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Tag Archives: Lord Young of Cookham
Boris Johnson and parliament: misunderstandings and structural weaknesses
Posted on February 5, 2021 by The Constitution Unit
On 21 January Unit Director Meg Russell appeared on a panel with two former Conservative Chief Whips, reflecting on Boris Johnson's troubled relationship with parliament as Prime Minister. In this post she presents her central arguments – that the Johnson government in its early months has seemed to demonstrate some basic misunderstandings about parliament and its role; but also the government's behaviour has highlighted some of parliament's key weaknesses.
In early September 2020 I wrote a blogpost on Boris Johnson and parliament, which documented 13 unhappy episodes in 13 months. I had originally aimed at producing a list of 10 such episodes, but found that there was just too much material. Some of the incidents were obvious – such as the attempted prorogation the previous September, ultimately ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. Others have continued to bubble along unhappily in the subsequent months – including the persistent refusal by Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg to provide time for MPs to debate and agree proposals from the Procedure Committee to allow them to work virtually during the pandemic (frequently covered on this blog – see here and here), and the sporadic suggestions from government sources that the House of Lords should move to York. Some incidents were more obscure, but worth recalling for the record – such as Downing Street's attempt to impose Chris Grayling as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee (which rather dramatically backfired).
Of course that post was written five months ago, and the list continues to gets longer. It predated, for example, the dramatic showdown with former Conservative leaders over the government's Internal Market Bill. It predated the announcement of the new Christmas lockdown rules during Commons recess, and the government's refusal to allow a recall to debate them – despite protests by numerous Conservative backbenchers. It noted Johnson's excessive first round of Lords appointments, but not his second within six months – both in clear breach of the Lord Speaker's hardfought attempts to control the size of the chamber. It predated Johnson's overruling of the House of Lords Appointments Commission's recommendations on propriety, for the first time by any Prime Minister in the Commission's 20-year existence.
Posted in Brexit, Events, Parliament | Tagged 1922 Committee, backbenchers, boris johnson, Chris Grayling, coal, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Coronavirus, Events, Graham Brady, hereditary peers, House of Commons, House of Lords, House of Lords appointments, hybrid proceedings, Intelligence and Security Committee, Internal Market Bill, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Young of Cookham, Lords reform, Mark Harper, meg russell, MPs, Nick Clegg, parliament, parliamentary procedure, parliamentary scrutiny, prime minister, Prime Ministers, Procedure Committee, scottish parliament, secondary legislation, Sir George Young, size of the House of Lords, taking back control, Theresa May, virtual parliament, Wright Committee | 2 Comments
The Backbench Business Committee: an unfinished revolution?
Posted on January 22, 2021 by The Constitution Unit
2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the House of Commons' Backbench Business Committee – an event that marked the first major reversal of a century-long trend of the government taking increasing control of the agenda of the House. But the anniversary went largely unnoticed. Paul Evans, a former Clerk of the committee, asks whether this is because it has been outmanoeuvred by the usual channels, has lost its cutting edge, or because relative obscurity is what backbenchers really want.
The birth of the Backbench Business Committee
The background to how the Committee on Reform of the House of Commons (commonly known, after its chair Dr Tony Wright, as the 'Wright Committee') was established can be found, for those interested, in the introduction to its first report. Amongst the matters the House instructed it to consider, when it was set up on 20 July 2009, was the 'scheduling of business by the House'. It recommended the creation of a new category of 'backbench business', to be managed by a new committee of backbenchers, a new 'House Business Committee' to bring transparency to the way in which the House's wider agenda was determined, and a system by which the House as a whole would be given the final say on its agenda. Many of these ideas had been foreshadowed in a Constitution Unit report published in 2007.
After an inconclusive debate on the proposals of the Wright Committee on 22 February 2010, on 4 March, amongst other reforms arising from the committee's recommendations (most significantly on the election of chairs and members of select committees) the House agreed that a proposal for the establishment of the Backbench Business Committee should be brought to it by the government (emphasis very deliberately added) before the start of the next parliament, and that a House Business Committee should be established during the course of that new parliament. In fact, as everyone knew at the time, the timetable for doing so was well-nigh impossible. The parliament was dissolved on 12 April, just 20 sitting days after the 4 March debate. That could have been the last we heard of the recommendations on new ways to schedule the House's business.
Posted in Parliament | Tagged Backbench Business Committee, backbench rebellions, backbenchers, Business motions, Coalition, coalition agreement, coalition government, Conservative Party, Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House of Commons, Liberal Democrats, Lord Young of Cookham, Natascha Engel, PACAC, parliament, parliamentary debates, parliamentary procedure, parliamentary reform, parliamentary scrutiny, Paul Evans, Procedure Committee, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Sir George Young, STV, taking back control, Wright Committee
Boris Johnson and parliament: an unhappy tale in 13 acts
Posted on September 1, 2020 by The Constitution Unit
Parliament returns from its summer break today. During Boris Johnson's 13 months in office as Prime Minister his relationship with parliament has often been rocky. In this post, Unit Director Meg Russell reviews 13 episodes during these 13 months which illustrate Johnson's difficult relationship with parliament. His Number 10 has often resisted parliamentary oversight, and faced down significant parliamentary opposition – including from his own backbenchers. With growing indications of backbench discontent, she explores the dangers of this situation.
As the Commons reassembles today, it's a good moment to reflect on the relationship between Boris Johnson's government and parliament so far. Johnson has now held office for just over a year, and rumours are emerging of significant discontent on the Conservative backbenches. From the outset, Johnson's relationship with parliament has been beset with controversy. As he enters his second parliamentary year, what have been the key flashpoints, and what do they add up to collectively?
This post looks back at 13 episodes in the past 13 months, before reflecting on what they teach us, and what the future may hold. It suggests that while existing flashpoints have resulted from Number 10's bold assertions of executive power, there are risks for Johnson that the tables could soon start to be turned.
1. The first day: two hours of scrutiny before recess
Boris Johnson became Prime Minister on the afternoon of 24 July 2019, following his victory in the Conservative leadership contest. On that day, Theresa May took her final Prime Minister's Questions. Johnson thus had just one day to face parliament, which was about to break for its summer recess. The hot topic was Brexit; May had been forced out after failing to gain adequate support from her own MPs for her Brexit deal, which was defeated three times in the Commons between January and March. Johnson had been among those voting against it. The big question was how he could succeed where Theresa May had failed. On 25 July there was a brief potential window for MPs to quiz him on his Brexit strategy. But he chose instead to make a far more general statement on 'priorities for government'. After two hours of questions ranging across all policy topics, the Commons moved to adjourn until September. An attempt by MPs to delay adjournment had failed, as did a later attempt to recall parliament over the summer to discuss progress on Brexit. Recall is impossible without the agreement of the government. Continue reading →
Posted in Brexit, Parliament | Tagged 1922 Committee, Article 50, backbenchers, Benn Act, Bernard Jenkin, boris johnson, Brexit, Brexit deal, Cabinet, Charles Walker, Chris Grayling, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Coronavirus, delegated legislation, dominic cummings, Dominic Raab, Early General Election Act, fixed-term parliaments act, Hansard Society, House of Commons, House of Lords, House of Lords Appointments Commission, Intelligence and Security Committee, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Julian Lewis, Leader of the Commons, liaison committee, Lord Fowler, Lord Speaker, Lord Young of Cookham, lords appointments, meg russell, no deal, parliament, parliamentary procedure, parliamentary scrutiny, Procedure Committee, proroguing parliament, restoration and renewal, rule of law, secondary legislation, select committees, statutory instruments, Theresa May, virtual parliament, whips, withdrawal agreement, withdrawal agreement bill, Withdrawal Bill | 6 Comments
Electing a new Speaker: what happens next?
Posted on September 18, 2019 by The Constitution Unit
After over ten years as Speaker, John Bercow has announced his intention to stand down at the end of October. As for who will replace him, that is unclear and will be decided by an election amongst MPs, several of whom have already declared their candidacy. But how does that election work? Mark Bennister offers a guide to the process.
During yet another dramatic day in the House of Commons on Monday 9 September, the Commons Speaker John Bercow announced he would be stepping down either 'when this Parliament ends' (if the Commons voted for an early election) or on 31 October. As the motion for an early election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act did not secure the required two-thirds majority, this means he will be in the Chair for some further drama until the end of October.
On 22 June 2019, John Bercow marked his tenth anniversary as Commons Speaker. He was the first Speaker to be elected under the new system of secret ballots (SO No. 1B). He is the longest serving Commons Speaker since Edward Fitzroy, who died in office in 1943, having served since 1928. John Bercow is therefore the longest serving post-war Speaker. He had at one point let it be known that he would serve no more than 9 years, however the snap election in 2017 and the aftermath of the EU referendum led to considerable speculation that he would alter his position and continue as Speaker for the full parliamentary term.
Despite publicly stating that parliament would be the first to hear of his intention to step down, expectation had mounted that his retirement was imminent. In October 2018, in the wake of the Cox report into harassment and bullying of House of Commons staff (in which he was personally criticised), there were reports suggesting that he would step down in June or July 2019. However, this prediction was proven wrong in May, when he said in a speech that he had no intention of departing in the immediate future. The prospect of an early election this autumn and reports that the Conservatives would field a candidate against him if he stood again in his Buckingham constituency may have prompted the decision to leave next month. He therefore chose to seize the opportunity before this most unusual prorogation and retire on his own terms. Continue reading →
Posted in Parliament | Tagged chris bryant, Conservative Party, Cox report, Dame Eleanor Laing, Edward Leigh, Eleanor Laing, expenses scandal, fixed-term parliaments act, Harriet Harman, House of Commons, John Bercow, Ken Clarke, Lindsay Hoyle, Lord Young of Cookham, Mark Bennister, Michael Martin, MPs expenses, parliament, Pete Wishart, Procedure Committee, proroguing parliament, Sir Edward Leigh, Sir George Young, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker, Speaker of the House of Commons, Standing Order 1B | 1 Comment
This prorogation is improper: the government should reverse it
Boris Johnson's prorogation announcement has generated widespread criticism, and will be hotly debated when MPs return today from their summer break. Meg Russell, Alan Renwick and Robert Hazell argue that the decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was an improper use of executive power, sets dangerous precedents, and undermines fundamental principles of our constitution. It should therefore not proceed. MPs may seek to block it, and so may the courts, but the preferable route would be for the government to recognise its mistake and reverse it.
MPs return to Westminster today after the five-week summer recess in deeply unusual and worrying circumstances. Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has faced just one day of parliamentary scrutiny since taking office on 24 July, triggered a prorogation of parliament, set to last another five weeks. Particularly given the Brexit deadline of 31 October, this has caused widespread consternation: among opposition parties, senior Conservatives (such as former Prime Minister Sir John Major, and Lord Young of Cookham who served for 24 of the last 40 years on the frontbench under a succession of Conservative leaders), plus constitutional experts, and the wider public. MPs must now decide how to respond, and meanwhile the action is being challenged in the courts. In this piece we argue that the prorogation was improper, that it sets dangerous precedents, that it is contrary to our constitutional traditions, and that there is still time for the government to defuse the crisis by reversing it.
The rights and wrongs of prorogation
At one level, parliamentary prorogation is entirely uncontroversial. By routine, a short prorogation usually occurs each year between the end of one parliamentary session and the start of the next – ahead of a new Queen's speech. In addition, a short prorogation often occurs before parliament is dissolved for a general election, in order to regulate the timing and ensure that election day takes place on a Thursday. The recent practice and procedure of prorogation is set out clearly in an excellent briefing from the House of Commons Library.
Discussion of potentially more sinister uses of prorogation began during the Conservative leadership contest, when Dominic Raab (now Foreign Secretary) refused to rule out proroguing parliament to force through a 'no deal' Brexit in the face of opposition by MPs. This was roundly condemned by others in the race at the time: being described by Sajid Javid (now Chancellor of the Exchequer) as 'trashing democracy', and Michael Gove (now effective Deputy Prime Minister) as 'a terrible thing'. Andrea Leadsom (now Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) commented that 'I don't think prorogation is the right thing to do and I don't think that a Prime Minister would choose to do that'.
Following Johnson's prorogation announcement, ministers have instead suggested that this is absolutely standard procedure. On Thursday's Today programme, the Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, claimed that it was more or less what happened every year, and that it was 'because of the 3 ½ weeks of conference recess [that] it is five weeks in total'. Hence Rees-Mogg accused critics of the move of expressing 'confected anger'.
But such suggestions of normality are disingenuous, seeking to exploit public confusion between the different means by which it can be decided that the Commons will not sit. It is important to distinguish between the following three things:
Prorogation brings all parliamentary business to a complete stop. Unless rescued by a government motion, bills that are before parliament fall and must start their passage again. Importantly, the decision to prorogue lies wholly in the hands of the government – through issuing advice to the Queen, which she is duty bound to accept. Usually a prorogation lasts for just a few days. Research by the House of Lords Library shows that a five-week prorogation will be the longest since 1930.
Parliamentary recess is very different. Recess occurs periodically throughout the year, to accommodate holidays and, usually, a break for the party conferences. However, the decision to adjourn for recess lies with MPs. The motion for the 2019 conference recess had not yet been laid, and the looming Brexit deadline meant that there was increasing pressure from MPs to cancel or cut this recess short. Crucially, it is also possible for some parliamentary business – such as meetings of select committees – to continue during recess, and the progress of bills is not halted.
Dissolution of parliament in contrast occurs before a general election. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the decision to dissolve parliament again lies with MPs themselves – and is taken by a parliamentary vote. Dissolution does not simply suspend parliament: as the name suggests, it dissolves parliament in preparation for the creation of a new one through a general election.
Hence either recess or dissolution, sometimes combined with a short prorogation, frequently result in parliamentary breaks which last a number of weeks. But in both of these cases MPs take the decision to break themselves. Had ministers genuinely wanted to hold a 'routine' prorogation to facilitate a Queen's speech, as they claim, they could easily have proposed one lasting a few days, and left the decision to MPs regarding whether to take the conference recess. Instead, they have proposed the longest prorogation for 90 years, using executive power to shut down parliament in the midst of a crisis – seemingly to avoid the risk that MPs would veto the conference recess, and perhaps use the time available defeat the government on other things. As suggested in the previous comments of Conservative leadership contenders, that represents an improper use of executive power. Continue reading →
Posted in Brexit, Europe, Parliament | Tagged Alan Renwick, andrea leadsom, Article 50, Article 50 extension, boris johnson, Brexit, caretaker convention, constitutional convention, Cooper-Letwin Bill, dissolution, Dominic Raab, fixed-term parliaments act, Gina Miller, House of Commons, humble address, Irish backstop, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Joanna Cherry, john major, Lord O'Donnell, Lord Young of Cookham, meg russell, Michael Gove, no deal Brexit, parliament, parliamentary recess, parliamentary scrutiny, parliamentary sovereignty, Paul Craig, political constitution, proroguing parliament, Queen's Speech, robert hazell, royal prerogative, Sajid Javid, Sir George Young, Sir Gus O'Donnell, Supreme Court, unity government, vote of confidence, vote of no confidence | 8 Comments


