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Al-Qaeda-Affiliates Expand Online Platform to Twitter
Articles and Analysis
By Rita Katz and Adam Raisman
On December 5, 2013, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) joined the long list of al-Qaeda affiliates with a presence on Twitter.
From the Somalia-based Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, which demonstrated the effectiveness of Twitter during their four-day long siege at the Westgate Mall in Kenya during September 2013, to groups such as the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and jihadist organizations have been actively expanding their online platform to the popular social networking website. These groups take advantage of the opportunities afforded by Twitter to instantly reach a massive audience and easily network with millions of other users. Some even maintain not one, but two or more accounts to communicate with both enemies and supporters, and issue communiqués and multimedia, and to resume tweeting when one account is suspended.
Also, through their Twitter feeds, media officials of jihadi groups have demonstrated their interest in gathering information on their opponents, For example, a representative of the Afghan Taliban's official website, Abdulqahar Balkhi, is subscribed to the accounts of the American Embassy of Kabul, ISAF, and the United Nations, as well as an array of news media including al-Jazeera, CNN, The Associated Press, and Reuters.
Given the jihadi adoption of social media platforms, the following brief describes uses of Twitter by al-Qaeda affiliates and other terrorist groups, including both active and inactive accounts.
Afghan Taliban
Of all the groups profiled in this report, the Afghan Taliban is perhaps the most active on Twitter with almost half of dozen Twitter pages. Their Twitter platforms include accounts for each of its spokesmen, Muhammad Yusuf and Zabihullah; an account for its Arabic e-magazine al-Samoud; and pages for representatives of its official website. The group uses their network of accounts to distribute posts information about attacks by Afghan Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, posting in Arabic, English and Pashto, and often give hyperlinks to read a full article on the al-Emarah website or the pasting website JustPaste.it. Messages posted to Afghan Taliban-linked accounts frequently include the first sentences of a communiqué, followed by a link that can be followed to access the full message. For example, a December 31, 2013, message from the "Chief Editor of the Afghan Taliban's AlEmarah Studio media wing" reported an attack on a military post on Kunar province, linking to the communiqué on the group's website: "One minion killed many injured in attacks on post: UNAR, Dec. 31 – The Islamic Emirate's Mujahideen attacked t..."
With over 5,000 publically-viewable posts archived since July 23, 2012, the website representative of the Afghan Taliban, Abdulqahar Balkhi, is among the most active members of the group's Twitter team. Issuing multiple posts a day, he distributes communiqués and statements in English along with announcements of forthcoming videos, links to interviews with Afghan Taliban officials, and taunts directed at the official ISAF Twitter account about alleged losses incurred by its forces. For example, on December 1, with the posting of the video "The Defeat of Taghut [Tyrant]," he said it showed a "small sample" of daily ISAF fatalities, and wrote: "Again, if @ISAFmedia & Co. could clarify to their public the fatalities in video which 'never happened' according to them #Taliban." He has also used his account to promote third-party reporting and views that either promote the Afghan Taliban or reflect poorly on the American military involvement, such as a November 6, 2013 retweet of a post by ARMY magazine editor-in chief Rick Maze that "Female soldier in Afghanistan has higher probabiility of being raped by fellow soldier than killed by Taliban sez ret Army MG DennisLaich".
Screen captures from Afghan Taliban video "The Defeat of Taghut"
The various Afghan Taliban accounts on Twitter follow each other, while some also follow ISAF, UN, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Human Rights Watch, and U.S. and international media agencies. All the accounts have followers in the thousands, with the exception of Muhammad Yusuf (800+ followers) and the al-Emarah Studio representative (900+ followers).
Al-Nusra Front
An al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the al-Nusra Front adopted the use of Twitter mid-2012, and have used three official accounts. The group has taken advantage of the website to invite followers to participate in an open interview with their leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, as well as to promote their own position in the conflict and in relation to competing jihadi groups. For example, the last post uploaded the al-Nusra Front's initial Twitter account shared a link to the speech by al-Nusra Front leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani declaring his group's independence from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and criticizing ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for revealing the relationship between the two without first consulting him.
The first account was created in July 2012 and has over 80,000 followers, but ceased updating on April 10, 2013, just after releasing al-Julani's declaration of independence from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The second account, created on August 24, 2013, and taken offline on December 18, 2013, generated the largest number of followers among groups profiled in this brief, with over 65,000. This account was taken offline on the same day that al-Jazeera previewed an interview between Tayseer Allouni and al-Nusra Front leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani.
The third official al-Nusra Twitter account was announced in a statement issued on jihadi forums on December 31, 2013, that also confirmed that the group does not currently have a Facebook page or an exclusive website. Within hours of being established, the al-Nusra Front account had posted links to two communiqués and a video, directing readers to access the full versions at JustPaste.it. The propaganda was concurrently posted by the group's representative on jihadi forums.
Screen captures from video showing the capture of the al-Kindi hospital in Aleppo, Syria
The video released after opening the new account is an extended report on the joint operation with the Islamic Front and Fajr al-Sham Islamic Movement to capture the al-Kindi hospital in Syria's Aleppo governorate. According to a communiqué it previously released about the operation, the "One Heart" joint operations room, which is comprised of fighters from the three groups, successfully stormed the hospital on December 20 after failing to seize it two weeks prior. Two Kurdish suicide bombers reportedly detonated explosives-laden trucks at the old building of the hospital, enabling other fighters to enter it and the new building and take control of them.
On its Twitter accounts, al-Nusra Front posts propaganda concurrent with its distribution on the Shumukh al-Islam, al-Fida', and Ansar al-Mujahideen forums. Their releases include communiqués and videos for the group's military operations, and occasionally, short claims for attacks that are not released to jihadi forums. For example, on December 1, it reported that its "heroes" took control of a battalion in the eastern part of Busra al-Harir in Syria's Deraa governorate; and on December 4, said that a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest amidst a gathering of pro-regime thugs in Damascus.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
On December 5, 2013, a Yemeni journalist, Abdul Razzaq al-Jamal, who has direct contacts and a special relationship with AQAP, gave the Twitter account for the group's al-Malahem Media Foundation. Though the account was not officially acknowledged by the group, in its first 14 hours of operation the account generated over 1,400 followers. Later that day, AQAP had claimed credit for the deadly raid on Yemen's Defense Ministry in Sana'a, saying that its fighters discovered that the building contains drone control rooms and American specialists, and it considered such locations to be "legitimate targets".
The page was suspended by Twitter few days after its creation and AQAP has yet to create a new account.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
AQIM joined Twitter in March 2013 and authenticated the account through a communiqué issued on jihadi forums on March 28. The group's al-Andalus Media Foundation was initially very active, frequently posting messages in Arabic and English, holding an open interview with supporters and journalists, and releasing propaganda concurrently to its distribution on the forums. Most of the early tweets came from al-Andalus director Abu Abdul Ilah Ahmed, who promoted social media and opined on issues related to Algerian government and military officials. In his message about social media, which was posted in Arabic and English on March 31, Abu Abdul Ilah claimed that the Algerian government's control over the state media prevents people around the world from discovering the plight of the Algerian people, and social media allows journalists to "open the doors for the truth".
Abu Abdul Ilah also discussed other issues on the Twitter account, such as U.S. President Barack Obama's three-nation tour of Africa. In the message, which was posted in Arabic on June 30, the media official argued that Obama's trip represents America's alleged attempt to occupy Africa with military bases and drain it of its resources through oil companies, ExxonMobil in particular.
Five weeks after launching the al-Andalus account on Twitter, AQIM added a second account, "Muslim Africa," and expanded that brand's reach to Facebook and a blog. While the Facebook account was suspended, and the group stopped posting on the blog, afriamuslima.blogspot.com, it continued to post on Twitter until the suspension of the "Muslim Africa" account in December 2013.
Among its tweets on the "Muslim Africa" account, AQIM distributed a manual that AQAP had published in the first issue of its "Inspire" magazine and that the Tsarnaev brothers reportedly used for the April 2013 Boston bombings; published a guide to download and install Tor (The Onion Router); and distributed a jihadi's threat to the regional government over its plan to create a registry of Muslim women who wear burqas.
Both accounts were suspended by Twitter on December 18, 2013. Prior to the suspension, the al-Andalus Twitter account had amassed over 15,000 followers, and followed seven accounts: Ansar al-Islam, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Nusra Front, Echo of the Caucasus Agency, Muslim Africa, Ansar al-Shariah in Tunisia, and a locked account called "UB". The "Muslim Africa" account had far fewer followers, approximately 3,350, and followed two accounts: al-Andalus and "UB".
Ansar al-Islam
The Iraq-based jihadi group Ansar al-Islam created its Twitter account on May 16, 2013, and began posting on May 29. Like AQIM, the group authenticated the account through a message issued on top-tier jihadi forums, which came on June 3, and said it wished to expand the "circle of publishing through an authentic variety of platforms by which fair followers can find true news from the source without distortion or misguidance." The account currently has over 6,000 followers and often posts multiple communiqués a day claiming attacks as well as aspirational jihadi multimedia, including multiple series of images from a training camp named after radical Pakistani cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was killed in the Pakistani army's raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July 2007.
While it primarily posts reports of military operations in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam has used Twitter to bring its dispute with the ISIL to the public, giving statements about the bloody fighting between the two and trying to find a solution. On September 18, 2013, for example, the leadership of Ansar al-Islam issued a statement announcing it will fight back against the ISIL, but is open to peace initiatives. Later on October 12, it gave a record of the talks between it and the ISIL from September 10 through October 9, in addition to a list of attacks by the ISIL against Ansar al-Islam fighters.
After its posted publicly about the conflict with the ISIL, statements and multimedia from Ansar al-Islam are no longer distributed on the top-tier forums. The administrators of these forums delete all posts that raise discord among the jihadi community, and expel the source. While Ansar al-Islam is unable to reach its audience via these forums, it is able to use Twitter and other websites to continues posting messages and speak to its supporters.
Though not confirmed as authentic, there was a Twitter account for the Nigeria-based jihadi group Boko Haram, or as it calls itself, "Jama'ah Ahl us-Sunnah Lid-Dawah wal-Jihad". The account began tweeting on August 5, 2013, and had lasted posted on September 7, giving YouTube links to videos of its military training and spoils from battle. The account was suspended in November 2013, shortly after Boko Haram's designation as a terrorist group by the U.S. State and Treasury Departments.
All postings on the account were made in Arabic and include brief reports of attacks by fighters in Nigeria. For example, on August 12, the account said that 19 "apostate" soldiers were killed in Borno as a result of fierce clashes during the past days. The two YouTube videos tweeted on September 7 were marked as "redeployments" and were originally posted on Shumukh al-Islam in March and April, 2013.
Brigades of Abdullah Azzam
The Lebanon-based Brigades of Abdullah Azzam opened a Twitter account on November 19, 2013, the same day as two suicide bombers attacked the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Both it and an account belonging to group official Sirajuddin Zurayqat claimed credit, writing:
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
1- Praise be to Allah, Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, his Companions, and those who followed him. And thereafter: "We are more worthy of Hussein than them."
2- Brigades of Abdullah Azzam - Battalion of Hussein bin Ali - may Allah be pleased with them - stand behind the Battle of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.
3- The Battle of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut is a twin martyrdom-seeking operation by two heroes of the heroes of the Sunnis in Lebanon.
4- The operations will continue in Lebanon - Allah permitting - until two demands are met. First: All the elements of the party of Iran [Hezbollah] must withdraw from Syria, and the second is to release our prisoners from the prisons of injustice in Lebanon.
5- Wait for an official statement about the Battle of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut through al-Fajr Media Center.
