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Design of the 1968 Corvette: Interview with Larry Shinoda
© Wayne Ellwood, Shark Quarterly, 1995
Used here with permission by the author
SHARK: Tell me about the design of the 1968 model?
SHINODA: The design work was started in 1965. There is some good work in "Corvette, America's Sports Car" which has a lot of the photos for the original concept. The nose is quite a bit like the Mako Shark (a little more point) which we did about the same time. The fenders are a little more rounded and the roof shape (wings) are a little more extended. In the production version they were shortened for better vision.
I think that the aspect of the design that might be most interesting to your readers is the fact that most GM designs were the product of competitions. Often there was more than one studio asked to design something around some basic specifications. So what happened was that there had been a design contest between my studio and the Hank Haga studio. Bill Mitchell liked to set up these competitions and take the best ideas for further development.
We had the two (clay models) cars out back on a wide part of the road behind the Tech Centre; this was a very park-like setting and gave a good sense of the natural environment.
Our car was also painted silver using a DI-NOCEP 3M film. We also had rubbed it with some oil to make it look iridescent. Hank Haga thought he would smoke us with a super silver paint job with a blue tint. But the paint shop didn't get a good job and it came out kind of powder blue. And it had a belt line all around it that made it look like a soap dish. Bill Mitchell came out and said, "Damn it, this looks like a fat blue pig". He kicked it and the whole back end fell off. He apologized to Hank for destroying his model but, it didn't really matter because that design lost.
So, after the contest, the car was sent to Haga to finish, because he ran the production studio.
SHARK: When you say that your design was sent to Haga's studio to be finished, it seems like there were a lot of design studios. What were they and why were they arranged like that?
SHINODA: Well, there was Chevy Studio #1 and Studio #2. When my studio was created it was called Studio #3 and I was the first Chief Designer at the Corvette Studio (#3). The second Chief Designer there was Henry Haga, then Jerry Palmer and John Cafaro. I think that Ted Schroeder is now running that studio although John Cafaro is still leading the new 1998 C-5 design team.
There were a number of studios because each tended to specialize in a range of models. Also, Mitchell liked to keep things competitive. In my area, I was kind of "Mitchell's "do it" guy. Whenever there was a competition, my studio would generally win. Henry Haga did win with some of his ideas though; we all had our days.
Mitchell was a bit funny too. He would come in with some weird ideas which we had to get him to change. He always wanted more gadgets on the cars, like the pop-up brake panels on the MAKO SHARK II. You could generally get him to change his mind if you made him think he had come up with the alternative; but sometimes he would just keep asking for more and more (gimmicks) design features.
Some of the stuff was very pretty. Like on Mako Shark I, for example. At one point we had some very delicate louvres radiating on the side of the hood bulge to help cool a Latham supercharger which was on the engine. You could look through and actually see the supercharger.
There were some other ideas that didn't work out too. Like the Stingray Racer which he wanted painted metallic red. In my opinion, it came out a tomato soup. That was on the first body which was the original lay-up. It was really thick to get a good surface; it must have been 5/16 of an inch thick and really heavy. Well then we put on the first vacuum bagged body and it was painted silver. This body was a lot lighter and the car was starting to get into a competitive weight range. A little while later, they wanted the car for an Elvis Presley movie so we put the old body back on and painted it a candy apple red. There was a clear plastic bubble on the hood so you could see the Webers but the carbs were always coughing and backing-up causing the plastic to fog anyway. After that we put the original body back on and painted it silver again; we put in a ZL-1 engine but that's not there anymore either.
SHARK: Were you involved with some of the design for the interior of Mako Shark II. The SHARK era dash, for example, is considered to be a real landmark in sportscar design.
SHINODA: I didn't get involved in the interior design. That was George Angersbbach. John Schetler,and Sue Vanderbilt who worked on that part. There were more people in the interior design studio but I have forgotten a lot of them. But they did a lot of good work.
You will notice from a lot of the photos that there were two versions of Mako Shark II. The one with the side pipes was a non-running model. The running model didn't have that feature. I was the Chief designer and the Chief Coordinator for the build of both cars. The dash was done by a different working group which I coordinated but I didn't have any final say on that. Mitchell had the final say.


text:
1 Page At A Time by Adam J. Kurtz
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1 Page at a Time is a journal, scrapbook, and anything else. It's whatever you say it is. Slowly fill the book and by the time it's done, you'll have a perfect keepsake of the year you made it through. It's full of humor and encouragement, with a self-aware slant. It's creative inspiration for everyday life. It's me in a book. I'm your friend, but I'm not afraid to call you out either. Get some sleep! Drink some water! This is the journal that you're going to actually finish, if it kills us both! It's also sentimental, introspective and encouraging, with a healthy dose of internet.
Designed in Brooklyn, New York
Adam J. Kurtz is an artist and author whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humor and a little darkness. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages and his work has been featured in the New Yorker, VICE, Adweek and more. ADAMJK® is an art and stationery brand focused on gifts that are fun, weird, sentimental, and often literal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home/Usa News/Bodies of 4 infants found at Boston residence, police say
Bodies of 4 infants found at Boston residence, police say
Patricia2022-11-29
Police are investigating after the bodies of four infants were discovered at a Boston residence, including at least one body found in a freezer, authorities said.
Officers were responding to a radio call to investigate a location in South Boston around 2:15 p.m. EST Nov. 17 when they made the grisly discovery, the Boston Police Department said in a news release Monday.
It is unclear why officers were initially asked to investigate the scene. However, upon arrival they found "what appeared to be a human fetus or baby", police said.
A spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney previously told NBC Boston that the initial discovery centered on "a possible fetus or baby found in a freezer."
On November 18, the next day, detectives found what appeared to be additional human remains, which were removed by staff from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for further investigation, police said.
The remains found at the residence were determined to be two baby boys and two baby girls, they said.
An autopsy has been performed on the bodies and the results of the autopsies are awaited, police said.
Police have not identified any potential suspects or indicated whether any charges may arise from the incident.
"We do not anticipate any additional information at this time," police said.
Neighbors in the area told NBC Boston they were stunned by the find.
"It's obviously heartbreaking," Connor Foley told the outlet. "I think that's the most important thing, it's just – it's weird not knowing what happened. Obviously there was this discovery, but we have no idea of what led up to this, if there's still a threat or, you know, I think that's the most important thing is that people just want to understand what happened.
Homicide detectives are continuing to investigate the incident, along with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, police said.
They urged anyone with information to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470 or contact the CrimeStoppers tip line anonymously at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word "TIP" to CRIME (27463).
Chantal Da Silva is breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London.
nbcnews Gt
Reason behind Mario Balotelli's bizarre shirt number revealed as ex-Man City and Liverpool hothead turns to math
FA Cup: Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney revel in the FA Cup enchantment
Italian diplomatic assets vandalized in Germany and Spain
Passengers were told overnight not to show up for their flights after an airline collapsed for the second time


How Do Plea Bargains Work in Maryland?
Based on the way the justice system is portrayed in modern television shows and movies, it would be easy to think there is a criminal trial after nearly every arrest. As a result, many people are surprised to learn that the majority of criminal cases are resolved through a process known as "plea bargaining," which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser offense in return for the prosecutor recommending that the judge impose a lenient sentence. This kind of arrangement can save both sides the uncertainty and time associated trial and often results in a much better outcome for defendants than they would have obtained had they been found guilty.
Typically, plea bargains are reached through out-of-court communications between the prosecution and the defendant's attorney. Once an attorney "enters" a case (which means she gives the court notice she is representing the defendant), the lawyer contacts the prosecutor and begins negotiating. In some cases, a standard plea bargain is offered based on the offense. In others, intense negotiation between the attorneys handling the case will result in a plea bargain. The defense attorney's role at this stage is to identify and point out weaknesses in the prosecution's case to negotiate a favorable deal.
If you are currently facing a criminal case, you may wonder whether you should accept a plea bargain. Ultimately, the decision to enter a plea is up to you, but the assistance of a lawyer can be invaluable in weighing your options, understanding the potential outcomes, and securing a plea bargain that avoids the most serious consequences that you are facing. There are cases in which accepting a plea is clearly the best option—such as when the plea involves entering into a diversionary program that, if successfully completed, will result in the case against you being dismissed. Others are more difficult decisions, especially if you believe that you are innocent.
It is important to keep in mind that some plea deals do result in convictions—even if they keep you from having to serve jail time. As a result, they may affect your ability to get a job, rent an apartment, possess a firearm, go to school, or even vote. As a result, you should carefully consider all of the ramifications of a plea bargain before accepting one. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you do this.
If you have been accused of a crime, it is in your best interest to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. As a former prosecutor, Randolph Rice understands how to negotiate favorable plea bargains on behalf of his clients. In addition, Mr. Rice is a skilled litigator who is not afraid to take a case to trial should it be in your best interests. To schedule a free case evaluation with Mr. Rice, call our office today at (410) 694-7291 or send us an email through our online contact form.