Silence and strict discipline MUST be maintained in the library by all users and the library staff.
No student shall be allowed to make or receive a call within the library premise. Failure to comply a fine of 5,000/= shall apply or a phone be confiscated.
Bags, briefcases, metallic containers, umbrellas, overcoats, helmets shall be left in the place provided at the entrance.
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Editor's Note: Cal Foulner and William Taing are the cofounders of Beanstalk AgTech, an agriculture innovation practice based in Australia, bringing together startups, producers, and investors across the Asia Pacific.
The Mekong AgriTech Challenge (MATCh), the Mekong region's first AgTech pitch competition and market access boot camp, launched for the first time last week.
The MATCh program received 127 applications from local and international startups, selecting the top 13 local startups from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam for the startup accelerator program as well as 10 applicants from around the world including Australia, China, Thailand, India, Israel, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and Taiwan. The finalists represented a diverse range of opportunities including animal genetics, food processing, IoT, agriculture wast-to-profit, artificial intelligence, marketplaces, supply chain traceability, precision agriculture, farm support tools, and agri-financing.
The week-long boot camp kicked off in Hanoi with participants discussing stories from Hieu Dinh Minh head of R&D at VinEco and Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh from Pan Group, two companies that represent significant players in agriculture in Vietnam. Both Vin Group and Pan Group have both only started to build strong capabilities in agriculture over the past five years driven by strong strategic motivations. These groups have existing assets in real estate, retail, hotels, and healthcare and are moving into agriculture to vertically integrate their business models. This was summed up nicely by VinEco's Hieu Dinh Minh: "The only part of our business that the production of safe, nutritious, and sustainable food does not support is our hospitals because healthy people do not require our services." It was clear that moving forward they will be the customers with the most voracious appetite for new agtech innovation coming from both Vietnam and abroad. However, getting crystal-clear on how their production systems work and tailoring technology solutions to fit their specific needs is of critical importance.
The startups had the chance to tour the regions and saw first hand the challenges and opportunities involved in developing technology solutions to support the nearly 200 million smallholder farmers across the region with the target customer only farming around one half to two acres on average.
Despite the small farm sizes, in Vietnam, smallholders make up more than 70% of national production.
As we discussed the market dynamics of the Mekong region, it became clear that the real experts on this subject were founders of the local startups including Tun Yat from Myanmar (tractors as a service), Intello Labs from India (smartphone-based app using AI for grading produce) and Bolaven Farms from Laos (value-added waterless coffee processing).
The week culminated in a final pitch competition, which was attended by investors, industry as well as government players.
The winner of the local startup group was Cricket One, which produces sustainable and affordable protein from crickets by developing technology to rear crickets intensively on agricultural by-products. Cricket One's business model is to provide farmers the tools and methods to farm crickets, secure and process the output, with Cricket One taking responsibility for the marketing and distribution, primarily in Europe. Over the next two years, they plan to scale up production to several hundred tons per year and move into producing value-added cricket-based products to increase consumer acceptance and secure increased income for their farmers.
Cofounder of Cricket One, Nam Dang said "we were so fortunate to meet our mentors who gave us good advice, network with companies like Pan Group & VinEco who acted as potential buyers and investors, and other startups who we learned a lot from. ADB's support has been helpful, and we hope that there will be continued cooperation in the near future." Cricket One currently have their seed funding round open for investment.
For the international cohort exploring market access opportunities into the region, AgUnity took out first prize. AgUnity deploys a mobile app using blockchain technology to enable smallholder farmers in the developing world to plan, share, cooperate, and trade more effectively with each other leading to improved productivity, increased incomes, and financial inclusion. Over the next 12 months, AgUnity will commence four new regional projects, growing its user base to 3,000 farmers.
AgUnity said that their biggest challenge moving forward is to efficiently screen the overwhelming number of requests for partnerships from private companies and research institutions. "We don't anticipate adoption being the problem, quite the opposite", says Nick. AgUnity currently has a seed round open for investment.
The good news for local startups from the region, as well as those looking to enter into the market, is that there is every intention to continue the program. Mekong MATCh is the first event of its kind for AgTech in the greater Mekong subregion so there was a lot of uncertainty about what to expect. After the MATCh event, MBI Deputy Project Director Phan Vinh Quang, who is was in charge of the program, told us "the enthusiasm from the industry was a lot more than we expected. People were really interested in the solutions that MATCh finalists shared and we were able to invite the largest players in the sector to share their views and open their farm gates to startups and explore partnerships We did not expect that we would have 'instant noodle' success like this".
There is no doubt the agriculture supply chain has plenty of challenges to solve and with the pace at which the industry is developing there will be a lot of opportunity for strong financial as well as social and environmental returns to be made throughout the Greater Mekong region.


