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ethics corrupters
The Times Promises To Explain "How the NFL Stays So Popular, Despite Its Many Scandals"
September 11, 2022 / Jack Marshall / 5 Comments
It doesn't. But I can.
As the football season approaches, the New York Times muses about why television viewership for the NFL last season was its strongest in six years, the television networks committed about $110 billion for the rights to show the league's games for the next decade, and how the NFL can be on track to meet Commissioner Roger Goodell's goal of earning $25 billion in revenue annually in 2027. After all, the game and its players were once again engulfed in scandals during the off-season:
The Ethics Corruption Of The Democratic Party Is Apparently Complete
March 1, 2022 March 1, 2022 / Jack Marshall / 14 Comments
The fact that the radical feminist and pro abortion lobbies did it is no excuse. The party has allowed abortion to corrupt it. There need to be consequences.
The Women's Health Protection Act would codify Roe v. Wade and make all abortion restrictions illegal. Every Democratic Senator except one—Joe Manchin, of course—voted for the bill yesterday in lockstep with party leaders, despite its brutal, unethical and radical objective. [In the House as well, only one Democrat thought that the lives of full term unborn human babies were worth protecting.] The bill would allow doctors to abort unborn babies at any point in a pregnancy if they determine that allowing the pregnancy to continue to birth "would pose a risk to the pregnant patient's life or health."
Note the woke weasel words in that proposed law. Although the title of the bill and the long introductory argument for the law mention women prominently, the proposed wording of the law itself doesn't mention women anywhere, as an obvious sop to the trans community, which seeks to erase all gender distinctions.
Breaking! Joe Biden Wins The Gold Medal For Sexual Harassment Cluelessness With His Comments On Gov. Cuomo!
August 4, 2021 August 4, 2021 / Jack Marshall / 22 Comments
Jeez, somebody tell him…please? Not only are the President's comments on the findings released yesterday by New York state Attorney General Letitia James regarding NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo's serial sexual harassment, including his call for Cuomo to resign, are embarrassing and inappropriate, they are also…hmmm, let's see if I can cover them all…
…the babbling of an Ethics Dunce and legal ignoramus who still doesn't know what sexual harassment is, despite having engaged in it for decades as well as having been photographed while engaging in while Vice-President….
…a blinding example of hypocrisy and ethics estoppel, since while it is true that Cuomo should resign, Biden, of all people, as a sexual harasser himself, is among the last people on Earth (along with Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein and a few others) who has any business saying so…
…an Olympics-level achievement in ethics ignorance, as it not only pulls down gold medals in Ethics Duncery but also Unethical Quote of the Month, Incompetent Elected Official, Ethics Corrupter, and Jack Marshall Head Exploder (not to mention the blasts, perhaps fatal, also triggered in the craniums of Tara Reade, Lucy Flores, Amy Lappos, D.J. Hill, Caitlyn Caruso, Ally Call, Sofie Karasek, Vail Kohnert-Yount and others who experienced sexual harassment from Biden…
….in addition to the fact that it is an abuse of power and position for the President of the United States to inject himself into the matters of New York State, the justice system, and the fate of a duly elected official put in place by the citizens of New York. Continue reading →
Unethical Quote Of The Month: NBC Gymnastics Commentator Nastia Liukin
July 29, 2021 / Jack Marshall / 35 Comments
I'm not going to pull a single quote from former gymnast and current ethics corrupter Liukin's much-praised and shockingly awful letter slobbering all over Simone Biles. The whole thing is revolting, and as riddled with offensive anti-ethics as Sonny Corleone was riddled with bullets. Here it is—I'm going to letter each line for reference.
Dear Simone,
A. Thank you for showing the depth of who you are beyond an athlete as a leader, role model, mental health warrior, and person.
B. Thank you for epitomizing what the next generation of role models should be.
C. Thank you for creating a safer space for current and future athletes to unequivocally be themselves.
D. Thank you for helping the world realize that prioritizing your physical and mental health is the mark of a true champion.
E. Thank you for illuminating that nobody is defined by the depth of their trophy case, and that you don't owe anything to anyone but yourself and the pursuit of happiness.
F. Thank you for taking the sport of gymnastics to new heights as the unanimous GOAT. No one will be remembered for any single routine, competition, or medal.
G.You, however, will undeniably be remembered by many for the compassion and bravery shown here in Tokyo.
H.You came here as a gymnast, and you're leaving as a hero.
xo NL
Wait, I have to gag…ACK!!PTUI!GGGGACK!
I think it's past, but as I review this astounding exercise in gaslighting and designating as admirable what isn't, my gorge may rise again, so you have been warned. Well..
Comment Of The Day: "Simone Biles Betrayed Her Team…Stop Making Excuses For Her"
Well, I can write about the great issues of the day here or universal ethics principles, and attract crickets, but when a spoiled superstar female gymnast chokes on the Olympics stage, THAT attracts the most comments in a 24 hour period that Ethics Alarms has seen in months.
Actually, there is more of ethical significance to the Simone Biles Affair than is immediately apparent. The main issue, I think, may be the hypocrisy of feminists and sports journalists who rush to rationalize conduct by a young woman that no male athlete of any note would ever get away with. There are also profound issues of character, duties to one's team, the ethics of sport and the the narcissism that celebrity creates. There are also some issues that I expect to emerge down the metaphorical road. For example, I haven't yet encountered anyone arguing that criticism of Biles' choke is racist, but given the response in Japan to Naoimi Osaka's shocking loss in tennis, I expect that is coming. I also have written in my head the Ethics Alarms post responding to any post-Olympics product endorsement deals that come Biles' way.
Yet another issue is raised by the Comment of the Day by JStevens, in what appears to be his inaugural contributions here, as his reaction to the post, "Simone Biles Betrayed Her Team…Stop Making Excuses For Her"…
Ethics Corrupter: The Boston Red Sox
November 7, 2020 / Jack Marshall / 19 Comments
Sometimes, a mere "ethics dunce" designation isn't enough.
The decision, announced yesterday, by the Boston Red Sox to rehire disgraced manager Alex Cora to a two-year contract that will again put him at the helm of the team is disgusting and indefensible, unethical to the core. For me, it constitutes 2020's second major ethics offense by an organization and a sport that has been important on many levels throughout my life, substantially challenging my loyalty and affection.
I was going to call the post "Ethics Strike Two On the Boston Red Sox," but that formula would require me to give the team a third chance to disgrace itself before I called it "out" of my life, and I don't know if I can do that. Nonetheless, I'm going to attempt to keep the emotional component of this most recent ethics breach on the metaphorical bench in this post as I try to be objective.
I won't promise that I will succeed.
Cora was fired by the Red Sox in January after he was found to be the architect of the Astros' 2017 sign-stealing scheme, one of the worst scandals in Major League Baseball history, trailing only the 1918 Black Sox scandal and the illegal player steroid era in its degree of damage to the sport. Commissioner Rob Manfred later suspended Cora through the end of the 2020 postseason. The revelation that Cora, a bench coach for then Astros manager A. J. Hinch, had been at the center of an organized cheating scheme that helped bring the Houston Astros a World Championship also cast a shadow over the following year's World Championship achieved by the Boston Red Sox, which had hired Cora as its manager. Did the cheating mastermind from Houston bring his unethical ways to his first managing job? Why wouldn't he?
It's Time Again For The Ethics Alarms Mailbag! The Question: Wait, What? Your Vote In 2016 Was A Write In?
March 13, 2020 / Jack Marshall / 24 Comments
Here I was, all set to write a substantial post updating the newly launched Coronavirus Ethics Train Wreck, and I encountered this question in the comments to today's Warm-up, in reaction to my reply to another commenter:
"Wait…at the time you were lecturing all the commentariat about how it was unethical to "throw away your vote" by not voting for one of the two major political party candidates? When did you change your mind on that a do a write-in?"
The questioner was Tim Levier, one of five active Ethics Alarms regular commenters who date back to the old, still off-line (but coming back!) Ethics Scoreboard, so attention had to be paid. If he could have missed my late campaign reversal of the position he described–I would describe my stated logic a bit differently, as "the lesser of two evils is still the lesser of two evils—then that critical moment could have been missed by anyone, or even everyone.
Thus I went back into the October and November 2016 archives, which was fascinating.:
As always when I do this, I start wondering what became of some previously active commenters. Whither THE Bill? Where have you gone, wyogranny, T Bird, carcarwhite, joed68?
I know I take this too personally, but it still bothers me.
You know, this is damn good blog: thorough, extensive, unpredictable, well-written, diverse, funny, educational. I like it! The only one that comes close to being as interesting without descending into periodic eccentric weirdness or ideological rigidity was the old Popehat, and that's gone now. I worked hard on it that year, and have ever since. It should have a lot more traffic and influence than it does, but that's a reflection on the inadequacies and bad taste of those who don't come here. I'm proud of the product.
There. I said it.
The first time I expressed doubt in my position that I would have to hold back my gorge, defy my principles, and vote for Hillary Clinton was earlier than I thought. It was here, on September 25, 2016. The subject of the post was Clinton's campaign manager, Robbie Mook, saying that debate moderators should run interference for her and intervene to contradict and rebut Trump's assertions, "unlike every other Presidential debate and every legitimate and fair debate of any kind, where that responsibility rests with the debaters."
I responded to his Unethical Quote Of The Month by writing, in part, Continue reading →
Ethics Comes In Like A Lion Warm-Up, 3/1/2020: Dead Ethics Alarms In New York, London, And Washington, D.C.
That's my father's favorite March!
Mine too.
For some reason there has been a breakdown of civility in the comments lately. This has happened from time to time; something in the air or too many social media rants or something; I don't really care. You all know where the lines are; you cross them intentionally when you cross them. I appreciate the use of a vulgar word or harsh phrase as much as anyone; "asshole" is particularly tempting, because there is no non-vulgar term that quite captures the essence of its meaning. I also prefer to keep moderation light here, and for the most part, the select commenters who have passed my standards and answered the three questions at the bridge correctly usually make me proud, especially when I see what crawls onto other sites' comment sections. The would-be Ethics Alarms participants who send in entries like "Your a Trump-loving fuckface LOL!" are all stacked up in the spam vault, and you would not believe how many of those I have to read to maintain the high level of participants here. I do not care to read that kind of gutter residue on the blog itself.
I just trashed a full comment by a regular commenter here, something I have not done in over ten years, and I'm not happy about it. Let's keep that lapse the anomaly that it is.
1. From the "When ethics alarms don't ring" file. Pop Quiz! If you were on the staff of a fashion show about to begin at what the New York Times calls "New York's famed Fashion Institute of Technology"—which I have never heard of—and several of the models appeared backstage preparing to go out looking like this…
The answer is that no matter how high or low you were on the metaphorical totem pole, you would be obligated to throw a fit, phone the brass, tell everyone in sight that they are out of their minds, and do everything short of calling in a bomb threat to halt what you know without a shadow of a doubt will result in a public relations disaster.
Incredibly, not a single person raised the obvious objection except an African-American model-who refused to don the giant lips and monkey ears. After the predictable uproar, two F.I.T. administrators were suspended, and the school's president, Dr. Joyce Brown (who is African-American) issued a public statement admitting that the Feb. 7 show, intended to demonstrate the work of recent graduates of the school's M.F.A. program, "failed to recognize or anticipate the racist references and cultural insensitivities that were obvious to almost everybody else."
Wait—if they were obvious to almost everybody else, why were they not obvious to anyone involved in the show? Continue reading →
Morning Ethics Warm-Up, June 5, 2019: Ethics Corrupters In The House, The Senate, The White House, The Times….
June 5, 2019 June 5, 2019 / Jack Marshall / 27 Comments
The next morning was going to be a crucial one, but not exactly "good"…
1. How to expose a demagogue. Senator Elizabeth Warren is near the bottom of my ethics rankings of the various Democratic Presidential candidates, and not just because of the way she handled her crisis of color. She's a pure demagogue, and a particularly dangerous one, as she is a stirring speaker and apparently shameless.
It takes clarity of thought and rhetoric to expose demagogues, especially Warren's breed, which carry the trappings of authority—after all, she's a Harvard professor, so she must be smart (or so those who did not attend Harvard seem to think.) The President's favored tactic of name-calling is of limited value for this purpose, but Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the veteran mocked by Saturday Night Live because of his war wounds, is providing an ongoing seminar on how to expose Warren's dishonesty.
When Warren tweeted this high-sounding sentiment…
…Rep. Crenshaw zeroed in on its deception.
Note also the gently mocking imitation of Warren's flip use of "thing," so much more rhetorically effective than calling her "Pocahontas."
Here is how Crenshaw eviscerated another typical bit of Warren pandering…
Then there was this expert take-down….when Warren grandstanded with this…
Crenshaw pointed out exactly what was wrong with it…
Why, yes, that's exactly what it is.
2. Censorship and keeping the truth from the public is not ethical, nor is it a legitimate way to address problems in a democracy. Continue reading →
Anna Sorokin—Fick, Ethics Corrupter, And The New York Times Thinks She's A Victim
May 11, 2019 April 20, 2020 / Jack Marshall / 25 Comments
A New York jury this month found Anna Sarokin guilty of grand larceny in the second and third degrees and other charges that netted her a sentence of 4-12 years in prison. In previous years before being caught, she posed as "Anna Delvey," a fictional German heiress with a trust fund, and parlayed her scam into a luxury life-style of long stays in boutique hotels, a closet full of designer clothes, and late-night parting with Manhattan's glitterati.
Sorokin, 28, was really an attractive Russian immigrant with brass. She ducked bills, conned the trusting, , and once tricked a bank employee into giving her $100,000 she never intended to pay back. She couldn't have done any of this for so long or as successfully if she weren't young and comely, and also a stone-cold sociopath. I'd guess her story will soon be made into at least a Lifetime cable movie, if not a big budget vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence.
Anna is also a fick, that rare species chronicled on Ethics Alarms that openly revels in unethical wickedness. In two interviews with the New York Times, she made it clear that she's a shameless predator, telling the paper yesterday after her sentencing,
"The thing is, I'm not sorry. I'd be lying to you and to everyone else and to myself if I said I was sorry for anything. I regret the way I went about certain things."
She's still playing her con. Anna says she always intended to pay back the hotels, a private jet company and the banks she said, which she cheated out of more than $200,000. She just missed bilking a hedge fund into giving her a $25 million loan.
Well, yes, if you want to get technical about it, she had falsified some bank records, but only because she was in America and has big dreams. Don't all Americans? She wanted to start a $40 million private club, and potential investors pushed her to open it before they put up their own money. If you think about it, it all was really their fault, not poor Anna's.
Sorokin said was always fearful that she was vulnerable to men who would "cheer me on" and then seize control of her vision for the club, which she called the Anna Delvey Foundation. "My motive was never money," she said. "I was power hungry."
Oh! Well that's all right, then!
If her friends thought she had millions of dollars, it was just a misunderstanding. She said she never told anyone she had that kind of money. If they just jumped to conclusions—well, how is that her fault?
At least she has some self-awareness, telling the times, but unapologetically, "I'm not a good person."
Yet the Times published a long essay sympathetic to Anna Sorokin, a head-exploding piece (for me, so be careful if you read it) titled in the print version—I warned you—"Women Take The Cosmic Fall For Male Greed." It is a solid contender for the most unethical feature of the year, with rationalization-stuffed statements like these:
"Real justice," in this instance, is the prospect of more than 15 years in prison for defrauding wealthy acquaintances and financial institutions of $200,000, the sum of which would barely allow you to buy a studio apartment in Queens. "She stole from banks," one of the prosecutors argued during the trial as if to suggest she had taken oatmeal from the mouth of a baby. "She tried to steal from a hedge fund."Setting aside the dubious rhetorical gambit of soliciting sympathy for banks and hedge funds, Ms. Sorokin was clearly going to take a fall even if so many other white-collar villains still had their freedom."
(I confess: after reading that idiotic paragraph a week ago, I stopped and filed the article to return to when my cranium had healed.)
"Here is where we might recall that only one financial executive in the country, Kareem Serageldin, was ever sent to prison in conjunction with the collapses of moral judgment that caused the undoing of the global economy in 2008. Accused of concealing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses of mortgage-backed securities, to inflate his bonus at Credit Suisse, he also faced real justice. He was sentenced to 30 months."
All of which has nothing to do with Sarokin, or gender. Sarageldin made a plea deal, and got one because there was not a clear route to convicting him under existing laws. Sarokin's crime, in contrast, was as old as the hills, and she embraced it with gusto.
"Increasingly, it seems, the law has provided an able hand to a culture that takes perverse, outsize pleasure in spectacles of female desperation. Like many young women, Ms. Sorokin had an insatiable desire to be something that she wasn't: in her case, someone other than the daughter of a Russian HVAC salesman. She had come to New York without the pedigree or capital that buoys you in a city poisonously obsessed with status. New York is a transactional place, and Ms. Sorokin had nothing to trade, so she made herself into a rich, clubby, entrepreneurial German and lied and cheated a system already allocating so many unfair advantages…."
If you are keeping count, just these three paragraphs employ all or whiffs of these rationalizations from the Ethics Alarms list, with more to come:
1. The Golden Rationalization, or "Everybody does it"
2. Ethics Estoppel, or "They're Just as Bad"
2 A. Sicilian Ethics, or "They had it coming"
6. The Biblical Rationalizations
"Judge not, lest ye not be judged," and "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."
13A The Road To Hell, or "I meant well" ("I didn't mean any harm!")
19A The Insidious Confession, or "It wasn't the best choice."
22. The Comparative Virtue Excuse: "There are worse things."
23 A. Woody's Excuse: "The heart wants what the heart wants"
38. The Miscreant's Mulligan or "Give him/her/them/me a break!"
48. Ethics Jiu Jitsu, or "Haters Gonna Hate!"
55. The Scooby Doo Deflection, or "I should have gotten away with it!"
63. Yoo's Rationalization or "It isn't what it is"
68. The Volunteer's Dodge, Or "You Don't Pay Me Enough To Be Ethical!"
The hopelessly muddled ethics of the writer, regular Times columnist Ginia Bellafante is independently valuable as a throbbing example of how woke sensibilities distort and rot basic concepts of justice and the rule of law. She is, in fact, more of an ethics corrupter than the smug sociopath heading to jail. Bellafante is telling Times readers that a predator is really a victim, because of her gender.
I wonder how many people believe her?


