesel generators, saving 6,000 litres of fuel.
More than 15 tonnes of CO2 was also saved using Prolectric's range of solar and battery technologies for lighting and heating throughout the site.
The results of the trial are being hailed as a significant achievement and could help move Network Rail towards its target of reducing non-traction energy consumption by 20% and carbon emissions by 25%.
Ryan Ballinger, production manager for Colas Rail, said, "A 97% diesel reduction at the first attempt is a great achievement. Saving close to 6,000 litres of diesel is the same as driving a family car at 40 mpg twice around the circumference of the world.
"There's no doubt these technologies are going to be a complete gamechanger and we need to push on to get to a place where using this type of technology is just business as usual."
Balinger said the companies' aim was to achieve a 100% fuel-free site by the time of the next trial, set for a rail renewal project later this year.
Colas Rail
Prolectric
Ryan Ballinger
Rockwell breaks ground on 30-storey tower
New tower near London's Canary Wharf will be a marker for the area, says developer Rockwell Property


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Other Books for Sale
The Impact of the Russian Revolution on Britain
The Impact of the Russian Revolution on Britain - Robin Page Arnot
£8 (plus £1.50 p&p) ISBN 978-1-907464-30-0
First published for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, this book documents the immediate and lasting effects on Britain of the events in Russia in 1917. Robin Page Arnot describes the varying reactions of Britain's press, its established political parties and its Labour movement, from the February Revolution all the way through to the Wars of Intervention.
He reveals just how much the British ruling class sought to destroy the world's first workers' state, and the struggles by Britain's working class to prevent that.
On the occasion of the Centenary of the October Revolution, Manifesto Press is proud to make this work of scholarship, long out of print, available for a new generation of readers and students of history.
© Manifesto Press Co-operative Ltd
Registered office: Ruskin House 23 Coombe Road Croydon CR0 1BD
Designed and hosted by Leftspace


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Ghana''s educational system is in crisis - Prof. Adei 7/7/2013
Professor Stephen Adei of the Pentecost University College has noted that the Ghanaian educational system is in serious crisis and needs urgent transformation.
He lamented that, currently, Ghana has a basic educational system which is specialized in producing functionally illiterate learners.
Prof. Adei, who is the former Rector of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), was speaking at the sixth Annual International Applied Research Conference of the Koforidua Polytechnic on the topic: "The State of Education in Ghana".
He said the fact that 20 per cent of public basic schools and private schools produce more than enough to fill all Senior High Schools (SHS) meant that the majority of public schools totally fail in educating children.
"Since the return of the so called protocol system where prominent people get their children to enter grade A schools, our policy makers do not show concern that most children have no future because public basic education is in crisis."
He said all these were happening when public sector teachers in basic schools earned far more than the average private school staff and had more trained teachers with most of them having better classrooms.
Prof. Adei noted that research shows that teachers in public basic schools are simply not teaching; contact hours are less than 40 per cent of what is expected and the quality of education even in terms of the 03 R's (i.e. arithmetic, reading and writing) were at their lowest."
According to him, the major causes of these trends were poor supervision and management at the school level, and centralization of decision-making under a bureaucratically inefficient and self-serving Ghana Education Service (GES).
"Despite the amount of money being spent on basic education in the country, we are getting less than half of the expected outcomes compared to countries such as Rwanda and Namibia."
He pointed out that, it is time for the government to address those challenges and bring in partners such as the religious organizations and the private sector to ensure the realization of the Free Compulsory Basic Universal (Quality) Education.
"For example, just by giving head teachers the authority to discipline teachers and hold them accountable for performance including the power to choose whom they want on their staff in exchange for meeting certain performance targets we can achieve quantum improvement in learning outcomes within one year with the same resources," he said.
Prof. Adei also called on government to pay head teachers well "at least 50 per cent more than their corresponding non-head teachers.
"We must also reduce the number of subjects for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to not more than five; Language; numeracy; social studies; integrated science and ICT, rather than preparing students for nine, ten or eleven subjects who are functionally illiterate."
Prof. Adei said any delay in tackling the basic educational challenge was not only tantamount to mortgaging the future of Ghanaian children, but also the survival of the nation as a viable economic entity and peaceful one.


During the past 12 months we experienced some weird segfaults issue. We worked on a project with a of tests and our CI proccess kept segfaulting randomly again and again. Adding an echo somewhere in the code make it suddenly pass for an unknown reason. This error occured on PHP 5.4 as well as PHP 5.5 and on many different platforms (essentially Ubuntu & Mac).
Since we experienced some segfault issues by using the SPL library in the past we decided to remove the couple of `iterator_to_array()` references in our code base.
And now 2 months later we didn't experienced any more segfaults during our CI proccess.
Due to the random aspect of the issue I wasn't able to produce a deterministic test script but wanted to share this experience in case of it can help other people.


This tea is traditionally served at Japan's Kiku Festival. Kiku means chrysanthemum, which is said to be a remedy for congestion.
Ingredients: Organic black tea, chrysanthemums, pumpkin spice, gingerbread and cinnamon.
Notify me when Pumpkin Moon is in stock.