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When Grief Strikes, Evil Gets Insane! "Beyond the Darkness" review!
Posted by The Evil Blogger on August 30, 2017
The fiance of an orphaned villa owner named Frank dies in within their last loving embrace. Struck with immense grief, Frank digs up his fiance's freshly packed corpse, injects her with embalming fluid, discards her major organs, installs glass eyes into her eye sockets, and processes her to be with him forever as a taxidermal doll laying in the bed next to him. Presumably behind Frank's fiance's untimely death is Iris, the family housekeeper who has an unhealthy obsession with Frank and his wealth, and when Frank instability goes beyond the means of all reason, an ill-tempered and mentally paralleled Iris swoops in to be Frank's comfort, voice of guidance, and abetting culprit to Frank's crimes as he can't seem to stop killing young women in order to either replace or protect his adored doll and when a nosey mortician snoops around his residence, turmoil between Frank and Iris boil over in a heap of violence turned into a showdown of ill-fated and gruesome death.
"Beyond the Darkness" is by far beyond sick. Director Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi), one of Italy's legendary video nasty filmmakers, reaches far into the darkest crevices of the criminally insane and exhibits every aspect of cold and brutal murder when the small window of opportunity and hope goes horribly wrong. The 1979 film shot in the Bressanone area of Italy exudes breathtaking countryside hills; so serene and peaceful that when Frank's mind breaks and he crosses into an irreversible dark state, his frigid and murderous emotions make him a monolith that shadows the expansively green landscape. Tack on an equally demented housekeeper with a penchant for diabolical motives and the juxtaposition is no where near being level, creating this idyllic nightmare of taxidermy slaughter, a rancid deterioration of the mind, body, and soul, and a perversive obsession of inhuman replacement.
A baby faced Kieran Canter stars as the orphaned villa owner Frank Wyler who can't handle one more tragic death of a loved one and Canter provides the blank stare, the outer shell of a spent and lost lover, despite his attractive attributes just like his the inner bones of his villa manor and speaking of juxtapositions, "The Other Hell's" Franca Stoppi over achieves Iris's internal and external ugliness. Iris, a seeming fixture of a puritanical matriarch in her dress and stature worn magnificently by Stoppi, uses manipulation and supernatural forces to gain power right under Frank's already malfunctioning mentality. In the light, Frank and Iris are polar opposites, but they break bread together in the dark, feasting off each other's malice. "The Beyond's" Cinzia Monreale dons a dual performance as the corpse of Frank's fiance and of her living sister. Monreale's amazing performance in being such a still carcass struck a recall chord in me thinking of Olwen Kelly's eerie portrayal of a slab table stiff in "The Autopsy of Jane Doe."
Speaking of autopsies, when Frank begins his taxidermal procedures, surgically slicing down Cinzia Monreale's freshly demised midsection, the attention to detail rapes the spine with chilling ferocity and though dated within the confines of the practical special effects from nearly forty-years ago, D'Amato's controversial and unquenchable need for violence doesn't hold back the gore, the guts, and the glory of chopping a British slag into pieces with a butcher's knife and tossing her overweight remains into a cast iron tub-cauldron of skin-eating acidity only to have her partial face float up to the surface in a display of how far these vile characters are willing to entertain their pure evil. "Beyond the Darkness" lives up the title with the barbaric nature of the characters who clamp down their teeth and rip out the flesh of their, burn alive joggers in an industrial grade furnace, and store corpses like valuable baseball cards of your favorite major league players. Yes, "Beyond the Darkness's" gold is worth it's cinematic weight in gore.
Severin's 2-disc Blu-ray and CD Soundtrack release of Joe D'Amato's "Beyond the Darkness" is presented in HD 1080p 1.67:1 aspect ratio. The image quality is strong, unmolested, and rich with a vibrant color palette that gets ickier with every organ removed, every body part dismembered, and every shocking event unraveled. A dubbed English DTS-HD master and an Italian Dolby Digital dual channel mix are quite good, spanning out a brazen fidelity of leveled ranges and the Goblin soundtrack enriches every scene with gothic notes of progressive rock. Check out the CD Soundtrack "Buio Omega" ("Beyond the Darkness"): The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to get an isolated experience of one of horror's most fascinating scoring groups known worldwide. Bonus material is aplenty with a retrospect interview on the late Joe D'Amato entitled "The Horro Experience," an interview with Actress Franca Stoppi entitled "The Omega Woman," an interview with Cinzia Monreale entitled "Sick Love," a live performance of "Buio Omega by Goblin, a visit to set locations, and the theatrical trailer. Severin completes a snazzy package and includes an plethora of auxiliary material for this ultra-violent video nasty that's delivers the uncut and uncensored blood and nudity in a twisted 94 minutes of "Beyond the Darkness."
"Beyond the Darkness" + Goblin on Blu-ray!
This entry was posted in Death, Evil Reviews, gore, Just fucking awesome, Trailers, Uncategorized and tagged Aristide Massaccesi, Autopsy, Beyond the Darkness, blu-ray, breastfeeding, Bressanone, Buio Omega, burn alive, cannibalism, Cinzia Monreale, dismemberment, Franca Stoppi, goblin, gore, insanity, italian, Joe D'Amato, Kieran Canter, nudity, Olwen Kelly, Severin, taxidermy, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, The Beyond, The Other Hell, Video Nasty. Bookmark the permalink.
Evil Gets Snuffed and Blued. Blu-ray That is! "Effects" review!
Evil Lusts, Stimulates, and Impregnates! "The Black Room" review!
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Protect your new iPhone with these cases from LifeProof from Day One. LifeProof Malaysia have brought in the SLɅM and NËXT cases before the new iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR are available in Malaysia.
The SLɅM is a stylish drop proof case, which goes to show that using protection doesn't mean losing out on aesthetic points. It comes with attractive graphics options and a colorful rubberized edges to protect the device. You get a choice of four attractive graphics options, and the case is available for all the new iPhones. Pricing varies though. The LifeProof SLɅM for the iPhone Xs is priced at RM159, while the versions for the iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR will cost RM199.
The NËXT is even more rugged, with a raised beveled edge and port covers to protect your new iPhone against drops, dirt and snow. They are drop tested to 2 meters and feature an IP5X rating for ingress protection. Pricing starts from RM245 for the iPhone Xs' variant, while owners of larger iPhones will have to foot out RM279 for the LifeProof NËXT.
Last but not least, the FRĒ. This is designed with a built-in screen protector to guard against scratches and seal the device from water ingress up to 2 meters deep for up to an hour. Naked, the iPhones are rated IP68, or water resistant up to 1.5m deep for half an hour. For those of you who always get wet, this is the protection you need. The FRĒ will be available soon priced at RM309 for the iPhone Xs, and RM339 for the iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR.
Which case suits your fancy the most? The SLɅM seems like the most reasonable case that should suit most normal users. You might have to choose the higher end ones if you are clumsier than most though. For more information about these cases, head over to lifeproof.asia.
Pokdepinion: These names are so fancy that I actually have no idea how to pronounce them.


