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Home»World News»Asia Pacific»25 Days That Changed the World: How Covid-19 Slipped China's Grasp
25 Days That Changed the World: How Covid-19 Slipped China's Grasp
30 December 2020 Asia Pacific, World News 0 Views
Politically, it was a perilous situation for both men.
As its trade war with China escalated, the Trump administration had all but eliminated a public health partnership with Beijing that had begun after the debacle of SARS and was intended to help prevent potential pandemics. By pulling out, current and former agency officials say, Washington cut itself off from potential intelligence about the virus, and lost a chance to work with China against it.
Under the partnership, teams of American doctors were stationed in China and, over time, helped train more than 2,500 Chinese public health staff. More than 15 traveled to the United States for training, as well.
"Our trainees," the Americans called them.
One of the American doctors was stationed inside the Chinese C.D.C., building ties with trainees bound for posts across the country, and socializing with Chinese doctors.
"You are in a position to gain extremely important information," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, a former agency director who helped set up the arrangement, "particularly on a threatening new disease."
In a review of 10 years of partnership, doctors on both sides argued that it had helped prevent potential pandemics, such as avian flu, which first appeared in the southern province of Guangdong. China let U.S. epidemiologists join the response and sent scientists to America for training, a partnership that continued as recently as 2017, when a newly virulent strain spread to other countries and killed more than 600 people.
"We worked shoulder to shoulder with the China C.D.C.," recalled Dr. Tom Frieden, the head of the U.S. agency under President Barack Obama. With further spread and the wrong mutation, Dr. Frieden added, "It could have been a pandemic."
Another American program in the country — called Predict — sought to spot dangerous pathogens in animals, particularly coronaviruses, before they could leap to humans. One of the labs it worked with was in Wuhan.
Tags changed Chinas Covid19 days grasp slipped World
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Home	Content CategoryThe Watchdog	BRiC hits brakes on signs for former IBM Building
BRiC hits brakes on signs for former IBM Building
by Les Wilson March 3, 2020
written by Les Wilson March 3, 2020
The original building at the former IBM Boca site on Yamato Rd was designed by renowned architect Marcel Breuer. It is iconic and a recognized architectural landmark. The site is now called the Boca Raton Innovation Campus. It is owned by Crocker Partners. About a year ago, one of the tenants on the site was seeking permission from the City to attach a commercial building sign to the custom concrete panels of the original building (it was extended later). For background on all that, see our March 14 2019 article Putting Commercial Signs on a Renowned Boca Architectural Jewel.
Whaaaaat?
Apparently, the Boca Raton city code did not protect the Breuer designed building from tenants mounting signs. During the debate, local architects strenuously objected to the signage on the former IBM building. They offered creative alternatives to solve the tenant's complaints of being nestled inside a large complex. To paraphrase the response from the tenant's representative:
Doing all these things architecturally … this is all wonderful. You guys wanna do all this stuff down the line? You wanna re-write the sign ordinance? HAVE AT IT! At the end of the day, my client is here, we need a sign, we need it now. Your board denied us. The code says we're allowed to have a sign and that is it.
While seemingly reluctant to go against the city's Community Appearance Board (CAB), Mayor Singer conceded "It's the code" and voted to override the CAB. So did Thomson, Rodgers and Mayotte. But in defense of the greater good of the community, Council Member O'Rourke spoke passionately against approving the sign. After the disappointing 4-1 vote that allowed the sign, O'Rourke reached out to voters and community leaders to add more voices to protect the architectural jewel. It appears to have succeeded. Read on.
Put Another Sign on the Barbie
Imagine savvy advertising executives scoring a loophole in Sydney's sign code that permitted internal shops and businesses to get access to your eyeballs via the famous sails of the Opera House? Or lawyers in Livorno Italy using the discovery of an 1820 bronze cast doorpost bearing the architect of Tower of Pisa's name as precedent that signs were once permitted and must now also be permitted? Boca has one of the most restrictive signage codes in the area. How could this happen to one of its famous and renowned architectural landmarks?
Not to worry, the meat toppings are lean.
There is no commercial sign on the building
I went to the former IBM building to see for myself. Nothing seems to have happened regarding the tenant sign. The site is immaculate. Building entrances are clearly marked with pleasant uniform blue signs denoting the address and business name. I reached out to Council Member O'Rourke and learned that in the past year, Crocker Partners has developed plans for the complex to address a number of areas and that they are investing in a master plan to revitalize the campus and the region. Furthermore, they are working to establish a program that hopes to foster local and world class artwork to be displayed in the buildings.
Entrance to a business at BRIC
Credit where credit is due
Kudos to both O'Rourke and Crocker Partners. A longer view has prevailed and its good news. As far as we know, the effort to mount a sign on the famous former IBM building has hit the brakes. Beyond the signage issue, Crocker Partners has a huge long term vision for the site. According to them:
"Crocker Partners has plans to build on the legacy created by IBM by returning this historic, iconic property into a place where creativity and innovation happen. Once we complete the planned $100 million of capital improvements, BRiC will become a vibrant Class-A office complex and the tech and life sciences hub for the Southeastern United States. It will consist of unparalleled tenant amenities on the scale of the Google campus, structured parking, and substantial investments into new tenant high-tech spaces. Remembering and celebrating our past is important to us. One of our two planned coffee shops is going to be named Marcel Brewer's, a play on the name of Marcel Breuer, the father of Brutalist architecture and the designer of the campus. We will also be creating a History of Tech museum centered around artifacts and technology donated by local IBM alumni."
Crocker Partners
How refreshing. BocaFirst.org will continue to report on this issue.
boca raton politicsbocafirstIBM boca
Les Wilson
Les Wilson is on the stats team at BocaFirst with the creds and experience to analyze then simplify complex statistics and data for readers. He is a retired IBM Senior Technical Staff Member after a 35 year career in product Research and Development. He has a BS Degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University. Les has lived in Boca since the early '90s, raised a family in several neighborhoods and is an expert resident of South East Boca.
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Archive for category: China 2015
Videos from China 2015
13th November 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog, Videos /by Tom King
A couple of short promo films have been passed on to us from the China Tour:
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png 0 0 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-11-13 11:00:152015-11-13 11:00:15Videos from China 2015
21st September 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog /by Tom King
A Few last photos from the China Tour
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png 0 0 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-09-21 12:59:552015-09-21 12:59:55In concert
10th August 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog /by Tom King
After last night's exhilarating concert in Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, the choir spent an energetic final day taking in the sights before flying home. Undaunted by an early start, the gents and boys piled into two coaches and set off for the Great Wall at Badaling. The weather was scorchingly hot, which made the near-vertical climb quite a challenge; it did, however, guarantee us some spectacular photographs. The choristers demonstrated surprisingly impressive haggling skills at the souvenir shops, casting a critical eye over the rows of pandas, key-rings and teapots.