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https://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/Yaki-gets-Bravo-to-cut-Princesses-term-4536186.php
Yaki gets Bravo to cut 'Princesses' term
By Julian Guthrie
Updated 4:15 pm PDT, Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Bravo used an offensive term to promote "Princesses: Long Island," starring Chanel Omari (left), Ashlee White, Casey Cohen and Joey Lauren.
Photo: Giovanni Rufino, Giovanni Rufino/Bravo
Michael Yaki, the former San Francisco supervisor who now sits on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was enjoying one of his "guilty pleasure" shows on Bravo last week when he heard a term that made him cringe.
"My wife and I were watching a 'Housewives' show and we see this promo for a new show, 'Princesses: Long Island,' " Yaki said. "The girl says, 'I'm a J-P.' I was stunned."
While the acronym, JAP, was used to refer to the stereotype of spoiled Jewish women (it stands for Jewish American princess, a term that some find offensive itself) on Long Island, Yaki imagined the reaction among fellow Japanese Americans.
"This promo ran again and again and I got madder and madder and said, 'This is not right,' " said Yaki, a KRON-TV political analyst. "I'm the son of a Japanese American who spent a part of his childhood behind barbed wire in an internment camp in the Arizona desert. It is a term that offends Japanese Americans and Asian Americans."
On Friday, Yaki sent a letter to executives at Bravo, saying, "While I understand that there has been a regional colloquial use of the word, the time is long past that it should be a word that Bravo actively promotes on its network. You can see that it is so offensive to me that I cannot even spell the whole word out."
He went on to write, "I am sure that in the context of your show, there will be some who may construe it as humorous. But is a cheap laugh worth the constant and insensitive infliction of pain on millions of Americans who are of Japanese ancestry? For a network that has been deservedly cited for its commitment to diversity, the use of 'j-p' in a promo, and presumably, in the show, is contrary to that spirit."
By Monday, Bravo executives had responded to Yaki saying they would pull the reference from its promotions and from the reality show, which is set to air beginning June 2.
A Bravo executive confirmed that the term will no longer be used in connection with the show.
Yaki said, "I'm very pleased with what they have done. I think they understood quickly that this was not cool."
Julian Guthrie is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail jguthrie@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JulianGuthrie


A 5.4 magnitude tectonic earthquake has jolted Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, and triggered a landslide at the Tiu Kelep Waterfall, North Lombok. Two Malaysian tourists have been reported as being killed in the landslide, while six are reported to still be missing. More than 30 foreign and domestic tourists were found with severe injuries.
According to a statement issued by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency on Sunday afternoon, the earthquake struck at about 2 p.m. local time. The epicenter was located approximately 20 kilometres north of the regency's Selong city. While there were no tsunami warnings issued, several houses were found to have been destroyed by the quake.
"There were about 40 tourists affected by the landslide around the area. Most of the victims were Malaysians and domestic tourists," the administrative spokesman stated.
The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency and the North Lombok Health Agency has managed to rescue 19 people and two bodies of the deceased have been recovered so far. Between July and August last year, more than 500 people were killed in a series of disastrous earthquakes which struck the island.


If James Brown, Pink Floyd and The Polyphonic Spree had surrogate sons, they would be Ross Campbell with the Fat Band.
Their multi-genre & Funk Rock track "Super Circuit Man" is a clever accumulation of choir-style vocals that build on a fresh funk sound with dynamically precise Rock elements. This is a track that is very difficult to fit into a specific genre. It's more like a delicious stew, with additives of ingredients, creating something very tasty with plenty to go around.
And that could be a good way to describe this song—you won't go hungry. Ambient guitar solo? Check. Catchy multi-vocalized melodies? Check. Surprises around every corner? Absolutely. This is definitely something you haven't heard quite yet, even though you can hear some very crucial influences. This however, does not effect their originality or versatility. It captures a brilliance that keeps you paying very close to detail.
The production quality is right where it needs to be. While the vocals are more of a chanting-stylized effort, the musicianship wraps itself around the entirety of the song and really lets the foreground stay open to almost any possibility. Something that really gives you a chance to hear the detail for what it really is, and the talent that exceeds your expectations.
Best thing to do is to give this one a listen. It's a relentlessly crafty song that really takes your body and mind for a spin. Give it a listen and see (as well as hear) for yourself.


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Ramsel est une section de la commune belge de Herselt située en Région flamande dans la province d'Anvers.

Personnalités
 Erwin Vandenbergh, footballeur belge
 Ingrid Baeyens (née en 1956), alpiniste belge

Commune avant fusion dans l'arrondissement de Turnhout
Herselt

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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HomeMcLarenNews
McLaren Get Lego Technic Treatment For First Time With Epic Senna GTR
It has opening doors and moving pistons, but you can't get it in time for the holidays.
Nov 19, 2020 at 2:16pm ET
By: Christopher Smith
We've seen McLaren immortalized in Lego sets before, but never like this. It's hard to believe there's never been a proper Technic kit for any McLaren supercar, but that's about to change with the new Technic Senna GTR and all its neat-o moving parts.
The new 12-inch kit faithfully recreates the GTR through 830 pieces. The bonkers rear wing is there, as well as the roof scoop and the thumping twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine. In fact, the engine features pistons that move, though in miniature Lego form you won't have 789 horsepower on tap. However, should you somehow manage to magically shrink yourself in size, this Lego Senna has opening dihedral doors so you can climb inside and pretend you're scorching the tarmac. Don't lie – you know you've thought about such whimsical things.
According to McLaren, creating this Lego Senna wasn't just a project for the designers at Lego.
"The team responsible for the design of the McLaren Senna GTR worked incredibly closely with their design counterparts at the Lego Group to capture the extreme looks, excitement, and essence of such an incredible supercar for Lego Technic builders," said McLaren Design Director Robert Melville.
"Recreating a car that is so extreme to the core as the McLaren Senna GTR with Lego Technic gave us an incredibly interesting challenge," explained Lego Technic Senior Designer Uwe Wabra. "This track car is not like any road car I've worked on before. It's got some unique details, like its silhouettes and the awesome rear spoiler, which differentiates the building experience from others."
Lego All The Things:
Lego Debuts Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Kit For Off-Roading Around Your Home
Lego Reveals Giant Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Set With 2,352 Pieces
Unfortunately, builders and collectors hoping to score the Senna for the holidays will be disappointed. It's slated to hit shelves around the world in early January 2021, just after the shopping frenzy. It won't break the bank, however, as recommended pricing will be around $50.
Source: McLaren
See How The Toyota FJ Cruiser Is Made, Because Yes, It's Still In Production
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Southampton have finally been rescued from administration after Swiss businessman Markus Liebherr completed his takeover at St Mary's.
The south-coast club were on the brink of going out of business over the summer but joint-administrator Mark Fry on Wednesday signalled an end to the three-month saga by confirming the deal.
"The sale of the Saints to Markus Liebherr is a fantastic opportunity to rebuild the club," said Fry.
"Markus Liebherr was attracted to Southampton by a number of qualities which include the club's rich sporting heritage, loyal fan base, first-class stadium and training facilities and the potential for the Saints to regain their rightful place in the higher echelons of English football.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all Saints fans for their support and patience in what have been uncertain times for the club.
"I would also like to wish both Markus and the Club well for future success."