6- We ask Allah the Almighty to accept the two martyrs, and to let them followed for us and our families with goodness. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Twitter suspended the account, but the Brigades later opened another, which currently has over 1,900 followers, and follows four other users: Sirajuddin Zurayqat, the ISIL's al-I'tisaam Media Foundation, the Syria-based jihadi group the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement, and the Syria-based Marwan Hadid Brigades, which has claimed rocket attacks on Shi'ite neighborhoods in Lebanon, including one operation with a group calling itself the "al-Nusra Front in Lebanon".
On the new account, the Brigades posted a link to YouTube where it uploaded a video from Zurayqat about the Iranian embassy attack, and showing the two bombers, Abu 'Awis al-Sidawi (Mouin Abu Dahir) and Abu Sufyan al-Shami ('Adnan al-Muhammad). In his speech, Zurayqat claimed that senior Hezbollah commander Hajj Hassan al-Laqqis was not assassinated by Hezbollah, as Hassan Nasrallah alleged, but was killed in the bombings at the Iranian embassy. He questioned: "How could the Jews assassinate him, as [Laqqis'] party guards the border, and they are the killers of the Muslims in Syria, and they are the tool of the West in suppressing the Sunnis?" Zurayqat added that the bombers did not target Shi'ite civilians, and the group does not seek to harm them, and that it rather aims only for Iranian and Hezbollah military and security sites.
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
The ISIL has two official Twitter accounts on Twitter: one for al-I'tisaam Media Foundation, and the other for Ajnad Media Foundation. Ajnad is a media unit specialized in jihadi audio chants and has released such material promoting jihad and martyrdom. Al-I'tisaam releases military communiqués, photo collections of fighters, audio speeches from group officials Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu Muhammad al-'Adnani, and videos of attacks, religious incitement, and good works projects. It is also a producer of ISIL media, having created the "Windows Upon the Land of Epics" series showing not only attacks, but speeches from a variety of foreign fighters - American, French, German, Kazakh, Kosovan, Tunisian - calling Muslims in their respective homelands to come to the Syrian battlefield.
Among these videos was a speech from Abu Dujana al-Amriki, an American, saying that fighters have come from all over the world to defend Syria and spread Islamic Shariah, and to "kill anyone" who opposes them. Also, most recently, on November 29, al-I'tisaam released a video showing a German fighter who calls himself "Abu Usama" discussing the reasons behind his conversion to Islam and his emigration to Syria. He also promoted ISIL-controlled areas in Syria as ideal places for Muslims to live, saying: "Here is not like what you hear in Germany, like hearing war all the time. Here, there are some areas where families can live and soon there will be schools open for the children. You all can live here and practice the Islamic religion freely." According to media reports, "Abu Usama" is a 26-year-old convert from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, named "Philip B".
"Abu Dujana al-Amriki"
Though material from al-I'tisaam and Ajnad are also posted on Shumukh al-Islam, their releases are often posted first on Twitter. Al-I'tisaam is currently on its second Twitter, the first having been suspended in early-October 2013, shortly after it posted the ISIL's communiqué claiming credit for a three-man suicide raid against headquarters of Kurdish security forces in Erbil, and an operation involving 200 fighters attacking Iraqi army and police sites in Anbar. Currently, the al-I'tisaam Twitter account has the second largest number of followers among the groups profiled in this report, with over 28,000, while Ajnad has nearly one-third of that number, 10,082.
Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement
Perhaps the most high-profile of the Twitter accounts used by al-Qaeda affiliates, the "HSM Press Office" of the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement was suspended and reopened repeatedly for its posting of messages inciting for violence, hostage videos, and communiqués claiming attacks and speaking on events from Hurricane Sandy to the failed raid in Somalia by French forces to rescue French hostage Denis Allex. The Shabaab posted exclusively in English, and more than any other group, actively engaged with Twitter users, friends and foes, about religious issues and the conduct of the Somali conflict. It is also unique in that utilized the account to live report during one of its major operations, laying siege to the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013.
The Press Office first opened a Twitter account in December 2011, which was suspended in January 2013 after posting a video plea from one of its Kenyan hostages, Mule Edward Yesse, as well as an announcement about executing Denis Allex and pictures of a French commander who died in its custody. The Shabaab's Press Office stated in an English press release on January 14, 2013, that the commander "succumbed to his injuries" hours after the group's medical teams took him to a hospital, but it managed to retrieve "valuable information" from him before he died. In one of its posts, showing the dead commander as if he were plunder with gear and weapons, the group asked French President François Hollande if the raid "was worth it?"
While the Shabaab issued Arabic communiqués and videos on top-tier jihadi forums via the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), it only occasionally distributed its English press releases and commentary to the jihadi forum community. For example, all of the postings during the four-day siege at Westgate were exclusive to Twitter, as were its claims for attacking Turkish diplomats in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on July 27, 2013, and killing at least two U.S. intelligence officials and eight African "Crusader" in a suicide attack near Mogadishu International Airport on July 12, 2013. The Press Office also provided translated excerpts from Arabic and Somalia speeches by the group's leader, Mukhtar Abu al-Zubeir. For example, on December 10, 2012, it gave a series of tweets about his speech "The Ummah and the Journey of Resilience" before its official release, noting his praise for AQAP and his vowing to Muslims and jihadist leaders to remain steadfast until the Shabaab are victorious:
Al-Kataib Media Foundation released a new message from Sh.Mukhtar Abu Zubair Entitled:"The Ummah and The Journey of Resilience"
Sh.Mukhar Abu Zubair: "As the Muslim Ummah enters another year, the American enemy continues to suffer a series of calamities.
Sh.Abu Zubair:"The humiliating defeat of the American military in Afghanistan and Iraq ,the severe economic woes.
The rising unemployment rates and the hurricanes that have hit major US states have completely changed the lifestyle of the American public
A public nurtured on the blood of other nations and the plundering of their mineral wealth.
The New Year also comes at a time when the Crusader's offensive against the Islamic wilaayaat in Somalia is fiercely underway; and the crusaders have concentrated all of the military, media, political and economic strengths in order to extinguish the light of Islamic Shari'ah.
The rise of Ansar Shari'ah in the Arabian Peninsula is another noble example for the Muslim Ummah, accurately illustrating the comprehensive justice of Islamic Shari'ah.
Ansar Shari'ah, may Allaah protect them, have come to be distinguished as Muslims endowed with Eeman and intelligence
We hereby inform our Muslim Ummah and its Mujahideen leaders, foremost among them Amiirul Mu'mineen Al-Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid and Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri the following:
1-That no matter the Strength of the crusader's offensive, it will eventually result in abysmal failure as the phase of gaining territory and defeating the Mujahideen has irreversibly come to an end.
2-That the apostate militia supporting the kuffar invaders are helplessly impotent, compelling the African Crusaders to personally move to the battlefronts and thus greatly increasing their fatality rates.
3- The military strength of the Mujahideen is still the same; still strong and resilient, denying the kuffar enemies the chance to rejoice in the territories they have occupied as the Mujahideen continue to torment them with constant ambushes and assaults.
The Mujahideen, however , firmly supported by the righteous scholars and the Somali tribes opposed to colonialism still remain steadfast , with full conviction in their lord's promise of victory
The revolutions of the Muslims in the Arab nations have crucially deprived kuffar from holding sway and having strong hand in the affairs of the Muslim world
Twitter suspended each account the Shabaab created during the Westgate siege, and the group did not appear to open another until December 16, 2013, which was suspended within hours.
Tags: Articles AnalysisAfghan Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)Al-Nusra FrontAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)Ansar al-IslamIslamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS)Shabaab al-Mujahideen (The Young Mujahideen Movement)AfghanistanAlgeriaIraqSyriaYemen
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Full Translation
Groups Afghan Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement Al-Nusra Front Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Ansar al-Islam Ansar al-Sunnah in Jerusalem Ansar Beit al-Maqdis Ansar Dine Ansar Jerusalem Hezbollah Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Islamic State Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) Jabha East Africa Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Jaish al-Fath Lashkar-e Toiba Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e Taliban) Shabaab al-Mujahideen (The Young Mujahideen Movement) Taifetul Mansura The Levantine Front Turkestan Islamic Party
Leaders Abu Musab Abd al-Wadud Abu Yahya al-Libi Adam Gadahn Anwar al-Awlaki Ayman al-Zawahiri Hakimullah Mehsud Mullah Omar Mustafa Abu al-Yazid Usama bin Laden Abu Baseer al-Wuhayshi
Countries Afghanistan Algeria Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Burma Burundi Canada Chechnya China Denmark Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Europe Finland France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Italy Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mali Mauritania Morocco Niger Nigeria Norway Pakistan Palestinian Territories Russia Saudi Arabia Somalia Spain Sweden Syria Tunisia Turkey Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan Yemen Burkina Faso Philippines Ireland
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Lack of Education Is Itself an Education for Prisoners
In February the University of California, Berkeley Human Rights Center put together a talk, "The (In)Justice System: Incarceration, Education, and Reentry: Reversing the School-to-Prison Pipeline" as part of a series about imprisonment, arbitrary and racist "mass incarceration."
Panelists were Violeta Alvarez, Board Member of the Underground Scholars Initiative, a student services and advocacy program at Berkeley, and Co-facilitator of the "Teach in Prison" DeCal class there; Danny Murillo, Program Analyst at Vera Institute of Justice and NJ-STEP Mountainview Program; Ronald Moss, Executive Director of the Gamble Institute and "Street Scholars Peer-Mentoring Program"; and Simon Woodard, Program Coordinator of the Prison University Project in San Quentin. Honored guests were also present. The talk was moderated by Professor Emerita Patricia Hilden of the Ethnic Studies Department.
Unfortunately it was going to be somewhat ineffectual from the start because the primary purpose—to create different realities for impacted people including the incarcerated, the formerly incarcerated, and those yet to be incarcerated—was not made central. This event was for people that academia sees as leaders: other people in academia. Yet the change academics seek, and the kind of change the panel has the potential to create, cannot get at the root cause, and cannot foment a real solution.
Nevertheless, there were some real highlights, including the honored guests Harrison Suega of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and Jose Gonzalez, Bikila Ochoa and Michael Mendoza of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, who were given a few minutes to speak from the heart on their experiences with incarceration, education and advocacy. Formerly incarcerated people often bring the heart to events and yet the event was not for them, and therefore it missed an opportunity.
Cultural relevance and ethnic studies became the topic, as a well-meaning professor from San Francisco State lovingly hijacked the meeting during the Q&A portion. Anyone wanting a strong Ethnic Studies department should bring resources to bear on the unmet needs of formerly incarcerated people in higher education. After all, you cannot talk about ethnic anything in the U.S. without coming back to imprisonment, where the state cannot hide its disproportionate level of incarceration of Black and Brown people.
Prof. Pat Hilden reminded us that the lack of education in prisons is education, as those living in the intellectual deserts of California's prison system are learning not to learn. Maybe we should be thinking about Ethnic Studies classes in prison, where they were carried out in secret at the risk of life and freedom.
Danny Murillo, co-founder of the Underground Scholars Initiative, spoke about his path to higher education, which ironically was made possible by his indeterminate sentence to the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit. He spoke of the breakdown of racial and ethnic barriers that were the result of sharing knowledge between himself and his white neighbor who would tutor him, and with whom Danny would share "tamales," homemade confections of corn chips and whatever was saved from dinner plates.
The event would have been a raving success from this and other anecdotes from the formerly incarcerated people who spoke.
The last to speak was Violeta Alvarez. A formerly incarcerated woman, she spoke heartbreakingly of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and its treatment of the women it imprisons. The California prison system, like most, was created with men in mind.
Because of this, and because of the monstrous nature of imprisonment, women face extreme deprivation in all areas the men do with the added burden of being mothers, the physical demands of having a reproductive system in prison, including being denied supplies, giving birth in shackles, forced sterilizations and rape. Thank goodness for people like Violeta and other women doing this work.
September 17, 2017 TheHistorian
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How clear Android Notification PendingIntent I got a Activity which creates an alarm.
The alarm calls a Broadcast Receiver. In on Receive i create a Notification with the extras from the Activity (ID, Title, Content). The Alarm triggers the Broadcast Receiver creates the notification well.
But when i re install the application or install a newer version and setup a new Alarm with a new title and content the receiver shows me the first create notification intent. i can create may Alarm triggers all works but they show always the first create Notification intents.
I use a internal application counter for creating a notification ID
public class CollectApplication extends Application {