After a lavish buffet lunch at the Wall, we headed back towards Beijing and to the Summer Palace. If possible, it felt even hotter here, so we paused for an essential ice cream before wandering around the lake and visiting the famous Long Corridor (which features over 14,000 individual paintings). The only stylish way to get back to the entrance was, of course, on board one of the dragon-headed boats on Kunming Lake – all the more appropriate since our guide had been telling us stories of Empress Dowager Cixi, the formidable 'dragon lady'.
The boys were treated to a marvellous evening meal of pasta, barbeque ribs and chocolate cake, and as I write they are busy packing in their rooms. We head to the airport at midnight, and it is very hard to believe that the tour is nearly over. However, we have Hong Kong airport and two flights to navigate before arriving home, so there are without doubt adventures still to be had…!
http://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2015/08/IMG_2688.jpg 4608 3456 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-08-10 15:53:162015-08-10 15:53:16Beijing and the Great Wall
8th August 2015 /1 Comment/in China 2015, Tour Blog /by Tom King
We have an exceedingly early start tomorrow in order to catch the bullet train (5.45am wake-up call), so this entry might be short! The choristers have been appreciating the slightly cooler temperature here in Shanghai, although once cocooned in the air-conditioned Shanghai Grand Theatre the heat of outside was quickly forgotten. We've had a good deal of media attention on this leg of the tour – even our exit from the airport was filmed yesterday – and there were plenty of photos taken on arrival at People's Square this afternoon. At the entrance to the Theatre's labyrinth of corridors it was reassuring to pass a television playing images of Christ Church – the cathedral, the meadow, and even Dr Darlington wielding an impressive microphone.
Fortified by spaghetti, sandwiches, Oreos and pizza, the boys performed this evening to a vast audience that once again comprised well over a thousand concert-goers. The Shanghai Radio Children's Chorus joined the Christ Church team to perform John Williams' 'Double Trouble' from 'Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban', which drew delighted murmuring from the audience. On arrival back at our hotel the choir was treated to a buffet meal courtesy of the concert's sponsors; for the lucky choristers this was supper number three. The frequent waves of food have been a feature of this tour, and the variety has at times been quite spectacular. As you can see from the pictures, the gleeful boys made a beeline for the cakes. Let's hope they're just as full of energy at 5.45 tomorrow morning…
http://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2015/08/IMG_2554.jpg 1728 2304 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-08-08 15:54:152015-08-08 15:54:15Shanghai
Yuyan Gardens
8th August 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog, Uncategorized /by ed kay
This morning we had some free time to explore the city of Shanghai before our rehearsal in the Grand Theatre this afternoon. While some of the Gents went to have suits tailored, a few others opted for some sightseeing. The Yuyuan Gardens are a 'must-see' when visiting Shanghai and, as you can see from this video, they are beautiful and encapsulate many traits of traditional Chinese architecture and design.
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/VID00011.m4v
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png 0 0 ed kay https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png ed kay2015-08-08 14:06:232015-08-08 14:06:23Yuyan Gardens
7th August 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog /by ed kay
We arrived in Shanghai late this afternoon. After checking into our hotel, the men ventured out into the city and went on a tour of the Huangpu River where we gained spectacular views of the Shanghai skyline (see video!).
Tomorrow we have the morning off before rehearsing for our concert in the Grand Theatre, moving on to Beijing the following day.
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png 0 0 ed kay https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png ed kay2015-08-07 17:05:082015-08-07 17:05:08Shanghai Night
Guangzhou Opera House
7th August 2015 /0 Comments/in China 2015, Tour Blog /by Tom King
After a short rehearsal in the hotel, the choristers enjoyed a traditional Cantonese lunch before heading off to Guangzhou Opera House for the next concert. The opera house had sent us a luxury coach whose sides doubled as an advertising hoarding for Phantom of the Opera… this seemed strangely appropriate as the boys clambered on board clad in their black gowns.
Situated by the Pearl River, the opera house is an elegantly futuristic building based around curving lines designed to imitate the shapes created by water erosion. Other than the 'double pebble' shape, one of its most eye-catching features is the myriad of tiny lights which pepper the ceiling. It was opened in 2010 and seats nearly 2000 people, giving the choir a magnificent setting for the third concert of the tour. A highlight of this performance was the collaboration with the opera house children's choir, who impressed everybody with the verve of their performance of a stirring song about battles and warriors. The children then joined forces with Christ Church to rapturous reception in the auditorium – and backstage the atmosphere was just as effusive, with everyone keen to capture the moment Christ Church came to Guangzhou (see photo). What a wonderfully warm reception we have had here!
http://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2015/08/IMG_2444.jpg 1728 2304 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-08-07 16:09:392015-08-07 16:09:39Guangzhou Opera House
A few days off。。。
Since our last concert in Shenzhen we've been lucky enough to have a few days off to soak up the culture that Shenzhen and Guangzhou have to offer. On Monday we had a free day in Shenzhen which is one of China's four 'Top Tier Cities' along with Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. Interestingly, Shenzhen was only a small village until 1980 when it became a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). It now boasts a population of around 15 million and has an impressive cultural centre which includes the concert hall we performed in on the Sunday evening and the pool that the boys visited on their day off. Despite it being a city in its youth it does have a few sights to see – a number of us managed to visit the People's Park in the north of the city which has a hill that commands expansive views of the city while other clerks had a chance to go shopping in the numerous malls and enjoy some interesting culinary delights.
On Tuesday we had an afternoon departure for Guangzhou. This all went without a hitch except that Mr Hawkesworth (my roommate and fellow bass) and I decided to inadvertently attempt to break the world record for the fastest hotel check out time by waking up at 13.05 when the bus was due to leave at 13.00… If any of you are looking for advice on how to exit a building speedily after packing all your belongings it's Henry you want to talk to – he managed an impressive three minute 'pack up and go' compared to my measly six minutes…thankfully this didn't cause us to miss any onward connections!
As Sophie has already mentioned, we're staying in a beautiful hotel here in Guangzhou – the boys reliably inform me that this is a "sik" place to be accommodated in. I think that's positive…! Certainly us Clerks have enjoyed making the most of the swimming pool, sauna, steam room and the exceptional breakfasts. Not only is the hotel a fantastic place but the city has also turned out to be full of great places to visit. Today half the clerks went to one of China's biggest water parks and the rest of us who weren't feeling quite so adventurous took to the streets to see the city's top sights. These include Shamian Island which has a fascinating mix of French and British Colonial architecture, the Sacred Heart Church, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and the Liurong Lu, Six Banyan Temple Pagoda.