The Township of Livingston is encouraging residents to "Grasscycle" when mowing the lawn. Grasscycling - recycling grass clippings - is beneficial for residents and for the environment. Read the full press release (PDF).
Grasscycling is the natural recycling of grass by leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass clippings decompose quickly, returning valuable nutrients into the soil.
It's easy! Just leave the grass clippings on your lawn.
You'll save 20% to 25% of your mowing time because you won't have to stop and empty your lawnmower bag.
You won't have to spend money on yard waste bags.
You fertilize your lawn for free as you cut it.
Follow the "1/3 rule" - mow often enough so that no more than 1/3 the length of the grass blade is cut in any one mowing.
Mulching mowers cut the clippings into fine pieces that slip easily down to the soil. Most new mowers are mulching mowers, and you can attach mulching equipment to your current mower.
If you miss a week of mowing or rain causes faster growth, you can: mow the top 1/3 of the grass every two days until you reach the desired height; add heavy clippings to your garden as mulch; mix clippings into the soil; or compost the grass.
Water your lawn only in the early morning or later evening to avoid excessive evaporation, and water infrequently to let the grass develop a strong root system. Livingston's water conservation ordinance (PDF) restricts lawn watering to 3 days per week, in the morning/evening depending on type of sprinkler.
Do not over-fertilize. Apply smaller quantities of fertilizer more frequently. Grasscycling makes lawns greener and healthier, decreases yard waste, reduces the need for fertilizers, and helps the environment.


text:
CREATE TABLE with_trigger(a int primary key auto_increment, b char(10), c int unique);
INSERT INTO with_trigger(b, c) VALUES ('AAA', 1), ('BBB', 2), ('CCC', 3);
SELECT * FROM with_trigger order by 1;

CREATE TABLE trigger_actions(id int auto_increment, a int unique, b char(20));

CREATE TRIGGER trig_bef_ins BEFORE INSERT ON with_trigger EXECUTE
	INSERT INTO trigger_actions(a, b) VALUES (1, 'BEFORE INSERT');
CREATE TRIGGER trig_aft_ins AFTER INSERT ON with_trigger EXECUTE
	INSERT INTO trigger_actions(a, b) VALUES (2, 'AFTER INSERT');

REPLACE INTO with_trigger(b, c) VALUES ('DDD', 4);
SELECT * FROM trigger_actions order by 1;
SELECT * FROM with_trigger order by 1;

--Error occurs in trigger action
REPLACE INTO with_trigger(b, c) VALUES ('FFF', 4);
SELECT * FROM trigger_actions order by 1;
SELECT * FROM with_trigger order by 1;

DROP TRIGGER trig_bef_ins;
DROP TRIGGER trig_aft_ins;