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Trump grievance machine reaps millions off impeachment
US president's campaign has turned impeachment into an organizing tool for supporters primed to back a candidate they see as under siege.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in Jamestown, Virginia | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
By Alex Isenstadt
October 1, 2019	12:31 pm
Donald Trump's campaign aides expected months ago that Democrats would try to impeach the president — and he needed a way to exploit it.
So this summer, Trump 2020 officials spliced news clips of Democrats discussing impeachment into a 90-second video montage, punctuated by the president imploring supporters to help him "stop this nonsense." Aides quietly filed the spot away until last week, when it was released it as part of an online counteroffensive to the impeachment push that brought in 50,000-plus new donors and raked in $8.5 million in two days — the campaign's biggest digital haul since its June launch.
The push demonstrates how Trump, in less than three years in office, has perfected a grievance machine that converts deep-seated outrage on the right into fundraising dollars and new support. As Trump confronts the gravest threat to his presidency yet, his campaign is stoking — and monetizing — the anger of a Republican base that has long seen the president as under siege.
With damaging revelations about the president's dealings with Ukraine emerging on a near-daily basis and polls showing increasing support for impeachment, the president is facing serious political peril. But even Democrats acknowledge concern that Trump's unique ability to rally his supporters and marshal resources could have a profound impact on the 2020 election.
Tara McGowan, a Democratic digital strategist who worked for a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC in 2016, said that Trump's "ability to very quickly define any event or issue on his terms and energize his base" through online advertising "provides him with a huge competitive advantage over Democrats."
Trump's political machine has enabled him to capitalize financially on impeachment in a way he struggled to when confronting past political crises.
"This approach enables Trump to set the narrative on his terms and paint himself as the iconoclast that is always under attack from the 'fake news media' and Democratic 'witch hunt,' and it clearly works as they continue to perpetuate it every chance they get," McGowan added.
The Trump team has orchestrated a massive digital campaign aimed at pushing his supporters' emotional buttons by conveying a singular message: The president is under assault.
The campaign spent $1 million on Facebook ads in the span of 72 hours last week, asking for supporters to donate and become leaders "in defending the president against these baseless and disgusting attacks." Trump 2020 also sent out 65 million emails and 12 million text messages asking small-dollar donors to help combat "hateful and baseless attacks."
The approach has been heavily shaped by Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. With 24-hour cable news stations airing near-constant coverage of impeachment, Parscale has privately compared the campaign to a marketing machine that is setting its own narrative.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi | Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Trump has spent years priming his supporters to see him as under attack, and aides say their fundraising is typically at its highest when he's perceived as in danger. The campaign, for example, raised $1 million in the 24 hours following the release of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
But the threat of impeachment, Trump allies say, has turbocharged giving.
"When you're under attack, your supporters are more engaged and that's the general position [of the campaign's messaging] — that 'We're under siege,' and 'We need your help,' and 'This is ridiculous,' and 'Let's fight back,'" said Gerrit Lansing, who serves as president of WinRed, the online donation processor used by the Trump campaign. "And that's a powerful message."
With the White House choosing to forgo an impeachment-focused war room, much of the messaging is being outsourced to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. The two organizations, working closely with one another, have sent out dozens of statements, tweets, and video clips designed to cast the president as the prey of a Democratic Party out to destroy him. On Monday, the RNC unveiled a rapid response program focused on impeachment.
Trump's political machine has enabled him to capitalize financially on impeachment in a way he struggled to when confronting past political crises. Veterans of Trump's disorganized 2016 campaign, for example, said the firestorm caused by the release of the lewd "Access Hollywood" video did not prompt anything near the protective response from supporters that the impeachment push has generated.
For the Trump campaign, perhaps the biggest prize of its recent efforts is the 50,000 new donors. Trump aides will be able to ask them for cash repeatedly in the months to come. And now that the party has their contact information and other personal data, turning those voters out next year will be far easier.
Some Democrats express discomfort about the prospect of financially capitalizing off what they describe as a serious process.
"These are the same types of people who will vote with their wallets," said Zac Moffatt, the digital director on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. "They're on the team. They're unlikely [to be] coming off that now."
Parscale has briefed the president on the impeachment-focused fundraising effort and has told him that the amount he's receiving in donations is one of the clearest indicators of how the impeachment battle is playing out.
Flush with cash, the campaign has chosen to plow $8 million into a nationally aired televison ad tying former Vice President Joe Biden to Ukraine and accusing Democrats of plotting to "steal" the 2020 election. Trump, who has signaled to White House aides that he's eager to go after Biden, personally signed off on the purchase after son-in-law Jared Kushner broached the idea, according to an administration official.
The RNC has separately begun its own TV ads going after House Democrats from districts Trump won in 2016 who've given their support to the impeachment inquiry.
When impeachment meets a broken Congress
By Tim Alberta
The Russia hawk in the White House
By Natasha Bertrand
Democrats have generally been more reluctant to fundraise off impeachment, though several Democratic candidates have sent out appeals tied to the investigation. Spokespersons for the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said they'd taken steps to raise money from their supporters but declined to provide specifics on how much they'd taken in.
Trump talks to reporters following a briefing from officials | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
"Democrats just aren't as motivated and excited by the specter of removing the president as they are by soundly defeating him next year. And there's a conscious effort to avoid overly politicizing a legal process," said Daniel Scarvalone, a veteran Democratic digital strategist. "I wouldn't be shocked if Democrats continued to tiptoe around the issue, because there just isn't as much upside for it as there is for Republicans."
But while Trump reaps the rewards of playing to his base, some senior Republicans caution that he'll eventually need to woo swing voters to be successful in 2020.
Republican strategist Karl Rove, the architect of George W. Bush's 2004 reelection, said Trump's fundraising numbers were indicative of a tribal moment in politics "where if the president is attacked, his supporters will react by becoming even more revved up and come to his defense in whatever way they can."
But Rove added that the Democratic and Republican bases were fully engaged and that both parties would need to compete for a relatively small group of swing voters who were likely to decide the outcome of the election.
"I think it is a huge mistake for people to say, 'Oh, well we can win this by simply focusing on the base alone,'" said Rove. "I can't think of a successful presidential reelect that was focused on the base and the base only."
More from ... Alex Isenstadt
Democracy	Elections	U.S. election 2020
Donald Trump	Hillary Clinton	Jared Kushner	Joe Biden	Mitt Romney	Robert Mueller