Tomorrow we've more free time in the morning before our rehearsal and concert in Guangzhou Opera House in the afternoon and evening. Till next time…! EK
https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png 0 0 ed kay https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png ed kay2015-08-05 17:52:152015-08-05 17:52:15A few days off。。。
Pearl River and Shamian Island
Today has been a mixture of work and play for the choristers. Having familiarized ourselves with a new breakfast set-up (treats at this hotel include a pancake station and Japanese food), we had the privilege of heading down to the garden room by the hotel lake for a morning rehearsal. The boys were put through their paces by Dr Darlington, with plenty of warm-ups and a few corners that needed to be worked on with the next concert in mind. This must surely rank as one of the most exotic places to have hosted a Christ Church chorister rehearsal!
Straight afterwards the boys got their dearest wish – to head for the roof-top swimming pool. This provided the perfect counterpoint to the serious morning rehearsal, with the choristers free to submerge, perform hand-stands and impersonate sharks at will in the deep blue water. Following a quick lunch from Subway (home comforts once again), we hopped onto a coach and headed for the Pearl River and Shamian Island, a historic site which was formerly a hub for foreign traders. We took in the atmosphere of another era as we wandered through the quiet, tree-lined streets, surrounded by colonial buildings including a picturesque Catholic chapel, banks, schools and former consulates. The boys spotted an area filled with exercise apparatus on the main street, which soon had everyone energetically engaged despite the humidity. Everywhere we go, people are friendly and curious to know where we come from. Passers-by often make requests to take pictures (see photo), and – since choristers are not camera-shy – this can make our progress down the street rather slow!
The boys spent the rest of the day pursuing their favourite down-time activities; swimming and eating (burgers in the hotel this time). Everyone is very much looking forward to performing in Guangzhou Opera House tomorrow, and to cracking on with concert number three.
http://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2015/08/IMG_2329.jpg 1728 2304 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-08-05 10:35:232015-08-05 10:35:23Pearl River and Shamian Island
Shenzhen to Guangzhou
Today the choir travelled from Shenzhen to Guangzhou. The choristers submitted to a rigorous post-breakfast 'dorm inspection', where they were marked on the tidiness of their rooms and how wrinkle-free their bed sheets were. Any singing during inspection gained extra points, obviously. We made a final dash to the mall and split up to get a filling lunch of burgers or noodles (the group was evenly divided down the middle on this one). At 1pm it was time to load the coach for the two-hour journey to Guangzhou. The time seemed to slip by quickly, no doubt because of mounting excitement about staying at The Garden Hotel, an iconic building built in the 1980s and designed by I. M. Pei.
On arrival, the hotel easily lived up to its superb reputation. We were whisked into a comfortable room where we were welcomed and given drinks; soon we were on our way to make ourselves at home in our new quarters. The choristers were particularly delighted to find Nespresso coffee machines in their rooms, along with every other comfort a weary traveller could ask for (from fluffy bathrobes to electric blinds to bright blue bath salts). There is no doubt that , after such divine treatment, the quality of the choir's singing will hit new heights…
The boys went for a late afternoon ramble around the hotel to get their bearings, and enjoyed visiting the lush garden with its waterfall and colourful fish (even bigger than the ones in Tom Quad, we think). Supper was taken at an extraordinarily versatile restaurant where the boys feasted on pizza, burritos, pasta, salad, rice, curry and breadsticks. As you can see from the photos, the varied desserts were very popular. The restaurant also offered snails, which some of the boys though looked terrifically tempting, but after due consideration Matron advised against them. Another time perhaps.
http://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2015/08/IMG_2308.jpg 3456 4608 Tom King https://www.chchchoir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/09/choirlogo-300x76.png Tom King2015-08-04 16:41:492015-08-04 16:41:49Shenzhen to Guangzhou


What would you do if you were called to give a testimony of what you believe about Jesus? But instead of facing a friendly crowd, you faced an openly hostile group of powerful people? And what if that powerful group of people were so powerful they could (and soon will) murder people for preaching the name of Jesus? Would you be afraid? What would you say?
What if that group had you beaten in public for your testimony then warned you never to mention the name of Jesus? As cowardly as I am, I'd probably run away and try to forget it all and live out a different sort of life.
Fortunately, when that really happened in history, the Church had far superior leaders than I. When the apostles faced the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders had them flogged and sent away.
And this blows me away: They rejoiced! They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. Read the whole account at the end of Acts 5. It's amazing.
I keep putting myself in that situation and I just don't know if I could do it. To praise God not inspite of your persecution, but because of it. My faith feels so small.
I have never suffered for the name of Jesus. Ever. No one has ever beaten me because I whispered or shouted the name of Jesus.
But here's something that has been blowing my mind lately. While I have not been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus, I have been counted worthy to lead lost and broken people to Jesus. For around a dozen people, I'm it. For this season of life, I'm the primary (not only, but primary) Christian influence in the lives of maybe a dozen people I care about.
Here's the deal. I know my story. I know all the dark parts, I know where all the bodies are buried, I know all the skeletons in the closet. I know my story, and I know the dozens, hundreds and even thousands of reasons I shouldn't be trusted like that. I wouldn't have picked me for what God has entrusted to me. If I were doing the screening, I would have picked someone that wasn't as much of a mess. Someone that wasn't bound to eventually screw it all up.
God is the only one who knows me as well as (better than!) I know myself. And He has counted me worthy of following Jesus. Worthy of leading men. Worthy of being a gospel influence in the world. Worthy of responsibility.
At any moment, God could take what he has given us and decide to give it to someone else. We're not going to hold it too tightly. If God decides to take this from me, I trust His wisdom. I won't hold it tightly.
But I also won't take it lightly. God has entrusted a lot to me. I won't take that lightly, I will work hard, mortify the sin in my heart, and lead and follow with dilligence and faithfulness. I will work at digging out of the mud and mire what it is God sees in my life when He rescued me.


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Volume 63, Issue 3 /
Belgians Deported to Slave Labor Camps
American volunteers distributing food to starving Belgians witnessed the dramatic deportations, when an estimated 120,000 men were taken to factories in Germany.
Jeffrey B. Miller
Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue
2 years ago By Edwin S. Grosvenor
At the start of World War I, the German Army invaded neutral Belgium and marched into Brussels on August 20. The occupation would be disastrous for the civilian population.
Before the start of World War I in August 1914, the Belgian village of Virton, with its hilly streets, massive Catholic church, and remnants of medieval walls, was home to 3,500 Walloon, or French-speaking, residents. Located just south of the Ardennes region and less than five miles north of the French border, Virton was the principal town of the small Belgian region known as Gaume, which boasted a warmer microclimate than areas around it. Gently rolling green hills and lush pockets of forest were peaceful dividers between picturesque ancient towns and villages.