private Integer reminderCount;

@Override
public void onCreate() {
reminderCount = 1;
super.onCreate();
}

public Integer getReminderCount() {
return reminderCount;
}

public void setReminderCount(Integer reminderCount) {
this.reminderCount = reminderCount;
}
}

Of course after re installing or updating the application the counter starts from 1. But i create a new intent with the same ID 1 so i override it right?
How to override it or remove the intent from the notification to create a new one with new extras to display?
Or Should i save the current ID in the shared preferences?

A:
How to override it or remove the intent from the notification to create a new one with new extras to display?

Use FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT when you create your PendingIntent for the new Notification.

Or Should i save the current ID in the shared preferences?

No, because you should only have one ID. You may wish to persist your reminder count, though.

A: ->Just add PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT
Example:
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Bill mentions 2 hours for printing a single lizardman in the article. For those of you who have some experience with various systems, does that sound normal?
Today's question: Can a low-end 3Dprinter – at a price around $300 USD and a resolution of 100 microns – print usable 28mm miniatures?
From what I've read, the answer should be no – you need a resolution of at least 20 microns, or five times better. But let's put it to the test!
Let's start out with a free figure I found at the website for my 3dprinter. Like most manufacturers, XYZprinting offers a gallery where customers can share their 3Dmodels. The good news is that there are over 1,000 models in the Toys category… and the bad news is that I can't seem to find a search function!
Mojay989 uploaded this Werewolf 3D model, which was apparently inspired by The Elder Scrolls videogame. According to the listing, it can be printed without supports, at standard speed, at 200 micron resolution, and one user claims it worked for him. The listing also claims the model is only 3mm by 3mm by 3mm, but that can't be right!
The figure has come out pretty good, but he's got Cthulhoid hands! What went wrong?
It's the same problem we discussed before – the arms are spread out wide from the body, the 3dprinter prints from the bottom up, and the arms look like spaghetti because the 3dprinter printed plastic into the air.
The bad news is that after the werewolf was printed, and as I was removing the supports, it broke apart, so I stopped removing the supports. But the arms look a lot better this time!
What went wrong? Two things. First, when the software added supports to the model, it placed some of the supports between the model's legs. And second, perhaps because the model was designed for a larger size originally, the legs/ankles are very fragile.
Fat Dragon Games is best known for their fantasy paper models, but they are also pioneering with 3D models which they offer for sale. They were kind enough to provide TMP with their first 3D miniatures set, Lizardfolk Set 1 from the Dragonlock range.
I printed one in white, and one in black. The one on the left still has the supports in place; the one on the right has had the supports removed, and has been cleaned up a little.
The models need a little clean-up. In my experience, PLA (the plastic my printer uses) doesn't respond well to sanding or filing, but a sharp blade and some tweezers work well.
There are five models in the set. The one which is the most challenging is the one with a spear. A narrow, vertical part like a spear is delicate, and the nozzle of my printer left stutters as it moved back and forth from the spear and the body. I gently tried to clean the spear up a bit, but I was afraid to do much, and the spear still needed a superglue fix after it got bent.
And I got two messed-up Lizardmen! My best guess is that this was caused by a problem in the software, so I reloaded the model on my laptop, and this time it printed without a problem.
Printing one Lizardman model takes about two hours for me. And, unlike a traditional printer, you can't queue up jobs in advance, because you have to be there to remove each job from the printer before you print the next one. So that means print one Lizardman, come back two hours later to remove that model and print the next one, and so forth.
But if you're in a hurry, can you load multiple models and print them all at once?
One limitation that I've run into with this printer is that if objects are printed too close together, the 'slicer' step of preparing the models for print will produce bugs: it will add extra planes to the model. I've found I need to keep the models at least 2cm apart.
So in my experience, printing multiple models runs the risk of extra clean-up work.
First, I did a clean-up pass with a sharp blade and tweezers. I didn't try to remove everything – on a Lizardman, a few extra 'details' add character.
After the basecoat, I did another quick clean-up pass.
I then brushed on a light green highlight, and washed the figure with a mix of brown and green inks. (I realize this may not be the best technique to use on a 3Dprinted model, as it may tend to bring out the striations, but it's my usual method.) I thought the figures needed more contrast, so I highlighted again with yellow-green, then washed with pure green ink.
I then painted the details in a similar manner. Loincloths were painted tan, washed with brown ink, then drybrushed with very light tan. Weapons were painted brown, then washed with brown ink; stone parts were painted grey, then drybrushed with light grey. Belts were painted light brown, then washed with brown ink; the buckles (and on some figures, what looked to me like necklaces) were painted gold. Some figures have 'turtle shell' armor: I gave this a blue ink wash, then highlighted with green. Straps were painted light tan. Eyes were dotted with yellow. One figure has a skull on his shoulder: I washed it with brown ink, then drybrushed with shades of tan.
A minor criticism is that some of the belts and straps should have been sculpted all the way around the backside of the model.
Would you use these on your gaming table? Do they satisfy the 'arm's length' wargaming rule? Did your Lizardmen turn out differently? Or will you wait for the next generation of printers and models?


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Diese Diskografie ist eine Übersicht über die musikalischen Werke des deutschen Musikers und Rappers Sascha Reimann sowie seinen Pseudonymen Ferris MC und Electro Ferris.

Alben

Studioalben

Kompilationen
 2006: Düstere Legenden

Mixtapes
 2005: Wixtape Vol.1 >>> Der übliche Verdächtige

Singles

Als Leadmusiker

Weitere Singles
 1995: Freaks (F.A.B., 12″, MZEE)
 1995: Hip Hop und Rap (die krasse Klasse '95)
 1996: F.A.B. am Mikrofon / Harmodekiddiejunk (F.A.B., 12″)
 1997: Es tut mir leid (F.A.B.,12″)
 1997: ERiCH Privat (F.A.B., EP)
 2000: Tanz mit mir
 2002: Viel zu spät
 2004: Spieglein, Spieglein, 12″
 2004: Rappen und Feiern (mit JaOne & Twizzy)
 2005: Achtung! Achtung! (Maniax, 12″)
 2007: Fuck the World (von Tube & Berger feat. Electro Ferris, 12″)
 2008: Day Off (als Electro Ferris, 12″)
 2008: 2 MC'S & 1 DJ (von DJ Stylewarz, Ferris MC und Toni-L, 12″)
 2008: Dark City/Sex in the City (Maniax, 12″)
 2008: Plutonium Boy (Maniax, 12″)
 2009: Fight Club (als Electro Ferris, 12″)
 2009: Fight Club Round 2 (als Electro Ferris, 12″)
 2009: Schattenwelt (als Electro Ferris mit Stereofunk)
 2010: Sonnenlicht feat. Markus Lange & Denis Naidanow (als Electro Ferris)
 2011: Stab (als Electro Ferris mit Nikolai)
 2011: you got the Body Baby (als Electro Ferris mit Markus Lange)
 2012: Überfallkommando (als Ferris MC mit den Discodogs)
 2012: Blood Red (als Ferris Hilton, 12″)
 2012: Weltuntergang (feat. Swiss)
 2013: Killah (als Ferris Hilton, 12″)
 2015: All die schönen Dinge
 2015: Roter Teppich
 2018: Für Deutschland reichts
 2019: Phönix aus der Klapse (mit Swiss, EP)
 2020: Bullenwagen (feat. Shocky & Swiss + die Andern)
 2020: Wir sterben alle
 2020: Missglückte Asimetrie
 2020: Kein Kompliment
 2020: 13. Stock
 2020: Du hast eine Rolex
 2022: Partisanen
 2022: Alle hassen Ferris

Als Gastmusiker

Statistik

Chartauswertung

Quellen

Weblinks

 Offizielle Website

Reimann, Sascha

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Okay, so I know it's technically not Autumn yet (#BestSeasonEver!), but I wanted share this really easy and delicious recipe for Roasted Marble Potatoes with Dried Herbs.
This is a go-to recipe for me when I'm in need of a side to complement the main course, while also being a filling option, and easy for the kids to eat with their fingers. Plus, it's a great excuse to fire up the oven when those cold, cloudy days roll in. Can't wait!
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line two baking sheets with foil.
Toss potatoes in olive oil.
Scoop potatoes onto baking sheets, dividing them equally between the two. Make sure potatoes don't overlap each other too much.
Sprinkle dried herbs and chili flakes over potatoes. Next, drizzle lemon juice.
Bake until crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from oven when thoroughly roasted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Note: Check the potatoes halfway through, as every oven is different, and cook time may vary.
Funny, I made nearly the exact same recipe just the other night before seeing your post! Simple and tasty way to make potatoes!
Yum! I can never make enough of them!
Love these rich colours of the roasted "marble potatoes"! Very autumn too! Yummy!!
Oh wow these look so delicious and the perfect side dish to any meal! We could agree more autumn is definitely up there with one of our favourite seasons!
What a wonderful way to use potatoes and especially for the fall. I make these a lot for my grandkids when they come to visit.
I love how easy they are to make too!


Supporting gender and sexual orientation diversity is important: It's sometimes a matter of life and death | Sally Ember, Ed.D.
This entry was posted in Reviews, Support for Good Causes and tagged authors, Book Review, Children's Book, Craig Pomranz, Gender Diversity, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, Made by Raffi. Bookmark the permalink.


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Q: Change cell title in TableViewController in another ViewController I'm trying to change the title in a TableViewController from another ViewController. (see image)

The second ViewController is the one with the 3 cells and the third one is the one with a textfield (inputText in code), a button (changeText) and a label (outputLabel). I would like this app to remember what I put in the text field when I go back to the table view and then back into the ViewController. What happens now is:
- I change the text, hit the button and the label changes.
- I go back to the TableViewController and then I go into the ViewController that I was just in with a changed label
- The label is what it was before...
How can I make the app 'remember' what I put in in the text field and what the label was like? My code (ViewController.swift, I linked the 3rd controller to this file, haven't linked the 2nd controller to anything (yet?)):
import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {

@IBOutlet weak var outputLabel: UILabel!
@IBOutlet weak var inputText: UITextField!
@IBAction func changeText(_ sender: UIButton) {
    outputLabel.text = inputText.text
}

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}

override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
    super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}

Thanks in advance!

A: You can reference your ViewController in first controller (TableViewController),
make public inputText
@IBOutlet public  weak var inputText: UITextField!

and in viewDidAppear get your text
override func viewDidAppear(_ animated: Bool) {
    super.viewDidAppear(animated)
    let text = ViewControllerVar.inputText.text //your text
}


Engineered wood flooring is a great way to either floor or re-floor any room in your home. A highly versatile flooring option, thanks to its construction, it can even be fitted in bathrooms, kitchens and over under floor heating; in other words, in places where solid wood flooring wouldn't normally be recommended. Engineered wood flooring comes in a whole range of species and grades as well as finishes and limed engineered wood flooring is a highly appealing as well as popular option.
Limed engineered wood flooring has a really light and slightly sun-kissed look to it. Reminiscent of New England boating sheds that have been weathered by the sea and warmed by the sun, limed engineered wood flooring is a stylish and appealing way to floor any room in your home.
Acting as a stunning backdrop to either modern, shabby chic or traditional furnishings, limed engineered wood flooring works equally well with bold, monochrome or faded colour palettes.