← Soon Forget: What (was) UNIT:E?
For this year's final Walking Dead Wednesday, we're goin' super-sized.
AMC's The Walking Dead the TV show wasted no time in getting the fan-favorite Michonne into the series - there were even plans to have her cameo in the pilot, though that obviously didn't come to pass. Still, she appeared much sooner in live-action than she did in the comics. And the Walking Dead Mystery Minis probably would have done the same thing, if they weren't prohibited from including any "comic" characters in Series 1. You can tell, because when that restriction was lifted for Series 2, Funko immediately included three versions of the character: "plain" and "angry" Michonnes, which were both available in a standard 2:24 ratio, and then the ultra-rare 1:144 bloody variant. They all have the same sculpt - it's just a question of paint apps that creates each different variation.
Michonne's look translates easily to the Mystery Minis' simplified, iconic style. Her dreadlocks were clearly individually sculpted, then placed on the figure's head. She's wearing her bandana, a leather vest over a pink shirt, blue jeans, and her boots are only laced half-way up, because the tongues are falling over the top. She's got her fingerless gloves, and the scabbard for her katana is slung over her shoulder. Amusingly, while the Angry Michonne has blood on her sword, Bloody Michonne does not.
Both of Michonne's pet zombies are available in a 2:24 ratio, so theoretically it will be easy to complete the triad. Unfortunately, the two look so similar (there are only so many ways to do "shirtless black guy with no arms or jaw") it can be difficult to tell which one you already have. The art on the box makes it look like they'll have distinctly different postures, and while the final figures do have a little of that, it's not as extreme as the art suggests. So let's look at what differences there actually are - since none of the Mystery Minis have official names, we'll just call these "Mike" and "Terry" in the order I picked them up.
Mike is the taller of the two - but he's also standing up straighter, so maybe that's just an illusion. His hair is longer, and the hairline is sharp. There's dirt and (sculpted) cuts on his torso, but no major wounds. His jeans are dark, and the brown boxers sticking out the top have a sculpted plaid pattern. He's wearing black shoes. Terry has smoother hair, but his hairline is more rounded: it curves around the front of his forehead, rather than going over the top. He's slightly hunched over, and has more dangling skin around his mouth-hole. Although he's also got sculpted boxers, they don't get their own paint app, so they're just the same light blue as his pants. He's wearing brown boots, and has several significant holes in his chest. So the easy way to identify them is "black shoes/dark pants" and "brown shoes/light pants."
Both pets have a ring around their neck and a chain hanging from it. Obviously Michonne can't actually hold the chains, since her hands don't open, but but because they're molded plastic, you can point them at an angle and hide the ends behind her fists, to nicely fake the appearance of control.
I'm always amazed at how, as the comic progresses and becomes less "comic-booky," Michonne continues to survive, until she's so out of place that she sorta-kinda gets temporarily written off. I honestly wonder when they're going to pull the trigger and kill her.


Home / Welcome to our squad.
Yup, that's it! All you had to do was visit us & we're welcoming you in!
We hope you enjoy every corner of our website and look forward to seeing what you decide to claim as your own!
Here at Sunstone Jewels we aim to create unique, bohemian jewellery for the bold woman who isn't afraid to make a statement! We're all about being different, celebrating our uniqueness, and looking great while doing it.
We are based out of a city in Niagara, Ontario. For two years we have been creating product that you, the customers, ask for. We're always willing to take on a challenge, and are constantly changing our designs to stay up-to-date on the most wanted crystal accessories.
We are so excited to be launching this online marketplace for our valued customers to settle into and fall in love with as much as we are, it's amazing to finally have one place to be able to buy items, browse images, and be updated on where you can find us next at markets! We couldn't have done it without you and we are forever grateful to have you on our #girlgang!
Don't forget to follow us on social media & don't hesitate to contact us with questions!


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Schneppenpohl ist ein Wohnplatz in der Stadt Leichlingen (Rheinland) im Rheinisch-Bergischen Kreis.

Lage und Beschreibung
Schneppenpohl liegt östlich des Leichlinger Zentrums auf einem Höhenrücken zwischen dem Murbach und dem Weltersbach an der Landesstraße 294 nahe der Stadtgrenze zu Burscheid. Der Ort ist mit den gegenüber der Landesstraße gelegenen Orten Krabbenhäuschen und dem weitaus größeren Metzholz zu einem Ortsbereich zusammengewachsen und ist als eigenständiger Wohnplatz nicht mehr wahrnehmbar. Der gesamte Siedlungsbereich ist nun Metzholz zugeordnet. Weitere Nachbarorte sind Tirol, Windfoche, Eichen, Wiedenbach, Scheuerhof, Koltershäuschen, Weltersbach, Unterbüscherhof, Schüddig, Holzerhof, Wilhelmstal, Sieferhof, Krähwinkel und auf Burscheider Stadtgebiet Unterwietsche.

Geschichte
Schneppenpohl entstand erst gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts und ist erstmals auf der Ausgabe des Messtischblatts Solingen (1893–95) der amtlichen topografischen Karte 1:25.000 mit Beschriftung verzeichnet. Der Ort befand sich an der damaligen Grenze der Bürgermeisterei Witzhelden, der angrenzende Nachbarort Metzholz lag bereits in der Bürgermeisterei und Stadt Leichlingen. Am 1. Januar 1975 wurde die Gemeinde Witzhelden mit Schneppenpohl in Leichlingen eingemeindet.