text:
NBS Classical Music Institute
Jazz Improv
Blog/Media
Gala Auction and Concert
Auction Item Preview & Pre-Bidding
Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow
Faculty Concerts
Galen Blanzaco
HomeAll TeamAdministrationGalen Blanzaco
Nelly Berman School of MusicRussian Tradition of Musical Excellence
Galen is a lifelong singer having studied voice at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. In her youth, she was part of the Connecticut Children's Chorus where she had the opportunity to perform with The Hartford Symphony (of Hartford, CT) and complete a week-long tour in London. She has a particular passion for jazz and musical theatre.
She earned her BA in Theatre Performance from Susquehanna University and her MA in Theatre, with a concentration in Directing, from Villanova University.
She has worked with Philadelphia Theater companies such as The Arden Theatre Company, 11th Hour Theatre Company, Curio Theatre, Theatre Horizon, Theatre Exile, Inis Nua, and EgoPo Classic Theatre.
She is thrilled to be a part of the Nelly Berman family.
Copyright © 2019 by Nelly Berman School. All rights reserved.


text:
Change 3 – April-May 19
Posted bypacman1903	 4th Aug 2019 6th Jul 2020 Leave a comment on Change 3 – April-May 19
Watching neutral football opened a can of worms. There was obviously the collection of grounds, but I started to enjoy fitba a lot more when I didn't give a shite about the outcome. The final change and the final nail in the season tickets coffin. This ending all doubts I had about not renewing. During an elongated leave from work I sometimes accompanied by the Wee Man went to fifteen games in thirty-one days home and it was bloody brilliant. I got more enjoyment in four and a half weeks than I have in a couple of seasons watching Aberdeen. Wee man was at six of them. I witnessed sixty-two goals in fourteen and a bit matches. The goals alone make it a bloody decent effort, but the experiences and entertainment made it the best trip home from work I have had in all of my days working offshore. As I travelled offshore after this time home, I knew I would be ditching the season ticket. The past month had been too much fun. Something that was lacking down Merkland Road. More importantly with Wee Mans declaration that he likes "little games" better then who am I to argue. Our groundhopping was to increase in 2019/20
LOCHEE UNITED 1-3 EAST CRAIGIE *
Thomson Park, East Region league Cup, 17/4
As far as junior football goes this was easily one of the biggest upsets of the season. Lochee were Champions elect (minus the human manatee and ex Scotland international Gary Kenneth who was benched)in the Superleague, East Craigie were mid table in the second tier. Lochee were 1/7 on at the bookies to win. East Craigies odds must have been huge. Big credit to East Craigie who attacked from the off and never stopped. The gulf in the teams was absent and "The Ship Builders" were by far the better team and deserved to win by more.
CARLISLE UNITED 1-0 LINCOLN CITY
Brunton Park, EFL League 2, 19/4
Due to its proximity to Scotland and its old school vibe I had wanted to take a trip to Cumbria to watch eh…… the" Cumbrians". Easter weekend threw up the opportunity, holiday Friday meant a three o'clock kick off. Lincoln City were to win the league with a win, but Carlisle still had playoff ideas. It had the makings of a good match. Turned out it was shite with the goal coming five minutes from time. On the positive side of things, I had a lovely pint of Theakstons Best Bitter pre match in the bar inside the Main Stand. This was followed by one of the best pies I have shoveled into my gob. A Steak and Ale delight. Forres Mechanics steak pies still hold the Golden Graeme pie award but this effort from Carlisle was a lovely. Worth going to a game for if you are passing by. The third thing to add to the Brunton experience was terracing. Football is so much better when viewed from terracing, the scorching hot sun and the balmy twenty-three degrees C was also an added bonus. There were also the impressive Lincoln numbers having their smug looks knocked of their faces (they did however go on to claim the league). Bit of a damp squib of a game but a decent day out none the less.
AYR UNITED 1 – 3 ROSS COUNTY
Somerset Park, SPFL Championship, 19/4
With just over two hours to get up to Ayr from Carlisle inclusive of tackling the A70 which is possibly the windiest road in Scotland I was expecting to get to Somerset Park bang on kick off. Turns out I was to make better time than I thought and to make matters even better I managed to get a parking space just off Somerset Road. This allowing me to bump into Pandamonium, the fantastically named Ayr United mascot (who is a panda if you haven't already worked it out) and got the obligatory photo. Somerset Park is on the endangered species list. It's an old gem and the kind of place I love. Football is seriously lacking these types as clubs are replacing them with identikit usually out of town soulless glorified bike sheds which is a sad. I wasn't totally neutral for this game. If Ross County were to win, they were all but league champions Leaving Dundee Untied staring at the playoffs. The longer they stay down there the funnier it is. In real terms Ross County will would be champions as their goal difference was plus twenty with two games to go on the Dundee side. This meaning effectively, it was the extra point needed to be crowned champions. The Staggies fans were happy come the final whistle as after a perfect hattrick from Brian Graham they were pretty much home and dry and heading back to the Premiership at the first attempt. A feat that only two teams before had accomplished. Tough league to get out of.
AUCHINLECK TALBOT 6-0 CARLUKE ROVERS
Beechwood Park, West of Scotland Cup, 20/4
My 'Bot experience actually started on the Friday night. After Somerset Park I was to stay in the Railway Hotel in Auchinleck. The plan was to have a couple of pints in the hotel bar due to my late check in. Turns out the locals of Auchinleck are very friendly and brimming with local pride. They all seem to follow the 'bot. After I ordered my second pint an old geezer enquired about my accent. Once I explained I was from the 'shire and was there to see the Talbot it opened the floodgates to people speaking. I ended up having a more beer than the quota I intended, but it was worth it due to the cracking company I was in. The highlight of the night being the old geezer who initiated the conversation at the start again wiping his memory and trying to initiate conversation by asking where my accent was from and why I found myself in Auchinleck. He must have pushed reset in his brain as I had already spoke to him for around forty minutes. That's what double whiskies will do to you. Bed came calling at two am. In the morning I had a wander around the town then made myself comfy in the social club with a pint and a paper. I was immediately accosted by a long in the tooth gentleman. The old small-town mentality of "I haven't seen you in here before?" was immediately on show and as soon as I opened my Aberdeenshire trap I outed myself. After explaining I was on a quest to see every junior team to win the Scottish Cup during my lifetime, I was bought another pint. As the bar got busier, more and more people were at me "you the big un from Aberdeen?", "good luck in your quest, I hope Cumnock haven't won it, you don't want to go there" and my favourite "I heard about your challenge, does that mean you will be here twelve times". I had a conversation with the club secretary who handed me a free pint, free programme and told me tell the gate I was to be let in for free. These sorts of gestures may sound insignificant but to a football fan like myself they are huge. Unnecessary but welcome, but more importantly they tell you a lot about the club and Auchinleck Talbot have are a fantastic club from top to bottom. I had entered Beechwood half an hour early as I had spoken to the guy from the "nostalgia shop" in the bar and he asked me round for a cup of tea. This shop is full of old programmes, books, trinkets, pin badges and such like. All the proceeds go toward the floodlight fund at Beechwood. A quality wee shop where I parted with twelve quid to purchase some Scottish Premier Reviews I did not have in my collection. Half an hour of yapping and meeting numerous ex-players an 'bot diehards" the match kicked off. Turned out it was to be an exhibition match for Talbot who dominated proceeding and should have put more past Rovers (three divisions below Auchinleck) as the final whistle went, I was wished all the best and told to come back for a "bigger" game. I have never revisited a ground from my travel. One day ill head back down to Beechwood Park and Auchinleck in general. One of my favourite away days
NEC NIJMEGEN 2 v 1 RKC WAALWIJK
Goffert Stadion, Eerste Divisie, 22/4
I had been to a concert in the shadow of the Goffert Stadion many moons ago. Pearl Jam played in 2008 in the adjacent Goffert Park. A cracking few days Holland on the beers ensued. Eleven years later I was back in Nijmegen. This time to quench my Dutch fitba thirst (outside Scotland it's my favourite place to go). After taking in the sights and a few beers I jumped on a train to the out of city stadium. On arrival at the ground I noticed a few "Nijmegen:Motherwell" t-shirts in the supporters bar, these guys in turn noticed my Aberdeen polo shirt. Eventually we ended up talking and it turns out it was a long-standing relationship pre dating the Michael Higdon Link that many people I told assumed it was. Some of the guys had been over to Fir Park a few times. But I never did find out what the link was. I did however enjoy the banter with these guys covered up my Dons badge with a Nijmegen sticker. The game was played in glorious sunshine for the full 90. Shame the football was not up to the standards of the weather. It wasn't rubbish. It just wasnt great. It was a game of two halves with RKC dominating the first half and going in 1-0 at the break and deservedly so. Then Nijmegen were transformed in the second and dominated proceedings which culminated in a 2-1 victory. At the time I would have thought both teams were dead certs for staying in the division. RKC ended up promoted via the playoffs and will this season be playing the big boys
HEERENVEEN 2 v 2 VVV
Abe Lenstra Stadion, Eeredivisie, 23/4
Decent game between two mid table also rans. End to end with both teams clearly wanting to take the points. Thoroughly enjoyable game. Michael Vlaap (now moved on to Belgian giants Anderlecht) the star man bagging a double for the home side. The game was free flowing and a good watch, made all the better by a defensive cock up gifting VVV a last-minute equalizer. Good weather, good beer, good ground, good game. Glad I went
PEC ZWOLLE 1 AvA 2 GRONINGEN