Virton, a small provincial center in the French-speaking part of Belgium, suffered from a massacre of 200 men, women, and children, and then the deportation of many of its able-bodied men to German slave camps.
When war came, it did not pass lightly over Virton and the surrounding villages. During the invasion, more than 200 men, women, and children were dragged from their homes and executed in one of the worst massacres of the time. Many houses were partially or completely destroyed.
Across Belgium the Germans outlawed all movement outside a person's neighborhood without a properly authorized Passierschein (safe conduct pass). A constant barrage of affiches commanded Belgians in all matters of life. These placards came from either the local German commander or from Belgium's German governor general, Baron von Bissing.
Joe Green worked for the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) and witnessed the deportation of Belgians from Virton in late autumn 1916.
Any disobedience was met with harsh fines and sometimes imprisonment.
Nearly two and a half years of occupation had passed when stories of "slave raids" crept into Virton long before the German affiche was posted. When an official proclamation appeared on the town's walls in late 1916, people read the notice of their turn in the upcoming deportation of Belgian men more with horrified resignation than surprise. It ordered all men between 18 and 55 from the town and the surrounding villages to appear the next day at Virton's Saint Joseph's College. The men were to be there at 7:00 a.m. with blankets and three days' rations. Nothing was said about what would happen to them or where they would go.
Germans ordered all men of Virton to appear at the college next morning. "No one slept throughout the night," recalled Green.
"No one slept throughout the night," wrote Joe Green, an American civilian who witnessed the event. "The women were busy mending and packing clothes and blankets. The men were settling their affairs. The notaries' offices were crowded with men making their wills. The priests and the burgomasters [mayors] and the leading citizens moved all night from house to house, giving words of encouragement and advice, and promising to look after the wives and children left behind."
Green was 29 years old, with thick dark-brown hair and a heavy moustache that reinforced his intense look. An air of seriousness rarely left him, and his temper could be like a firecracker—quick and explosive. He did not suffer fools lightly.
And yet, that evening in Virton as he walked among the people he was sworn to help feed, he had to contain his anger and sense of injustice—he was the provincial chief delegate of the American-led Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) and had sworn on his honor as a gentleman to remain neutral when serving in German-occupied Belgium.
The "Rape of Belgium" became a rallying cry for opposition to the German aggression, and turned neutral Americans against the Central Powers..
The next day dawned heavy, with low-lying pewter clouds and snow that changed back and forth to rain as it fell quietly. The sense of dread and foreboding was heightened by a reminder of the fighting to the south as the big guns thundered off in the distance toward Verdun.
Those who did not obey the affiche were taken from their homes by German soldiers wielding rifles with fixed bayonets. Protests, explanations, and pleadings were lost on the German soldiers, who responded with rough handling and rifle butts to motivate the Belgian men. Women and children stood by helplessly as they watched their husbands, fathers, or brothers forced into the street. They joined others—the ones who had heeded the affiche—trudging toward Saint Joseph's College. Most of them were workmen dressed in traditional Belgian corduroy pants, coarse shirts, and peasant caps. If it had been farther north in Flemish territory, many would have had on sabots (wooden shoes), but this was Walloon country, so heavy work boots were what most wore.
By 7:00 a.m. the streets around the college were clogged with people. Green was watching and tried to remain calm as "the men, each with his sack on his back, were herded like cattle, village by village. The women and children, kept at a distance, stood in compact masses, wailing, moaning, wringing their hands. Order was kept by the Uhlans, especially brought from France for the purpose."
German uhlans were lance-carrying cavalry who had become infamous from stories of their brutality during the invasion. When it came to crowds, these cavalrymen knew how to control restless, desperate people. They would ride up and down, using their horses to cut wide swaths through the throng, clearing a path, breaking up little knots of people, always keeping them moving so a crowd could not gather in one place. Each uhlan carried a long lance that had a pennant near the end and a steel, razor-sharp tip. He would carry the pike loosely in hand, not resting in the stirrups, and would brandish it at will above the heads of the women and children.
For the Belgian men in line, one word from a German officer would change their lives forever. "Left" was freedom. "Right" was forced deportation.
In Virton, the men who were corralled outside Saint Joseph's College were called in groups by village. As they stepped forward, they were shoved and shouted at by the soldiers and formed into a single line that led through the gate into the courtyard of the college. There the Belgians found a long table and four German officers—the men who would decide their fate.
No time was given for any meaningful review or analysis of the health, employment status, or general fitness of each man. Any objections Green might have made were ignored. "Scarcely any questions were asked. There was no time for questions. The examinations averaged less than ten seconds per man." Each man showed his identity card, which had his name, age, and profession. He then waited for the last officer to make his pronouncement, a one-word command in German: links, left, or rechts, right.
By September 1914, Belgians throughout the country had no choice but to join the soup-kitchen lines as the country quickly consumed its dwindling supplies.
Left was freedom. Right was forced deportation.
Green watched as "those who passed to the right disappeared, waving a last farewell" as an "agonized shriek went up from some woman in the crowd." And as more men disappeared, the crowd become more agitated. Women kept trying to break through the barricade of soldiers to "say one last word to a husband or a son."
The horrifying scene continued to unfold as the young American bore witness. The women were "pushed back roughly into the crowd, often with kicks and blows. In a short time all the women in the front rows of the crowd were being beaten by the soldiers, both with fists and with the butts of guns. This indescribable scene went on for over half an hour, in plain sight of the groups of [Belgian] men, many of whom were weeping unrestrainedly from rage and helplessness. Finally an officer came out of the court[yard] and put an end to the worst of the brutality."
As shrieking women were beaten, a third of the men of Viron were loaded on cattle cars for the trip to Germany.
As the rain and snow continued to fall, the men marked for deportation were herded by German soldiers with fixed bayonets to the train station. Cattle cars were waiting, and the men were shoved in. Each car had a recommended capacity of only eight horses or 40 men, yet the Germans were known to force up to 60 men into one car. The Virton men probably fared no better.
Meetings were held around the U.S. to protest German treatment of the Belgians.
By nightfall the Virton train, packed with its human cargo, was gone. As the train had pulled away from the station, the men had no doubt been singing, like many before them, the Belgian and French national anthems, "La Brabançonne," and "La Marseillaise." Any women and children lining the tracks who had been watching carefully might have seen a few small scraps of paper tossed from the moving cattle cars—hastily scribbled notes from deportees wanting to send one last message to loved ones.