Einzelnachweise

Ortsteil von Leichlingen (Rheinland)


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A Witch's Journey
Tena Stetler
Click the button for the HTML codes
Pepper McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.
Lathen Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted McKay property for the Estate of Ashling McKay. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent together on the project, their mutual attraction can't be denied. But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons and give love a chance?
Book Review by Nadene R (reviewer)
Jul 24, 2016 [ OFFICIAL REVIEW ]
152 people found the following review helpful
My main purpose for reading is to escape reality for a few hours. I expect my trip into the world of fantasy to be lively, engrossing and exciting. As such when the end draws near, I will be sad but exhilarated. Unfortunately, A WITCH'S JOURNEY did not hold this kind of appeal. Instead, it left me feeling cheated by spending time reading a story that did not deliver what I expected.
A WITCH'S JOURNEY tells the story of a witch named Pepper McKay. She is a licensed rehab specialist for a wildlife rescue habitat located in Salem. She was forced to quit her job and leave Salem when she was caught practicing magic. Just when things seem to be going downhill, she discovered that she was the sole inheritor of her aunt's estate in Lobster Cove. In the midst of looking after the details of her inheritance, she met Lathen Quartz.
Lathen is a man of mystery. He is an ex-navy SEAL. He had suffered injuries while on duty, which left him physically and mentally scarred. He was estranged from his family as a result. He relocated to Lobster Cove to escape his demons. He would learn, however, that the only way he would heal was by facing those demons.
The concept was good, but the execution was flat. I was expecting suspense, action, and drama, but what I got was a story about a witch who has embraced her powers, fell in love and decided to start her own wildlife rescue habitat. All this is good, but it would have been nice if the story had some pizzazz. Based on the blurb I was expecting that there would be some conflict between the protagonists and the antagonist, however, there was none whatsoever. I kept waiting for the big showdown, but it never came.
I found the character development to be of most interest. I say this because the author provided sufficient back story on the characters, making them easy to relate to. It was easy to understand the reason for their actions. As the story progressed, I learned new things about them and by the time the story ended, it was evident that they had matured. The things that were holding them back were no longer an issue.
I found the relationship between the main characters to be too perfect. First of all, they fell for each other rather fast. They had issues like any normal couple would have, however, never once throughout the story did I see these issues being addressed. They were always happy, which I found unrealistic. The only thing real about their relationship was the sex.
There is another aspect of the story that had me puzzled. When Lathen had just moved to Lobster Cove, there was a woman named Kate who wanted to get her hooks into him. He showed no interest but she was pushy and was not pleased when Pepper came into the picture. I was expecting some drama here, but alas, there was none.
It felt as if some parts of the story were missing. For example, there was a scene where Lathen, his brother and his father were going to take part in an activity; however, I have no idea if it happened as immediately after it was mentioned, another scene which was totally unrelated began. There were other incidences of this happening. As a result, I found that the story did not flow fluidly. There were some details that I felt did not add to the story.
Verdict: This book had so much potential. As stated earlier, the concept was good. The story about witches, magic, and other paranormal activities was good. It was these aspects that kept me reading. However, the lack of a good plot left me feeling cheated in the end.


If I knew the decision was right, why was I struggling?
This August, we put our home up for sale. The plan: a relocation of 2,000 km to southern Ontario. The reason: to be closer to a trauma treatment centre that specializes in developmental trauma. My husband, Derek is a survivor and we've struggled for a number of years to find the specialized treatment he needs for complex trauma.
We are fortunate. Derek was able to obtain partial funding to attend therapy on a short-term basis this summer. And I had gotten a taste of the therapy offered at this centre while attending a trauma-informed conference there last April.
Weeks before Derek left, he and I had begun to quietly discuss a move. Our family was mentally and emotionally exhausted by five-plus years of little change in Derek's symptoms, which included dissociation. I was worried about everyone's mental and physical health. After months–I mean years–of trying to make it work, I knew we were at the end.
My sense that the therapy offered in Ontario would be beneficial was quickly confirmed by Derek's growing stability. His voice sounded clearer, his memory was improving, and he spoke with an excitement I had not heard in years. But we knew that a few weeks of therapy was not going to be long enough to recover. Encouraged by his progress, I decided to contact a realtor in early August. I thought, "I'll just have a conversation about listing our home in September." One week later, our home was on the market, my daughters and I were flying to visit Derek, and the move was fast becoming a real possibility.
On the surface, everything was proceeding at a very fast, but smooth pace.
It was during those few days of preparing to sell that I became aware of this nasty, heavy feeling. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it blanketed my emotions and my thoughts in what seemed to be a completely irrational way.
But it wasn't the thoughts that were troublesome. I knew they weren't really true. It was the emotions: heavy and weighted, a murky mix of fear, dread, guilt, and anxiety. Yet, none of those words really fit the feeling.
What I didn't recognize in the rush of getting the house ready, nor in the subsequent weeks leading up to this decision, was the cumulative impact on me of others' responses towards our situation. For over five years, I had been the 'spokesperson'. When needed and when necessary, I explained Derek's condition. I explained that Derek was not responding to therapy. I explained why I thought he wasn't responding to therapy–once I had some trauma-informed training under my belt. I explained what kind of therapy could be helpful for him. I explained and I explained some more. And I didn't just do this with friends and our children. I met with clinicians, disability insurance managers, doctors, and pastors.
You see, Derek's symptoms impacted every area of our life and every relationship, which meant a lot of explaining.
And now, I was going to have to announce our move. More explanations.
Many of the responses to our story over the years were kind. Many listened, encouraged, and affirmed. Many said what I needed to hear.
But some didn't. And that was hard because some of the responses came from individuals who I thought I could trust. And some came from people we were depending on for support, advice, and money.
And it was the impact, really the trauma, I felt from those responses that weighed me down.
So there I was cleaning, organizing, calming my children, and trying to keep a level head—all the while feeling smothered by this thing–but not knowing what this thing was.
One morning, I awoke with a terrible urgency to get out from under it.
I almost jumped out my chair. That was it! That was the feeling!
I felt shame because it had not worked here. I felt shame because for whatever reason the therapists we've connected with haven't been a good fit for Derek. I felt shame because we were done with living in our current location.
I felt ashamed to say goodbye.
Logically, it made no sense. If anyone had tried to make it work, it was me. But shame isn't logical. Shame comes from the part of the brain where trauma is stored.
Thankfully, once unmasked, shame left the room. Naming it brought immediate relief. I breathed deeply and my shoulders relaxed. I smiled in delight at my discovery of this enemy. I could receive the truth that my closest friends and supporters kept speaking to me.
This is a good decision for your family.
Afterword: The spouses, the partners, and the families are deeply impacted by an adult survivor's trauma symptoms and by the responses of those around them. Families play a crucial role in recovery for survivors, but at the same time, are at risk for their own trauma. If you suspect that you, as a partner/spouse or your children, are showing symptoms of trauma, please connect with a trauma-informed mental health professional. And if you know a family of a survivor, please take time to learn about developmental trauma and support them with kindness and compassion.