Ijsseldelta Stadion, Eeredivise, 25/4
Abandoned at the hour mark due to lightning. A first and probably a last for me. Incredible goings on. You could see the forks which seemed like they were only meteres above the pitch. The cracks sounded so close it was as if someone was whipping the stairs next to me. Surreal night that one. The replayed match was a week later and finished 3-2 to Zwolle
POLLOK 4 – 0 CLYDEBANK
Newlandsfield, West Region Superleague, 27/4
As I was in Glasgow at an all-day punk festival featuring the Macc Lads, UK Subs and the Exploited I managed to coax my pal into leaving for a couple of hours when the lesser known bands were on. Glad I did. Newlandsfield is ace. A stadium hidden away just off Pollokshaws road. A stadium where the pies are excellent, the fans (around 500) were boisterous and the joints and half bottles flowed free. Quite the atmosphere. The game was very one sided but that didnt make it unenjoyable. In fact it was very enjoyable due to the gung ho approach by the Lok. The played in a 4-3-3 with an unorthodox three whippets up top with a whippet in behind. The Bankies defence didn't know what to do.It didn't help they were cumbersome and slow. 4-0 going on 8 . We made it back to the Academy in plenty of time for the excellent UK Subs and the foul mouthed Lads from Macc. Cracking day
FORFAR WEST END 4 v 4 TAYPORT*
Strathmore Park, East Region Consolation Cup,1/5
People asked why I would bother going to watch Forfar West End v Tayport in the consolation cup on a Wednesday night. I think I even questioned myself. Turned out it was the best game I saw in 2018/19 season by a country mile. Started off in a good way as I was on the hunt for a pin badge for my brothers extensive fitba pin badge collection and I literally managed to buy one off the lapel of a committee members blazer. I would have paid twenty quid to watch this it was that good. A fiver and a turnstile lift for Wee Man was all this epic cost. To start it was rough throughout with tackles flying in everywhere, some better timed than others. West End missed an early penalty which quickly after Tayport took the lead. But that didn't last long and West End equalized on the half. I would guess there were at least twenty-five fouls in the first half. After the break I counted the fouls and got to thirteen which in fact led to a Tayport penalty. Not bad for eleven minutes. 2-1 Tayport. From centre I saw the greatest save I ever seen in the flesh. Seeing the keeper at the edge of his box West End shot from kick off, the shot was not a lobbed effort but more arrowed at pace, this sending the keeper scrambling and with maybe two yards to spare the ball was over the Tayport number one but miraculously he dived towards goal, body fully horizontal and threw a haymaker at the ball almost under the bar and managed to divert it over the bar and out of the ground. Truly stunning stuff. If that was in the Champions League or the World cup the media would have been gushing for weeks. To make the save better, the resulting corner was cleared and Tayport countered and made it 3-1. Wee man and I started to shuffle toward the exit as the clock was running down but West End who were clearly down but not out grabbed a second through a quality header across the goal. At this point we stopped to see if an equalizer would come and it did via a ninetieth minute penalty. Surely the game over now with a draw being a fair result. But no on ninety-three minutes Tayport won it with a fourth. Or so you would have thought. The piley on celebration suggested the Tayport players thought so too. But again, there was another twist to this classic battle and West End went straight up the park and smashed home an unlikely fourth. Fantastic viewing and just goes to show you don't need multi-million-pound players or over inflated egos to create top class entertainment. Superlative generating action.
TWENTE 2 v 2 CAMBUUR
De Grolsch Veste, Eerste Divisie, 3/5
After heading to the Grolsch brewery for the tour only to find that the days early English tour wasn't happening and the next one would interfere with the football the day started off on a downer. Not to worry as I went for a wander around Enschede where you will never struggle for a beer or food. Nice city. The game was billed as the title party with Twente already being champions and heading to the Eredivisie. There was to be the trophy presentation and the celebrations post-match. Everything was going to plan too. 90 minutes on the clock and two nil. Then in the blink of an eye it was 2-2 and should have been 3-2 Cambuur after they had a third goal chopped off for offside. From the other end of the pitch I knew it was on. After seeing a replay, it was truly an astonishing decision. Preventing me from seeing one of the greatest and unexpected comebacks I was likely to ever see. The Grolsch Veste (very tidy stadium) emptied at the final whistle inclusive of me and I can only guess the party would have only been half full if that.
ROT WEISS OBERHAUSEN 1-1 ROT WEISS ESSEN Niederrheinstadion, Regionalliga West, 4/5
Got caught up in running street battles and a hail of bottles at train station, wrongfully detained by police for two hours. More on this one to follow. Worthy of its own post
DOWNFIELD 0-4 BROUGHTY ATHLETIC *
Downfield Park, East Region League Cup ,6/5
This had quite easily the biggest capitulation I have ever seen in a game. All four goals coming in three minutes. People say you are most vulnerable to conceding after you have just scored. Or in Downfields case, you are most vulnerable to conceding after you have just conceded. As Wee Man said, "there's another one"….."oh there's another one"…….."wow there's another one"
BLAIRGOWRIE 3-4 FORFAR WEST END *
Davie Park, East Region Consolation Cup, 8/5
High scoring and conceding West End again in the Perth and Kinross drizzle. Davie Park has a charm to it. With the stand on the wing just being the shell of what it used to be before new legislation made the club rip out all the seating. Now you stand in what can only be described as a sandpit. The drizzle drizzled all night, Wee Mans ball was in tow for a kick about as always, so the weather didn't put him down in anyway. The night started on a great note as I was gifted a pin badge for my brother when I asked at the pie hut. Always a sign of a good night. The game was a great watch too. Goals flying in from all angles. I did fear the worst when the Blairgowrie keeper was sent off for wiping out the striker and denying a goal scoring opportunity. After FWEs goal scoring qualities the previous week I expected a massacre due to an outfielder taking over the gloves. It did not materialize, and Blairgowrie gave as good as they got leaving a tense last few minutes when they pegged West End back to 3-4 and were clearly on top but it wasn't to be. Good viewing
SHOTTS BON ACCORD 3-4 BLANTYRE VICTORIA *
Hannah Park, West Region League One. 11/5
Another high scoring affair in the Juniors at the biggest playing surface in Scottish fitba. Shotts trailed Gartcairn in the league by five points with two games to play, Gartcairn were finished. Its was all or bust. And Blantyre were there to make sure it was bust as they had their own promotion hopes to deal with. The teams emerged out of the clubhouse to a plume of blue flare smoke from the Blantyre fans. Nice work, pyro at the Juniors. This game was also a cracker. Blantyre were all over the hosts and deservedly went up one nil, cue more smoke. They were then awarded a pen that wasn't a pen which was missed but ordered to be retaken for a reason I am still trying to figure out to this day. Same taker did his best to miss this one too and rocketed it off the bar but it just crept in. Flare number three was cracked. Shotts pulled one back but then found themselves there then four one down. Wee man and I started to make our way to the other end of the ground so we could make a cool sharp harp before the sizable crowd when The BAs grabbed a second and quickly followed up with a third with four minutes to go. The old saying of" everything but the kitchen sink" sprang to mind as Shotts did everything in their power but it wasn't to be. Another game up there with the most entertaining I have ever seen. Without a multimillion-pound player in sight. Both teams end up promoted in second and third and joined Gartcairn up a division
COUPAR ANGUS 0-1 FORFAR ALBION *
Foxhall Park, East Region North Division, 13/5
Terrible viewing but in a quirky wee ground complete with grass cuttings still left on the park, a hedge to put Brechin City to shame, multiple silos looming over the pitch and the perimeter fence being wired up with chicken wire to keep foxes off the pitch. Great place, terrible game. Two things of note, Forfar scored in the last minute and Coupar Angus had clearly pulled guys off the street/pub (delete as applicable). Again, ill state this was a terrible game but what did I expect given this was two of Scotlands three worst junior teams doing battle (Cruden Bay in the North being the other). Credit to both teams though. Keeping at it when times are tough
Pandamonium on the right
As far as upsets go,this was a big one
Great club with great people
Cracking entertainment with pyro to boot
Cambuur pissed on Twentes title party chips
Oblivious to what was coming post game
Abandoned due to lightning
Highly entertaining dead rubber
Posted bypacman1903 4th Aug 2019 6th Jul 2020 Posted inUncategorized
Change 2- Fatherhood
2019/20-Dunipace 0 v 1 Edinburgh United


In an investor call EA has now admitted the lack of a story was purely to hit the latest film's release date. Speaking in the call, Patrick Söderlund, executive vice president of EA Studios, said: "It was a conscious decision we made due to time and being able to launch the game, side by side with the movie that came out, to get the strongest possible impact". That's despite not actually having any direct content from Ep 7, only a cross over 'Battle of Jakku' DLC map.
That moving forward likely refers to the another previous EA call where it confirmed that a new Star Wars Battlefront was on the way with content "from the new movies".


text:
<%@ page language="java" contentType="application/json; charset=UTF-8" pageEncoding="UTF-8"%>
<%@page trimDirectiveWhitespaces="true" %>
<%@ include file="../../../tagLib.jsp"%>
<%--预售--%>
<cms:search var="search" k="*:*" field="wwwcontent" q="(salCategory:1 OR packSalCategory:1)" sortPattern="publishTime"  pageSize="200"/>
{
"presell":[
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        <cms:content var="cont" contid="${r.contentId}"/>
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How to make a certain div activate Lets say you have div1 and div2 both with an opacity of .40. How would I be able to make the opacity 1.0 for only div2 when hovered upon?