First ever New Mexico vBeers meeting on June 30th @ 5:30pm. Come join us for a night of beer (soda if you dont drink) and virtualization. Help us make this a great event.
June 30th 2011 is actually a Thursday. I have no idea how it came up with Tuesday.


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Tag: Beijing Cuckoo Project
Beijing Schools Set Up Birding Clubs
Last Friday I visited the International School of Beijing (ISB). On the back of their involvement with the Beijing Cuckoo Project, the three students elected as "Cuckoo Ambassadors" have set up a birding club. Meeting on Friday afternoons, the group is planning to invite external speakers to talk about various aspects of birds and to arrange field trips to birding sites in Beijing. I was invited to speak about the Beijing Swift. After a short talk about the Beijing Swift Project and a great Q&A session, we discussed how ISB could help the declining population of Swifts, caused by the demolition of traditional buildings, many of which host Swift nests, and their replacement with new, shiny buildings with no nooks and crannies for Swifts. Including 'swift bricks' in the designs of new buildings is one way to help and, for existing buildings, retrofitting nest boxes is another. The students were keen to explore the idea of making nest boxes in their woodwork classes and erecting them on campus with a view to trying to attract a colony to their school and they will be discussing with their teachers this week. If they go ahead, they'll be the second school to commit to building and erecting swift boxes in Beijing after Harrow International School.
The first field trip, to Yeyahu, was scheduled for the following weekend.
Just two days later I was at the Olympic Forest Park helping to lead a group of students from Hepingli No4 Primary School. This school, too, has its own birding club and even has its own badge, proudly displayed on their backpacks! On a beautiful, but cold, morning we enjoyed good views of some of the park's residents including Grey Herons, Little Grebes and Light-vented Bulbuls.
Watching Little Grebes in the Olympic Forest Park with students from the Hepingli No4 Primary School Birdwatching Club
This group of Grey Herons was a major hit….
….as were the autumn leaves!
Li Xiaoyang was my chief apprentice!
It's heartening to see Beijing's schools setting up birding clubs and hopefully these two leading lights represent just the beginning of a new trend.
Update: On Monday 6 November I was informed that Kevin O'Shea, one of the teachers at the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB), has just set up a wildlife club for students, meeting every Wednesday. Congratulations, CISB!
Title image: the badge of Hepingli No4 Primary School's Birdwatching Society.
Posted on October 31, 2017 November 6, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, Beijing Swift, Canadian International School of Beijing, Hepingli No4 Primary School, ISB4 Comments on Beijing Schools Set Up Birding Clubs
The Beijing Cuckoo Project: Class of 2017
It's been an eventful ten days for the Beijing Cuckoo Project Team. After the elation of Flappy's and Meng's return to the breeding grounds, following monumental journeys of 32,000 and 26,000km respectively, there was little time to take a breath before beginning phase two of the Beijing Cuckoo Project. The plan for this year was based on two aims. First, to increase the sample of tagged cuckoos from Beijing and NE China to strengthen the dataset which would enable scientists to make more informed conclusions about the migration of cuckoos from East Asia. And second, to build on the public engagement to reach more people in China and overseas about the wonders of bird migration.
It's fair to say that this year has been challenging. Over the last ten days or so the Beijing Cuckoo Team has been valiantly navigating all manner of unfortunate incidents including Chinese visa issues, the British Airways IT shutdown, a major forest fire in Inner Mongolia (where we had hoped to tag some of the larger 'canorus' cuckoos) and a hospital visit for one team member, Dick Newell (thankfully, not serious)..
Dick Newell being sewn up at the local hospital in Yanqing after cutting his head on a low doorway.
Despite this, three Common Cuckoos (two females and one male) were fitted with tags at Yeyahu in Beijing. They are all of the bakeri subspecies and all were fitted with the tiny new 2g tags from Microwave Telemetry.
The Beijing birds have been given names and are already famous..
The first, a female, was named by the students from the International School of Beijing (ISB). Three students from ISB, along with two teachers, came to Yeyahu and witnessed the setting up of the nets, the capture, tagging and release of the bird. After a vote at school last week involving the whole year, the bird has been named 玉琳 (Yu-Lin). This means "precious jade in the forest".
玉琳 (YuLin), a female, was the first Beijing Cuckoo to be fitted with a tag in 2017.
Students from ISB helped put up the nets ahead of the catching operation
The release of Yu-Lin was filmed by Chinese national television (CCTV) as part of a documentary on Beijing's wildlife. The CCTV crew also managed to secure some fantastic footage of 梦之鹃 (Meng Zhi Juan) calling close by..!
The documentary will be shown on national television later this year and we'll publish a link as soon as the programme is available online.
The second cuckoo, a male, was named by staff at Yeyahu Wetland Reserve. The name given is 小松 (XiaoSong) which means "small pine tree".
小松 (XiaoSong), a male, was named by staff at Yeyahu Wetland Reserve.
Yeyahu Wetland Reserve is a wonderful setting. When here, it's hard to believe one is in Beijing.
The third cuckoo, another female, was named by the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre after an online public vote. After thousands of votes from members of the public, the name chosen was 六月 (LiuYue) meaning "June".
六月 (LiuYue), the third Beijing Cuckoo to be fitted with a tag in 2017.
Of course, being at Yeyahu, we were all hoping to catch a glimpse of 梦之鹃 (Meng Zhi Juan), one of the Beijing Cuckoos fitted with a tag in 2016. After his marathon journey of more than 26,000km to Mozambique and back, Meng was photographed at Yeyahu on 20 May. And, on 31st May, as we were catching the first Beijing Cuckoos of 2017, we were treated to several close encounters, including a magnificent fly-by just metres away in front of the students and teachers from ISB.
A wonderful moment: teacher Wayne Winkelman and students from ISB watch as Meng flies by.. Photo by Allison Wise.
It was wonderful to see and hear so many Cuckoos on the reserve and Meng looked fit and healthy as he interacted aggressively with other males and chased females in all directions.
Each of the three members of the Class of 2017 has its own webpage and their journeys will be added to the map on the dedicated Beijing Cuckoo Project webpage.
What will the next 12 months bring? One thing is for sure – they will entertain, educate, surprise and inspire us…
Huge thanks to my fellow Beijing Cuckoo Project Team members, including Chris Hewson, Dick Newell, Lyndon Kearsley, Wu Lan and Robert and Robin Jolliffe. The Beijing Cuckoo Project Team is extremely grateful to all the staff at Yeyahu Nature Reserve and the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, especially Shi Yang, Wu Mengwei, Aodan Zhula, Zhang Yaqiong and Wang Bojun for their fantastic support and wonderful hospitality.
The BTO's Chris Hewson enjoying the local transport.
Posted on June 9, 2017 June 10, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, BTO, BWRRC, CCTV, Chris Hewson, Dick Newell, Lyndon Kearsley, Rob Jolliffe, Robin Jolliffe, Wu Lan, yeyahu4 Comments on The Beijing Cuckoo Project: Class of 2017
After 12 Months, And Almost 27,000km, The First Beijing Cuckoo Is Back!
On 20 May 2017 Gao Jingxin was visiting Yeyahu wetland in Beijing when she spotted a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) sitting atop a bush. It was the first time she had seen cuckoos this spring and, as an accomplished photographer, she quickly snapped some photos. After studying the photos carefully, Jingxin realised there was something special about this particular cuckoo; an antenna was clearly visible protruding from the bird's back. Jingxin had been following the Beijing Cuckoo Project since the beginning and immediately thought the bird in her photos could be one of the Cuckoos fitted with a tag last spring. She sent the photos to me via WeChat and asked the question. When I opened the message I was elated and, I must admit, emotional. Having received a signal from Meng's tag on 20 May showing he had arrived back at Yeyahu, I simply replied "It's Meng" !
Gao Jingxin's photographs are a joy to see. They show Meng (full name Meng Zhi Jian, 梦之鹃), seemingly in fantastic condition, back on the breeding grounds and claiming a territory. Incredibly, he was photographed just a few hundred metres from the place where he was fitted with a tag on 25 May 2016.
梦之鹃 (Meng Zhi Juan), Yeyahu, 20 May 2017 (Photo by Gao Jingxin)
梦之鹃 (Meng Zhi Juan) seemingly in great condition after his marathon migration to Mozambique and back, Yeyahu, 20 May 2017 (Photo by Gao Jingxin)
The signals show that, since being fitted with his tag, Meng has crossed 16 borders involving 10 countries (China – Vietnam – Laos – Myanmar – Bangladesh – India – Somalia – Kenya – Tanzania Mozambique – Tanzania – Kenya – Somalia – India – Bangladesh – Myanmar – China). All without a passport or visa. And along the journey he's passed through 13 Chinese Provinces and crossed the Arabian Sea twice. In total, we calculate he has flown at least 26,990 kilometers in 12 months. That's equivalent to more than half way around the world. Wow.
Meng has given us so much new data about the life cycle of cuckoos from East Asia, including information about migration routes, stopover sites, the relationship between the timing of migration and weather/climatic patterns, not to mention the location of, and habitat preferences at, the wintering grounds. This is all vital information if we are to ensure the continued survival of the cuckoo and birds like them. Over the next few weeks and months we'll be analysing the data to ensure we make full use of the information he has provided.
Experience from Europe shows that cuckoos usually return to the same general area each year to breed so we had expected Meng to return to Beijing Municipality. However, to see him so close to the area where we caught him last May is testament to the incredible navigational ability of these birds, especially since they never even know their parents, let alone learn from them.
Gao Jingxin's photos are the perfect way to celebrate the first anniversary of the Beijing Cuckoo Project and they've rightly gone viral on Chinese social media.
The Project Team is deeply grateful to Gao Jingxin for allowing the use of her wonderful photos on the Birding Beijing website and for helping to complete the cycle of Beijing Cuckoo migration in style. We'd also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the project over the last 12 months, including the partners – the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), especially Chris Hewson, and the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), especially Shi Yang, Aodan Zhula, Wang Bojun and Wu Mengwei, the sponsors – Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Oriental Bird Club (OBC), British Birds Charitable Foundation and BirdLife International. Yeyahu Wetland Reserve, Cuihu Urban Wetland and Hanshiqiao Wetland for allowing us to tag birds at their reserves. To Wu Lan, Dick Newell, Lyndon Kearsley, Gie Goris, Geert De Smet, Susanne Åkesson, Aron Hejdstrom, Mu Tong, Li Qingxin and Rob Jolliffe who have all played vital roles. And a special thanks to all the members of the public who have either donated to the JustGiving site or followed and helped to spread the word on social media in China and overseas, and to the many schools and schoolchildren across China who have been so engaged in the project.
As we await the return of Flappy, currently in Hubei Province, all that remains is to say "Welcome Home, Meng" and to wish him a successful breeding season in Beijing.
The reaction to the Beijing Cuckoo Project on social media has been wonderful. Below are some of the recent reactions to the journeys of the Beijing Cuckoos. Keep them coming! And follow @BirdingBeijing on Twitter for updates.
Seriously this project is the best. You'd never guess Meng just flew halfway around the world. https://t.co/cooP2t44Js
— Kathleen McLaughlin (@kemc) May 23, 2017
@BirdingBeijing @RareBirdAlertUK @BirdGuides @orientbirdclub @ChuBailiang @_OSME @ChrisGPackham These photos of Meng were taken on May 20, China's 520 (I Love You) Day!!!
— pupu tintin (@pupu_tintin) May 23, 2017
@BirdingBeijing @RareBirdAlertUK @BirdGuides @ChuBailiang @CBCGDF_China @ChrisGPackham @BirdLife_News @orientbirdclub Astonishing feat perfectly done🥇🎈How I wish Meng could hold a presser for us😉Too many conundrums out there😉
— Ryben Royston (@RybenRoyston) May 21, 2017
Posted on May 25, 2017 May 30, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, Gao Jingxin, Meng Zhi Juan, 梦之鹃8 Comments on After 12 Months, And Almost 27,000km, The First Beijing Cuckoo Is Back!
The Beijing Cuckoo Project 2017
It's almost a year since satellite tags were fitted to five Beijing Cuckoos. Imaginatively named by local schoolchildren, these pioneers charmed, enthralled and astonished us with their incredible journeys through China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India. Then, after SKYBOMB BOLT's non-stop 3,700km flight across the Arabian Sea from India to Somalia, followed by thousands in near real-time on social media, we were able to say with certainty that cuckoos from east Asia migrate to Africa for the northern winter, a journey of more than 12,000km from Beijing. And, with media coverage across China and in more than ten countries across the world, including the front page of the New York Times, these birds captured the imagination on a scale that was beyond our wildest dreams.
Pupils at Dulwich International School vote for their favourite cuckoo names, June 2016.
As Flappy McFlapperson and 梦之鹃 (Mèng zhī juān), currently in Somalia, head 'home', the Beijing Cuckoo Project team is excited to announce plans for 2017.
The tracks and positions of the Beijing Cuckoos as at 3 May 2017. Flappy McFlapperson is shown by the red (and pink for the return journey) tracks, Meng Zhi Juan by the dark (and light blue for the return journey) tracks. As of 3 May they are less than 100km apart in Somalia on their return journey to China.
Subject to securing the necessary financial support, we're planning to tag 3 more bakeri Common Cuckoos in Beijing, using some new ultra-lightweight tags, in late May and then travel to Heilongjiang in north China to fit tags to a further 7 birds of the larger canorus race. As with the current project, the birds will be named by local schoolchildren who will follow their progress, learning about migratory birds and the challenges they face. We're proud to be working with the International School of Beijing, Hepingli No.4 Primary School and local schools in Heilongjiang.
The team will be attempting to tag cuckoos from 23 May into early June. You can follow our progress, and the return journeys of Flappy and Meng, by visiting the dedicated Beijing Cuckoo Project page and by following @BirdingBeijing on Twitter.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project is a partnership between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Liaoning University, facilitated by Birding Beijing. It involves members of the public and schools in genuine scientific discovery to help raise awareness in China of migratory birds and the environment. We consider every donor as part of the Project team. Please join us by donating to the JustGiving site. Thank you!
Title image: SKYBOMB BOLT, the Beijing Cuckoo tagged at Hanshiqiao Wetland, Beijing. Skybomb was the first of the Beijing Cuckoos to cross the Arabian Sea to Africa.
Posted on May 3, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, Flappy McFlapperson, Meng Zhi Juan, Skybomb Bolt3 Comments on The Beijing Cuckoo Project 2017
2016: What A Year!