DROP TABLE trigger_actions;
DROP TABLE with_trigger;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Sir David Wills
Space, power and technology
Climate judo: how can the impact of the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis be turned into effective action on climate change?
Europe and the UK: building a new partnership after Brexit
Global finance, states and societies: can finance be one of the heroes of the recovery from the great pandemic?
Renewing British politics and the constitution
Information for invitees
Virtual Programme 2020
Adapting to the emerging future through continuous learning: What knowledge, skills and capabilities do we need? How do we deliver with substance? Session 1
Reviewing trust in leaders, experts and institutions: In preparation for action and renewing of trust as we approach the Winter
Reviewing what we have learned on solitude and family: In preparation for action on social connection as we approach the Winter
Professor Joe Nye: Painful lessons in strategy and power from the Covid-19 crisis
The Ditchley Summer Project: Review, Renew, Act!
Coronavirus narratives—origins, meaning and lessons
Leadership, Character and Morality in Times of Crisis
The coronavirus pandemic and the changing nature of jobs and career paths for students and early-career workers
Balancing individual freedom, privacy and social responsibility in times of crisis
Community Action and Lifelong Learning
The coronavirus and a broadening view of talent
Evidence and individual agency in the coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus impact on decentralisation of power and local agency
The coronavirus impact on solitude and the nature of connection
Reflection on the Ditchley conference - Living with COVID-19: what are the implications for the world if a vaccine remains elusive?
Further Reflections on "The New Economic Insecurity" Conference at Ditchley
A summer to review, renew and prepare for action
Work needed: human required
Some thoughts on the world post COVID-19
Reflections on a Ditchley conference "The New Economic Insecurity"
What kind of country the UK should aspire to be?
Ditchley Proust Questionnaire - Dawn Wright
Ditchley Proust Questionnaire - Rajay Naik
Ditchley Proust Questionnaire - Sophie Hackford
Care, Connection and COVID-19
Union: A Democrat, A Republican, and a Search for Common Ground
From Rupture to Realignment
Train to the Future, Platform 19
Annual Lecture
Multilateralism: UN
US-EU Relations in the 21st Century
Ditchley and the Media in the 21st Century
2019 - Future Human: Future Self
2018 - Future Human: Future Communities
2017 - Future Human
Honorary Governors
The American Ditchley Foundation
American Board of Directors
American Advisory Council
The Canadian Ditchley Foundation
Canadian Board of Directors
Canadian Programme Advisory Committee
Ditchley Park
Board Retreat
The Ditchley Project
Become a 1580 Fellow
A Legacy for Ditchley
Fiscal policy and the imperative for growth
Chair: Ms Rachel Lomax
(In partnership with Canadian Ditchley)
This conference looked at the effect of the recent financial crisis on the global economic situation and aimed to analyse which of the policies being implemented in the developed world were proving most successful in putting countries back on the path to recovery, and what needed to be done next. The background mood round the table about the global economic prospects was on the pessimistic side. While the global economy was growing strongly, the marked difference between developed and emerging markets was creating challenges. In the US and Europe the extraordinary liquidity, monetary, and fiscal stimulus measures put in place in the autumn of 2008 had not yet been withdrawn, even while vigorous growth in China and other emerging markets was leading to global inflationary pressures. Against this background, international policy agreement was proving fragile. Many participants thought that underlying flaws in US and European financial systems had not been sufficiently tackled and feared that the risks of further bubbles remained high: another crisis could by no means be ruled out, though it was difficult to know exactly where it would come from.
There was broad consensus on the past – the vast spending efforts to bail out banking systems and stave off economic depression had been necessary and had clearly worked. Successful application of coordinated macroeconomic policy had put the developed world on the road to recovery, and comparisons with the 1930s showed the advantages of rapid action. The UK's leadership of the G20 at the critical juncture was widely praised. However, while the emergency policy response had been successful in averting a serious depression, differences over macroeconomic policy and the financial reform agenda had re-emerged as the sense of crisis had ebbed. Many participants felt that there had not been enough fundamental reform, particularly of the financial system, and some lessons appeared not to have been learnt. Countries with the most developed banking systems, where recovery was weakest, faced a somewhat paradoxical situation. Most banks had returned to profit, helped by central bank liquidity support, ultra low interest rates and government guarantees. But the crisis had left the system 'awash with moral hazard', and populist outrage against banks and their compensation practices was a potent political force. Meanwhile, banks' own continuing efforts to repair their balance sheets in the face of uncertainty about future regulation were not making the halting recovery any easier.
Participants worried that, although the deterioration in fiscal balances had been an inevitable consequence of the measures taken to address the crisis, and some measures were now being taken to address the resulting deficits, longer-term structural reforms were not yet being tackled, especially in the US. The sharp spike in oil and commodity prices was adding to the challenges facing central banks, as they debated when to start normalising monetary policy. While the ECB was poised to start raising policy rates, the Federal Reserve was continuing with policies of aggressive easing. Past experience of similar divergences in approach was not encouraging.
There were different views around the table on whether we had entered a period of normal post-recession recovery, were heading for a double-dip recession or were at the start of a prolonged period of slow growth. The majority thought that a prolonged period of slow growth was most likely, while acknowledging that individual countries within the developed world were moving at different speeds, and some emerging economies were doing very well. The 'headwinds' for the developed countries, including from oil and commodity prices, were strong, and it was not easy to see where the growth, and the necessary jobs, would come from. On the other hand, there was broad agreement that the threat of inflation in the developed economies was low. In any case a double dip could not be ruled out.
Everyone was agreed on the need for fiscal consolidation, especially in the US and Europe. But there was much discussion on the scale, timing and pace of fiscal tightening. There was broad agreement that cutting deficits was almost always bound to lead to slower growth in the short term, unless there was scope for an offsetting fall in interest rates (which few people believed was the case in current circumstances). However, there was general acceptance that fiscal policy was intensely political; and that judging the pace and shape of deficit reduction had to be a matter for political economy in its broadest sense.
Each country's circumstances were different. The arguments for cutting deficits quickly were that high deficits would sooner or later lead to levels of debt which could only be financed at damagingly high interest rates. While there was scope for argument about the precise levels at which debt (and deficits) would prove unsustainable, markets tended to move in jumps, often unpredictably. They required concrete evidence of governments' real determination to act. Frontloading of reductions could provide this. Those participants who took the view that all public spending was distortionary argued that early action would improve the economy's medium term growth potential. Proponents of a more measured approach to fiscal consolidation pointed to the danger of making rapid, sweeping cuts: this would reduce demand unnecessarily at a critical and fragile moment, adding to the fiscal deficit, and in the worst case pushing the economy back into recession. There was plenty of evidence that short run unemployment could impose long term economic and social costs, as people – especially young people – became detached from the labour market.The risks of a political backlash were increased, with unpredictable and potentially ugly consequences. Sustained popular support was essential for any radical fiscal rebalancing. Fiscal consolidation had to be perceived to be fair as well as necessary in order to be broadly acceptable. This was difficult to achieve at times of low growth and against the background of a rise in populism, in Europe as well as the US.
There was agreement that the credibility of government plans was crucial. While market reactions were not always easy to predict, the general view was that analysts and credit rating agencies were looking for more than short term fixes. What they were looking for above all was evidence of commitment to a serious long term plan for fiscal consolidation owned by a government with the political credibility to carry it through. To be taken seriously any plan would need to tackle long-term structural problems, in particular those posed by the impact of ageing populations on pensions and healthcare programmes.
There was some debate about the relationship between fiscal policy and growth in the medium term. In this context there was general agreement that the quality of spending was as important as the amount. A key issue was was the balance between cutting spending on consumption as opposed to investment. There was always a strong political incentive to cut investment since large reductions could be achieved relatively quickly with less pain to consumers and voters. Large transport projects with long payback periods were particularly vulnerable. But this approach could have a very damaging effect on potential growth. Many participants argued in particular for maintaining or even increasing spending on infrastructure and education as being the most conducive to sustainable growth and increased productivity, always recognising that money had to be well spent if investment was to be worthwhile, and that this might require difficult reforms. There was much discussion of the need to scale back pension schemes, by extending retirement ages and cutting back on entitlements. As well as protecting public sector budgets, extended working lives would add to labour supply and improve potential growth. This was already happening in some countries in Europe, and there was some reason to hope that public support for these developments was growing. People were in many cases willing, even keen, to work longer, but there had to be jobs for them to take.
This discussion also led to wider consideration of the effects of the current trend in many countries, especially the US and the UK, towards greater income inequalities, notably between those at the very top of the earnings scale and the rest. For example the top 1% in the US had received the bulk of the growth dividend over the past thirty years and now owned an astonishingly high percentage of the nation's wealth; meanwhile those on median wages and below had seen little or no increase in their living standards. It was unclear whether widening inequality was damaging in narrowly economic terms – arguably not, if those who had the money were investing and spending it in ways which increased prosperity overall. Against that, widening inequality might set up some economically damaging dynamics – for example it had been argued that the desire to mitigate widening inequality lay behind the political support in the US for the (ultimately disastrous) growth in sub-prime lending which led to the financial crisis. There was no doubt that evidence of glaring and growing inequality was making it harder to mount a compelling case for fiscal austerity. It had certainly served to turbo charge public hostility to banks. There was a general feeling that it was very hard for governments to reverse these trends, since they were closely allied to globalisation and technological change – one reason why they were particularly evident in highly globalised and mobile sectors like the financial sector. This was seen as a good potential area for a further Ditchley conference (there are plans to include it in the 2012 programme).
On the revenue side, there was much discussion on how far tax increases needed to be part of fiscal consolidation, in addition to spending cuts. Some argued that there was no way of avoiding this, particularly if the process was going to be seen as fair, since spending cuts always tended to affect the poor disproportionately. Moreover some spending cuts were economically damaging. However, tax increases risked reducing future growth and, in a globalised world, it was difficult to increase direct taxes on companies and wealthy individuals without sparking a damaging exodus. There were no easy answers in this area, and clearly the individual circumstances of each country had again to be fully taken into account. However suggestions which could be valid in many countries included taxing the financial sector more, introducing a carbon tax, simplifying tax structures (in many countries the complexity of exemptions and entitlements had reached absurd levels), introducing or increasing VAT, increasing real estate taxes and doing more about tax evasion.
We discussed the difficulty of generating the necessary political will on both the spending and revenue sides if some of these long term issues were to be successfully tackled. Those with practical experience emphasised the need to take people with you when taking tough economic decisions. Otherwise the risk of political trouble and reversals later was too high. Whenever possible, rapid swings from one policy to another should be avoided and a long term plan adopted. People could understand the need for tough measures if they were properly explained, with real transparency. There was agreement that, in order to tackle these complex challenges, the incentive structures within which politicians operated in democracies needed to be reformed. Otherwise it could simply be too difficult to undertake long-term structural reforms when politicians were bound to be looking at relatively short-term outcomes and their effect on electoral prospects. Removing certain instruments from political control, as had been done with the Bank of England, could help remove constraints on effective policy-making. Fixed fiscal rules could also have a role to play, even if experience suggested that they tended to be abandoned when the going got tough. In any case there was a need for more reflection on how greater decision-making space for politicians could be created – again a further Ditchley conference on the issue was suggested.
We spent a lot of time on the approach of the financial markets. There was agreement that the notion of markets 'attacking' particular countries at particular moments was false. When the markets lost confidence in a country's ability to pay its debts, there were almost always good reasons for this. In any event market views, right or wrong, were decisive where deficits were wholly or largely financed through market borrowing. But while markets were not irrational in any simple sense; they were clearly driven, as one participant put it, by 'fear as well as greed', and prone to wild swings and over reaction as a consequence. Markets were often slow to notice problems in a particular country, had persistently mispriced risk, tended to focus on a limited number of situations at a time, and once they did begin to worry about a particular country's situation, had a tendency to overshoot, because of herd-like habits. One way for countries to deal with this was to be more transparent about their policies and their problems, over time, and thus establish credibility, in the same way as any other borrower. There was wide criticism of the role of rating agencies, who also seemed to have learned little from the crisis.
In this context, participants gave much attention in the discussion to the apparent absence of political consensus in the United States on how to tackle their deficit issues and the implications this had for the rest of the world and the global financial markets. While few in the US disputed the need to take action, there was so far little agreement on what could or should be cut, the big ticket areas like defence spending and social security/health entitlements would always be highly controversial, and tax increases would be a very hard sell. In practice political gridlock in the United States appeared to have blocked movement towards major fiscal consolidation in the short term, and the prospect of the Presidential election next year suggested that a plan for long-term budget consolidation would have to wait. A collapse in market confidence in the US fiscal system was not necessarily imminent, but there were worries that, without a long-term plan, levels of debt within the US would pose an increasing risk to the rest of the world. Would bond markets always look as kindly on the US as they were currently doing? If a crisis did come, it might come abruptly, and would have catastrophic effects for others.
There was wide agreement that a major effort of political will by all concerned would be needed to reduce unsustainable spending levels, given the strong political resistance to tax increases in the US – the Republicans in particular took the view that the only way to reduce government spending was to 'starve the beast'. At the same time, it was pointed out that below the federal level, spending was already being cut radically because states had no choice but to balance their budgets. Some took the view that the US system would eventually react as needed, and the markets knew that – hence their current calm. US demography and longer term growth prospects were also better than elsewhere.
There was a similar but briefer discussion of the Japanese position. The fact that 85% of Japanese debt was internally financed helped to explain why it had been possible for Japan to accumulate historically very high levels of public debt, relative to GDP, without precipitating a sovereign debt crisis. But it was unclear whether this was a sustainable long term position. How long could Japan continue with European welfare levels and US tax rates?
Participants were also interested in the wider international context for these different approaches to fiscal policy. On the one hand, if all countries were trying to cut their deficits simultaneously, the chances of stifling growth all round were much higher – and it was not possible for all countries to export their way out of trouble at the same time. In these circumstances US policy and a decent US economic recovery were supporting growth elsewhere. On the other, a collapse in financial market confidence in US policy would have disastrous implications for many countries around the world.
The conference spent some time on this wider global picture. Developing countries had been less directly affected by the financial crisis, and had bounced back quickly from the collapse in trade over the winter of 2008-09. Those, like China, who maintained more or less fixed exchange rates against the dollar had effectively imported the highly expansionary monetary policies which were needed to fight the recession in the US. The big emerging economies, in particular China and India, were now driving global growth, though recent growth rates had been more modest in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and even some parts of Asia. Prices and wages were rising rapidly in the high growth countries, and there was now a serious risk of overheating. Asset bubbles in China, particularly in real estate, were seen as highly likely. Meanwhile global challenges facing both emerging and developed economies were increased by growing commodity, oil and food prices. The Japanese nuclear problems following the earthquake and tsunami would only worsen these challenges, especially if important countries turned against nuclear power, and thereby increased global dependence on oil. This should be avoided if at all possible.
The conference naturally spent a good deal of time on the crisis in the eurozone, and the difficulty of finding a coordinated, coherent response adequate to the size of the problem. Some thought that the eurozone in its current form could not last because of its inherent contradictions (countries unwilling to accept the logical consequence of common fiscal policies, for example), but most thought that the political will to maintain it was so strong that it would muddle through somehow. Most participants believed that Greece, Portugal and Ireland would at some stage have to default or restructure their sovereign debt, because the burden on taxpayers and voters was simply unacceptable. At the very least interest rates on the bail-out loans needed to be reduced significantly. Some argued that Germany was imposing 'Versailles'-style reparations on the poorer countries, thus failing to acknowledge that every rash borrower in Greece or Portugal had a rash lender as counterparty in countries like Germany or France. The problems in Ireland in particular had come from the financial system, not from government fiscal profligacy. German reluctance to spend more of its own money bailing out others was understandable in domestic political terms, but was short-sighted. Moreover Germany and France had helped sow the seeds of the current situation when they had failed to abide themselves by the Growth and Stability Pact (and the ECB bore some of the responsibility through its failure to distinguish between risks for different eurozone country bonds, which had lulled the markets for some years). While many saw the Versailles analogy as a little strong, most agreed that Germany was not currently acting in its own best interests, let alone those of Greece or the eurozone.
Despite these problems, it was argued that Europe was in many ways in better shape than the US, since at least the fiscal problems were being tackled. Some important longer term steps were also being taken quietly, for example in the area of pensions and retirement age reform. But there was also a feeling that the eurozone continued to face severe market risks, which it was underestimating because of current relative calm.
We looked at the state of international cooperation to deal with the consequences of the financial crisis. Here a clear distinction was drawn between the effectiveness of initial coordinated efforts, and the current apparent loss of momentum and even complacency, for example over international cooperation on regulation of the financial sector. The G20 had gone from focussed action to vague discussion, and seemed to have lost its way. Countries like China seemed to have lost interest altogether in further coordinated action, and to regard current issues as not their problem, an attitude which could prove fatally short-sighted. This complacency worried a lot of participants. The issue of toxic assets in parts of the banking sector had not yet been resolved in some places, for example. Macro-prudential policy was another area where there was little international coherence for now. Another crisis could by no means be ruled out, even if it was hard to see exactly where it might come from at this stage. Many participants felt that it was unfortunately inevitable that international cooperation would languish until backs were once again against the wall.
In these circumstances one way to improve global cooperation might be to start with small groups, for example regional gatherings, which could make decisions on certain issues and work up towards a global framework. Meanwhile the case was strong for keeping the G7/G8 and G20 as focussed and informal as possible. Their ability to adapt to issues was what gave them their usefulness and their remit should not be too formal or expanded too widely. For example the list of issues on the G20 agenda should be reduced, with the focus kept on financial sector reform, and on keeping China interested and involved. This building block approach to international cooperation was seen as most likely to be effective in present circumstances. No-one thought that new institutions were needed now, although it was possible that a future crisis would spawn a more radical look at the international economic and financial architecture, for example a new Bretton Woods-style conference. Proposals for a different sort of reserve currency eg some kind of SDR system, could be well worth exploring at some stage.