A:

.div1,
.div2 {
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
  background: blue;
  opacity: 0.4;
  margin: 10px;
}

.div2:hover {
  opacity: 1;
}

A: Here's a fork on a fiddle by IrvinDominin. The easiest thing is to leverage different class names - drive the behavior that way.
    var rows = document.getElementsByClassName('demo');
    for (var i = 0; i < rows.length; i++) {
    rows[i].onmouseenter = function (event) {
    for (var j = 0; j < rows.length; j++) {
        if (rows[j] === this) {
            rows[j].className += " other";
        }
    }
};

rows[i].onmouseleave = function (event) {
    var hovers = document.getElementsByClassName('other');
    var len = hovers.length;
    for (var j = 0; j < len; j++) {
        hovers[0].className = hovers[0].className.replace(/\sother(\s|$)/, '');
    }
};

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Secret Agent Man may refer to:

Secret Agent Man (TV series), an American TV series that aired in 2000
"Secret Agent Man" (Johnny Rivers song), a song written by Steve Barri and P. F. Sloan used as the opening theme for American broadcast of the TV series Danger Man
"Secret Agent Man" (The Superjesus song), 2001
Danger Man, a British TV series broadcast as Secret Agent in the U.S. from 1964 to 1966, sometimes erroneously referred to as Secret Agent Man (due to the words contained in the theme song).

See also
Secret Agent (disambiguation)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
State of the Union Address 2016: Here's What You Need to Know About Tuesday's Address
By Jessica Eggert
President Barack Obama will deliver his last State of the Union address on Tuesday and said in a teaser for the anticipated event that it will be an optimistic speech about the year ahead.
"Watch as he reflects on the road we've traveled in the last seven years," it says on the White House website. Obama will deliver the address to the U.S. Congress at 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday and, according to his teaser, his "team" is "cooking up new ways to watch and engage with the speech."
"What I want to focus on in this State of the Union is not just the remarkable progress we've made, not just what I want to get done in the year ahead, but what we all need to do together in the years to come: The big things that will guarantee an even stronger, better, more prosperous America for our kids," the president said in the teaser.
Watch the minute-and-a-half preview below:
In an email to the White House listserv, Obama's Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Obama will list the recent budget agreement, Iran nuclear deal, mended relations with Cuba, global climate change agreement and lowered unemployment as examples of successes during his two terms in office that would be at risk if a Republican president is elected, according to ABC News.
"Together, as a nation, we face some critical choices," McDonough wrote in the email. "If we make the right ones that build on the best of what our nation has to offer, we will leave our kids and grandkids an America that's never been stronger, fairer and more prosperous."
According to MarketWatch, Obama said Friday a seat in first lady Michelle Obama's suite will be left vacant at the address in memory of victims of gun violence.


There are several working groups in the Peace Division. Their purpose is to further the goals of the division.
Children and Family Peace (WG): Works to advance the understanding and treatment of the damaging psycho-social consequences of war on children and families living in combat zones around the world.
Co-Chair: Petra Hesse, Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215.
Conflict Resolution (WG): Focuses on the management and resolution of conflict in local and global settings.
Environmental Protection and Justice (WG): Builds links between peace psychology and a wide range of issues concerning the environment, justice and protection.
Ethnicity and Peace (WG) : works to increase understanding of the links between peace and ethnic conflict and to build ethnic and minority perspectives into the activities of the division.
Feminism and Peace (WG) : Works to build connections between feminist scholarship and peace psychology and to integrate feminist perspectives into the life and activities of the Division.
Chair: Linda M. Woolf, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119-3194.
Globalization, Structural Violence, and Disarmament (WG) : Monitors defense, disarmament, and conversion programs and prepares legislative updates and policy proposals.
Co-chair: Marc Pilisuk, Saybrook Institute & University of California-Davis, 94708-1206.
Immigration and the Arizona Law (TF): to draft a statement by December 1 that updates and expands on Division statements and positions. The TF draft will include a general statement regarding how peace psychology perspectives can be used to frame responses to the Arizona law as well as specific recommendations for how the Division, the Society, and individuals, including psychologists in the Division, can respond.
Peace and Education (WG) : Identifies and promotes application of peace psychology in education at all levels.
Peace and Spirituality (WG): Works to identify the values that sustain individuals and societies in their quest for a peaceful and less violent world. The group is interested also in the way that such values inform the practice of psychologists relevant to peacebuilding and violence prevention.
Psychological and Humanitarian Issues in the Israel-Palestine Conflict (TF): charged with engaging our members and others in thoughtful constructive �action-oriented dialogue� on psychological and humanitarian issues in the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza. It will develop empirically-based conclusions and recommendations to inform our understanding of this violent intractable complex conflict and to inform the development of peace-related policy at various levels.
Chair: Ethel Tobach, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, NY, NY.
Peace Psychology Teaching Resource Collection: Linda M. Woolf, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119-3194.
Division 2 (Society for Teaching of Psychology). The contact person for this division is Linda M. Woolf, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119-3194.
Association for Black Psychologists. Deborah Fish Ragin, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 and Kathleen Dockett, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC 20008.