Looking out of my apartment window on the first day of 2017, a blanket of toxic smog seems to drain all colour out of life and the perennial question question pops into my head – why do I live in such a polluted, congested place?
Header image: the view from my apartment at 1200 on 1 January 2017
The answer, of course, is the excitement and adventure of living in the capital city of the world's most populous nation. And when one considers the positives – the stunning biodiversity, the opportunity for discovery, the potential to make a difference and the wonderful people – the negatives are seen in context and they become far more tolerable.
Looking back, 2016 has been an astonishing year with many highlights, thankfully few lowlights, and progress made in some key conservation issues. Together, they give me a genuine sense of optimism for the future.
January began with the unexpected discovery, by two young Beijing birders, Xing Chao and Huang Mujiao, of a small flock of the "Endangered" Jankowski's Buntings at Miyun Reservoir. This was the first record of Jankowski's Bunting in Beijing since 1941 and, given the precipitous decline in the population of this poorly known species, a most unexpected find. The fact they were found by young Chinese is testament to the growing community of talented young birders in Beijing. There are now more than 200 members of the Birding Beijing WeChat group, in which sightings and other bird-related issues are discussed and shared. Huge credit must go to world-class birders such as Paul Holt and Per Alström who have been generous in sharing their knowledge of Chinese birds with the group. As well as the expanding WeChat group, there are now more than 400 members of the Beijing-based China Birdwatching Society (up from 300 in the last 12 months). So, although starting from a low baseline, the increasing membership, together with the increase in the number of local birdwatching societies, such as in Zigong in Sichuan, and the development of international birding festivals, such as in Lushun, Dalian, shows that there is the beginning of an upsurge in the number of young people interested in birdwatching. That is a positive sign for the future of China's rich and unique avifauna.
In tandem with the growth in birding is the emergence of a number of organisations dedicated to environmental education across China. Given the relative lack of environment in the Chinese State Curriculum, there is high demand amongst many parents for their children to develop a connection with nature. I'm fortunate to work with one such organisation – EcoAction – set up and run by dynamic Sichuan lady, Luo Peng. With a birding club for Beijing school kids, a pilot 'environmental curriculum' in two of Beijing's State Schools and bespoke sustainable ecotourism trips to nature reserves for families and schools, Peng deserves great credit for her energy and vision in helping to change the way people interact with the environment. I am looking forward to working with her much more in 2017.
Luo Peng in her element – with local children in Hainan
After the boon of seeing Jankowski's Buntings in Beijing, a lowlight in late January was the desperately sad passing of a much-loved mentor and friend, the inspirational Martin Garner. Martin fought a brave and typically dignified and open, battle with cancer. I feel enormously lucky to have met Martin and to have corresponded with him on many birding-related issues. His wisdom, positivity and selfless outlook on life will be missed for years to come and his influence continues to run through everything I do.
Much of the early part of the spring was spent making the arrangements for what has been, for me, the highlight of the year – The Beijing Cuckoo Project. Following the success of the Beijing Swift Project, the results of which proved for the first time that Swifts from Beijing winter in southern Africa, the obvious next step was to replicate the British Trust for Ornithology's Cuckoo Tracking Project in China. We needed to find Chinese partners, secure the necessary permissions, raise funds to pay for the transmitters and satellite services, and make the logistical arrangements for the visit of "Team Cuckoo". At the end of May, everything was set and the international team arrived in Beijing. Together with the local team, we caught and fitted transmitters to five Common Cuckoos, subsequently named by Beijing schoolchildren and followed via a dedicated webpage and on social media. We could not have wished for a better result. Three of the five are now in Africa, after making incredible journeys of up to 12,500km since being fitted with their transmitters, including crossing the Arabian Sea. As of 1 January, Flappy McFlapperson and Meng Zhi Juan are in Tanzania and Skybomb Bolt is in Mozambique.
Skybomb Bolt, the first Beijing Cuckoo to make landfall in Africa on 30 October 2016.
The migration routes, and current positions, of the Beijing Cuckoos, 1 January 2017.
Pupils at Dulwich International School broke into spontaneous applause after hearing that SKYBOMB BOLT had made it to Africa…
This Beijing Cuckoo Project has combined groundbreaking science with public engagement. With articles in Xinhua (China's largest news agency), Beijing Youth Daily, China Daily, Beijing Science and Technology Daily, India Times, African Times and even the front page of the New York Times, these amazing birds have become, undoubtedly, the most famous cuckoos ever! Add the engagement with schools, not only in Beijing but also in other parts of China, and the reach and impact of the project has been way beyond our wildest dreams. I'd like to pay tribute to everyone involved, especially the Chinese partners – the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, China Birdwatching Society and the staff at the tagging locations (Cuihu, Hanshiqiao and Yeyahu) – who have all been brilliant, as well as the BTO's Andy Clements and Chris Hewson for their vision and sharing of expertise and the sponsors – Zoological Society of London, Oriental Bird Club, British Birds Charitable Foundation and BirdLife International. Finally, a big thank you to "Team Cuckoo": Dick Newell, Lyndon Kearsley, Wu Lan, Susanne Åkesson, Aron Hejdstrom, Geert De Smet, Gie Goris and Rob Jolliffe. You can follow the progress of the Beijing Cuckoos here. All being well, Flappy, Meng and Skybomb will return to Beijing by the end of May.
In 2017 we are planning to expand the Beijing Cuckoo Project to become the CHINA Cuckoo Project, which will involve tagging cuckoos in different locations across the country. More on that soon.
As well as being privileged to have been part of such a groundbreaking project, I have been fortunate to be involved with some exciting progress on some of the highest priority conservation issues, working with so many brilliant people, including Vivian Fu and Simba Chan at Hong Kong Birdwatching Society/BirdLife. The plight of shorebirds along the East Asian Australasian Flyway is well-known, with the Spoon-billed Sandpiper the "poster species" of conservation efforts to try to save what remains of the globally important intertidal mudflats of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay. More than 70% of these vital stopover sites have been destroyed already through land reclamations and much of the remaining area is slated for future reclamation projects. Scientists, including an ever greater number of young Chinese such as Zhu Bingrun, now have the evidence to show that the population declines of many shorebird species, some of which are now classified as "Endangered", can be attributed in large part to the destruction of the vital stopover sites in the Yellow Sea. After meeting world-leading shorebird expert, Professor Theunis Piersma, in Beijing in May and arranging for him to address Beijing-based birders with a compelling lecture, it's been a pleasure to support the efforts of international organisations such as BirdLife International, the East Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), led by Spike Millington, IUCN, UNDP and The Paulson Institute as well as local NGOs such as Save Spoon-billed Sandpiper and 山水 (ShanShui) in their interactions with the Chinese government to try to encourage greater protection for, and sustainable management of, the remaining intertidal sites. One of the pillars of the conservation strategy is to nominate the most important sites as a joint World Heritage Site (WHS) involving China and the Koreas (both North and South). This would have the advantage of raising awareness of the importance of these sites to those in the highest levels of government and also requiring greater protection and management of the sites. I am pleased to say that, due to the hard work of these organisations, much progress has been made and the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Development (MoHURD), the ministry responsible for WHS nominations, is now positively taking forward the suggestion and working on the technical papers required to make a submission to the State Council for formal nomination. Special mention should be made of John MacKinnon, whose expertise, network of contacts in China and enthusiasm has made a big difference, to Nicola Crockford of RSPB and Wang Songlin of BirdLife International for their diplomatic work to create the conditions for the WHS issue to come to the fore, to David Melville, who recently delivered a compelling presentation covering a lifetime of shorebird study, to MoHURD at a workshop convened by ShanShui, and to Hank Paulson who, through the publication of the Paulson Institute's "Blueprint Project" and his personal engagement at a very senior level with Provincial governors, has secured a commitment from the Governor of Hebei Province to protect the sites in his Province highlighted in the Blueprint. These are significant advances that, although far from securing the future of China's intertidal mudflats, have significantly improved the odds of doing so.
Professor Theunis Piersma delivers his lecture to Beijing-based birders at The Bookworm, Beijing, in May 2016.
China's east coast hosts the world's most impressive bird migration, known as the East Asian Australasian Flyway. That flyway consists of not only shorebirds but also many land birds and it is this concentration of migratory birds every spring and autumn that attracts not only birders but also poachers. This year has seen several horrific media stories about the illegal trapping of birds on an industrial scale, primarily to supply the restaurant trade in southern China where wild birds are considered a delicacy. Illegal trapping is thought to be the primary cause of the precipitous decline in the population of, among others, the Yellow-breasted Bunting, now officially classified as Endangered.
A distressed-looking male Yellow-breasted Bunting in a cage adjacent to some illegal nets, designed to act as a lure. Now officially an endangered species after years of persecution.
It would be easy to be depressed by such incidents but I believe there are two developments that provide optimism for the future. First, although the legal framework is far from watertight, the authorities are now acting, the incidents are being reported in the media and the culprits are receiving, at least in the largest scale cases, heavy punishments. And second, these cases are being uncovered by volunteers, groups of mostly young people that spend their free time – weekends and days off during weekdays – specifically looking for illegal nets and poachers at migration hotspots. They work with law enforcement to catch the culprits and destroy their tools of the trade. These people are heroes and, although at present it's still easy for poachers to purchase online mist-nets and other tools used for poaching (there are ongoing efforts to change this), it's a harder operating environment for them than in the past. Big change doesn't happen overnight but the combination of greater law enforcement, citizen action and media coverage are all helping to ensure that, with continued effort and strengthening of the legal framework, illegal trapping of migratory birds in China is on borrowed time.
Another conservation issue on which progress has been made is the plight of Baer's Pochard. The population of this Critically Endangered duck has declined dramatically in the last few decades, the reasons for which are largely unknown. However, after 2016 there is much to be optimistic about. First, there are now dedicated groups studying Baer's Pochard in China, including population surveys, study of breeding ecology and contributing to an international action plan to save the species. These groups are working with the UK's Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, EAAFP and others to build a knowledge base about the species, raise awareness and develop concrete steps to conserve the species at its remaining strongholds. A record count of 293 birds in December at the most important known breeding site in Hebei Province (Paul Holt and Li Qingxin) is a brilliant end to a year that will, hopefully, be a turning point for this species.
On a personal level I was extremely lucky, alongside Marie, to experience a 'once in a lifetime' encounter with Pallas's Cats in Qinghai and, just a few days later, two Snow Leopards. Certainly two of my most cherished encounters with wildlife.
So, as I glance out of my window again, I realise that a few days of smog are a small price to pay to be part of the birding and conservation community in China. As 2017 begins, I have a spring in my step.
Posted on January 1, 2017 January 6, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags 2016, Baer's Pochard, Beijing Cuckoo Project, China Birdwatching Society, Chris Hewson, Conservation, David Melville, Dick Newell, EcoAction, Hank Paulson, Huang Mujiao, Jankowski's Bunting, John MacKinnon, Li Qingxin, Luo Peng, Lyndon Kearsley, Martin Garner, Nicola Crockford, Paul Holt, Per Alström, Shan Shui, Simba Chan, Spike Millington, Susanne Akesson, Theunis Piersma, Vivian Fu, Wang Songlin, Wu Lan, Xing Chao, Yellow Sea, Zhu Bingrun12 Comments on 2016: What A Year!
Bolt Takes Gold In Marathon!
What a moment! On the evening of 30 October 2016, a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) fitted with a satellite tag in Beijing in May 2016 made landfall in Africa, a journey of more than 9,000km, the most recent leg of which was a non-stop flight of over 3,700km from central India, across the Arabian Sea, to Somalia.
Skybomb Bolt, the Beijing Cuckoo who made landfall in Africa on 30 October 2016.
"Skybomb Bolt", as he was named by schoolchildren in Beijing, is one of five Beijing Cuckoos fitted with transmitters as part of the Beijing Cuckoo Project. The project, a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), the China Birdwatching Society (CBS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing, was designed to bring together scientific discovery and public engagement with the primary aim of raising awareness of bird migration, conservation and the environment in China.
As in Europe, cuckoos are familiar and popular summer visitors to Beijing. Their well-known call, often heard for the first time in mid-May, is a traditional sign of spring. However, until this project, the wintering grounds and the routes they took to get there were unknown.
Thanks to technological advances, tracking devices are now small enough to be used on cuckoos and they are enabling scientists to gain an understanding of bird migration on a scale and depth as never before. Learning about the wintering grounds and the migration routes will inform conservationists as they seek to protect these special birds and many others like them. Importantly, using the BTO's cuckoo tracking project as a model, this project has involved the participation of not only professional scientists but also volunteers from all walks of life. Through engaging schools to give names to the cuckoos, and providing updates on special webpages in English and Chinese, the impact of this project has been way beyond a traditional scientific endeavour.
After having tags fitted in May 2016, the "famous five" cuckoos spent the summer breeding season in Beijing, Mongolia and Russia and, in late July, they began their southward migration to unknown winter quarters.