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Tag: Holy See
Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 09:30 UTC
Pope refers to Maduro as "Mr." and recalls previous dialogues accords' were not honored
Pope Francis has sent a letter to Nicolas Maduro responding to a recent invitation to mediate in the Venezuelan political crisis, according to an Italian newspaper. Milan daily newspaper Corriere Della Sera published a report saying that previous peace efforts in Venezuela were "interrupted because what had been agreed in the meetings was not followed by concrete gestures to implement the agreements."
Monday, August 27th 2018 - 08:41 UTC
Ex Vatican ambassador allegedly exposes more cover-ups at the Holy See
The Vatican's retired ambassador to the United States accused senior Vatican officials of knowing as early as 2000 that the disgraced former archbishop of Washington, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, regularly invited seminarians into his bed but was made a cardinal regardless.
Monday, July 7th 2014 - 22:31 UTC
Francis 'humbly' asks for forgiveness from victims of 'clerical sexual abuse'
Pope Francis on Monday morning "humbly" asked six clerical sex abuse victims for forgiveness for the "grave crimes of clerical sex abuse" committed against them. The Pope made his comment to the victims in a homily delivered at mass in the Domus Santa Marta, his Vatican residence.
Tuesday, May 6th 2014 - 05:58 UTC
UN calls on Vatican to change the 'climate of impunity' on child sexual abuse
A UN committee on torture grilled on Monday the Vatican on the Catholic Church's child sexual abuse crisis, urging a permanent investigation system to end a "climate of impunity" prevailing for decades.
Venezuela invites Cardinal Parolin to become "mediator of good will"
The Venezuelan government formally invited today the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to join the exploratory talks with the opposition as "mediator of good will" in order to find a solution to the violent situation in the country.
Monday, March 10th 2014 - 06:04 UTC
Pope Francis names finance personalities to the Vatican Economy Council
Pope Francis named top laymen from the worlds of finance and economics to a new Vatican Council for the Economy, intended to improve scrutiny of the Holy See's scandal-plagued accounts.The creation of the 15-member council is a major step in bringing lay people into the Vatican, and reflects a drive by Francis to make changes to an establishment often seen as murky and secretive.