In the end, about a third of the men from Virton were taken and, as Green stated, "almost none under the age of 25 . . . escaped." The nearby village of Ethe was hit the hardest—only 17 "able-bodied men remaining out of a population of 1,500. The women and children will be unable to cultivate the fields next spring. In one family in particular, four little girls are left alone. The mother was shot at the beginning of the war. The father and elder brother are now carried off to Germany.
"The Industrial School at Ethe lost 36 out of its 40 remaining students. This in spite of the formal promise of the Germans that none of the students would be taken."
Green was shocked and horrified and would never forget what he saw that day in Virton. He ended his official account: "The deportations go on. The Province of Liège, Greater Brussels, and many other localities have not yet passed through the ordeal. Belgium waits."
He was much more forthright when he wrote his parents about the deportations, dropping any pretense of neutrality: "They are carried out with the last degree of brutality. They are utterly unwarranted by the situation in Belgium and they may simply be regarded as the latest and worst manifestations of that systemized German barbarity which must be crushed."
The genesis of the deportations—and how the Belgians and a small group of Americans that included Joe Green reacted to them—were all part of a much larger story that had its roots in the early stages of the war.
Neutral Americans Become Part of the War
Belgium was cut off by the war and 10 million civilians were a risk of starving.
That larger story was of the American-led, non-governmental Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) and its Belgian counterpart, the Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation (CN), which joined forces to try and save nearly 10 million Belgian and northern French civilians from starving to death.
Food relief on such a massive scale had never been attempted before—by governments or private citizens—and was considered impossible during times of war.
At the start of the war, Herbert Hoover was a 40-year-old mining engineer who was a no-nonsense, ambitious, get-it-done kind of American. He organized and build the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB).
Herbert C. Hoover thought otherwise.
When the war broke out on Aug. 4, 1914, Hoover was a highly successful mining engineer living in London with his wife and two children. He turned 40 on August 10 and was considering public service or politics for the next chapter of his life. Events would quickly offer a unique path.
With the outbreak of war, more than 100,000 American tourists were suddenly trapped in Europe as most transportation, communications, and financial systems were disrupted. Wealthy expats formed charitable committees to help their fellow citizens get home. Hoover assembled a group that became the prominent American tourist relief organization in Britain.
As his charitable work was winding down in October 1914, Hoover heard that more than 7 million civilians in German-occupied Belgium would begin to starve if nothing was done. Belgium, which was slightly smaller than Maryland, was the most densely populated and most industrialized country in Europe and imported nearly 80 percent of all its food before the war. With the German occupation, the country was cut off from the rest of the world, most industries were shuttered, tens of thousands were out of work, and stored food supplies were rapidly being consumed. The Germans steadfastly refused to feed the Belgians. Mass starvation was imminent as autumn turned towards winter.
Responding to the need and ignoring his own mining concerns, Hoover threw himself into the formable task of doing the impossible—feeding an entire nation trapped in the middle of a world war. On Oct. 22, 1914, he and a small band of Americans formed what would become the CRB, with the stated tasks of gaining agreement for the food relief from the belligerents, buying tons of food, shipping it to neutral Rotterdam, loading the food onto hundreds of canal barges for entry into Belgium, then storing it in warehouses.
The American relief effort led by Hoover and the CRB was the largest ever attempted. The German authorities cooperated at first to keep neutral America out of the war.
Once the food was in Belgium, the CRB would turn the food over to the provincial committees of the non-governmental CN for food preparation and distribution to more than 7 million Belgian civilians. By early 1915, the CRB had agreed to also take on more than 2 million northern French civilians who were trapped behind German lines.
Because of America's status as a neutral country, the food was officially consigned to the U.S. Minister of the Legation in Brussels, Brand Whitlock. One stipulation from the British was that neutral Americans be present in Belgium to guarantee the Germans did not take the food and that the food was fairly and evenly distributed. These men became known as CRB delegates.
But where could Hoover get immediately American men who would drop everything, work for free, and go into the unknown of German occupied Belgium to do a job no one could describe? He could not wait for the recruiting of men who had to sail from America.
In the end, these first responders found him. He was approached by students at Oxford (mostly Rhodes scholars) who were about to take six weeks for winter break. Hoover quickly took them up on their offer to spend their break in Belgium. Many of them stayed much longer than their initial six weeks.
Throughout the war, the relief efforts faced huge logistical challenges, international intrigues, and internal conflicts between the CRB and CN leaders. In an incredible twist of fate, Hoover and the leader of the Belgian CN, Émile Franqui, had been on opposite sides of a court case in China years before and disliked each other. Additionally, the CRB delegates had to deal with the British military who didn't trust the CRB to keep the food out of German hands, the German authorities who believed many of the delegates were Allied spies, and a faction of Belgians who resented their presence and tried to limit their authority.
All such conflicts paled, however, when the Germans began the deportation of Belgian men in late 1916.
The Belgian Unemployed Lead Ultimately to the Deportations
Nearly 40% of the Belgian men had been thrown out of work by the occupation.
The German occupation had thrown many Belgians out of work. These unemployed, or chômeurs, were a substantial portion of the population. In pre-war Belgium, the total number of civilians working in commerce and industry was nearly 1.8 million. With the start of the occupation, the first enrollment of classified unemployed across the country totaled 760,000, and when dependents of those unemployed were added on, the total came to nearly 1.4 million people.
Added to these chômeurs were Belgians who could have worked for the Germans but refused. They cited The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 (multilateral treaties regarding the conduct and laws of war) that declared people in occupied territory could not be forced to do work that would help the conqueror's war efforts. While it's true that most Belgians employed in essential services such as transportation, water, and power did return to work after the invasion, resentment was building and would soon lead to action by some.
Most of Belgium was occupied by the Germans after August 1914.
The CRB did its part to aid the unemployed. It ultimately hired thousands of Belgians in ancillary relief work—everything from chauffeurs for the delegates' cars to stenographers, typists, translators, general office personnel, and even mechanics to keep the motorcars running.
Initially, the chômeurs were not an issue with the Germans because they were included in the total population covered by the CRB's and the CN's relief efforts. In fact, one of the major tenets of the CRB, according to Hoover, was that no one could be denied food because of employment status. The concept was that all Belgians must be allowed access to relief—then, and only then, those who could pay would pay, and those who couldn't pay (such as the unemployed and dependents) would receive charity.
Through 1914, the Germans generally went along with the unemployed being part of general relief. They issued statements assuring the Belgians and the world that Belgian men of military age and the unemployed would not be singled out for forced labor or for the nearly inconceivable idea of deportation.
But time, a stalemated war, and the realities of the military's need for bodies were strong inducements to change German minds.