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The Adverts 250 Project
An Exploration of Advertising in Colonial America 250 Years Ago This Week
Advertising Adverts 250
HomePosts tagged 'George Norman'
George Norman
December 30, 2017 December 29, 2017 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update	George Norman, Georgia Gazette, Hairdresser, Peruke Maker, Wig Maker
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Georgia Gazette (December 30, 1767).
"GEORGE NORMAN, PERUKE-MAKER and HAIR-DRESSER … has opened a shop."
When he opened a new shop in Savannah in 1767, George Norman placed an advertisement in the Georgia Gazette to offer his services as a "PERUKE-MAKER and HAIR-DRESSER" to readers in town and throughout the countryside. Although the term "peruke" has fallen into disuse today, colonists knew that it referred to wigs.
In their examination of "Wigmaking in Colonial America," Thomas K. Bullock and Maurice B. Tonkin, Jr., summarize the activities of Norman and his counterparts in cities and towns throughout the colonies: "The work of the wigmaking craft in Colonial America consisted primarily of three types of activities; making and selling wigs and false hair pieces for men and women, cutting and dressing ladies' and gentlemen's hair, and shaving men."[1] Individual wigmakers engaged in each of these activities to varying extents. Although Norman did not mention shaving in his advertisement, it may have been an ancillary service he provided for male clients who visited his shop.
The presence of Norman's advertisement in the Georgia Gazette testifies to the growth of Savannah in the second half of the eighteenth century. According to Bullock and Tonkin, the "wig custom … was primarily an urban practice" in colonial America. Although small in comparison to busy urban ports like Boston, Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia, the largest town in Georgia achieved a sufficient "concentration of people and wealth [to create] a society in which the wig was considered a social or economic asset." Whether they resided in town or country, planters, merchants, and clergy commonly wore wigs, but the practice was not always limited to elites. Bullock and Tonkin indicate that "certain craftsmen, small shopkeepers, and other skilled workers and artisans, whose jobs brought them in contact with the public, found it advantageous to wear wigs."[2] More than a mere fashion accessory, wearing a wig served as a symbol of respectability in colonial society.
Bullock and Tonkin also comment on the significance of newspaper advertisements in examining the production and sale of wigs in colonial America: "There is a general scarcity of material relating to the practice of the wigmaking craft in America. Newspaper advertisements constitute the bulk of available information, and it is on this we must rely for an insight into the conduct of the craft."[3] For more on the tools, methods, and processes involved, consult Colonial Williamsburg's "Wigmaking in Colonial America."
[1] Thomas K. Bullock and Maurice B. Tonkin, Jr., "Wigmaking in Colonial America," (Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, 1957), 11.
[2] Bullock and Tonkin, "Wigmaking," 9.
[3] Bullock and Tonkin, "Wigmaking," 10.
Slavery Advertisements Published January 19, 1771
Happy Birthday, Benjamin Franklin!
January 19 | The Adv… on March 27
January 18 | The Adv… on January 7
January 9 | The Adve… on January 3
Kyle Mason on November 29
Bonus Advertisements
Daily Advert Update
Slavery Adverts 250 Project
Supplemental Commentary