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Dan Cohen on the DPLA's cloud proposal to the FCC
I've posted a podcast interview with Dan Cohen, the executive director of the Digital Public Library of America about their proposal to the FCC.
The FCC is looking for ways to modernize the E-Rate program that has brought the Internet to libraries and schools. The DPLA is proposing DPLA Local, which will enable libraries to create online digital collections using the DPLA's platform.
I'm excited about this for two reasons beyond the service it would provide.
First, it could be a first step toward providing cloud-based library services, instead of the proprietary, closed, expensive systems libraries typically use to manage their data. (Evergreen, I'm not talking about you, you open source scamp!)
Second, as libraries build their collections using DPLA Local, their metadata is likely to assume normalized forms, which means that we should get cross-collection discovery and semantic riches.
Here's the proposal itself. And here's where you can comment to the FCC about it.
Categories: dpla, libraries Tagged with: dpla • fcc • librarycloud • metadata Date: March 6th, 2014 dw
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[dplafest] Advanced Research and the DPLA
I'm at a DPLAfest session. Jean Bauer (Digital Humanities Librarian, Brown U.), Jim Egan (English Prof, Brown), Kathryn Shaughnessy (Assoc. Prof, University Libraries, St. John's U), and David Smth (Ass't Prof CS, Northeastern).
Rather than liveblogging in this blog, I contributed to the collaboratively-written Google Doc designated for the session notes. It's here.
Categories: libraries, liveblog Tagged with: dpla • dplafest • liveblog • research Date: October 25th, 2013 dw
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[dplafest] Dan Cohen opens DPLA meeting
Dan Cohen has some announcements in his welcome to the DPLAfest.
NOTE: Live-blogging. Getting things wrong. Missing points. Omitting key information. Introducing artificial choppiness. Over-emphasizing small matters. Paraphrasing badly. Not running a spellpchecker. Mangling other people's ideas and words. You are warned, people.
The collection now has 5M items. These come from partner hubs (large institutions) and service hubs (aggregations of smaller providers). Three new hubs have joined, bringing the total to nine, from NY, North Carolina, and Texas. Dan stresses the diversity of contributors.
The DPLA sends visitors back to the contributing organizations. E.g., Minnesota Reflections is up 55% in visitors and 62% in unique visitors over the year since it joined the DPLA.
He also announces the DPLA Bookshelf, which is a contribution from the Harvard Library Innovation Lab that I co-direct. It's an embedded version of the Stacklife browser, which you can see by going to DP.LA and searching for a book. (You can use the Harvard version here.
Dan announces a $1M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to help local libraries curate material in the DPLA and start scanning in local collections. Also, an anonymous donor gave $450,000. [I don't want to say who it was, but, well, you're welcome.] Dan Cohen suggests we become a sponsor athttp://www.dp.la/donate. T-shirts and, yes, tote bags.
There have been 1,7M uses of the DPLA API as of September 2013. Examples of work already done:
Culture Collage
Open Pics (a mobile app that uses the geocoding of items that the DPLA does)
Serendip-o-automatic (from NEH): paste in some text and it will show you related material.
Dan talks about DPA Local, and idea that would enable local communities to use the services the DPLA provides.
Dan says that all of the sessions have Google Docs already set up for collaborative note-taking [an approach I'm very fond of].
Categories: libraries, liveblog Tagged with: dpla • libraries • liveblog Date: October 25th, 2013 dw
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Hangin' with Secretary Kerry
Back when the Digital Public Library of America was gearing up, I oddly got invited to participate in a day of brainstorming about what could be done to make the US. State Department Diplomatic Reception Rooms more accessible to the public.
About twenty of us spent the day talking in the Rooms themselves, and we also got a tour of some of the inner offices on Secretary Clinton's floor. I don't know how much the day helped the State Department, but it was certainly an interesting day for me. I think my only contribution was suggesting (along with Martin Kalfatovic) that State give the DPLA its spreadsheet of objects + metadata, which I think they are getting close to doing.
The Rooms are ornate and even palatial, which strikes a discordant note for a humble democracy. On the other hand, are we supposed to pretend to visiting dignitaries that the U.S.A. can't afford to do up a room real nice? And, most important, the rooms are filled with 5,000 museum-quality pieces of furniture, paintings, ceramics, and bric-a-brac, many with particular historic significance, such as the desk on which the Treaty of Paris was signed. You could spend days there just admiring the objects on display…if you were lucky enough to be invited to a workshop held in these rooms. Or, I suppose, if you were a visiting head of state with a surprisingly light schedule.
Treaty of Paris desk (cc) Martin Kalfatovic
But what's perhaps oddest about the Rooms is that they are stuck inside the Harry S. Truman Building, the State Department's headquarters.
The building was designed in the 1950s, was dedicated in 1961, and from the outside looks like an upscale high school. Its large open lobby is quite pleasing, and must have been more so before all the security machinery was installed. Then the elevators open onto the 8th floor and you're in a dream of the 18th century.
So, last night I went to a reception in the Rooms for people who had contributed to them. Very much a pinstripe and wingtip affair for the guys, and whatever is the suitable generalization for the women. There were perhaps 100 people there, and I can guarantee that every person there contributed far more to the Rooms than I had. Many had donated very substantial sums of money, for the Rooms are paid for and maintained entirely by donations; no tax payer money was harmed by these rooms. Other people have put in considerable time and effort. Not me. But I was in DC for the morning, so I had accepted the invitation.
It was a big enough occasion to rope Secretary Kerry into attending. He appeared about twenty minutes after it began, and the experienced handlers at State immediately had us form a line. As you approach Sec. Kerry, you hand a card with your name on it to an assistant; you were given this card when you went through security. You approach the Secretary as your name is read, alas, with no trumpets. The Secretary says something placeholdery to you if he doesn't know you from Adam, puts his arm around you, and smiles for the camera. What a job.
To me the Secretary pleasantly said — having just heard my name announced — "Dr. David Douglas Weinberger. That's a very long name."
I'd say that that was the most insipid thing I'd ever heard, but I'm afraid I topped it. "I voted for you many times," said I.
I was surprisingly flustered. When he put his long arm around me, I put mine around his waist, which I think violated both protocol and security procedures. I was not wrestled to the ground, and the Secretary handled it like a pro. Not me. I'm pretty sure I was staring at his collar when when the photo was taken. The man wears a beautiful collar.
Smile. Click. Next.
Click to see a bigger but still blurry photo of Sec. Kerry speaking
After the reception line, Secretary Kerry gave some quite appropriate remarks about the importance of our history despite its comparative brevity, and about the good in the world the US does, pointing specifically to the seven-fold increase in the number of kids in school in Afghanistan, and the rise from single digits to 40+% enrollment of girls. If you're going to pick examples of US beneficence, that's a good'un. John Kerry is smart and serious and I am happy to have him as our Secretary of State, although I'll be happier once Ed Markey wins the election to be his replacement in the Senate.
Then it was time for massive mingling, which is never my strong suit. There was a table of excellent all-American cheeses, and a variety of all-American wines. As the bartender pointed out each wine's state of origin, she noted that wines are made in every state. "Even Nebraska?" I asked rather randomly. "I didn't say they were all good," she replied, thus confirming that she is not a State Department employee and never will be.
I spent a lot of time in the comfort of Martin [twitter: UDCMRK] and Mary Kalfatovic, DPLA buddies and people I am enormously fond of. After about 30 minutes of post-Kerry mingling, we went out for Thai food.
Thus we departed the locale of what certainly should be an upcoming Nicolas Cage movie — National Treasure: Diplomatic Reception — with the Abigail Adams tiara in my pocket and no one the wiser.