In 1915, things began to change. German governor general of Belgium, Baron von Bissing, attempted to prod Belgians back to their jobs or to work for the Germans. The first moves were not to force Belgians to work; they were to entice volunteers. Some skilled workmen were offered wages as a high as £2 per day (equivalent to $200 in U.S. dollars today).
The German offers to work, however, fell mainly on patriotically deaf ears. Most preferred to live either on Belgian half wages or on the monetary assistance of the CN and the food assistance of the CN and CRB. The Belgians saw any work performed for the Germans as war work that was directly against their country, against the Allies, and against the stipulations of The Hague Conventions. Across Belgium and northern France, few accepted the German work offers, as most began what some termed the "strike of folded arms."
By 1915, Germans militarists were losing patience and calling for putting captive people to work.
While this labor resistance was tolerated for a while, by the spring of 1915 the Germans were losing what little patience they had had, especially when the unemployed in Belgium and northern France were living off the food relief of the CRB and CN while Germans had to be brought in to do the work.
Even in Germany there were numerous articles that called for the German authorities to put all captive peoples to work—forcibly if necessary—as a way of replacing those who were serving in the German Army.
On one side were the German militarists. Their thinking was obvious—if the Belgians and northern French could be forced to work in jobs currently being done by Germans, then those Germans would be free to join the armed forces.
On the other side was the German civilian government in Berlin. It seemed reluctant to implement forced labor, most probably over a concern that worldwide opinion would be strongly against any such action.
Numerous skirmishes between the Germans and Belgian workers through 1915 and early 1916 escalated the situation.
The Americans were in a tough position regarding the coercion of workers and deportations. The Germans were officially breaking no guarantees that had been made regarding relief when they tried to force the unemployed to work, or even to deport them. But the moral issue still remained that the Germans' actions were barbaric and inhumane. As Hoover explained, there were "no technical violations of relief guarantees," but this didn't mean complaints by the CRB weren't filed and arguments weren't made to try and stop the Germans. The points Hoover made were twofold, that the coercion of workers would have "disastrous effects . . . not only on neutral opinion, but on the conduct of relief."
Hoover had to tread carefully and not challenge the Germans directly, to keep them from shutting down the food relief.
Hoover knew the CRB could not afford to make a direct, moral challenge, which might lead the Germans to shut down the food relief. Instead, Hoover worked the edges of the issue, trying to convince the Germans that coercion and deportation were not in the true interests of Germany, but never stating they were not legally allowed to do so.
In August 1916, there was a major power shift in Germany that would impact the Belgian situation, The relatively moderate civilian leadership of Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg had been replaced by the more aggressive military leadership of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff.
In early September 1916 another larger change began when Hindenburg demanded of his own country the full mobilization of Germany, which meant implementing conscription. Many Germans did not like the idea of conscription and there were calls in the German press for complete utilization of manpower in the occupied territories of Belgium and Poland before full conscription should be enacted in Germany.
On Tuesday, October 3, 1916, the German General Headquarters issued a decree announcing mass deportations with no destination given, no work identified, and little or no regard for employment status. The decree stated that the "voluntary or involuntary" unemployed "may be compelled to work even outside the place where they are living." Anyone who resisted could face up to three years in prison and a fine of 10,000 marks.
This was no sporadic effort in a specific place to get the unemployed to work for the Germans, as had been in most cases before. This was mass deportations of all men on a countrywide scale.
At stake were approximately 1.6 million Belgian men—employed and unemployed—between the ages of 17 and 55. Reportedly, the German General Staff had prepared a deportation plan for all the occupied territories within the German Empire. For Belgium, the plan called for 350,000 to 400,000 men to be deported, which meant almost one in four would be taken.
The CRB was drawn deeper into the issue as the Germans in many cases deported Belgians who were employed as critical support staff for the relief.
The Americans Bear Witness
Brand Whitlock was U.S. Minister of the Legation in Brussels when the war broke out. Hoover Institution Archives.
It was during this highly volatile time in late autumn 1916 that Joe Green watched and reported in restrained anger the brutal taking of men from the small town of Virton, in Luxembourg Province. Fellow CRB delegates were seeing and experiencing the same thing, as they stood helplessly on the frontlines of the deportations. All they could do was file reports and hope the brutal "slave raids," as many called them, were somehow stopped.
U.S. Legation Minister Brand Whitlock wrote, "The delegates were instructed to be present [at the deportations] and to render any service they could, and Mr. [Hallam] Tuck and Mr. [ John A.] Gade, delegates of the C.R.B. in the province of Hainaut, went over to the commune of St. Ghislain on the morning of October twenty-ninth to witness the selections, to prevent the seizure of the employees of the C.N. and the C.R.B., and to distribute food to those who were deported."
Whitlock reported that when Gade and Tuck came back from observing the deportation they were "sick with horror and full of rage."
The two men, however, would have to watch many such events. Gade explained that they had to keep "rushing back and forth to whatever place in [the] province a deportation was to take place, in order to protect and intercede as far as possible for . . . the Belgian employees and office force of the Relief Commission."
And to control the Belgians, Gade explained, the scene was nearly always the same. In the city of Mons, there were German soldiers, "endless rows of gray, with glistening bayonets [that] lined the roads and barred all approaches. Here and there a mitrailleuse [machine gun] had been set up. Distracted, desperate women, followed by howling children, ran up and down the fields beyond, pleading—aye, praying on their knees—to be permitted to give their men the bundles of clothing just purchased by the sale of the last household articles. But they might as well have prayed to images of stone."
Such scenes did not escape the notice of the outside world.
The World Reacts to the "Slave Raids"
Shortly after the deportations began, the first reports filtered out of the occupied territories to the rest of the world. People around the globe were horrified at the stories of families ripped apart and cattle cars crammed with defiant men yelling, "We will not sign!" or singing the Belgian and French national anthems. To the rest of the world, the deportations quickly became known as "slave raids." Worldwide condemnation filled nearly every newspaper and magazine, while protest rallies were held.
In America, protests were held in multiple cities, including Boston and New York City. The New York Times reported that on Friday evening, Dec. 15, 1916, Carnegie Hall was "packed to capacity" with more than 3,000 people there to protest "against the crimes of the Imperial German Government in its treatment of the Belgian people." A letter from Teddy Roosevelt was read to loud applause, especially when it came to the statement that "as long as neutrals keep silent, or speak apologetically, or take refuge in the futilities of the professional pacifists, there will be no cessation in these brutalities."
By the end of the year, multiple countries had lodged official protests with the German government against the inhumanity of the deportations.