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"Gentlemen's Guide" leads with 10 Tony Nominations!
There is rejoicing and crying, as usual on Broadway, this morning as the Tony Nominations were announced. "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" which I'm seeing for the SECOND time tomorrow got the lion's share of the nominations with 10. Daniel Radcliffe and Denzel Wasington were both left out of the Best Actor cateories, though both were nominated for Drama Desk Awards. And the lists of exclusions, snubs and overlooks is too long to go into here, but let's accentuate the positive and include of all those who DID get nominated this morning. Here's the complete list !
Outside Mullingar
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Chris O'Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Mark Rylance, Richard III
Tony Shalhoub, Act One
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies, A Night With Janis Joplin
Sutton Foster, Violet
Idina Menzel, If/Then
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night
Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night
Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie
Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun
Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Cabaret
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway
Joshua Henry, Violet
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Jarrod Spector, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond, Cabaret
Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Anika Larsen, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Act One
Bob Crowley, The Glass Menagerie
Es Devlin, Machinal
Christopher Oram, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Julian Crouch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Act One
Michael Krass, Machinal
Rita Ryack, Casa Valentina
Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway
Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Isabel Toledo, After Midnight
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Jane Cox, Machinal
Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie
Japhy Weideman, Of Mice and Men
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Christopher Akerlind, Rocky
Howell Binkley, After Midnight
Donald Holder, The Bridges of Madison County
Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Dan Moses Schreier, Act One
Matt Tierney, Machinal
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, After Midnight
Tim O'Heir, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mick Potter, Les Misérables
Brian Ronan, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night
Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun
John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leigh Silverman, Violet
Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine, Rocky
Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, Bullets Over Broadway
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood
Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y.
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O'Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus
Charlotte Wilcox
Tony Nominations by Production
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder – 10
Hedwig and the Angry Inch – 8
After Midnight – 7
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical – 7
The Glass Menagerie – 7
Twelfth Night – 7
Bullets Over Broadway – 6
The Cripple of Inishmaan – 6
Act One – 5
Aladdin – 5
A Raisin in the Sun – 5
The Bridges of Madison County – 4
Casa Valentina – 4
Machinal – 4
Rocky – 4
Violet – 4
Les Misérables – 3
All the Way – 2
Cabaret – 2
If/Then – 2
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill – 2
Mothers and Sons – 2
Of Mice and Men – 2
A Night With Janis Joplin – 1
Outside Mullingar – 1
Richard III – 1
The Velocity of Autumn – 1
"Casa Valentina" Best New Play on Broadway
I can't believe it! But I think "Casa Valentina" by Harvey Fierstein is the best new play on Broadway. Harvey Fierstein has written the most mature, crafted play of his chequered career, and yes, once again, drag queens are front and center. Or more specifically in this case, transvestites, who are straight, married men with children and careers, who come to the Casa Valentina, a secluded resort in the Catskills, to escape, relax and be themselves.
The transformations of the many well-known actors is nothing short of amazing. And it's magic that happens in plain sight, as John Collum, Tom McGowan and the Green Goblin himself Patrick Page, sit in front of endless make-up mirrors, well, making up.
Theirs is an enchanting introduction to many of the characters this way and it beguiles because you see how it is making these sad, uptight men of all ages happy.
Some are so into their drag personas that they arrive that way and stay that way, never a hair out of place. Nick Westrate makes a dazzling red-headed spark plug named Gloria, who arrives with the equally stunning cool, older, society deb-like champagne blonde Charlotte,(a superb Reed Birney) who likes to organize things. Maybe a bit too much.
Charlotte is on a mission this summer weekend. She wants to organize the trannies into a "sorority" along the lines of the Mattachine Society and the lesbian Daughters of Bilitus. In unity, there is strength, and she feels that transvestites as the gay groups before that I've mentioned need to stand up and be counted. But for some, if not all of these men, it is a very dangerous proposition.
The time is 1962, and Casa Valentina describes itself as a "run down bungalow colony in the Catskills, " but it seems to be a decade earlier.
All these lovely ladies are stuck in a time-warp of the mid-50s, and costume designer Rita Ryack and Hair, Wig and Make-up designer Jason P. Hayes, are to be commended(and hopefully awarded) for their just too-too perfect recreations of the these amazing transformations that take place at the Casa Valentina.
The newest resident is last year's Tony Winner for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Gabriel Ebert, who played "Matilda"s skeevy British dad. Here he's the uptight, innocent Jonathan who wants to transform into Miranda. And does!
I defy anyone not to fall in love with the entire cast. They really seem totally adorable. You want to hug them all.
Even later in the play when the question of homosexuality raises its' "ugly" head. These are all heterosexual men who adamantly proclaim their straightness despite their comme il faut wardrobes.
Homosexuality and the word "queer" are something that they can't condone. And Charlotte's attempt to organize them into a sorority also comes with a codicil. She wants them to sign a statement of purpose document, stating that they have nothing to do with repellent world of homosexual men and their practices.
This causes dissension, and is really the well-spring of the plot and propels the serious debate of these issues. Which I feel is commendable. I've never seen these questions raised so completely on a Broadway stage before.
I've lived in a world full of drag queens all my life, or a large part of it anyway, certainly my long-gone youth. But it was always in a theatrical context, like with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, which I was once upon a time a member of both, back in my salad days.
The late great Charles Ludlam elevated drag to a new height, but he always maintained that he was an actor playing the role of a woman. Charles Busch's new play called "The Tribute Artist" is how he phrased it. He wasn't a female impersonator, he was a tribute artist, honoring the great celluloid divas of Hollywood's past.The late beauty Candy Darling was truly a transexual, though she never had the operation. She lived in drag. Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis lived in drag, but had periods where as Lou Reed said in his song "thought he was James Dean for a day."
Sexuality is, as its' emblified, a rainbow. It's complicated, and sometimes seems full of unanswerable questions, and "Casa Valentina" raises all the right ones in this endless, eternal debate of the fluidity of sexuality, male and female. It doesn't necessarily answer all of the concerns it raises, but I was very happy to see the revered Manhattan Theater Club putting on this important new play, in a bang up production,at the height of awards season, that illuminates as it entertains. And kudos to MTC, and to the astounding director Joe Mantello, for bringing this together in a sometimes joyous, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes hilarious, but always impeccable, smooth production.
Tony Awards Committee Announces Who Goes In What Category
It always a question with all these theater awards announcements raining down upon us – which actors go in which category. And this last announcement before the TONY Awards nominations are officially announced on Tuesday AM, is interesting in one other way. They have chosen to categorize "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grille" as a play. Not a musical. Putting Audra McDonald in the Best Actress in a Play category. Pitting her against Tyne Daly. Audra, as you all know who read this, is having a career-topping high with her role as Billie Holiday at the end of her life in Emerson's Bar and Grille. And has five Tonys already. Tyne Daly who is exemplary in "Mothers and Sons" has only one.
Another interesting note of all these awards is "Bullets Over Broadway" is not fairing well at all.
These releases are interesting in to who is on the Tony Nominating Comittee's mind this season.
TONY AWARDS ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETS
FOR FOURTH & FINAL TIME DURING THE 2013-2014 SEASON
TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY
New York, New York (April 25, 2014) – The Tony Awards Administration Committee met today for the fourth and final time this season to determine the eligibility of eighteen Broadway productions for the 2014 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards®, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. The Tony Awards Administration Committee has met a total of four times throughout the 2013-2014 season to decide the eligibility for the 68th Annual Tony Awards.
The eighteen productions discussed include: All the Way, Rocky, Aladdin, Les Misérables, Mothers and Sons, If/Then, A Raisin in the Sun, The Realistic Joneses, Bullets Over Broadway, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Of Mice and Men, Act One, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Violet, The Velocity of Autumn, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Casa Valentina and Cabaret.
Andy Karl will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in Rocky.
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories for their respective performances inAladdin.
Ramin Karimloo and Will Swenson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their respective performances in Les Misérables.
Tyne Daly and Frederick Weller will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress/Actor in a Leading Role in a Play categories for their respective performances in Mothers and Sons.
LaTanya Richardson Jackson will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun.
Zach Braff will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category.
Santino Fontana and Tony Shalhoub will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their respective performances in Act One.
The Cripple of Inishmaan will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category.
Violet will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category.
Colin Donnell, Alexander Gemignani and Joshua Henry will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical category for their respective performances in Violet.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category.
All other eligibility determinations were consistent with the show's opening night credits.
The 2014 Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Sunday, June 8th, (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network.
The Tony Nominations, hosted by Lucy Liu and Jonathan Groff will take place on Tuesday, April 29that the Paramount Hotel's Diamond Horseshoe. The Tony Nominations will stream live at 8:30 AM on www.tonyawards.com.
TonyAwards.com, developed, produced, and hosted by IBM, is centerpiece of the Tony Awards digital platform that includes an interactive Second Screen (TonyAwards.com/secondscreen) to complement the CBS telecast on June 8; a Spotlight Series on potential nominees; Google+ hangouts; a live webcast of the Nominations Announcement; multimedia coverage before, during, and after the Tony ceremony; and much more. Visit TonyAwards.com, and follow the Tonys at Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards, @TheTonyAwards on Twitter, and Instagram.com/TheTonyAwards. #TonyAwards.
Drama Desk Award Nominations Announced!
The Drama Desk Award Nominations for 2014 were announced this morning at 54 Below. Fran Drescher(of all people!) was the perfect wake-up cup of entertainment coffee as she rasped out the many, many nominees and didn't once mispronounce any Adele Dazeems. Or at least I think she didn't.
The Drama Desks are considered the most prestigious theater awards of the season because they are the only awards-giving body to consider Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway on an equal playing field. They are also only voted on by members of the press.
A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder received the most nominations -11.
The nominations for the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards are:
Outstanding Play
Nell Benjamin, The Explorers Club
Steven Levenson, Core Values
Conor McPherson, The Night Alive
Richard Nelson, Regular Singing
Bruce Norris, Domesticated
Robert Schenkkan, All The Way
John Patrick Shanley, Outside Mullingar
Outstanding Musical
Fun Home
Love's Labour's Lost
Outstanding Revival of a Play
I Remember Mama
The Model Apartment
Twelfth Night (Shakespeare's Globe Production)
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Hamish Linklater, The Comedy of Errors
David Morse, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin
Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Barbara Andres, I Remember Mama
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated
J. Smith-Cameron, Juno and the Paycock
Harriet Walter, Julius Caesar
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Adam Jacobs, Aladdin
Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Margo Seibert, Tamar of the River
Barrett Wilbert Weed, Heathers: The Musical