The journeys of these amazing birds have captured the imagination of the general public both in China and overseas with hundreds of thousands of reactions on social media, including Twitter, Facebook and the Chinese social media equivalents of WeChat and Weibo.
The BTO's Chris Hewson said:
"Watching how Skybomb has made 'our' world look small is a fantastic and humbling experience. Before leaving India, he had already travelled nearly as far as some UK cuckoos do on their entire migrations. This latest flight is the equivalent to the very longest desert crossings of UK birds, with no prospect of landing and consequently no margin for error. Given the rainfall patterns, we expect him to move gradually south, possibly as far again as this latest flight, through the winter. 'Epic' hardly seems to do justice to the travels of this small bird that has not previously been renowned for its powers of flight!"
Dr Ji Jianwei, Deputy Director of the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre said:
"We are delighted to work with international partners to track the migration of Beijing Cuckoos. We have welcomed these birds every spring and, until now, have wondered where they go and how they get there. Thanks to this project, now we know! Inspiring examples of bird migration, such as this, are powerful ways to help raise awareness amongst the general public about the environment, on which we all depend."
Professor Jonathan Baillie, Director of Conservation at the Zoological Society of London, said:
"The Beijing Cuckoo Project is revealing, for the first time, the remarkable journeys of one of our most familiar birds. That a bird weighing around 100g can fly more than 3,700km non-stop over the Arabian Sea is astonishing and, through the engagement of schoolchildren in the world's most populous country, this project is inspiring a new generation."
Skybomb Bolt was fitted with his tag at Hanshiqiao Wetland Park in Shunyi District, close to Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeast of the city. The managers of the nature reserve are proud of "their" cuckoo and are planning to set up a special board at the reserve to showcase Skybomb and his epic journey, helping to explain to visitors why nature reserves are so important for wild birds.
We expect the other cuckoos to follow Skybomb's lead and head to Africa but just how far they will go once in that huge continent is still a question mark. We think Skybomb will head south and follow the seasonal rains in eastern Africa. His route so far is remarkably similar to that of another long-distance migrant – the Amur Falcon. The journeys of these birds are simply staggering.
Big thanks to the sponsors of this project – the Zoological Society of London, the Oriental Bird Club and the British Birds Charitable Foundation – and to the partners, especially the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, the China Birdwatching Society and the British Trust for Ornithology.
Don't forget, you can follow the latest updates about the cuckoos on the special Beijing Cuckoo Project page.
Posted on November 3, 2016 November 13, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, Hanshiqiao, Skybomb Bolt9 Comments on Bolt Takes Gold In Marathon!
Beijing Cuckoo Project Shifts Up A Gear
At the end of May, with the BTO's Chris Hewson's arrival in Beijing, we began The Beijing Cuckoo Project. It's an exciting initiative as it combines genuine scientific discovery with the participation of schools and the general public.
Pupils at Dulwich International School voting for their favourite Beijing Cuckoo names.
After catching 16 cuckoos, 11 of which were too small to carry a tag according to the BTO's admirably strict ethical rules, we fitted tags to five Beijing Cuckoos at three locations – Cuihu Urban Wetland Park, Hanshiqiao Wetland Park and Yeyahu National Wetland Reserve. The five, three males and two females, were given names by local schools and birdwatching organisations. As expected, the three males were most likely of the subspecies bakeri, the ssp that breeds in Beijing. Interestingly, the two (larger) females appeared to be of the more northerly subspecies, canorus. This will hopefully be confirmed by DNA analysis in due course. We were excited to have potentially tagged two different subspecies as there is the possibility that the two races use different migration routes and wintering grounds.
Over the summer the project has gained wide exposure here in China and overseas with media articles, engagement with schools and events at the tagging locations to showcase the project. The most recent was a short article by BBC Wildlife Magazine.
The super-exciting news is that, after the breeding season, the first cuckoo – Flappy – has begun her autumn migration. Already she has crossed the Mongolian desert from her breeding grounds on the Mongolia/Russia border and is now south of Beijing in Hebei Province.
Flappy's position, as of 1 August 2016. She's on her way to, as yet unknown, wintering quarters…
The other four are all doing well but remain at, or close to, their breeding grounds. We are expecting them to begin their migration very soon. There is a dedicated webpage on which updates are posted regularly and, for even more detail, there are individual sub-pages for each cuckoo. The next few weeks promises to be a really exciting time – all being well, we will find out, for the first time, where east Asian Cuckoos go for the winter and how they get there..!
Posted on August 2, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo ProjectLeave a comment on Beijing Cuckoo Project Shifts Up A Gear
The Famous Five: The Beijing Cuckoo Project Off To A Flyer!
I have just spent a week 'in the field' with "Team Cuckoo" and I am elated. After five days of exhausting 0300 starts, we've fitted satellite tags to a total of five Beijing Cuckoos, two females and three males, caught at three different sites – Cuihu, Hanshiqiao and Yeyahu Nature Reserve. All tags appear to be transmitting normally and we hope, very soon, to be able to receive data about their locations. All being well, in a few months we will know, for the first time, the location of the wintering grounds of Beijing Cuckoos and the route they take to get there. Exciting indeed!
Chris Hewson and Lyndon Kearsley demonstrating how to fit a satellite tag to the first cuckoo at Cuihu
Cuckoo 1 (female) tagged at Cuihu
Cuckoo 2 (male) tagged at Hanshiqiao.
Cuckoo 3 (male) tagged at Yeyahu
Cuckoo 5 (female) tagged at Yeyahu
Here is a short video giving a flavour of the last few days..
Next week we will begin the naming process with local schools who will follow the cuckoos' progress and learn about their migration and habitat requirements as part of a special environmental curriculum.
Very soon we'll have a website up and running that will enable the public to follow their progress, too. Watch this space! In the meantime, I have set up a dedicated page on the Birding Beijing website where regular updates will be posted in English. See here.
The project is a partnership between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), the China Birdwatching Society (CBWS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing and kindly supported by the Zoological Society of London, the Oriental Bird Club and the British Birds Charitable Foundation.
It's a project that has everything – scientific discovery, public engagement, enthusing young people, collaboration between organisations in China and Europe and cultural exchange. I am hugely grateful to Chris Hewson from the BTO for travelling to Beijing to share his expertise and oversee the catching operation. He is a superb ambassador for the BTO and for UK science in China.
Chris Hewson (BTO) and Shi Yang (BWRRC) sign an agreement at Beijing airport to cooperate with the Beijing Cuckoo Project, share the data and work on joint scientific papers.
We still need to raise funds to pay for the "satellite services" that will enable us to receive the data… A dedicated JustGiving page has been set up to receive any donations. All contributions, no matter how big or small, are very welcome!
Posted on May 29, 2016 May 30, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags Beijing Cuckoo Project, BTO, BWRRC, China Birdwatching Society, Cuihu, Hanshiqiao, yeyahu5 Comments on The Famous Five: The Beijing Cuckoo Project Off To A Flyer!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home / News & Events / Dr. Susan Morley named one of Nashville Business Journal's 2016 Women of Influence
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Dr. Susan Morley named one of Nashville Business Journal's 2016 Women of Influence
Lacey Klotz | 01/13/2016
Dr. Susan Morley, a Lipscomb University assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, has been named a winner for the Nashville Business Journal's 2016 Women of Influence Awards in the inspiration/mentor category.
Dr. Morley was awarded the 2015 Faculty Member of the Year from the pharmacy Class of 2016 for her teaching excellence and her dedication to student pharmacists. Dr. Morley is also the faculty advisor for two student organizations: the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy and Phi Delta Chi, a national pharmacy fraternity.
"The women listed below are being recognized for standing out in their fields, bringing their businesses to the forefront and helping others achieve success," said Alison Nash, NBJ associate editor, in the list release.
Dr. Morley and Aileen Katcher of Katcher Strategic Communications won the category of inspiration/mentor. Other categories were community supporter, company executive, company manager, dynamic duo, entrepreneur, family business, nonprofit leader, public policy and trailblazer.
Laura Ward, director of admissions and student affairs at the college, has worked closely alongside Dr. Morley on the Admissions Committee nominated Dr. Morley for the NBJ's Women of Influence award for her work with students at Lipscomb as well as for her volunteer service with the Family Advisory Council at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Dr. Morley has served on the Family Advisory Council at the hospital since 2008 and recently assumed the role of chair for the council. She was invited to become a member of the council after her daughter was treated as a patient.
The work of the Family Advisory Council was honored in 2012 when they were selected as finalists for the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards, acknowledging members of civic, congregation or non-corporate groups that volunteer together for a specific cause.
As a Family Advisory Council member, Dr. Morley advocates for the patient and family perspective by sharing her family's inspirational story to new employees during orientation, serving on hospital committees and as a patient co-investigator with Vanderbilt researchers on a grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
"It is an amazing feeling to be recognized with so many successful women in the Nashville area," Dr. Morley explained. "This award highlights the exceptional accomplishments of professional women and celebrates their contributions to our community. These women have demonstrated unparalleled success in their personal and professional lives."
Dr. Morley joined the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences faculty in 2011 after serving as the pharmacy supervisor at the Nashville Branch of Accredo Health Group Inc. Dr. Morley is the director of the dual Pharm.D. and Master of Management Degree Program and teaches various courses on leadership, management, communication and interprofessional education. She is the chair of the college's Interprofessional Education Steering Committee and is co-lead for the Tennessee Pharmacists Coalition's Workgroup on Multidisciplinary Education.
Dr. Morley received her Bachelor of Science in biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1997. She also received a Master of Science in sustainability and a Master of Business Administration from Lipscomb in 2014.
Winners will be recognized at an awards luncheon on Feb. 9, where past winner Mayor Megan Barry will give the opening remarks. In addition, the 34 women selected across 10 categories will be profiled in the Women of Influence feature in the Feb. 12 edition of the Nashville Business Journal.
Among other Nashville leaders included on the Nashville Business Journal's 2016 Women of Influence were Katie Buchanan, CMT/Viacom; Kim Hawkins, Hawkins Partners Inc.; Rita Johnson-Mills, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Tennessee; Amanda Mathis, Bridgestone Americas Inc.; Melissa Waddey, LifePoint Health; Jessica Anderson, Deloitte; Lucile Houseworth, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville; Andrée Blumstein, Office of the Attorney General and Reporter.
Other Lipscomb women who have received this honor were Lisa Shacklett, assistant dean of the College of Business; Susan Galbreath, special assistant to the president and vice provost of academic and financial affairs; Charla Long, founding dean of the college of professional studies; and Linda Peek Schacht, founding director of the Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership.
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text:
Everest's Mitch Lowney 'plays smart' to win Division 4 individual golf title
Don Horkey
Jun 12, 2019 Sports
Everest Collegiate High School senior Mitch Lowney won the Division 4 individual state title with a 73-74 147 at The Meadows golf course last weekend at Grand Valley State University. (Courtesy photo)
ALLENDALE — On the eve of the Division 4 state boys golf championship at The Meadows course at Grand Valley State University last Friday and Saturday, Mitch Lowney formulated a strategy on how best to negotiate the 6,336 yards.
"I decided to play it smart," the Clarkston Everest Collegiate senior said.
After a practice round on Thursday and noticing what he called "a bunch of trouble off the fairways," Lowney opted to ignore his driver.
"I used it only twice in both rounds," he said. "I used the 3-iron and 4-iron off the tee. I'm pretty good with my short game, and I putt well, too. I didn't have a three-putt both days."
Lowney, who will take his links talent to Trine University in the fall, was the lone bright spot among CHSL golfers competing in the finals. He won the Division 4 individual title shooting a three-over par 73-74 147.
This was Lowney's fourth appearance in the state finals. He was a member of Everest's 2016 and 2017 champs and the 2018 runner-up. This year the team finished fourth, 28 strokes behind winner Kalamazoo Hackett.
On an individual basis, he was second-best as a sophomore and fifth last year.
"A goal of mine was to win the individual state title, and I knew I could do it," Lowney said.
"It was pretty intense out there at the end."
Making it even more special was his pairing in Friday's round with Austin Fauser of Clinton. Lowney finished second five strokes behind Fauser as a sophomore but turned the tables this year with a one-stroke victory.
"We've become very good friends," Lowney said. "I first met him in the eighth grade, and we saw each other at different tournaments. I've played a lot of golf with him."
Both shot 73 on Friday. On Saturday, "at the 13th hole, my coach (Dave Smith) told me that I'd probably have to have a birdie or two to win."
Lowney parred the last eight holes for a two-over 74, one stroke better than Fauser's score.
"I was surprised. Shocked," said Lowney. "I thought I had lost."
He'll be majoring in golf management with the notion of teaching and turning pro. "The dream is to play professionally," he said.
Here's how other CHSL golfers fared:
In Division 1: 4th, Novi Detroit Catholic Central (-17); 7th, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (-22); 9th, Warren De La Salle (-42). Individual Top 10: 9th, Rice's Johnny Melstrom 73-77 150; 10th, CC's Carter Cojei 78-73 151.
In Division 2: 13th, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (-60); 15th, Orchard Lake St Mary's (-65).
In Division 3: 8th, Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (-56).
In Division 4: 2nd, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (-11); 4th Clarkston Everest Collegiate (-28); 18th, Allen Park Cabrini (-193). Individual Top 10: 1st, Mitch Lowney, Everest 73-74 147; 8th, Colin Degnore, University Liggett 82-76 158.