Elsewhere in the world of relevant international institutions, the IMF was seen to be doing a reasonable job but needed to step up its role in making sure the right advice was available to countries struggling with deficits. The OECD could also play a stronger role. The role of the World Bank and Regional Development Banks was not seen as central for these purposes. Interestingly, and perhaps mistakenly, we did not spend much time on the WTO or trade issues, but there was agreement that concluding the Doha round would be hugely beneficial for the world economy, if only the (relatively minor) issues standing in the way could be resolved. Conversely, failure to finalise Doha could weaken the WTO badly. One conclusion meanwhile was that the world had learned some valuable lessons from the 1930s and other similar crises, in that protectionist, beggar-thy-neighbour reactions had been largely avoided. The feeling from US participants was that even US/Chinese tensions over the exchange rate of the renminbi could be managed – it had not (yet) become an issue of real populist concern in American politics. This was encouraging.
There were no silver bullets on display for the complex problems of the world economy but some broadly agreed directions for ways forward did emerge from the discussion described above. In summary these include:
o Eliminating tax system distortions;
o Reforming entitlements;
o Greater efforts to tackle tax evasion;
o Favouring indirect taxation on sales and real estate;
o Looking hard at spending patterns to ensure they were the most conducive to growth and increased productivity;
o Targeting public spending on investment;
o Concentrating investment on education and infrastructure.
The lessons of the last crisis needed to be fully implemented. Current complacency was dangerous while structural reform of the financial sector remained half completed.
Fiscal rebalancing was essential wherever deficits were excessive but the process needed to be transparent and have popular support. Credibility was more important than speed, especially when so many developed countries were trying to consolidate simultaneously and the downward pressures on growth were thus greater.
Fiscal policies to achieve rebalancing should include:
Longer-term structural reforms of healthcare and pension policies had to be tackled simultaneously if they were not to undermine consolidation very quickly in the future.
Tackling inequality of income, however difficult, was crucial to maintaining political support for the necessary fiscal measures.
While the rest of the world could do little about helping the US tackle its fiscal problems, and there were reasons for hope, it was wise to prepare for the worst.
The eurozone still had some way to go to resolve its internal issues, and should face up soon to the reality that the current predicament of countries like Ireland, Greece and Portugal was unsustainable politically.
International cooperation was still urgently needed. The G7/G8 and G20 would remain the crucial fora and should retain their flexibility of agenda and approach.
China and the other major emerging economies needed to be convinced of the dangers they now faced, despite their high growth rates, and of the need for them to engage in international efforts to avert a new crisis.
The developed countries needed to learn to live within their means for the long term.
A concerted effort to make the continuing case for nuclear power was needed, to avoid even worse dependence on high-priced oil.
Although the overall mood of the conference was pessimistic, we recognised the wisdom of the words of our chair that this was a natural reaction to the crisis we had just been through (a conference five years ago would have been very optimistic about the prospects, and completely mistaken!). Global recovery might, after all, continue without further major disruption. Meanwhile the high levels of growth in China, India and other major emerging economies were continuing to lift hundreds of millions of people out of grinding poverty, which was good news for us all.
This Note reflects the Director's personal impressions of the conference. No participant is in any way committed to its content or expression.
Chair : Ms Rachel Lomax
President, The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) (2006-); Non-Executive Director: HSBC Holdings, BAA, The Scottish American Investment Company (SAINTS), Reinsurance Group of America, Arcus Infrastructure Fund; Trustee: Royal National Theatre, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Imperial College London. Formerly: Deputy Governor, Monetary Stability, and a Member of the Monetary Policy Committee (2003-08), Bank of England; Permanent Secretary (1996-2002): Department for Transport, Department for Work and Pensions/Social Security, Welsh Office; World Bank; Cabinet Office; HM Treasury.
Dr Paul Sheard
Global Chief Economist and Head of Economic Research, Nomura Securities International, New York (2008-). Formerly: Global Chief Economist and Head of Economic Research, Lehman Brothers (2006-08).
Professor Bernhard Felderer
Director, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna (1991-); President, Austrian Government Debt Committee (2006-); General Council Member, Austrian National Bank (2002-).
Mr Chris Edwards
Director of Tax Policy Studies, Cato Institute, Washington DC (2001-). Formerly: Senior Economist, Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Mr Giles Gherson
Deputy Minister, Policy and Delivery, and Associate Secretary of Cabinet, Ontario Government (2008-). Formerly: Deputy Minister, Communications, Cabinet Office (2007-08).
Mr Simon Kennedy
Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Industry Canada, Ottawa (2010-). Formerly: Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Plans), Privy Council Office (2009-10); Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Operations) (2007-09).
Professor Christopher Ragan
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, McGill University (1995-); David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy, CD Howe Institute, Toronto (2010-); Member, CD Howe Institute's Monetary Policy Council (2003-).
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK/GERMANY
Dr Raymond Ritter
Senior Economist, International Policy Analysis Division, Directorate General International and European Relations, European Central Bank; Lecturer, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Mr Gilles de Margerie
Head of Private Equity and Real Estate, Crédit Agricole SA (2010-); Founder (2001), Chairman (2001-10) and Vice-Chairman (2010-), En temps réel, an independent think tank.
Mr Nicolas Dufourcq
Chief Financial Officer (2004-) and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini, Paris. Formerly: Head, Central and Southern Europe Region, Capgemini (2003-04).
Mr Philippe Lagayette
Chairman, Fondation de France; Board Member: Renault, PPR, Fimalac; Chairman: Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques. Formerly: Vice Chairman, J P Morgan in MEA, Paris (2008-10).
Dr Clemens Börsig
Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2006-), Deutsche Bank AG; Board Member, Emerson; Member, European Financial Services Roundtable; Trustee, IFRS Foundation. A Governor, The Ditchley Foundation.
Dr Thomas Mayer
Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank Group and Head, Deutsche Bank Research, Frankfurt. Formerly: Chief European Economist, Deutsche Bank, London (2002-09).
GERMANY/UK
Dr John Ryan
Fellow, EU Integration Section, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin; Fellow, Center for Economic Policy Analysis, University of Venice.
HUNGARY/USA
Dr George Kopits
Chairman Emeritus, Chairman (2009-11), Fiscal Council, Republic of Hungary. Formerly: Member, Monetary Council, National Bank of Hungary (2004-09); International Monetary Fund (1974-2003).
IMF/ITALY
Mr Carlo Cottarelli
International Monetary Fund, Washington DC (1988-); Director, Fiscal Affairs Department (2008-). Formerly: Deputy Director, European Department; Deputy Director, Policy Development and Review Department.
Mr Yosuke Kawakami
Minister for Financial Affairs, Embassy of Japan, London (2010-). Formerly: Executive Director, Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan (2008-10).
Dr Sebastiaan Straathof
Researcher in International Economics, formerly Executive Secretary, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague; Assistant Professor in International Economics and Business, University of Groningen; Visiting Scholar, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
OECD/FRANCE
Mr Jean-Luc Schneider
Deputy Director, Economics Department, OECD. Formerly: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomic Policy, Treasury, France.
Dr John Mutenyo
Africa Research Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC. Formerly: Visiting Scholar, International Monetary Fund.
Ms Sam Beckett
HM Treasury (1988-); Director of Fiscal Policy (2008-); HM Treasury representative on Debt Management Office and National Savings and Investments Board.
The Rt Hon Lord Burns of Pitshanger GCB
Chairman, Santander UK plc; Chairman, Channel 4 Television Corporation; Non-Executive Director, Banco Santander SA; President, Society of Business Economists; President, The National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
Sir Andrew Cahn KCMG
Vice Chairman (Public Policy), Nomura International (wef 4 April 2011). Formerly: Chief Executive Officer, UK Trade & Investment, London (2006-11).
The Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
Member of Parliament (Labour) for Edinburgh South West (2005-), formerly Edinburgh Central (1987-2005). Formerly: Chancellor of the Exchequer (2007-10); Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (2006-07).
Sir John Gieve KCB
Chairman, VocaLink (2009-); Senior Adviser GLG, part of Man Group (2009-). Formerly: Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, The Bank of England (2006-09). A Governor, The Ditchley Foundation.
Lord Harrison of Chester
Member, House of Lords (1999-); Chairman, House of Lords European Union Select Committee - Economic and Financial Affairs, and International Trade. Formerly: Member of the European Parliament (1989-99).
Mr Joseph Johnson MP
Member of Parliament (Conservative) for Orpington (2010-); Contributing Editor, The Financial Times (2010-). Formerly:The Financial Times (1997-2010): Associate Editor; Editor, Lex Column.
Mr Paul Johnson
Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) (2011-). Formerly: Deputy Director and Head, Personal Sector Research Programme, IFS; Financial Services Authority.
Mr Anatole Kaletsky
Editor at Large, The Times; Chief Economist, GaveKal Dragonomics; Governor, Institute for New Economic Thinking. Author.
Mr Victor Mallet
Madrid Bureau Chief, Financial Times (FT). Formerly: Asia Editor, FT; Correspondent in France, Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia, FT; Author.
Professor Vicky Pryce CB
Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting, London (2010-); Member, Secretary of State for Business Panel on the Economy; Visiting Professor, CASS Business School, Imperial College Business School and Queen Mary College.
UNITED KINGDOM/USA
Mr Robert Conway
Senior Director, The Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated; Board of Trustees, University of Notre Dame; Member, The Council of the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago; President, Harris Manchester College, Oxford. A Governor and Member of the Council of Management, The Ditchley Foundation. A Director, The American Ditchley Foundation.
Mr Jonathan Portes
Director, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (2011-). Formerly: Chief Economist, Cabinet Office; Chief Economist (Work) and Director, Children, Poverty and Analysis, Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr Lucas Merrill Brown
Rhodes Scholar; MPhil Candidate in Economics, Magdalen College, University of Oxford.
Dr Richard Medley
Founder & Chairman, RHM Global LLC, New York. Formerly: Founder (2005), a direct credit fund (2005-11); Founder (1993), Medley Global Advisors (1993-2005).
Ms Maya MacGuineas
President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (2003-); Director, Fiscal Policy Program, New America Foundation (2000-). Formerly: Senior Policy Analyst, The Brookings Institution (1997-98).
Dr Adam Posen
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), Washington DC (1997-); Senior Research Fellow, formerly Deputy Director, PIIE; External Member, Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England; Member, Panel of Economic Advisers, US Congressional Budget Office; Author.
USA/SOUTH AFRICA
Mr Christopher Loewald
Deputy Head, Research Department, South African Reserve Bank (2011-). Formerly: Deputy Director-General, Economic Policy Division, South African National Treasury (2006-11).
USA/UNITED KINGDOM
Mr Francis Finlay
Chairman, EastWest Institute, New York (2009-); Trustee, British Museum (2005-); Member, Oxford Martin School; Advisory Council, University of Oxford (2005-); Governor, London Business School (2003-). A Governor, Member of the Council of Management and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, The Ditchley Foundation. A Director, The American Ditchley Foundation.
WTO/Switzerland
Dr Marc Bacchetta
Counsellor, Economics Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization (1996-). Formerly: Senior Economist, World Bank (2002-04).
Annual Lecture XLVII
Central Asian republics
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Security in Africa in a changing world: building the necessary partnerships and capabilities
Technology, society and the state: how do we remain competitive, and true to our values, as the technological revolution unfolds and accelerates?
Defining the modern United Kingdom: how can we unite at home and what role do we want to play in the world?
The new economic insecurity: how is the coronavirus crisis affecting economic insecurity and what must be done to face this and future crises?
Annual Lecture LVI
The Ditchley Summer Project
The 2020 Greentree conference at Ditchley The US and the UK: a special relationship for the 21st century?
Living with COVID-19: what are the implications for the world if a vaccine remains elusive?
World Order: what can and should it mean today?
Globally connected cities and their relationship to the nation state
The intersection of machine learning and genetic engineering: what should be our check list for society and state as we blast off?
Modern Education: what is contemporary education for, whom should we be educating, and how is it best achieved?
Renewing democratic societies to face the future: what insights can we draw from the last two-and-a-half years of Ditchley conferences?
The transatlantic community and global finance
The rise of populism: crisis of democracy or noisy renewal?
Intervention in other states: do we still believe we can intervene for good?
Annual Lecture LV
The future of strategic stability: how must modern deterrence evolve as landmark treaties expire and new weapons technologies and doctrines are developed?
Transforming Ocean Data
Food security in the 21st century: global prospects for resilient and sustainable food production systems
Japan, the West and China: Japan's future and role in the world
Trust: in leaders, experts and institutions. Where and why has it gone and what can we do to renew it?
The Future of Policing in the Digital Age
How does aid need to transform to deliver the World we want and need?
The Ocean: an opportunity for a new level of international cooperation or a tragedy of the commons?
The future of the EU and the euro, after Brexit
The Internet: how do we make it safer without losing its vitality?
Annual Lecture LIV
The crisis of democracy in Europe and the United States: its causes and what the West must do to resolve it
Modern family: what is it for, what are its prospects and what are the implications for societies and states?
Modern deterrence: what does the combination of nuclear, BCW, cyber and AI mean for the evolution of western deterrence against state and non-state actors?
China and the West: different values, the same global economy. How do we respond to challenges on the premise of mutual respect?
Investment in Africa
Drones remote weapons and other robots: the military, commercial, legal and ethical implications
Which way is West and is the West still best? What do President Trump, Brexit and the technological revolution mean for the future of the West?
Non-state actors and the changing nature of conflict
Can Saudi Arabia lead the Gulf to a knowledge economy and a sustainable and stable future?
The Arctic at the crossroads: cooperation or competition?
Annual Lecture LIII
The future of the Transatlantic community and the international order
From words and pictures to impact: how can think tanks, convenors, socially responsible companies and other not-for-profit organisations have more impact on the world?
Russia's role in the world, today and tomorrow
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: how do we make sure technology serves the open society?
Europe and migration
Growth and jobs in Europe
Annual Lecture LII
EU divorce
Global internet
21st century manufacturing
European security
Climate and energy risk
Annual Lecture LI
The UK and the EU
Power rivalries in Asia
Arab awakening
Annual Lecture L
The global role of the United States
France's role
States and markets
Protecting civilians
The future of Scotland
Annual Lecture XLIX
Responsible financial sector
Germany's role in the EU
Urbanisation: the century of cities
Japan's regional and global future
Rio+20 and the green economy
International intervention
Annual Lecture XLVIII
Two-tier Europe
Global power shifts
Drug control policy
Economic architecture
Annual Lecture XLVI
EU Russia
Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament
Society's resilience
Military's role
Annual Lecture XLV
The Arctic region in the twenty-first century
US-EU
Machinery of government
Prisons policy
MDGs
Russia's future
Annual Lecture XLIV
The future of NATO
EU global strategy
Media and Democracy
New National Identities
Annual Lecture XLIII
The prospects for Pakistan
EU migration
African response to G8
Non-Proliferation
Future of Aerospace
Brazil: Global Impact
Annual Lecture XLII
EU: Geopolitical trends
US-European communication
Iran's Future Path
Women & developing world
Politics of Water
Annual Lecture XLI
Freedom and security
Iraq: consequences
Britain's constitution
Challenges of governing
Approaches to refugees
Biogenetics
Prisoner reintegration
Germany in a new century
Annual Lecture XL
An enlarged Europe
Change in the Middle East
Annual Lecture XXXIX
Modern corporation
Energy needs
Ageing populations
UN: Peacekeeping
Middle East prospects
The WTO round
Long-term impact of 9/11
Health as foreign policy
Annual Lecture XXXVIII
UN in the 21st century
Design for health care
Healthcare Funding
Accountability of NGOs
Multicultural societies
Annual Lecture XXXVII
Defence industrial base
The new Luddites?
EU's CFSDP
Euro and other currencies
Iran and Iraq
Non-violent sanctions
Risk in public policy
The Prospect for Russia as an International Partner
The Instruments of International Security in the Twenty-First Century
Annual Lecture XXXVI
Turkey's future path
School Age Education: Tasks, Systems, Performance
Managing Global Economic Problems: Public and Private Sector Roles
Fostering Business Enterprise: Views on either Side of the Atlantic
"Third Way" Concepts in Contemporary Politics
The Management and Repercussions of Nuclear Power
China and its Neighbours
Corruption: Progress in Counter-Stratagies
Social Justice in National Economies: Tensions between Social Priorities and Market Pressures
The Political, Social and Environmental Responsibilities of Business
The Reduction and Management of Demand for Healthcare
Solutions to Unemployment in the Age of Globalisation
The Media and the Law
The International Regulation of Cyberspace
The International Handling of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
Annual Lecture XXXV
The Development of the European Union
The Sub-Continent: Prospects in the Twenty-First Century
NATO's Eastward Relationships
Governance in the Information Age
Implications of the East Asian Economic Situation
Preventative Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution
Nations in Transitions to Democracy: The Management of Radical Transformation
What Future for Quality Newspapers?
Defence Against Ballistic Missiles: Options and Implication
Security and Stability in the Middle East
Extra-Territorial Application of National Laws Regulating Business Activities
Russia and its Neighbours
Sub-Saharan Africa: How can the Developed World Help?
Social Justice and the Relief of Poverty in the Global Economy: Tensions Between Social Priorities and Market Pressures
After the US and UK Elections: Impacts and Prospects
Annual Lecture XXXIV
The Implications, Within and Beyond Europe, of Prospective Monetary Union
The Future Development of the Global Financial System
The Prevention of Youth Crime: Schooling, Neighbourhood and Intervention
Public Trust in Government
Russia: Progress and Prospect
The Role and Working of the Voluntary Sector
The Role, Limitations and Legitimacy of Regulatory Mechanisms in Market Economies
East Asia: Regional Identity, Regional Progress Regional Cooperation
The Impact of Political and Economic Change in Latin America
Relationships Between the State and the Armed Forces
The Prospects for Democracy in the Balkans
Annual Lecture XXXIII
Controlling the Arms Trade
The Treatment of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers
The Future of State Provision for Welfare
The Evolution or the Transatlantic Partnership
The Future Global Pattern of Agriculture: Can there be a Truly Free Market?
Preventing Youth Crime
The Management of Large Cities in the Developed World
The Gulf: Problems and Prospects
Sustainable Development: Problems, Progress, Prospects
The United Nations at Fifty: Identity, Finance, Working and Public Support
Advances in Human Genetic Science - Issues for Public Policy
Germany Five Years after Unification: External Role, External Perceptions
The Role, Function and Regulation of Political Parties
The Advancement of Women to Influence and Leadership in Developed Countries
Corruption in Democratic Societies: Patterns, Implications, Remedies
Annual Lecture XXXII
The Shaping of Europe: Progress and Prospect
Business, Government and the Environment
China after Deng: Policy Implications
Ageing Populations in Developed Societies Political, Social and Economic Implications
South Africa: Internal Development and External Relations
The Ethos and Ethics of Public Service
Russia's Search for a Post-Communist Identity
Penal Policy: Punishments, Prisons and Crime Prevention
Substance Abuse: The Need and Scope for International as well as National Strategies
The Nation State: What Pressures, from Above or Below, are Modifying it, and in What Forms can it Survive?
East Asia: Security, Prosperity and Political Evolution
Unemployment and Industrial Change in the Developed Countries
The Shaping of Healthcare Systems
The Group of Seven: Role, Legitimacy and Working
Annual Lecture XXXI
International Migration and Population Pressures
Co-Operation and Security in the Western Mediterranean
Annual Lecture XXX
Annual Lecture XXIX
The states of the former Soviet Union
Annual Lecture XXVIII
Annual Lecture XXVII
Annual Lecture XXVI
Annual Lecture XXV
Annual Lecture XXIV
Military and economic power
Annual Lecture XXIII
Annual Lecture XXII
Annual Lecture XXI
US Lecture I
Annual Lecture XX
New telecommunications technology
Safeguarding Western interests
Annual Lecture XIX
Annual Lecture XVIII
Annual Lecture XVII
Annual Lecture XVI
Annual Lecture XV
Annual Lecture XIV
Law and Freedom
Annual Lecture XIII
Annual Lecture XII
Annual Lecture XI
Annual Lecture X
Annual Lecture IX
Annual Lecture VIII
Annual Lecture VII
Europe and the Atlantic community
Annual Lecture VI
Annual Lecture V
Annual Lecture IV
Annual Lecture III
Annual Lecture II
Annual Lecture I
Travel Guidance
Your stay at Ditchley: venue, facilities, currency