text:
Tough Enough : Despite Winning a Title in Boston, Bill Fitch Decided to Move On
By THOMAS BONK
May 29, 1986 12 AM PT
Times Staff Writer
Bill Fitch is back in Boston Garden. He is down on one knee again on the sidelines, wearing that same mournful expression and still talking about the need for discipline, one of his favorite subjects.
"First, there is enforced discipline," Fitch said. "It's like training tigers. You've got to crack the whip. This is, after all, an animalistic sport.
"Then you get to a point where you let it go. My Houston players may feel I've mellowed because I don't holler at them as much as I did before. But you don't holler at them if they're doing it right . You don't have to crack the whip any longer."
It's been nearly three full years since Fitch left the Boston Celtics, who got the last lash when Fitch resigned and moved on to coach at Houston.
The rough-talking, tough-minded disciplinarian coached the Celtics to an NBA title in 1981, only to leave two seasons later in a swirl of controversy over his coaching methods.
Not too many coaches resign after 56-victory seasons, but that's what Fitch did. Now, Fitch is right back in the championship series, coaching the Houston Rockets tonight in Game 2 against the Celtics.
So far, Fitch has spent almost as much time talking about Larry Bird as he has explaining why he isn't coaching him or the the rest of the Celtics any more.
"It's a long story," Fitch said. "But it isn't what you think it is."
The story begins in the 1979-80 season. It was Bird's rookie year with the Celtics and Fitch's first season coaching Boston after nine years at Cleveland.
A year later, the Celtics took the NBA title, winning 62 games, then defeating Houston in a six-game final series.
The Celtics won 63 the next season but lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs. Then in 1982-83, the Celtics won 56 games, the fewest number of victories in the Bird Era, and were swept out of the playoffs by Milwaukee, 4-0.
This is where the story gets a little messy. Celtic players grumbled that Fitch was too strict, too much of an authoritarian, too much of a disciplinarian.
Fitch soon resigned. Although he landed on his feet in Houston within two weeks, Fitch left behind a tattered image in a city that could have been his but never was.
It seems there was an undisguised clash of philosophies. The matchup was Fitch vs. almost everybody else.
Somehow, Fitch managed to alienate Celtic players such as Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, all of whom developed a strong dislike for Fitch's strong-armed coaching tactics and his occasional sharp criticism.
Of McHale, Fitch once said: "He'll starve if he ever plays center in this league."
McHale hasn't forgiven Fitch for that comment, but others have gotten over Fitch in the time he's been gone.
Ainge, who has complained loudly in the past that Fitch retarded his development as a player, said time has since mellowed his opinion of his former coach.
"It's taken me so long to understand him," Ainge said. "At the time, I didn't agree with some of the things he was doing."
What Fitch did was everything he could. No detail was too small to forget, no job was large enough to take for granted. One of the first coaches in the NBA to use videotape, Fitch drove the Celtics hard when they won, which they didn't appreciate, so many deserted him when they lost.
Fitch had little use for K.C. Jones, who was one of his assistant coaches, but who succeeded him as head coach. Fitch shunted Jones off to one side, to the degree that Jones often had to ask reporters what time practice was.
Once bitter over the way he was treated by Fitch, Jones said he has forgotten it now. He didn't sound totally convincing.
"With Bill, the assistant coach has nothing to say unless he's asked," Jones said. "He never asked. He was the head coach. I had to do whatever he wants. If he doesn't want to use me, well, that's what being his assistant coach meant."
Jimmie Rodgers, the other assistant to Fitch, had the unlucky job of lugging around videotape equipment, which was one of his primary tasks. Rodgers could have followed Fitch to Houston but chose instead to stay on as the No. 1 assistant to Jones and has since developed a reputation as one of the NBA's top aides and brightest minds.
"Bill was what you might call a dominant figure as a coach," Rodgers said.
"At that point in time, his approach was needed because we were rebuilding.
"But sometimes, when you reach a certain level, like win a championship, you may have to alter that approach," Rodgers said. "But Bill had his own way of doing things."
It is not really surprising that from Fitch's view, that's not really the whole story. Sure, he was tough, he said, but Bird didn't mind. In fact, Bird remains one of Fitch's biggest boosters.
It was precisely Fitch's driven nature, his preparation and his attention to detail that appealed to Bird, even if it was driving many of his teammates crazy.
So, if Fitch wasn't forced out because the Celtics lost to the Bucks in the playoffs, if he didn't leave because of player unrest or because of his penchant for discipline, why then did Fitch leave?
Fitch insists he chose to resign on his own when the Celtic owner decided he would sell the team. Fitch was buying some golf clubs when he got a phone call informing him that owner Harry Mangurian was going to sell out.
"I made up my mind as soon as he made up his," Fitch said. "Nobody can understand that. They all think it was because I didn't get along with Red Auerbach and I didn't get along with some of the players.
"I read all that stuff," he said. "If I had to coach a game the day I left, there wouldn't have been one Celtic player who wouldn't have carried out the game plan and I couldn't have counted on.
"What really hurt and what really looked bad was that it came after we lost four games to Milwaukee," Fitch said. "If we had won four games against Milwaukee, under the same circumstances, with the team being sold, I would still be gone."
Jones, 54, is the coaching opposite of Fitch, 52. If Fitch is whipped cream, then Jones is pudding.
The manner of his coaching, Jones said, is the only way he could possibly be.
"My personality and my style, how else could I go?" Jones asked. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be me. If that's what they hired me for, I'll accept that. If it was because of coaching quality, I'll accept that, too."
The Celtics seem to be thriving on Jones' easygoing technique and personality.
Said Ainge: "They both have different personalities. They have different ways to motivate players, which is what coaching is all about. It's just that K.C. makes the game more fun than Bill. If not more fun, then more relaxed."
Auerbach, who during the Fitch years shared a table at a Chinese restaurant with him four times a week, said Fitch and Jones have always been good coaches.
"Bill is tremendously well organized and he's more of a disciplinarian than K.C.," Auerbach said. "Things bothered him more than K.C. But both of them get results. I'm not saying one way is better than the other."
On the eve of Game 1, Jones celebrated his birthday by singing with an orchestra in a hotel bar. His repertoire included, "Misty," "Georgia On My Mind" and "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You."
Fitch never found enough somebodies to love him here.


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text:
NMSU's Model U.N. team hosts Salvadoran Ambassador
By cobadmin | Published September 29, 2014
September 26, 2014 by Isabel A. Rodriguez , NMSU News Center
Ruben Zamora, El Salvador's ambassador to the United Nations, will be in Las Cruces for a public discussion of his role in the U.N. as a guest of NMSU's Model U.N. team. (Courtesy photo)
El Salvador's ambassador to the United Nations Ruben Zamora will be a special guest of New Mexico State University's Model United Nations team from 6-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, in Breland Hall Room 179, 1525 Stewart Street, on the NMSU campus.
Zamora will come to Las Cruces fresh from attending the 69th Session of the U.N. General Assembly, which runs through Oct. 1. He will give a public talk, discuss his role in the U.N. and take questions from the audience.
Once considered a rebel prohibited from entering the United States, Zamora has served as the Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States since April 2013 and as the Ambassador to India from 2009 to 2013. Last month he was appointed Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations.
NMSU's Model U.N. students in the College of Arts and Sciences are excited to be able to meet and discuss issues with the Salvadoran ambassador so soon after the recent session.
"It will be an honor to be able to speak with Dr. Zamora," said Theadora Trejo, Model U.N. president and junior majoring in government and French. "He has a fascinating background and we encourage others in the community to come take advantage of this great opportunity."
An experienced politician, Zamora represented his government in writing Sustainable Development Goals for his country over the last 18 months, focused on inequality and economic policies addressing it. The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals are expected to take effect next year.
Zamora received a law degree from the University of El Salvador and a Masters in political science from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. He has been a visiting professor at Stanford University and a visiting researcher at the University of Notre Dame and the Wilson Center, a non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research.
The talk is free and open to the public and refreshments will be provided. For more information contact Trejo at theadora@nmsu.edu.
This entry was posted in News and tagged College of Arts and Sciences, Economic Policy, Economics, El Salvador, India, Model United Nations, Research, Ruben Zamora, Stanford University, Student Organizations, Students, Sustainable Development Goals, Theadora Trejo, UN General Assembly, United Kingdom, United Nations, University of El Salvador, University of Essex, University of Notre Dame, Wilson Center. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
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Leigh Stein and Lux Alptraum are the guests. They are co-directors, with Jenny Lumet, of a non-profit organization called Out of the Binders. It is devoted to advancing the careers of women and gender non-conforming writers. Had a great time with Leigh and Lux. It's very impressive what they've built. We sat down in the wake of BinderCon LA and talked about gender politics and community-building and how much work it takes to run a grassroots organization. It's one thing to know about social injustices; it's another thing to do something about them. These guys are doers. And they're helping an awful lot of people. In today's monologue, I talk about AWP and the LA Times Festival of Books. And I plug my upcoming appearances at Literary Death Match and the Lit/Comedy Roundtable.