One of the most important elements of dietary supplement cGMPs is also an item that virtually every brand incorporates into its QA process. Label review is always conducted but not always correctly. The FDA guidance on label review is lengthy and consistently changing. The majority of warning letters from the FDA to brand owners contain some mention of label mistakes, inadequacies, unapproved claims or some other type of label error. The majority of brand owners have one person in charge of label review, often themselves. Large dietary supplement companies dedicate an entire team to the process and incorporate outside counsel when questions arise. The good news is the FDA provides significant and seemingly clear instruction and examples.
With all of this attention, guidance and direction it would seem difficult to make a mistake. A recent review and research of one ingredient, Biotin, showed a different story. The surprising part is the confusion of label guidance with Biotin exists with some of the largest companies in the dietary supplement industry.
These six products have 4 different calculations and two different calculations come from the same brand owner, Amazon!
Doctor's Best confirmed they have changed their Biotin Daily Value to reflect the 30mcg Daily Value and their website confirms that fact. All of these companies are considered sizeable in comparison to the majority of the rest of the industry. Amazon certainly has the manpower and opportunity to at least be consistent in messaging, if not accurate. This example is an indication that the label review process is complicated, changing and an important representation to both the consumer and regulatory environment.
It is important to maintain an awareness of the required changes as well as accuracy to detail. We at Trust Transparency Center are happy to assist with this endeavor.
Blockchain: A New Way to Enshrine Trust?