This tour will explain how an average person of Vilnius lived under the Soviet occupation.
• Churches, desecrated by the Soviets and converted into mundane use.
• The key buildings of Soviet Vilnius, including the former communist party local offices.
• Parts of Vilnius Old Town that was demolished by the Soviets to make "socialist squares".
• A Soviet-destroyed cemetery, with the remains of a Soviet sculpture.
• Soviet factories, entertainment buildings, and apartment buildings. Their architecture ranging from the elaborate Stalinist grandeur to later edifices that were constructed to be as cheap as possible.
• Palace of the Trade Unions, a symbolic institution on one of the highest Vilnius hills (now burned out and semi-abandoned).
• Lithuanian parliament, where the independence was declared, triggering the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the barricades built soon afterward to repel the Soviet tanks.
-A typical Soviet "dormitory district" where the majority of Vilnius people still live at.
-Soviet factory district where most people of Soviet Vilnius worked at.
-A memorial for people murdered by the Soviets.
The price of the car tour is 139 euro (for up to 3 people).
-Museum of Genocide Victims, located in the former KGB headquarters.
-Tuskulėnai museum, where KGB has buried its victims.
-Toy Museum, with many Soviet toys.
• How and where did the average resident of Soviet Vilnius live? What were the maximum apartment sizes and how the low construction quality of Soviet homes influenced life?
• How few restaurants, shops and other consumer institutions there were in Soviet Vilnius, compared to today. And how long one had to queue to be able to use them?
• How many factories actually produced, and what that meant for their workers?
• How were the people forced to spy on each other?
• How the unique economic system where the relationships were more important than money actually functioned>?
• How much was each Vilnius resident forced to participate in various propaganda parades and declarations?
• How did Vilnius residents resist the Soviet occupation, sometimes sacrificing their lives for that?
• How was Vilnius settled by Russians and what were the Lithuanian-Russian relations?
• How was Vilnius de-Sovietized after independence?
The tour starts at the City Hall square or, should you wish so, at any other convenient location in the Downtown Vilnius, such as your hotel.