Categories: dpla Tagged with: dpla • john kerry • state department Date: May 11th, 2013 dw
[misc] StackLife goes live – visually browse millions of books
I'm very proud to announce that the Harvard Library Innovation Lab (which I co-direct) has launched what we think is a useful and appealing way to browse books at scale. This is timed to coincide with the launch today of the Digital Public Library of America. (Congrats, DPLA!!!)
StackLife (nee ShelfLife) shows you a visualization of books on a scrollable shelf, which we turn sideways so you can read the spines. It always shows you books in a context, on the ground that no book stands alone. You can shift the context instantly, so that you can (for example) see a work on a shelf with all the other books classified under any of the categories professional cataloguers have assigned to it.
We also heatmap the books according to various usage metrics ("StackScore"), so you can get a sense of the work's community relevance.
There are lots more features, and lots more to come.
We've released two versions today.
StackLife DPLA mashes up the books in the Digital Public Library of America's collection (from the Biodiversity Heritage Library) with books from The Internet Archive's Open Library and the Hathi Trust. These are all online, accessible books, so you can just click and read them. There are 1.7M in the StackLife DPLA metacollection. (Development was funded in part by a Sprint grant from the DPLA. Thank you, DPLA!)
StackLife Harvard lets you browse the 12.3M books and other items in the Harvard Library systems 73 libraries and off-campus repository. This is much less about reading online (unfortunately) than about researching what's available.
Here are some links:
StackLife DPLA: http://stacklife-dpla.law.harvard.edu
StackLife Harvard: http://stacklife.law.harvard.edu
The DPLA press release: http://library.harvard.edu/stacklife-browse-read-digital
The DPLA version FAQ: http://stacklife-dpla.law.harvard.edu/#faq/
The StackLife team has worked long and hard on this. We're pretty durn proud:
Annie Cain
Paul Deschner
Kim Dulin
Jeff Goldenson
Matthew Phillips
Caleb Troughton
Categories: everythingIsMiscellaneous, libraries Tagged with: dpla • everythingismisc • harvard • libraries • stacklife Date: April 18th, 2013 dw
Podcast about the DPLA's status and its relation to public libraries
The latest podcast in the Digital Campus series focuses solely on the current state of the Digital Public Library of America. The discussion includes Dan Cohen who has just accepted the position of Executive Director of the DPLA, which is just wonderful news. Not only does he have a rare combination of skills and experiences — ever hear of Zotero, hmm? — but he is also — and there's no other way of putting this — nice.
Also on the podcast is Nicholas Carr, who wrote an excellent, skeptical (or at least questioning) article for MIT Tech Review on the DPLA a year ago. Also, Mills Kelly and Tom Scheinfeldt. And me.
Dan explains what the DPLA is. Nick wonders if if the DPLA will hurt public libraries. I try to explain why I think it won't. Amanda suggests the DPLA is the Mr. Potato Head of libraries. I thought it was a good discussion.
Categories: open access, podcast Tagged with: dpla • library • podcasts Date: April 1st, 2013 dw
DPLA does metadata right
The Digital Public Library of America's policy on metadata was discussed during the recent board of directors call, and the DPLA is, in my opinion, getting it exactly and admirably right. (See Infodocket for links.) The metadata that the DPLA aggregates will be openly available and in the public domain. But just so there won't be any doubt or confusion, the policy begins by saying that it does not believe that most metadata is subject to copyright in the first place. Then, to make sure, it adds:
To the extent that the DPLA's own contributions to selecting and arranging such metadata may be protected by copyright, the DPLA dedicates such contributions to the public domain pursuant to a CC0 license.
And then, clearly and plainly:
Given the purposes of the policy and the copyright status of the metadata, and pursuant to the DPLA's terms of service, the DPLA 's users are free to harvest, collect, modify, and/or otherwise use any metadata contained in the DPLA.
Categories: open access Tagged with: copyleft • copyright • dpla • libraries • metadata Date: February 17th, 2013 dw
DPLA looking for an executive director
The Digital Public Library of America is looking for an executive director. This is an incredible opportunity to make a difference.
I think it'd be fantastic if this person were to come out of the large, community-based Web collaboration space, but there are many other ways for the DPLA to go right. The search committee is pretty fabulous, so I have confidence that this is going to be an amazing hire.
The DPLA team gave a presentation at Berkman yesterday, and has been showing some initial work, including a collaboration with Europeana and wireframes of a front page. It's looking very good for the April launch date.
Our little group, the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, is working on a visual browser for books within the DPLA collection, so we're pretty excited.
Categories: dpla, libraries Tagged with: dpla • libraries Date: December 19th, 2012 dw
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[dpla] DPLA looking good
After attending today's working meeting of the DPLA (I'm unable to attend tomorrow's more public-facing session), I'm quite encouraged. The DPLA is now in execution mode, and I believe the pieces are in place.
The Content workstream is well along in securing a range of content, including heritage collections and copyright-free books from the Internet Archive and Hathi Trust. The processes and relationships required for accessing and maintaining the metadata are well along.
The Tech workstream is in very good hands. Jeff Licht is heading it up, and there are external groups working on the required pieces for ingesting metadata, normalizing it, and presenting it through a prototype front end. The Tech team is following roughly the architecture that we'd prototyped Jan-April, and while there are daunting problems — getting the various types of metadata talking to one another, and weighting it so that the results reflect user desires, just to take two — I'm confident it's going to work well and scale.
And the Governance group is well along in turning this open-edged movement into a an organization built for the long-term. The Board is looking great, there is a search for an Executive Director, and it's going to be a flexible and responsive organization.
Definitely on track.
Categories: dpla Tagged with: dpla Date: October 11th, 2012 dw
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[dpla] DPLA afternoon session
It's the end of the workstream day of the DPLA Midwest meeting. Each of the three workstream meetings is reporting back to the general group.
Emily Gore from the Content stream: What kind of guidance should we develop for interested content providers? The group wants to have a strategic collection development plan draft by the end of December. "What is our role with regard to advocacy" for content currently under copyright? Also, the group talked about the hub pilot project. Various participants in that pilot were in the room.
SJ Klein from the Technical workstream: There was a lively discussion this afternoon, primarily about the design of the front end. How to make the frontend experience help people become contributors? They also talked about the Chatanooga hackathon Nov. 8-9. Tools for making working with metadata easier. Packaging tools that match potential contributors with a hub. Metadata purgatory for metadata that has been contributed but doesn't meet the standards.
Maureen Sullivan and John Palfrey report on the Governance group: The next steps are to take the barebone by-laws and flesh them out. There were many discussions about whether DPLA the 501(c)(3) should be a membership organization, but the general consensus is no. (Paul Courant made the point that many institutions shy away from becoming members because that makes them liable.) Rather, it would be good to have participation from groups and people with specific areas of expertise. There was a lot of energy about expanding on the statement of principles, including adding an explicit commitment to accessibility. There was strong support for continuing to see the DPLA as a public/private enterprise. John Bracken made the point that DPLA should view itself as a network, not as a heavyweight organization.
Maureen points out that the workstreams have converged. She says that "contributor" seems to be a better word than "member." We need to be flexible about how people will come together to do the work that's required. And we should be thinking of ourselves as advocates, a force for change to improve the lives of people in this country and around the world.
Categories: dpla, liveblog Tagged with: dpla • liveblog Date: October 11th, 2012 dw