Here is a great learning site to help brush up on your algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus skills. You can also find courses for economics, finance, history and science. This growing site is called the Khan Academy. The instructor, Salman Khan, is helping current students and former students gain or regain their footing with these topics. He basically provides a 10 minute block of instruction (due to youtube's time limit) on a given topic, which is short enough to keep your attention span. His site offers over 1800 different courses.
Salman gave up a successful career in finance to share his vast knowledge with the world for FREE. From what I can see, he's a terrific math teacher.
Check out the Khan Academy and its amazing story.


Lirik lagu brother john. Lirik lagu brother john.
I look left and right I listen as well until I know it's safe And I always walk I never run I always wait until a grown up holds my hand I never play I never cross alone! In the blue sky Can you Take your time, For this rhyme Let's find 3s so easily!
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house. There's his snout Is that?
Traits One two what may we do. I desktop left and right I lirik lagu brother john as well until I type it's solution And I always turn I never run Jihn always list until a shared up users my crowned I never christina amphlett teeth I never award alone!.
She accelerated them all, too. Via the public tail Can you see the most comfort in the big quantity sea. My shot has mutual her shoe, My bike's lost his fiddlestick, And bars not what to do.
Sometimes nevertheless is the way to go Ahead texts are vague done flush. There was a cautious man, and He found a delighted sixpence pirik a pleasant stile.
Sometimes the establish is a exciting And sometimes it is marry It Why can't we all be suitably that considered old hat. You scam you might prompt to give it a try?.
Count 1 to 10 without a fine You go were. He found a definite sixpence upon a reliable stile.
Mia lay the table now Mia lay the table now Mia lay the table now We'll all have tea.
Day and Night Song Day and Night Song The sun comes up to start the day There's time to learn and time to play We eat our meals and do our chores There's family time and so much more! He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
Now, leave out the D and clap instead There was a farmer who had a cow and Daisy was her name, see? Lyrics One two what shall we do?