Despite the worldwide outcry and official government protests, the German military refused to change its policy. It even turned its back on the objections of its own people. In the German Reichstag, on Dec. 2, 1916, deputies of the minority Independent Socialist Democratic Party stood in the great chamber and protested the deportations. Nothing swayed the German military. Ludendorff stated that the outcry from the rest of the world showed only a "very childish judgment of the war."
Meanwhile, the Belgians were fighting back as best they could.
A Belgian Moral Voice Rings to the Rafters
The Belgians had not taken the deportations quietly, despite the fact they lived under the harsh German rule. Towns and cities across the country had officially protested with letters to von Bissing that were written and signed by numerous local dignitaries. Countless burgomasters (mayors) and committee members had refused to hand over lists of the unemployed that would have helped the Germans. And some Belgian men, deciding not to chance a cattle car to Germany, had attempted the dangerous clandestine border crossing into Holland so they could join the free Belgians holding the little sliver of free Belgium with King Albert.
Ultimately, about 120,000 Belgian men were torn from their families and deported to factories in Germany.
Besides the individual Belgian efforts to thwart the Germans in their deportations, there was one mighty voice that could not, and would not, be silenced. It was the moral voice of the country, and it sprang from the tall, willow-reed-thin man of the red cloth—Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier.
Ever since penning a patriotic December 1914 pastoral letter that had circulated around the world, the cardinal had shown no reluctance to reacting strongly over any perceived German injustices against the Belgians. Nearly everything Mercier did either frustrated or angered the German governor general.
To many Belgians, Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier was the moral voice of the country. The cardinal spoke out numerous times against the deportations.
Von Bissing used house arrest as a way of keeping Mercier contained, and he tried hard to stop the circulation of any letters or statements from the cardinal, but they always seemed to find their way out to the rest of the country and the world. The solution of full imprisonment or even execution (such as what others suffered for lesser crimes) was unthinkable to the German. He knew his primary job as governor general was maintaining civilian order, and he believed wholeheartedly in the importance of the Catholic Church in helping to keep that order.
Mercier wrote numerous letters to von Bissing and one letter to the world that he had smuggled out of Belgium. His world appeal was widely circulated and helped stimulate unofficial and official condemnation of the deportations. While the pope and countries around the globe did stand up and protest, nothing shook the German military's resolve to deport Belgian workers.
On Sunday, Feb. 11, 1917, Mercier was visited by the Spanish Minister to Belgium, the Marquis de Villalobar, and the Belgian minister of state, Monsieur Levie. They had a plan to gather the most notable men in Belgium to sign an appeal that would be taken directly to the Kaiser. Mercier agreed immediately not only to sign the document but also to write it.
Mercier wielded as his sword what he knew best, religion. "Your Imperial Majesty prides yourself on your loyalty to your faith. May we not then be allowed to remind you of the simple and yet striking words of the Gospel, 'Do unto others that which you would have done to yourself '? . . . We venture to hope that your Majesty will be guided by but one sentiment—that of humanity."
On Friday, March 9, 1917, word came back to Belgium with the Emperor's answer. No doubt contrary to what his generals wanted, the Kaiser ordered that all those who had been mistakenly deported as unemployed be returned and that the deportations would be suspended until further orders. On March 14, the imperial degree was officially announced in Brussels publications.
In March 1917 the Kaiser decreed the deportations suspended.
The Kaiser's decree was a great, but not complete, victory. Only those who had been taken by mistake—meaning men who had jobs when the deportations were supposedly taking just the unemployed—would be returned. Nothing had been said about the vast majority who were unemployed and had been taken forcibly, or of the reported 10,000 to 13,000 who had signed contracts to work for the Germans (whether because they wanted to or because they felt signing would get their families better treatment).
Still, it was a significant victory. After more than a year, and after more than 120,000 had been ripped from their families (no official count was ever made)—the slave raids were over. And some of the men were coming home.
Some Deportees Return—Barely Alive
Many deportees didn't return until after the war, and others never made it back.
True to the Kaiser's word, train cars of Belgian men began to return home. Their condition spoke of harsh treatment and severe deprivation.
Belgian workers were often in poor health when they finally returned, with tuberculosis, pneumonia, and frostbite.
One CRB delegate, William Percy, confirmed in March 1917 how physically poor the returning Belgian men were. "I saw trainloads of them arriving in the Antwerp station. They were creatures imagined by El Greco—skeletons, with blue flesh clinging to their bones, too weak to stand alone, too ill to be hungry any longer." Writing much later, during World War II, Percy commented, "This was only a miniature venture into slavery, a preliminary to the epic conquest and enslavement of whole peoples in 1940, but it seemed hideous and unprecedented to us in 1917."
He neglected to mention that "left" or "right" became words that defined the brutality of the forced deportations. None who were taken in WWI Belgium, however, could have guessed that those two words would foretell even greater terror only 24 years later as they became forever linked with the horrors of World War II's Holocaust.
"I saw trainloads of them arriving in the Antwerp station... skeletons, with blue flesh clinging to their bones, too weak to stand alone." —American CRB delegate William Percy
Prentiss Gray gave more details of the condition of the returning deportees when he wrote on Thursday, March 1, 1917, "Today a trainload of returned Deportees pulled into Antwerp from Aix la Chapelle. They had been en route twenty-four hours and during that time fifty-two had died. Every man was carried from the train on a stretcher to the hospital, broken wrecks of humanity for which the Germans could find no more use. Therefore they were being returned to Belgium so as not to use up hospital space or burial crews."
Gray followed the ambulances to the hospital and spoke to some of the men. "They told stories of their daily ration of a bowl of fish-head soup and a morsel of black bread no larger than your fist: stories of standing in the snow for hours without covering, guarded by a feldwebel [sergeant] who struck them across their freezing fingers when they tried to put their hands in their pockets: stories of standing in icy water till their feet were frost bitten: stories of starvation, of floggings and inhuman treatment."
Admitting some of the stories might be "overdrawn," Gray stated strongly, though, that "there were unmistakable signs in their physical condition of suffering beyond human endurance. Evidence there was plenty in frozen feet and hands, great red welts on their emaciated bodies, pneumonia and tuberculosis ran riot among them."
After America entered the war, Herbert Hoover returned to the US. Pres. Wilson placed him in charge of the Food Administration, which encouraged Americans to conserve for the war effort.
Many of the deported would not get back to Belgium until the war was over, and others never made it back home.
America Enters The War
When America did enter the war in April 1917, all American CRB delegates were ordered out of Belgium, but the relief continued with neutral Dutch and Spanish delegates. Both the British and the Germans agreed that Hoover could continue as the head of the CRB and run the relief from London. By the end of the war, the CRB and CN had created the largest food relief program the world had ever seen.