text:
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart draws from folk music's long tradition while keeping pace with the ceaselessly changing times. Her talent for crafting unique, enduring melodies, her gift for saying just enough without overstating her case, the range and dynamism of her arrangements, all come together in songs of powerful contemporary relevance. She also has the purest and most approachable of singing voices, drawing the listener towards her in the same way one might lean towards a late night tale by the fireside.
Her songs deal with humanity in all its many guises: there is tenderness, triumph and sorrow, raised flags of rebellion and independence, flashes of anger at power abused and misused. Perhaps most frequently she deals in spare, unsentimental empathy, often with those who have been dealt the least playable hands in the game of life.
The results have rarely failed to strike a chord. Her debut album Faultlines won three awards at the 2005 BBC Folk Awards, including Best Album. Its follow up, Scribbled in Chalk (2006), contained "Daisy", a gentle word to the wise to one of life's givers and truth-tellers who can't quite comprehend that "there are people in this world who don't think like you do". The song won Polwart another BBC Folk Award for Best Original Song in 2007.
But her achievements can't simply be measured in terms of industry acclaim. Having studied politics and philosophy at university and later worked in the area of women's and children's rights, Polwart has always wanted her music to perform some useful social function. In that, too, she has succeeded time and time again.
"For me" says Polwart, "music is one of the most powerful ways of making sense of the world. It's for celebrating, grieving, sharing, wondering. Nothing inspires me more than the realisation that any one of my songs means something to someone else".
Karine tours most often as a trio with her brother Steven Polwart (acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele & vocals) and singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Inge Thomson (accordion, percussion, loops & vocals).
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Here's Where Tomorrow Starts