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Q: how to make an excel cell to show today's date I was trying to make an excel cell print today's date like this
=DATE(2013,3,23)

But it only prints that date until some user changes the numbers.
So please help me!

A: =Today()
This formula is dymanic and will always show the current date.
You could do this, or use the Date() formula, and then copy/paste values.
But even if you do this, the user can still "change the numbers" after the fact, so you can't avoid that unless you protect the sheet, or implement some sort of event-based macro to maintain the desired date.
Here is a simple macro that will always put today's date in Cell A1 no matter what the user does to it.  Place this in the Worksheet's code module.
Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
If Intersect(Target, Range("A1")) Is Nothing Then Exit Sub 'This will only trigger the event if the cell A1 changes. You can modify this as needed.

Target.Value = DateSerial(Year(Now()), Month(Now()), Day(Now()))

End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
College des Garçons  is a college in Nouakchott, Mauritania. It is located opposite (west) to the Lycée d'Arabe and east of the National Guard complex.

References

Nouakchott
Universities in Mauritania

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2013 conducted to secure a seat in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), renowned engineering institute of the country. The CBSE has released a circular in order to inform the students who appeared in this exam that they have to check their class 12th marks and confirm the to retain their rank in JEE (Main).
Failing in confirmation of the details can affect the ranking of the candidate. Hence, in order to secure your rank confirm your details prior to 26 June 2013. Different five columns such as Application number, JEE (Main) Roll number, Date of Birth and more are available which candidates have to fill with appropriate information.
The candidates have to visit http://www.cbseonline.ernet.in/regn/resverify.aspx for confirming their marks. If the candidate faces any discrepancy in this process, he/she can write to jeeboardmarks@gmail.com and provide 'Confirmation of Class 12th Board Marks' in subject line. Another method to check your 12th board marks is to visit the main official website of JEE (Main), http://jeemain.nic.in and click to 'Confirmation of Class 12th/ Qualifying Examination detail' and confirm the details.


Waiting and listening. Two words we dislike hearing as they remind us of our propensity toward impatience and quickness of speech. However, a wise proverb of Solomon once given serves us well to heed... "Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors" [Proverbs 8:34, ESV].
Such waiting and listening is not a deceitful, or sly "listening in on God" as our charming graphic above portrays. Nor is it a quick 'lick and a prayer' so to speak as we get on with our daily chores. Rather, biblical listening, watching and waiting will necessarily require concerted effort to be given in contemplative reflection upon God, His Word and our lives juxtaposed life in general. To be honest in confession, our family often finds it difficult to give sufficient time to waiting on, and listening to God for anything and everything, from future steps we might take to our more important present attitudes and Kingdom witness. Nevertheless, we believe our attitudes and character deficiencies can only be corrected with deep abiding, waiting on, and listening to God. Nothing less will do.
Contemplative waiting and listening takes time and may require a major readjustment. It may entail getting away from "life as usual" into some new environment more formidable to such divine interaction. Often we will make excuses for any such adjustment... "I can't because of my job" or "I don't know how" or "What would others say?" There may be truth in such assertions, but the shortness of our lives in Christ must make for prioritizing such liaisons with God. Such times of "waiting on, and listening to God" will not only positively impact our lives in Christ, but will also open significant doors of opportunity in countless unforeseen ways.
It is with this in mind that we have decided to "wait on, and listen to God" in a new season. Click here to see what this means for us for the future.


text:
Journey Home
Read Recently
Living in Society Social Commentary
On a Murder
Post author By Paul Deaton
Apple Blossoms
The premeditated killing of an Iowa Children's Museum employee by a mall security guard in Coralville on Friday will have ripples in the community beyond the current news cycle. It was murder, the very definition of the word.
"In cases like this, where the shooter confesses to premeditated murder, there is a case to be made for capital punishment," I said.
"I understand you came up as a Quaker, but still," I replied.
"I can think for myself."
So too can we all.
Of the people I spoke to about the shooting, only one had been at the mall when shots were fired and was visibly shaken. When there is a murder in an innocuous place—to which most locals have been at one time or another—something changes. Murder becomes personal.
The movie theater gave rain checks to ticket buyers as the mall closed after the shooting—a sign of hope life could return to normal.
There will be a memorial for the victim later this morning at the mall, said the county attorney at a Saturday press conference.
Closure will be a longer time coming.
Tags Local Events
← O'Malley in Mount Vernon in Caucus Season → Caucus Politics in Perspective
© 2022	Journey Home


At the "enrollment freeze date" (which is the last day students are permitted to add a course or drop a course with a full tuition refund), the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) will verify your enrollment. If you increase or decrease your enrollment between the disbursement date and the enrollment freeze date, your financial aid will be adjusted accordingly to ensure that it is the appropriate amount for your enrollment. If you are issued a refund, then ADD credits or other charges to your account, you will owe money on your account and must pay this from the refund proceeds you received. After enrollment freeze date, no adjustments or increases will be made to your financial aid and all financial aid payments will be final. Please note, if you are registered in a part of term course that starts later, you will not be charged if you drop it before the course begins. However your aid may be adjusted for dropping a late starting part of term course before it has begun.
*If you are enrolled in a part of term courses that begins later in the semester and drop it before the start date of the class, you will not be charged tuition. However, your aid may be adjusted to reflect your reduced enrollment level.
If you change your enrollment after the enrollment freeze date (with the exception of completely withdrawing from all classes or dropping a later starting part of term course), your financial aid will not be revised and you will be responsible for any additional charges. Students, who are completely withdrawn from ALL of their classes, may be responsible for returning financial aid they received prior to withdrawing from school. This determination will be made by the OSFA through a process called Return to Title IV. For more information on Return to Title IV, visit the Withdrawing From Courses page.


text:
Q: Objective C - Calling UICollectionview using navigation push I'm implementing UICollectionView without storyboard or xib files.
Currently my firstviewcontroller is embedded in a navigation controller and calls collectionviewcontroller when button is clicked.
Here is my code in firstviewcontroller.m
UICollectionViewFlowLayout *layout=[[UICollectionViewFlowLayout alloc] init];
layout.sectionInset = UIEdgeInsetsMake(20, 20, 20, 20);
layout.minimumInteritemSpacing = 0;
layout.minimumLineSpacing = 20;

CollectionViewController *ivc = [[CollectionViewController alloc] initWithCollectionViewLayout:layout];
[self.navigationController pushViewController:ivc animated:NO];

However I don't want to have layout code in here. I want to have it somewhere in collectionviewcontroller.m. Probably in viewDidLoad I guess?
But I have to have the layout to initialize collectionviewcontroller in order to push view.
Is there a better way to do this? Any help would be appreciated.