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Chuck Cooper, Choir Boy
Peter Maloney, Outside Mullingar
Bobby Moreno, Year of the Rooster
Bill Pullman, The Jacksonian
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Betty Buckley, The Old Friends
Julia Coffey, London Wall
Diane Davis, The Model Apartment
Jan Maxwell, The Castle
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Rory O'Malley, Nobody Loves You
Bobby Steggert, Big Fish
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, Little Miss Sunshine
Anika Larsen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Laura Osnes, The Threepenny Opera
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Outstanding Director of a Play
Joe Calarco, A Christmas Carol
Thomas Kail, Family Furniture
Bill Rauch, All The Way
Anna D. Shapiro, Domesticated
Julie Taymor, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Sam Gold, Fun Home
Bartlett Sher, The Bridges of Madison County
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Alex Timbers, Rocky
Outstanding Choreography
Steven Hoggett, Kelly Devine, Rocky
Danny Mefford, Love's Labour's Lost
Sonya Tayeh, Kung Fu
Outstanding Music
Andrew Lippa, Big Fish
Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Alan Menken, Aladdin
Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe, Heathers: The Musical
Jeanine Tesori, Fun Home
Outstanding Lyrics
Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Michael Friedman, Love's Labour's Lost
Michael Korie, Far from Heaven
Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Joe Kinosian, Murder for Two
Douglas McGrath, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Marsha Norman, The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Orchestrations
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Big Fish
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Michael Starobin, If/Then
Outstanding Music in a Play
Lewis Flinn, The Tribute Artist
Elliot Goldenthal, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Rob Kearns, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle
Tom Kochan, Almost, Maine
Nico Muhly, The Glass Menagerie
Duncan Sheik, A Man's a Man
Outstanding Revue
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Musik from the Weimar and Beyond
Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz
Til Divorce Do Us Part
What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined
Outstanding Set Design
Richard Hoover, Small Engine Repair
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Ian MacNeil, A Doll's House
Donyale Werle, The Explorers Club
Outstanding Costume Design
Constance Hoffman, A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Zane Pihlstrom, Nutcracker Rouge
Loren Shaw, The Mysteries
David C. Woolard, The Heir Apparent
Outstanding Lighting Design
David Lander, The Civil War
Peter Mumford, King Lear
Brian Tovar, Tamar of the River
Japhy Weideman, Macbeth
Outstanding Projection Design
Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence, Cirkopolis
Sven Ortel, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Aaron Rhyne, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Shawn Sagady, All The Way
Austin Switser, Sontag: Reborn Ben Rubin, Arguendo
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Kai Harada, Fun Home
Peter Hylenski, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rocky
Brian Ronan, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Dan Moses Schreier, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Jon Weston, The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
M.L. Dogg, The Open House
Katie Down, The Golden Dragon
Paul James Prendergast, All The Way
Christopher Shutt, Love and Information
Outstanding Solo Performance
David Barlow, This is My Office
Jim Brochu, Character Man
Hannah Cabell, Grounded
Debra Jo Rupp, Becoming Dr. Ruth
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned
John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf
Unique Theatrical Experience
Charlatan Cirkopolis
Nothing to Hide
Nutcracker Rouge
The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill Vol. 2
PRODUCTIONS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS:
12 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
9 The Bridges of Madison County
8 Fun Home
6 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
6 Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
5 All The Way
4 A Midsummer Night's Dream
3 After Midnight
3 Big Fish
3 Domesticated
3 Hedwig and the Angry Inch
3 London Wall
3 Love's Labour's Lost
3 The Glass Menagerie
3 Twelfth Night (Shakespeare's Globe Production)
3 Violet
2 A Raisin in the Sun
2 Cirkopolis
2 Heathers: The Musical
2 I Remember Mama
2 If/Then
2 Machinal
2 No Man's Land
2 Nutcracker Rouge
2 Of Mice and Men
2 Outside Mullingar
2 Tamar of the River
2 The Cripple of Inishmaan
2 The Explorers Club
2 The Model Apartment
Special Awards: Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theatre.
For 2013-2014, these awards are:
To Soho Rep: For nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection.
To Veanne Cox: For her ability to express the eccentricities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of a range of characters, and notably for her comedic flair as evidenced in this season's The Old Friends and The Most Deserving.
To Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For his visionary directorial excellence. This season's The Golden Dragon andThe Mysteries exemplify his bold and strikingly original imagination.
To the ensembles of Off-Broadway's The Open House and Broadway'sThe Realistic Joneses and to the creator of both plays, Will Eno: For two extraordinary casts and one impressively inventive playwright.
The Open House: Hannah Bos, Michael Countryman, Peter Friedman Danny McCarthy, and Carolyn McCormick
The Realistic Joneses: Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts and Marisa Tomei
A few notes from the Drama Desk: "As the current revival of Cabaretreplicates the 1998 production, the Board deemed the show ineligible in the Outstanding Revival of a Musical category, as were performers, creative team members, and technical personnel associated with the earlier incarnation in their respective categories. Soul Doctor was considered for its Off-Broadway production in the 2012-13 season. Under Drama Desk rules, only new elements in its transfer to Broadway were eligible this season. Finally, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays was deemed ineligible because it was a return engagement of the 2005 Drama Desk winning show."
AIDS, British, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Brooklyn, Camp, Comedy, drama, Gay, New York, Off Broadway, Theater
Audra McDonald
Brian Cranston
Drama Desk Award Nominations
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grille
Dolmen -Six Part French TV series now on MHz DVD
Oui, I just watched the ENTIRE six part, 90 mins each, episodes of the popular French TV series "Dolmen" and I have to say the knock-out star was the beautiful Belle-Ile-en-Mer island where it was almost entirely shot.
Belle-Ile-En-Mer is a small, very picturesque island off the coast of Brittany and its scenic beauty captured the eye of many French artists including Monet, who you wouldn't think would be attracted to such craggy, treeless, unforgivingly bleak terrain.
"Dolmen" refers to the Stonehenge-like rock formations that the series revolves around. Every time the rocks start to bleed someone prominent on the Island dies. Murdered. The body count is so high by the end of the series, it's amazing the island called Ty Kern in the series is still populated.
"Dolmen" is written by two women Nicole Jamet and Marie-Jean Le Pezennec. But you'd never know it. The P.O.V. is strictly in line with the typical super-masculine police procedural with an extremely busty heroine Marie(Ingrid Chavin). who is haunted by bloody waves of nightmares, and who nevertheless is the picture of blooming good health.
Her poitrine is extremely belle, and we see her often soaking wet, or jogging, jogging, jogging. Those who want plus de poitrine have to wait til Episode 5 and 6, when Ingrid is more or less constantly taking her top off. Oh, and yes, she's a cop. French female cops evidently look like porn stars. And Marie is the central figure in this very twisty terrain of "Dolmen"s plot.
Some one is up to no good and Ingrid/Marie is constantly in jeopardy, no matter which way she turns.
Mlle. Chauvin's acting improves as the series wears on. And on. She at first used to half-giggle or have a dopey little smile, before she'd have to evince a big emotion other than breathlessly jogging or swimming. But Ep.5 and 6, she seemed to finally be learning what carrying a gigantic epic like this one demands and she bouncily goes with the flow. Helped in no small part by her uber-handsome co-star Parisian cop Bruno Madinier.
He's there to give a certain gravitas to the proceedings and Ingrid's strenuous heavings. And he more than fills the bill. He has better hair than she does.
Many French character actors are on board to fill out the very large capable cast, who seem to be enjoying themselves on their Belle-ile-en-Mer vacations. And are simply too numerous to mention.
It starts out shockingly enough in Ep.1 when Marie's brother is killed, and a bloody seagull found in her wedding dress(I'm not making this up). But after his departure, there's still six or seven more grisly deaths to endure, all seemingly inspired by the legend of "The Wreckers" That is an ancient island legend where starving islanders centuries ago, during a famine yet, lured ships to be smashed on the rugged rocks of Ty Kern by putting lamps on cows, and confusing the vessels as to wear the danger zones were. And then killing the victims that survived as they struggled to the shore.
And spooky. But if you want to know why the Dolmen's were bleeding at the exact moment that someone was being killed(and it's the victims own blood that ran down the Dolmens!) you will have to stay tuned til the last few minutes of the six-part series to find out.
"Mothers & Sons" to Display AIDS Quilt in Lobby
BROADWAY'S
" M O T H E R S A N D S O N S "
DISPLAYS PORTIONS OF
THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT
IN LOWER LOBBY OF THE
GOLDEN THEATRE
ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC EXAMPLES
OF AMERICAN FOLK ART
INSTALLED FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN A BROADWAY HOUSE
New York, NY (April 7, 2014) – The new Broadway play Mothers and Sons from 4-time Tony® Award winner Terrence McNally and starring Tony® Award and six-time Emmy® Award winner Tyne Daly is proud to announce that portions of The AIDS Memorial Quilt are now on display in the lower lobby of the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street), where the critically-acclaimed play currently resides. The Quilt, fittingly, is prominently referenced during the course of the 90-minute play, making its residency inside the theater especially poignant. Audience members of Mothers and Sons are encouraged to view the quilt before or after any performance. The quilt will be on display for the entirety of the run of Mothers and Sons. For tickets and information, please visit http://www.MothersAndSonsBroadway.com.
Mothers and Sons lead producer Tom Kirdahy said: "The Quilt is perhaps the most powerful reminder we have of those lost to AIDS; a hand-made monument lovingly constructed. Mothers and Sons is honored to display panels of the quilt in the lobby of the Golden Theatre as a tribute to those lost, who were all foot soldiers in the march towards equality. We must never forget those we lost during the darkest days of the plague as we joyfully celebrate our hard won victories today. Remember Their Names."
Chelsea Pines Inn is proudly sponsoring the AIDS Quilt display in memory and honor of the hotel's founder, Sheldon Post.
"A triumphant masterpiece." – New York Observer
"An impeccably acted production wrapped in a sense of urgency." – The New York Times
"Terrence McNally has just written his best play." – The Huffington Post
Mothers and Sons marks Mr. McNally's 20th Broadway show, and will be directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall). It stars Tony® and Emmy® Award winner Tyne Daly, Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Frederick Weller, Tony® Award nominee Bobby Steggert and newcomer Grayson Taylor. Preview performances began on Sunday, February 23, 2014, and the opening night is set for Monday, March 24, 2014. Mothers and Sons is produced on Broadway by Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, Paula Wagner & Debbie Bisno, and Barbara Freitag & Loraine Alterman Boyle.
Mothers and Sons, the new play by 4-time Tony Award® winner Terrence McNally, is a timely and provocative new play that explores our evolving understanding of family in today's world. At turns funny and powerful, Mothers and Sons follows a woman (Daly) who pays an unexpected visit to the New York apartment of her late son's ex-partner (Weller), who is now married to another man (Steggert) and has a young son. Challenged to face how society has changed around her, generations collide as she revisits the past and discovers a new connection she never expected.
The design team for Mothers and Sons includes scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Nevin Steinberg.
Mothers and Sons had its world premiere production at Bucks County Playhouse (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) on June 13, 2013. Tyne Daly also starred in that production. Mr. McNally's other works for Broadway include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Full Monty; Ragtime; Master Class; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Kiss of the Spider Woman; The Rink; The Ritz; and Bad Habits.
# # # # #
Tony Award Nominations to be announced on Tuesday Apr.29
THE 2014 TONY AWARDS® NOMINATIONS
LUCY LIU & JONATHAN GROFF
CO-HOST THE NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT ON TUESDAY APRIL 29th
LIVE FROM THE DIAMOND HORSESHOE AT THE PARAMOUNT HOTEL
NOMINATIONS TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON TONYAWARDS.COM & CBS THIS MORNING
WHO: The Tony Awards Nominations Announcement will be co-hosted by multiple SAG and Emmy nominated actress and star of ELEMENTARY on CBS, Lucy Liu, and Tony-nominated star of HBO's LOOKING & Disney's FROZEN, Jonathan Groff. Also in attendance will be: William Ivey Long, Chairman of the American Theatre Wing; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing; Nick Scandalios, Chairman of The Broadway League; Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the Broadway League.