Call to Order - The Provo City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Council Chambers of the Provo City Center, located at 351 West Center Street. The items listed below will be discussed, and anyone interested is invited to attend and provide comment. Preceding the public hearing, a briefing will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the Community Development Conference Room, located at 330 West 100 South. The briefing is open to the public; however, formal presentation of items, public comment and actions will be reserved for the public hearing at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Council Chambers. Planning Commission hearings can be viewed live on Channel 17 or on the Provo City website at http://provo.org/mayor.channel17.html.
The Provo City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Council Chambers of the Provo City Center, located at 351 West Center Street. The items listed below will be discussed, and anyone interested is invited to attend and provide comment. Preceding the public hearing, a briefing will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the Community Development Conference Room, located at 330 West 100 South. The briefing is open to the public; however, formal presentation of items, public comment and actions will be reserved for the public hearing at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Council Chambers. Planning Commission hearings can be viewed live on Channel 17 or on the Provo City website at http://provo.org/mayor.channel17.html.
What is 3 added to "three"?


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Jessica Chastain stars as Tammy Faye Bakker in Michael Showalter's new film.Photograph courtesy Searchlight Pictures
"The Eyes of Tammy Faye," Reviewed: A Defanged Tale of Religion, Politics, Sex, and Money
The conventional bio-pic of the televangelist turns a complicated person into a simple character.
I'm not a religious person, but I confess that I'm fascinated by cinematic representations of religious fervor. An idea so powerful that it takes possession of a character and expresses itself in flamboyant rhetoric, with extravagant performances to match, is, to my mind, an irresistible spectacle. ("Marjoe" and "Red Hook Summer" are two favorites.) "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," the new film about the rise and fall of the evangelical star Tammy Faye Bakker, along with her first husband, the preacher Jim Bakker, fits into that category of movies, and, at its best, takes its religious themes in fascinating directions that open the way to aptly fervent acting. Unfortunately, those high points are only intermittent, owing to the particulars of the film's direction and the movie's deference to the conventions of the bio-pic genre.
In "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," the story of the rise is much more substantial than that of the fall. The movie's director, Michael Showalter, and its star, Jessica Chastain, display a shared excitement for the idiosyncrasies of the story and of its titular protagonist, and the movie thrills to the energies on which the Bakkers' career is made. Tammy Faye's story starts in childhood (she's played, as a child, by Chandler Head), in 1952, in a small Minnesota town, where her mother, Rachel Grover (Cherry Jones), is a pianist in a small evangelical church. Harshly judgmental and coldly self-interested, Rachel—who is divorced from Tammy Faye's father—bans the girl from the church in order to live down the local scandal that the divorce sparked. Yet young Tammy Faye is strong-willed and attracted to the church's ecstatic doings. "Stop performing," Rachel snaps, when her daughter emotes at the dinner table; in church, where Tammy Faye speaks in tongues and lets go to the extent of urinating on herself, the child finds that she can get away with performing, and even win approval for it. Yet, even in these early scenes of religious possession, I felt an officious hand turning the pages of the drama too quickly, spotlighting character traits that would fit like puzzle pieces into the rest of the plot, in lieu of delving into the underlying ardor, the distinctively Christian ecstasy, upon which the entire movie depends.
Nonetheless, the story of how Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker (played by Andrew Garfield), two twentysomething students at a Minneapolis Bible college, get together in 1960—and how they make their names together in the following years—develops through several set pieces filled with engrossing details. Tammy Faye defies the school by wearing makeup; Jim defies the institution's austerity by preaching a gospel of prosperity. On a picnic date, Jim confesses his sinful love of rock and roll; Tammy Faye, a gifted singer, gets him to dance. And the two, soon thereafter, defy the school by marrying—and are expelled as a result. Rachel, interrogating her daughter, asks, "Didja know there was a rule against marrying?" Jones's cutting delivery of those first two words is a gemlike highlight of the film—and what Tammy Faye knew, and when, prove to be the very pivot point of the story to come.
Tammy Faye and Jim possess a natural theatrical flair; they take to the road as itinerant preachers and hope to gain enough of a following to start their own church. Instead, they meet Pat Robertson (played by Gabriel Olds) and end up hosting a children's show on his TV station. The couple have no problem reconciling their religious devotion with their worldly cravings for pleasure, comfort, and admiration—and they quickly recognize the potential for power and wealth that televangelism offers. (The admiration that Tammy Faye most craves is her mother's; the movie hints that Tammy Faye's cupidity is aimed above all at gaining Rachel's approval.) Tammy Faye's vision and drive is behind the couple's success. It's Tammy Faye who creates and voices the puppet that gives the show its appeal, and who urges Jim to aim higher and compete with Robertson by taking on a show for adults.When Jim becomes a star with that show, leaving Tammy Faye stuck at home, she yearns to get back in the public spotlight—and, to do so, she urges Jim to start his own TV station. In one stirring scene, set in 1971, amid the eye-popping splendor of the Robertsons' lavish estate in Hot Springs, Virginia, the audacity and the principle of Tammy Faye's energy comes to the fore. There, even while dandling her newborn, she resists being seated with the women to share their casual gossip; instead, she crashes the table where Jim, Pat, and another powerful preacher, Jerry Falwell (Vincent D'Onofrio), are discussing business.
At that gathering, Tammy Faye crashes through other barriers that she faces in the evangelical milieu. She refuses to defer to Falwell's authority, calling him "Jerry" when he'd prefer "Reverend Falwell," and she defies his fulminations against homosexuals, declaring that they're equally deserving of Christian love. Years later, she puts this principle into action, unreservedly and courageously, when she and Jim are big TV stars with a vast following and a major financial empire to maintain. At the heart of the movie, in a scene set during the nineteen-eighties, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Tammy Faye warmly interviews a gay Christian pastor named Steve Pieters (played by Randy Havens), who has AIDS, and she exhorts her audience to follow her in the path of acceptance and love. Yet her apparently liberal form of evangelism antagonizes Falwell and the Reagan-era Republican Party of which he'd become a pillar. (In the film, Jim, too, is portrayed as a major Reagan supporter.) When charges of financial impropriety are levied against the Bakkers, Falwell, portraying himself as the couple's ally, relies on the scandal to rid himself and the movement of its pesky freethinker.
Sex and politics are inseparably connected in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." Jim's sexual indifference toward Tammy Faye frays their relationship even before they become embroiled in scandal. After her apparently unconsummated dalliance with a record producer named Gary Paxton (played by Jim Wystrach), Jim forces Tammy Faye—a dutiful wife who submissively complies—into humiliating on-air confessions and apologies. Jim's legal difficulties, over the misuse of church funds, involve a sex scandal. The film depicts him as hiring a female prostitute, just once—in response to Tammy Faye's ostensible infidelity—and then paying hush money to keep the liaison quiet. (The real-life reports at the time were much more serious: a church secretary named Jessica Hahn accused Bakker of rape, and subsequently received a payoff from the church's coffers for her silence.) In the movie, Jim is also accused of having pursued homosexual relationships, starting even before the couple's marriage. The conflicted and tormented Tammy Faye becomes addicted to prescription drugs and begins to behave erratically—yet remains the brains of the operation, helping Jim seal deals that are beyond his own reach. As the walls begin to close in on them, she nonetheless claims ignorance of his financial chicanery.
Given the tangle and the turbulence of the couple's relationship, politics, celebrity, and business, the gap between Tammy Faye's public persona and her private beliefs should be central to the drama. What did she know or suspect about Jim's sex life? What did she think of the politics of the time, whether civil rights or abortion or Reagan? Was she aware of how Jim was running—or, rather, mishandling—the business? (Or how could she have not been aware?) What she knows, when she knows it, how she squares her knowledge and her actions—these questions are the movie's emotional engine, the character's emotional core. However, the answers to such questions are kept entirely out of the film, perhaps out of fear that a display of any more conservative views that the real Tammy Faye held would alienate moviegoers from the character. There is also an apparently hubristic and avaricious side to the character, involving what seems to be a compulsive shopping habit, but that dimension, too, is left utterly unconsidered, except in empathetic relation to her desperate efforts to bond with her mother—again, as if the movie were cannily preserving her ability to be seen as a heroine.
It's here that the film's artistic limitations, its deference to bio-pic conventions, narrow its perspective and diminish its substance. Showalter extracts high-relief details from the script (written by Abe Sylvia), and joins with his actors to bring them vividly to life. He has long displayed a flair for building showy scenes featuring nuanced yet high-wattage performances from actors working at the crossroads of satire and pathos, as in "Hello, My Name Is Doris," "The Big Sick," and "The Baxter"—and all of those films are similarly dulled by an unconsidered sense of drama. In "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," Showalter doesn't see between the scenes to imagine his protagonist in conversation with friends or supporters, or even just talking with Jim about news of the day. He doesn't imagine how she connects her youthful, ecstatic Christianity with her latter-day televangelism, or her life of luxury with her Christian commitment; for all her intelligence, energy, and emotion, there's no sense that she thinks anything at all beyond what fits the dictates of the script. In short, he can't see Tammy Faye as a person, rather than as a character in a media drama. As a result, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," far from getting behind the public image, merely creates another one.
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The Best Jokes of 2022
Dr. Oz went shopping, Elon Musk broke Twitter, Chris Rock thought fast, and corn melted our hearts.
By Ian Crouch


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Q: Convert QBasic command to Javascript I am creating a form using Adobe Acrobat Pro and I have to use a custom Calculation Script in a field.
In Qbasic it would be
If Qty > 1
Than TotPrice = Qty * UnitPrice
Else Totprice = ""
End if

In Exel it would be
If (Qty > 0, Qty*UnitPrice,"")

what would it be in JAVASCRIPT?
Thank you

A: It's better to read some online tutorials, or books
Anyway Use something like below will solve your problem
 if(Qty> 1)
    {
    var TotPrice = Qty * UnitPrice;
    }
    else
    {
    Totprice = "";
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Looker applications are designed to provide a tailored data-driven experience. The Looker for Sales Analytics application provides an entire sales team with a console to track and take action on pipeline management, quota attainment, and sales efficiency. The features provide sales representatives a complete view into quota attainment and pipeline health, while sales managers can see what makes their top reps successful. Sales operations leaders gain a customizable application to help them make sales more efficient, while also allowing reps and managers do self-service with pre-built reports.
New Looker Open Source tools provide users the ability to develop their own custom or embedded data experience. Supported by the Looker API, tailored solutions are simple to create and share within the community. Lookers is also adding four new visualization types to its library, including waterfall, box plot, trellis and word cloud. This ensures users can visualize data in several different ways.