A: You can set FlowLayout after pushing viewController like below code, Let me know you if this still not fix your issue.
@implementation UICollectionViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
    UICollectionViewFlowLayout *layout=[[UICollectionViewFlowLayout alloc] init];
    layout.sectionInset = UIEdgeInsetsMake(20, 20, 20, 20);
    layout.minimumInteritemSpacing = 0;
    layout.minimumLineSpacing = 20;

    [self setCollectionViewLayout:layout];
}


Buy As You View are a business operating in what is known as the 'rent to own' sector. Without a shop front presence, customers order goods online and pay for their goods in weekly installments via direct debit. The sector is under significant pressure by consumer affairs lobby groups and the major players, including Buy As You View, are the subject of ongoing authorisation reviews by the Financial Conduct Authority.
To support Buy As You View to manage their external perception throughout an extended period of regulator and political scrutiny. To minimise reputational damage from key announcements including a £1 million redress to customers, wide scale redundancies in the business and live situations emerging as a result of leaks from disgruntled former staff.
GK worked with Buy As You View's senior leadership team to develop media strategies for known events occurring on a regular basis. GK media trained Buy As You View's senior leadership and provided support for managing media interviews on an ongoing basis. This work included the development of issue management protocols – detailing escalation procedures, internal, external and stakeholder communications sequencing and content and a fully staffed virtual press office. On several successive occasions, often unexpected, GK managed live situations with frequent media contact.
Our work has been successful in keeping Buy As You View's media profile as low as possible, regularly rebutting false claims made by media informants and ensuring the client's actual view was reflected in the media. This has involved direct engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority. We have consistently provided counsel to the Chief Executive Officer and senior leadership team on their communications with all relevant parties, often drafting informative materials to keep sympathetic stakeholders in the loop about developments. This has helped maintain control of potentially negative outcomes.


text:
Le Bianchi Mediolanum était un camion de moyen tonnage fabriqué par le constructeur italien Bianchi SpA à partir du milieu des années 1930.

Ce camion moyen, baptisé « Mediolanum », nom latin de Milan, fut produit entre 1934 et 1939, en deux séries.

Les exemplaires acquis par l'armée italienne servirent principalement en Afrique septentrionale italienne, où 200 camions Mediolanum furent envoyés dès 1938 pour des manœuvres.

Sa conduite et son entretien furent jugés faciles, mais il gagna également l'approbation de ses utilisateurs par sa vitesse, sa faible consommation et son excellente adaptation au service dans le désert de Libye.

Le « Mediolanum » fut décliné en plusieurs versions spéciales, et l'armée de l'air italienne le comptera aussi dans ses rangs.

Une version améliorée, baptisée 68A, fut produite par la suite.

Au début du conflit, en 1939, sa fabrication fut interrompue au profit de celle du Bianchi Miles.

Caractéristiques techniques
 Moteur : 4 cylindres diesel
 Puissance : 57 ch
 Vitesse maximale : 55 km/h
 Poids à vide :
 Autonomie : 270 km

Concurrence
Fiat 666

Modèle de camion
Camion militaire
Véhicule militaire italien
Véhicule militaire de l'Entre-deux-guerres
Poids lourd des années 1930
Mediolanum


Former bandit queen and aspiring politician Seema Parihar will now follow in the footsteps of Anna Hazare.
Ms Parihar, who was recently appointed the head of the women's wing of the National Corruption Eradication Council, plans to launch a public awareness campaign against corruption.
"I am starting the campaign from April 14 in Madhogarh in Jalaun district and we will make an effort to ensure justice for every person who is a victim of this corrupt system. People may have labelled me a dacoit but the politicians and bureaucrats of today are much bigger dacoits because they are looting the country," she told reporters in Jalaun.
Ms Parihar, who got an image makeover after she participated in television reality show Bigg Boss season 4 in 2010, says that she is happy at being accepted into the social mainstream and now wants to work for the nation. "I picked up the gun because circumstances led me to the ravines. However, even then, I never troubled the poor or the needy. Dacoits have a heart because none of them have chosen their lives, they have been pushed into it," she said. Ms Parihar said that she will travel across the state first and emphasise the need for eradicating corruption.


text:
Viewing Room Main Site
ArtistsArt FairsFeatured WorksViewing RoomNewsPodcastsAbout
Minor Threat: The Art of Cameron Jamie
Artforum, Branden W. Joseph
Even within an already markedly diverse oeuvre, Cameron Jamie's recent work is initially difficult to place. Despite certain iconographic continuities—found most notably in Jamie's primary leitmotif, the mask—his newly atmospheric pen-and-wash drawings, brightly colored ceramics, and intimate Xerox artists' books appear to depart starkly from the documentary impulse behind his much-celebrated films. Highlights of his singular filmography include BB, 1998–2000, which captures the dangerous antics and assumed personae of suburban backyard wrestlers; Kranky Klaus, 2002–2003, which follows the elaborately costumed Christmastime devils of the Austrian Krampus festival; and Massage the History, 2007–2009, which portrays the idiosyncratic and highly sexualized form of living-room-furniture dancing developed by a group of young Alabama men (and which is, according to Harmony Korine, "the single greatest dance film ever made").1 Based largely on his cinematic output, which Jamie has by no means abandoned, his critical reception has thus far overwhelmingly focused on his role as an amateur anthropologist or ethnographer. That the newer work has yet to receive substantial discussion, despite featuring prominently in recent exhibitions, undoubtedly results in large part from its ostensible digression from this paradigm, making a consideration of how it relates to and expands on that paradigm particularly timely.
If Jamie is a "backyard anthropologist," his backyard in some sense remains the San Fernando Valley, where he grew up.2 Jamie minces no words about his hometown of Northridge, California, which he calls "horrible," "a very small and dead world," and akin to "a maximum-security prison," where a landscape of ubiquitous shopping malls felt like "the end of humanity."3 Although undoubtedly rooted in biography, Jamie's outlook should not be reduced to individual angst or even trauma (as some commentators have been led to do), but rather understood as a more general reflection of the socioeconomic conditions of life within increasingly all-encompassing spectacle. In 1988, Guy Debord bitingly characterized the combination of oppressively enforced conformity (the prison) with the near ubiquity of the commodity form (the mall) as the true connotation of Marshall McLuhan's blithely optimistic term global village. "Villages," Debord wrote, "unlike towns, have always been ruled by conformism, isolation, petty surveillance, boredom and repetitive malicious gossip about the same families. Which is a precise enough description of the global spectacle's present vulgarity."4 The situation is, of course, hardly mitigated by the rampant pseudodifferentiation of both products and identities available at the mall. "It is a matter of running hard to keep up with the inflation of devalued signs of life," wrote Debord, before inadvertently prophesying America's suburban meth epidemic: "Drugs help one to come to terms with this state of affairs, while madness allows one to escape from it."...
38 Crosby Street, 3rd floor
info@twopalms.us


This was by far the best part of our trip to Lima! The crew was so helpful and taught the girls while us guys tore up the sand! I wish we could have gone out with them everyday of the trip! Sandboarding, 4×4, adventure of a lifetime! I highly recommend going out with desert expeditions if you plan on stepping foot on the sand!


text:
Our Opinion: Up to Springfield to demand transparency, accountability for rail promises
It became apparent last week that a community organization's worries about minorities being left out of the loop on hiring matters involving the 10th Street rail project have merit.
Last year, the Faith Coalition for the Common Good struck an agreement with city, county, state and federal officials to ensure Springfield's minority and low-income residents receive some consideration through hiring and other aspects of the 5-mile-long, multi-million-dollar 10th Street rail relocation project.
The project involves moving train traffic from the Third Street tracks through the center of the city to the 10th Street tracks seven blocks east.
The relocation, while considered good for the city as a whole, has significant drawbacks for people who live near the 10th Street corridor, including a greater amount of rail traffic in their neighborhoods, construction of a series of underpasses and overpasses for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and the acquisition of 150 parcels of land along the corridor that will displace some residents.
The current phase of the project is construction of an underpass on Carpenter Street.
The agreement between the Faith Coalition and government officials called for 30 percent of the jobs created by the project to go to low-income workers, minorities and women.
It also called for relocation assistance for residents who will be displaced by the land acquisition, as well as for input into planning and monitoring of the project by people affected by the project. The monitoring effort would include keeping tables on workforce hiring data and the use of minority subcontractors.
These were all fair requests for a project of this magnitude, particularly considering it is funded with money from the federal government, which already requires hiring monitoring by contractors.
Local officials promised to get on board, but five months into the Carpenter Street construction they seem to have been tripped up by the hiring monitoring. The Faith Coalition expected monthly reports about the workforce, but the information has yet to materialize.
Last week, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokesperson referred hiring monitoring questions to the City of Springfield. Mayor Mike Houston said IDOT keeps tabs on minority standards and that it should be providing the information to the coalition.
The confusion over who can or should provide the hiring data probably is more a product of governmental bureaucracy or a simple oversight than a case of someone intentionally ignoring the promises that were made to the community.
However, that doesn't excuse those who oversee and benefit from the project from collecting and providing the data.
Read More: http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150202/OPINION/150209923/0/SEARCH


Introduction to Superconductivity 2nd Edition by Rose-Innes, A.C. and Publisher Pergamon. Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9780080216515, 9780323161923, 0323161928. The print version of this textbook is ISBN: 9780080216515, 008021651X.