text:
Oil & Gas / Africa
Renewables in Africa – Insights from the legal world
Renewable energy in Africa looks set for a bright future, with increasing investment and growing incentives from states to develop green infrastructure. But what are the key legal and contractual issues that stakeholders should consider?
by Kwadwo Sarkodie and George Fisher
Africa has a huge need for energy. If its energy gap is to be closed in a timely and sustainable way, renewables have a key part to play. It is no secret that Africa presents exciting opportunities for investment in, and development of, renewable energy. There is an abundance of renewable resources across the continent, including solar, wind (both onshore and offshore), geothermal and hydroelectric. As renewable technologies advance, the opportunities in Africa can be expected to continue to expand, despite the global disruptions caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
But what risks should stakeholders consider before committing to such projects? How can risk most effectively be managed? We will explore some of these questions, centred around three key risk areas: technology risk; performance measurement and testing; and policy and political risk.
Technology Risk
Renewable technologies tend to be at the cutting edge. While it is very positive to see technical innovation providing answers and enhanced options against the backdrop of the climate crisis, this creates its own set of risks. New technologies come with enhances risk, and the prospect of defects claims and/or deficient performance is therefore heightened.
In more mature renewables markets, such as Europe, owners and funders have grown more comfortable in accepting some of this risk and managing it appropriately during the course of the project. In Africa, where there may be less experience on the part of national bodies in developing such projects, it seems likely that these bodies will seek to place as much risk as possible onto concessionaires and contractors.
It is key, therefore, to ensure that the project documentation precisely allocates and demarcates design responsibility, with warranty periods and terms clearly defined. From the perspective of a party to an operating agreement with a state counterparty, engaging a contractor to undertake the necessary construction works, it is important to strike a careful balance. This balance lies between on the one hand, ensuring adequate recourse against contractors and designers to ensure the plant functions as it should, and on the other hand avoiding passing on a risk so high that contractors will be unprepared (or unable) to accept it without charging a significant premium.
Performance measurement and testing
An issue closely related to technology risk is the assessment and measurement of performance. The performance obligations that a contractor (particularly in relation to a design and build contract) warrants will be fulfilled by a project are often assessed over several years following project handover. This means that the contractor may be become liable to pay liquidated damages, or may lose entitlement to upside payments, as a consequence of failures by the plant to performance targets in a period when it has no control over the running of the plant.
Other factors may contribute to plant underperformance, such as poor operation and maintenance mechanisms/practice. Such risks are heightened in markets where experience of the relevant (sometimes novel) technology may be lacking. The potential therefore exists for the contractor to be unduly prejudiced by the post-handover operation and/or maintenance of the plant; this is something which should be guarded against. It is therefore critical for both contractors and owners to give careful consideration to performance criteria and how success is to be measured, over what period of time and with regard to what additional factors.
Policy and political risk
Renewable energy projects often necessitate significant upfront capital commitment, which is then to be recouped over a sometimes lengthy period of operation. Economic viability may well depend on stable government policies with regard to such matters as tariffs, subsidies and the development/availability of transmission infrastructure. These factors are often coupled with the fact that such projects may well be closely connected to national policy initiatives and may well involve a state (or a quasi-state entity) as a key stakeholder. It can be thus be seen that such projects are highly vulnerable to changes in state policy.
Further, the current dramatic collapse in global oil prices presents a challenge to the cost-competitiveness of renewable technologies and fuels, and indeed risks fundamentally upsetting the financial parameters of a renewables investment. That is to say, low oil and gas prices may tempt some counterparties to seek to abandon renewables projects in favour of "quick fix" alternative options, making use of cheap and readily available oil and gas.
All of this serves to enhance risk, and the need for parties to properly secure their positons as far as possible, including ensuring robust rights of recourse by way of appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.
International arbitration is often a preferred means of dispute resolution. Investors are often wary of coming before local courts, whose practices the investor may be unfamiliar, and there may too be concerns about conceding "home court advantage", particularly where a state is involved and that state's courts would adjudicate disputes. The flexibility offered by international arbitration in permitting the selection of an appropriate tribunal provides a further attraction, in allowing parties to ensure a tribunal likely to be comfortable with the technical issues particular to renewables projects. A further, and key, attraction of international arbitration is the relative ease (at least by comparison with a judgment of a national court) of enforcement of an arbitral award internationally – via the New York Convention.
Investment treaties too may provide recourse against the risk of state action which might serve to harm the project. This will of course depend on there being an investment treaty in place between the investor's domicile state and the host state for the renewables project. It would also be necessary to ensure that the investment qualified under the relevant treaty. Since almost every African state is party to at least one (and in many cases several) bilateral investment treat(y)(ies), the potential for treaty protection is an important consideration.
These are some of the key considerations to keep in mind as Africa continues its growth as a promising and important renewables market. In today's uncertain times, careful attention to the identification and management of risk are more important than ever.
Kwadwo Sarkodie, Partner, George Fisher, Senior Associate both in the litigation team at Mayer Brown, a global firm.
Mozambique's gas hub future
Mayer Brown
Buhari to launch Lagos excellence centre
Bank assets targeted over Shell's $479m Nigerian debt
Uganda goes to the polls amid ruling party crackdown