text:
Civil rights advocates despair after decades of agency inaction
FLINT, Mich. — In 1994, activists opposing the construction of a wood-fired power plant here asked U.S. EPA for help, arguing the project would spew toxic pollutants into their poor, largely African-American neighborhood.
At issue: Would granting a permit to the power plant violate the community's civil rights? Twenty-one years later, the Genesee Power Station's smokestacks are puffing away, and its neighbors are still waiting for an answer.
"It's kind of a race. Is the Second Coming going to happen, or am I going to hear from the EPA?" said the Rev. Phil Schmitter, a 69-year-old Catholic priest who sent the call for help to EPA. "Right now, I'm betting on the Second Coming."
Schmitter and the Flint activists aren't alone in being kept waiting by EPA's Office of Civil Rights. The agency has accepted or partly accepted 17 cases that haven't yet been resolved. Those date back to 1994, according to a log that tracks complaints. The complaint against Genesee has been languishing the longest, but it's one of five filed in the 1990s that were accepted but never finalized.
"It's a travesty," said Vernice Miller-Travis, a longtime environmental justice advocate who serves on EPA's environmental justice advisory council. "It's a clear violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
"If there was a program office at EPA that decided that it didn't understand, it didn't agree with it, didn't want to, it just didn't feel like enforcing some part of an environmental statute, there would be hell to pay," she said. "But there is no such penalty within the agency for not being compliant with civil rights laws and statutes. It's such a glaring inequity."
EPA's press office would not make an official in the civil rights office available for an interview for this story. Spokeswoman Monica Lee said in a statement the office is "working diligently" to resolve the Genesee case "as quickly as possible while ensuring the quality and consistency of its investigation."
Father Phil Schmitter still hasn't heard back from EPA about the civil rights complaint he filed against this power plant more than two decades ago. | Photo by Robin Bravender.
"The agency has made improving its civil rights compliance program a priority," including its enforcement of civil rights laws, "and is committed to establishing a model civil rights program," Lee added. "There's still progress that needs to be made to accomplish this goal, and we continue to take significant and strategic steps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program to ensure recipients' compliance with the civil rights laws."
Meanwhile, the power plant started running, several of the people who battled its construction have died, and others have largely forgotten about the matter. Even those who were most central to the effort have largely given up hope of ever hearing back from EPA.
Schmitter returned recently to visit the power plant on the outskirts of Flint. It lies at the end of an isolated road called Energy Drive that's lined with evergreen trees and dense green brush.
The small plant — surrounded by a barbed-wire fence — is fueled by piles of waste wood from nearby heaps that form a small dirt-colored mountain. White steam billows into the cloudy sky from a tall red-and-white-striped smokestack. There was little odor on the cold winter day, but when scrap piles get wet, Schmitter said, the locals will occasionally get a whiff of an acrid stench.
"You kind of gag on it," he said.
The incinerator is owned by a partnership that includes Jackson, Mich.-based CMS Enterprises and White Plains, N.Y.-based Fortistar. It's a 40-megawatt biomass-fueled plant that burns everything from tree trimmings to construction debris and other industrial wood wastes, according to CMS's website. The company sells the power to Consumers Energy Co. — enough to power about 40,000 homes. Neither CMS nor Fortistar responded to requests for comment on this story.
The plant started operations while its opponents were waiting to hear back from EPA. It's been up and running since 1995.
"We've done as much as we can do," Schmitter said, looking out at the plant. "It was mostly a lost battle."
'A lot of polluting stuff'
Flint religious leaders and community groups started their war against the plant before it was constructed, arguing it would damage public health and disproportionately harm residents who were already exposed to more than their fair share of pollution.
"In that corner of Flint, there is just a lot of polluting stuff that's either in Genesee Township or the northeast side of Flint, and nothing has ever really been done about that," Schmitter said. The plant is about a mile from an elementary school and a low-income housing complex.
Activists opposed to the Genesee Power Plant gathered in a courtroom in 1997. Sister Joanne Chiaverini (second from left), Lillian Robinson (center wearing pink) and Schmitter (back right). | Photo courtesy of St. Francis Prayer Center.
Schmitter and Sister Joanne Chiaverini, who were co-directors at the St. Francis Prayer Center, about a mile down the road from the Genesee plant, were central to that fight. They teamed up with local environmental and civil rights groups in an unsuccessful bid to halt construction. The prayer center still has scrapbooks full of photos and news clippings documenting their efforts.
Opponents warned the plant would add to elevated levels of lead and other dangerous pollutants in the air by burning demolition wood containing lead-based paint. They argued that the air pollution permits issued to the plant failed to properly account for the racial and environmental impacts the plant would have in a community whose population is predominately African-American.
Flint's population was nearly 53 percent black or African-American in 2000 — a number that had climbed to nearly 57 percent in 2010, according to the Census Bureau.
Schmitter and Chiaverini drew up a complaint to file in 1994 with EPA's civil rights program. Federal civil rights laws allow people to file administrative complaints to federal agencies if they believe recipients of federal cash (in this case, the state of Michigan) took discriminatory actions.
It's the only document he ever typed on a computer, Schmitter said. "We were in a real time crunch." By then, the plant was already under construction.
"Several people filed it, and Sister Joanne and I just happened to word it right," he added. They got a letter back from EPA saying they had filed the complaint within the appropriate time frame. He remembers getting a visit from EPA staffers from the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters a few years back, but he never heard back after their visit.
"There was nothing remotely substantial," he said. "They haven't done one thing about it."
'Banging their heads against the wall'
Several of Schmitter's former allies have died in the time it's taken EPA to follow up. And for the most part, people in Flint have stopped paying attention to the power plant that's churning away on the outskirts of the city.
"I think people have given up," Schmitter said. "This is ancient history … so the EPA, I guess, must have a shelf they put this stuff on where they say, good, they're all dead, so we don't have to mess with that anymore."
Chiaverini died in 2008 after complications from a heart valve replacement, local press reported. She was 68.
Lillian Robinson, a local activist who was central to the fight against the plant, died of cancer in 2007 at age 79, The Flint Journal reported. Janice O'Neal, another opponent of the facility and a college instructor, died in 2002 at age 53.
Schmitter has since left his job at the prayer center; he's been the pastor at Christ the King Church across town since 2009.
The lengthy delay in hearing back from EPA was disappointing to others who were central to the effort. Many of them have since moved on, too.
"It really wore people down and became an area of much frustration. People were just sort of banging their heads against the wall," said Julie Hurwitz, who was executive director of the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice — a nonprofit public interest legal center that represented opponents of the power plant — from 1998 until 2004. She's now a partner at a civil rights law firm in Detroit.
Hurwitz penned an exasperated letter to EPA's civil rights office in 2000. "We write this letter to formally inquire about the status of the [Genesee] case and to convey our ongoing serious concern regarding the delay in resolving this matter," she wrote then. "… [D]uring the pendency of this investigation, the Genesee Power Station has been built, is operating, has assumed a place on EPA's Significant Violators List, has been cited by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, has entered into a Consent Judgment based on these violations, and continues to adversely affect the health and welfare of the surrounding community."
Fifteen years later, she's still frustrated. "My feeling about the EPA is that they have placed very little value on environmental racism, and when people are being hurt and they complain, that counts as zero," she said.
But working out civil rights complaints can be complicated, and resolving them gets even tougher as time passes, according to former EPA employees who worked closely with the program.
Complaints to EPA under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which prohibits recipients of federal funding from using the money in a way that has a discriminatory impact based on race, color or national origin — presented "a novel combination of civil rights and environmental concerns," said a former senior EPA official who worked on civil rights issues.
EPA, the former official said, "initially had no policies or procedures for dealing with them and lacked the analytic tools necessary to address the issue of disparate environmental impact that was at the heart of the complaints."
In the early years of the program, processing complaints "was further complicated by the lack of case law and staff expertise within the Office of Civil Rights to address environmental impact concerns," that person said. On top of those hurdles, "there were always inadequate resources" for funding the office.
The Obama administration has received some credit for tackling long-standing problems in the civil rights program.
Early in Obama's tenure, then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson commissioned a broad study of the program.
The sweeping evaluation issued in 2011 by Deloitte Consulting LLP depicted the office as a troubled program that had been plagued by leadership problems and misplaced priorities for years.
The report found that EPA had failed to properly address allegations of discrimination, seemed to lose sight of its mission and priorities, and struggled to effectively resolve equal employment opportunity violations inside the agency (Greenwire, April 4, 2011).
In the wake of the Deloitte findings, Jackson called for a revitalization of the civil rights shop. EPA issued a report in April 2012 touting progress it had made in addressing the backlog of complaints and pointing to the appointment of a special counsel to help address long-standing complaints of discrimination.
EPA hired a new director last April to take the helm of the civil rights office, sparking hope among activists that she'd invigorate efforts to tackle the backlog of complaints (Greenwire, April 1, 2014).
'It's so stale'
Under the Obama administration, the civil rights office "went about taking some of the earliest and probably easiest cases and figuring out if there's something that could be investigated," said Lisa Garcia, who was EPA's environmental justice adviser from 2009 until last year.
"One of the reasons you still have cases in that backlog is that the situations are so old. Complainants may not even be around, may not be interested," she said. "It's so stale."
Garcia suggested that EPA put the older cases "into a new bucket." For cases where communities are still impacted or overburdened, the agency could take steps to try to remedy the general situation.
Meanwhile, long-standing complaints remain unanswered.
"I kind of thought, being somewhat foolish and naive, that when we had a Democratic president we'd get a little more interest and excitement and have a chance," Schmitter said. "But it didn't matter. Whichever party was in there, the EPA was equally ineffective and nonresponsive."
Miller-Travis of EPA's environmental justice advisory council said there's "no question" that the Obama EPA has shown improvement compared to previous administrations on the civil rights front. "You'd have to say that there is much more effort and energy going on to try to fix what has not been working in the Office of Civil Rights," she said.
But while increased dialogue with EPA has been welcome, she said, "in terms of demonstrative examples of progress, there's not a lot to show for it."


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The second volume to PENCIL DRAWINGS, by David J. Vanderpool, this 149 page book shows how the artist completed 16 drawings of men who have entered his life through the years. Unlike volume one of this series,""Pencil Drawings - a look into drawing portraits,"" which was presented entirely in a journal-style format, here only the first four drawings featured keep to that format. The remaining drawings will not only show the step-by-step process it took to complete each drawing, but answers a question that was submitted just for that drawing. With masterfully crafted graphite pencil drawings at their best, this book is an excellent addition to those who have already collected Volume 1. In fact - it's encourage to collect all in the series to have a full understanding on how this artist draws with all lines. NOTICE: This book is not a ""how-to book"" but rather as one review noted, ""An Art Exhibit And Fan Book.""


Here are the service times for the churches in this benefice - we would be delighted to welcome you to any of the services.
Our priest in charge of the benefice is the Reverend Canon Beverley Hollins.
6:45 PM on Mondays - usually in Piddington Church.
New members are welcome. Contact Edward Kilpin (870764).
We are proud to have links with St Christopher's Care Home in Abington, Northampton. St Christopher's aim is to support the independence, choice and preferred lifestyles of all residents in a homely, stable and Christian environment.
Our benefice and the diocese of Peterborough wish to ensure the safety of all the people within the benefice. To this end we have a safeguarding policy to ensure the protection of children and adults that may be at risk. You can see the policy here.