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What Is The Best Milk Thistle Supplement?
ByAntonio Rodriguez January 10, 2023 January 10, 2023
Overall, the best Milk Thistle Supplements Milk Thistle Puritan's Pride Six-month supply at an affordable price. Best Antioxidant Supplement. Milk Thistle by Jarrow Formulas. The highest dose. Milk Thistle Capsules, Fresh Nutrition The best for your liver's health. Milk Thistle Capsules from FarmHaven. Most Reliable. Milk Thistle Capsules from Nature's Bounty.
Similarly, What strength of milk thistle is best?
Milk thistle tea does not have a defined dose or suggested consumption, however it is usually regarded safe when drunk in moderation. For example, milk thistle supplements are tolerated at dosages of up to 700 mg three times each day for 24 weeks ( 1 ).
Also, it is asked, What supplements should not be taken with milk thistle?
If you are using any of the following drugs, you should consult your doctor before taking milk thistle. Antipsychotics. Butyrophenones (such as haloperidol) and phenothiazines are examples (such as chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, and promethazine). Phenytoin is a kind of phenytoin (Dilantin).
Secondly, How many milligrams of milk thistle should I take daily?
Milk thistle is available as capsules, tablets, tinctures, and intravenous solutions. In terms of hepatoprotection, an adult should take 420 mg of extract (standardized to 70-80 percent silymarin) three times a day for six to eight weeks. The daily maintenance dosage is 280 mg.
Also, What should I look for when buying milk thistle?
If you want to get the most out of a milk thistle supplement, ensure sure silymarin is specified. Some milk thistle manufacturers use a variety of natural substances that they say aid in liver support. Examine the label to verify there are no ingredients to which you are allergic.
People also ask, Is 1000 mg milk thistle too much?
Most individuals are safe taking milk thistle in doses up to 420 mg three times each day. It may, however, produce allergic responses such as itchiness, headaches, and joint discomfort, as well as gastrointestinal problems such as nausea and diarrhea.
Should I take milk thistle in the morning or night?
Because milk thistle is typically well accepted by the body, you may take it whenever


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© Kickstarter
Cyber Security Lessons From Kickstarter Hack
This past Saturday, fundraising giant Kickstarter announced to its community that hackers had managed to breach its security protocols and access some sensitive data. Luckily, no credit card information seems to have been stolen, though the hackers did manage to access usernames, phone numbers, email and postal addresses and the encrypted passwords associated with these accounts. Far from catastrophic, but still unsettling: you don't want a total stranger knowing your address and phone number.
First, we need to give Kickstarter a big kudos. Not only did they promptly inform their community of the breach and just as promptly take steps to rectify the problem, they rook responsibility for the vulnerabilities. This may seem like no big deal, but if you lived through Sony's handling of their hacking fiasco, you'd appreciate how well Kickstarter handled this minor embarrassment. As well they should: when your entire business model is built on enticing people to trust you with their credit card information, you'd better believe your credibility in the public eye has a huge impact on the success or failure of your venture. Sony learned this lesson the hard way, with a measurable hit to their once-airtight public image.
But if you're the consumer, your primary concern has to be your data. In an age where it's increasingly common to buy things online — using your phone, your television, or a tablet — the risks become exponentially greater. All it takes is one careless mistake for some savvy keyboard warrior to have access to your financial information.
The simple truth, though, is that you're much more at risk as an individual than you are as the ten millionth Kickstarter or Sony customer. Sure, these sites get hacked from time to time, despite their incredible security, but odds are you'll be given enough of a heads up to at the very least cancel your credit card or change your passwords. In the end, you're more vulnerable for the mistakes that you are likely to make rather than those of some big company with a huge security budget.
So follow some common-sense advice to make sure you're never singled out.
Select a difficult password, one with both numbers and letters, and that uses at least one uppercase letter. Use a different password for each website. Change this password regularly (once every 1-3 months). Don't share your password and don't use gimmicky passwords that a stranger could guess knowing basic personal information about you — your home address, your dog's name, your date of birth, etc.
Limit Your Time Spent On Public Wi-Fi
As the Internet becomes more and more central to our daily lives, public wireless Internet access becomes more and more common. From coffee shops to libraries, restaurants and retail stores, it's easier than ever to stay connected throughout your day. But hackers know this too, and unencrypted wireless networks are a feeding frenzy for the those looking to prey on the unsuspecting. If you must use a public wireless connection, keep it short and for the love of god don't access any incredibly sensitive information (read: bank accounts).
When it comes to online shopping, not all websites are created equal. You can be pretty confidant that you'll never have any issues with Amazon, given that they're a recognized company that have devoted millions and millions of dollars to optimizing the customer experience and maximizing security. But if you're looking to buy a product or service off a less-reputable website, do your homework. If it's a scam, there's probably an angry rant about it somewhere on the Internet. And if there isn't, consider having a separate credit card, with a much lower limit, for your online purchases.
None of these measures are perfect but, together, they will seriously decrease your risk of being the victim of cyber theft or identity fraud.
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Minneapolis, MN (December 7, 2017) – OnApproach (www.onapproach.com), the leading provider of data/analytics solutions for credit unions, is excited to announce TDECU (Lake Jackson, TX) is the latest to join the collaborative Credit Union Data Integration and Analytics Platform after signing an agreement to implement the OnApproach M360 Enterprise.
"At TDECU, we delight in providing exceptional service to each of our Members. And, we believe that exceptional service starts by applying useful insights about each Member to uncover their individual, unique needs. So, we're always thrilled to leverage new sources of data and better techniques for transforming data that will help TDECU to guide each Member to the financial solutions best for them. We find that by starting with deep insights about individual Member needs, we can add the expertise of our employees and access to our wide variety of financial solutions to produce a very powerful, personalized experience for all Members," stated Courtland Crouchet, SVP - Chief Retail Officer, TDECU.
TDECU (asset size: $3.1 Billion, core processor: Fiserv – DNA) determined the need for an enterprise analytics solution to integrate and optimize data. Member data and analytics provides credit unions with the opportunity to gain insight about members, both collectively, and as individuals. With integrated and reliable data, the credit union industry is equipped to collaborate on analytics and exceed the expectations of members. As a CUSO, OnApproach empowers credit unions to take advantage of analytics efforts across the industry and prosper in their digital transformation efforts.
"In today's financial services arena, data analytics is no longer only an option. Analytics tools that may have once been a luxury or competitive advantage are now required in order to keep up with member expectations. Credit unions have to digitally transform themselves and provide members with superior experiences in all interactions. We are excited to have the support of TDECU, and we look forward to making their analytics goals a reality," said Paul Ablack, CEO, OnApproach.
OnApproach is the only CUSO dedicated to credit union success through a collaborative analytics ecosystem. By providing a secure and frictionless data experience, OnApproach empowers credit unions to take full control of their own data and their own futures. We exist to serve the credit union movement with technology and expertise required for the digital transformation of the industry business model. OnApproach's collaborative ecosystem enables communities of users, data scientists, and application developers focused on analytics innovation.
Founded in 1955, TDECU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with more than 270,000 Members and over $3 billion in assets. TDECU currently has 42 service locations, including 36 Member Centers, and offers a complete selection of convenient, innovative, and competitive products and services, including a full suite of deposit products as well as mortgage, auto and personal loan products, online and mobile banking. TDECU also offers, through its subsidiaries, retirement planning and wealth management, personal and business insurance products. Members can also access a worldwide network of over 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs.


CRESTVIEW — When comedian Elvis Mujic came to town this week, he was a man on a mission.
Mujic has toured 47 states in the minivan he calls home, and one of the things he loves most is performing for homeless people. He visits organizations like the Salvation Army and asks around to find out where homeless people congregate so he can perform especially for them.
On Jan. 2, he contacted the Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless for permission to do some standup for their clients. Mujic entertained them for about half an hour.
Mary Bayer, a volunteer at CASH, said, "It was the first time we've ever had anybody like that come in. It went wonderful. The folks really enjoyed it and it kind of got them away from their own problems, you know. It was very fun!"
Bayer said she was eavesdropping from the kitchen during Mujic's routine. He told jokes about himself, and talked about being from Bosnia.
"I would like to see him come back again," Bayer said. "Anything that brightens up their day, I'm for that."
Mujic said he takes a different approach when performing for the homeless.
"People in comedy clubs are happy already," he said. "They have money, they're happy, they're well fed."
More of a warm up is required for the homeless to begin enjoying themselves. He interacts with them and tries to lift their mood by being playful and positive.
"It's super challenging. I like it," Elvis said. "If I can do it there — if something works for them — if it makes them laugh, it's a very funny joke.
"I don't always pull it off, but it is possible and when I do it (well), it validates it," he said of his work.
Mujic and his family moved to the U.S. when he was 7 and grew up in Detroit.
Before he became a comedian, he was a working student starting his fourth year at a Massachusetts college.
"I ... did good the first three years, (and) messed up. They made me take a year off," he said.
In the break, he decided to challenge himself to lift his spirits, and hiked the Appalachian Trail for five months.
He tried returning to school, he said, but couldn't. That's when he found standup comedy — it was a fit.
"It's all sort of a slow progression," he said. "What I vividly remember is doing it and feeling, 'Oh this is very right.'"
His parents have come to accept his decision.
"I'm 29. I've done stuff like this for a long time," he said. "At this point they understand. It's a good thing and they're good people."
Visit his website, www.elviscomedy.com, for more information.


ESTECO is honored to participate AIAA Aviation 2019, that will take place in Hilton Anatole, Dallas, Texas from Monday, 17th June to Friday, 21st 2019 at the Hilton Anatole.
The event covers the entire integrated spectrum of aviation business, research, development, and technology with over 2,800 attendees from over 40 countries including over 700 students. The attendees represent all aspects of the aerospace industry from the government, academia, and private institutions.
AIAA forums and expositions attract thought leaders and experts from around the world who are making breakthroughs in aerospace.
ESTECO is one of the exhibitors and is looking forward to meeting you at booth #505.