Hoover was soon called back to America by President Wilson to become director of the U.S. Food Administration. He would become known as America's "food czar" and instituted a voluntary program of food conservation that became known as "Hooverizing." Homemakers across America embraced the austerity measures to show support for the war and for the man known as the Great Humanitarian.
In the end, the deportations of Belgians were psychologically devastating to the entire civilian population behind the German lines and played a role in shifting American thought and politics away from neutrality.
Author Jeffrey B. Miller has published his extensive research and documented the story of the CRB and CN within the context of German-occupied Belgium in WWI CRUSADERS, which was released on the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, Veterans Day, November 11, 2018.
We hope you enjoyed this essay.
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Welcome to Thursday's edition of the Daily Fantasy Rundown with "dinkpiece", "leonem" and"TheNumbersGuy". Each day throughout the NBA season our daily NBA scouting reports will highlight the best top, value and cheap plays of the day based on the Daily Fantasy Industry's pricing for salary cap games. Our goal is to bring analysis that will help you build rosters that put you in position to win consistently over the long term.
Russell Westbrook (OKC) – Westbrook is often the top point guard option when he plays, and only Stephen Curry (who isn't playing tonight) rivals him for the top plays honors consistently. Even with Kevin Durant back in the Thunder lineup, Westbrook's opportunities remain high. Sure, Westbrook is a different beast without Durant in the lineup (36 minutes, 42 percent usage rate and 51 percent assist rate without Durant this season), but he's playing 34 minutes per game to go along with a 38 percent usage rate and 44 percent assist rate with Durant. Westbrook's current value threshold around the industry sits at 49 Fantasy points, which is fair relative to his opportunities and production with Durant in the lineup. We realize that the matchup isn't any good (Miami is ranked second in defensive efficiency against point guards), but on a night where there's good lower dollar values at other positions except point guard, using Westbrook in cash games is feasible. We're still a bit more comfortable targeting point guards like Isaiah Thomas and Damian Lillard, who can provide a discount over Westbrook's price tag and give you a great chance at meeting their individual thresholds. Nonetheless, Westbrook is in play in all formats and he's a viable "stud" to build around in cash games.
Damian Lillard (POR) – Lillard's matchup is a bit more favorable than we originally thought. The Pacers are ranked ninth in defensive efficiency against point guards, but they've been clobbered by the three ball (ranked dead last in three point percentage allowed to point guards). The Trail Blazers offense runs through Lillard (31.5 percent usage rate, 34.6 percent assist rate), and he's already chucked 150 three point attempts this season (averaging eight threes and he's knocking down three per game). There are no three point bonuses on FanDuel (averaging 39.5 FanDuel points), which is a big reason why Lillard is averaging three more Fantasy points per game on a site like DraftKings (averaging 43.3 DraftKings points) where there's a bonus for each three pointer made. In a competitive environment (two point spread), Lillard is in play in cash games around the industry. However, the best probability for Lillard to meet value exists on DraftKings. His cash game value is at its highest on that site, where he only needs an average performance to come within a point of his value threshold and he offers more upside due to bonuses for threes and double-doubles.


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The FBI announced Friday it is reopening its investigation of Hillary Clinton regarding her handling of confidential emails while she was Secretary of State.
The move comes only 11 days before the general election and may be as controversial as this summer's announcement by the FBI director James Comey that no prosecution would be forthcoming. Friday's announcement cited the discovery of additional emails not previously seen in the earlier investigation as the reason for reopening the probe.
Yet the timing has to be questioned, especially because one major attack on Clinton has been the Twitter hashtag #CrookedHillary. The reopening of the probe plays into the attack theme.
See below the letter sent by James Comey reopening the case.


text:
The Commission of 125
Timeline & Reports
The creation of The University of Texas was mandated by the Texas Constitution of 1876, which called for the establishment of "a university of the first class."
This mandate has inspired The University's proud pursuit of excellence since its inception.
Today, The University of Texas is an institution that has earned respect as a leading university. It also makes contributions of significant value to the state of Texas and its citizens. Still, it is not yet among the handful of finest universities in this country, and there is more that it could do for the public it serves.
The core purpose and core values of The University of Texas are:
Core purpose
To transform lives for the benefit of society.
Learning – a caring community, all of us students, helping one another grow.
Discovery – expanding knowledge and human understanding.
Freedom – to seek the truth and express it.
Leadership – the will to excel with integrity and the spirit that nothing is impossible.
Individual opportunity – many options, diverse people and ideas, one university.
Responsibility – to serve as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond.
The constitutional mandate and the core purpose and values informed the work of the Commission of 125, a group of citizens appointed in 2002 by Larry R. Faulkner, president of The University of Texas. The Commission was convened for the purposes of reinvigorating UT's aspirations for the next 25 years, determining what must occur to achieve them, and recommending a course of action. Eight committees studied and debated a broad range of issues, and their recommendations became the basis of this report.
Integral to each recommendation is the conviction that The University should pursue excellence passionately and rigorously. Its future operational decisions, at every level, must adhere to the goal of being "first-in-class." Those in leadership positions throughout UT must be accountable for the performance of their area of responsibility. The University needs the best faculty, the best students, the best research capability, the most enthusiastic and supportive alumni, and the best administration and organizational structure to deliver excellence.
As part of its work, the Commission also adopted a vision statement for The University:
The University of Texas will be the best in the world at creating a disciplined culture of excellence that generates intellectual excitement, transforms lives, and develops leaders. The University of Texas will define for the 21st century what it means to be a university of the first class.
The vision statement introduces the phrase "a disciplined culture of excellence." This phrase evokes both the history and the future of the institution. The seal of
The University states, "Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis," a Latin rendering of the words of Mirabeau B. Lamar, president of the Republic of Texas: "cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy."
A disciplined culture of excellence means excellence in all University endeavors, characterized by strong leadership and an engaged intellectual community, combined with individual and institutional accountability.
In order to create this disciplined culture of excellence, the Commission establishes two strategic initiatives. These two initiatives, which require complex, difficult, and yet crucial structural changes to The University of Texas, are explained in detail in Part One of this report. Part Two of the report covers sixteen recommendations necessary to support and maintain a disciplined culture of excellence, especially in regard to the daily operations of The University. It also proposes how The University of Texas can better serve both the state of Texas and the world.
The University of Texas has evolved into one of the major public universities in the United States. The University celebrates its status as a public institution and the resulting responsibility it bears. Today, many challenges face academic institutions of higher learning—funding, access, shifting demographics, and the need to adapt to a rapidly changing world. These challenges present both obstacles and opportunities, and they require creative solutions. The Commission of 125 firmly believes that The University of Texas can best serve society by fulfilling its aspiration to be the best public university.
Kenneth M. Jastrow, II
Chairman, The Commission of 125
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