Every place in this country is full of hidden gems that are simple waiting to be explored to the fullest. From gorgeous Alps to surreal villages, Austria is next to a paradise! Elegant waltzes and Johann Strauss immediately comes to mind when one thinks of Vienna, the capital of Austria and its largest city; the city still holds more than 200 balls each year. Salzkammergut is a beautiful resort area that starts with Salzburg and heads east into a land of lakes. Sparkling clean lakes, green hills, wonderful mountains, romantic towns like St.Wolfgang and Hallstatt make up this region and a perfect spot for healing from routine chores. Zell am See is located in the state of Salzburg, is another well-known tourist destination, famous for its mountains and lakes. Once governed by French troops back in the early 19th century, Zell am See has hosted several international skiing competitions. This place holds great value for sport enthusiasts.
People traveling to Austria. Make sure to add Budapest, Klagenfurt and Zagreb to their bucket list!


text:
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Gianna Beretta
Gianna Molla
Tenth of thirteen children born to Alberto and Maria Beretta, she was a pious girl raised in a pious family; one sister became a nun, and two brothers, including Enrico Beretta became priests. While in college, she worked with the poor and elderly, and joined the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. Physician and surgeon, graduating from the University of Pavia in 1949, she started a clinic in Mero, Italy in 1950. She returned to school and studied pediatrics, and after finishing in 1952 she worked especially with mothers, babies, the elderly, and the poor. Active in Catholic Action, and a avid skier. She considered a call to religious life, but was married to Pietro Molla on 24 September 1955 at Magenta. Mother of three, she continued her medical career, treating it as a mission and gift from God. During her pregnancy with her fourth child, she was diagnosed with a large ovarian cyst. Her surgeon recommended an abortion in order to save Gianna's life; she refused and died a week after childbirth, caring more for doing right by her unborn child than for her own life. Today that child is a physician herself, and involved in the pro-life movement.
4 October 1922 in Magenta, Milan, Italy
28 April 1962 in Monza Maternity Hospital, Monza, Italy of complications from an ovarian cyst
6 July 1991 by Pope John Paul II
24 April 1994 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy
16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II
the canonization miracle involved the birth of a baby who gestated with no amniotic fluid but a constant stream of prayers for the intercession of Saint Gianna
against abortion
unborn children
Catholic Sun
Father Z: Saint Gianna's 2nd Miracle
Jean Lee
Mother for All Times, by Sue Widemark
Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Saints 2 Saints
Saints Stories for All Ages
Savior.Org
uCatholic
Catholic Bytes
Testigos de fe
Enrosadira
Fondazione Santa Gianna Beretta Molla
Parrocchia Santa Gianna
Santuario diocesano della Famiglia e Centro di spiritualita
If you must choose between me and the baby, no hesitation; choose – and I demand it – the baby. Save the baby! – Saint Gianna
O Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all that You permit to befall me, make me only know Your Will. My most sweet Jesus, infinitely merciful God, most tender Father of souls, and in a particular way of the most weak, most miserable, most infirm which You carry with special tenderness between Your divine arms, I come to You to ask You, through the love and merits of Your Sacred Heart, the grace to comprehend and to do always Your holy Will, the grace to confide in You, the grace to rest securely through time and eternity in Your loving divine arms. – Saint Gianna
When one does one's own duty, one must not be concerned, because God's help will not be lacking. – Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
"Saint Gianna Beretta Molla". CatholicSaints.Info. 20 August 2020. Web. 18 January 2021. <>


# Copyright (c) 2017, Shay Gueron.
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# multiple of 8, we first hash the leading n%8 blocks.
# order to counter this, the existing tag needs to be multipled by x^128.
# In practice, this just means that it is loaded into $Xhi, not $T.
# make CTRBLKs from given tag.