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Home > News > India News > Article > AAP leaders used Delhi excise policy as device to generate illegal funds ED
AAP leaders used Delhi excise policy as device to generate illegal funds: ED
Updated on: 01 December,2022 01:41 PM IST | New Delhi
PTI |
Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), some of whom are part of the government, considered the policy as a "device" to allegedly generate illegal funds at the cost of the state exchequer, it told the court on Wednesday
AAP leader Vijay Nair, arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case, received Rs 100 crore in "kickbacks" from the 'south group' controlled by some businessmen and politicians, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has informed a local court.
Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), some of whom are part of the government, considered the policy as a "device" to allegedly generate illegal funds at the cost of the state exchequer, it told the court on Wednesday.
"As per the investigation carried so far, Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP has at least received kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore from a group, called south group (controlled by Sarath Reddy, Ms K Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) by various persons including Amit Arora," the ED said, adding Amit Arora "disclosed" this during the recording of his statement.
Officials identified Kavitha as the MLC daughter of Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Also Read: Delhi excise policy: Court sends businessman Amit Arora to 7-day ED custody
Kavitha on Thursday said she and her party leaders are ready to face any inquiry.
"We state that we will face any kind of inquiry. If the agencies come and ask us questions we will certainly answer. But tarnishing leaders' images by giving selective leaks to the media, people will refute it," Kavitha said in Hyderabad.
The agency also said that at least 36 accused, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and a PA of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, "destroyed or used" 170 phones in order to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousand of crores of rupees in the alleged scam.
"The policy was formulated with deliberate loopholes, in-built mechanism to facilitate illegal activities and is marred with deliberate inconsistencies which when looked deeply, reflect malafide intentions of policy-makers," it alleged.
"This policy, though on the face of it, has promising and laudable objectives of stopping cartelisation and encouraging fair trade practices, in reality it promoted cartel formations through back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12 per cent) and huge retail (185 per cent) profit margins and incentivised other illegal activities on account of criminal conspiracy of leaders of AAP (Aam Aadmi Party)," it alleged.
The federal probe agency also claimed that the Delhi government "lost revenue of 12 per cent or Rs 581 crore...only to fill the personal coffers of leaders of the AAP and overall the total loss of revenue due to alleged irregularities in the policy stood at Rs 2,873 crore (including loss of licence fee)".
The agency made these claims while seeking the remand of Amit Arora, director of liquor company Buddy Retail Pvt Limited, from a local court after his arrest on Tuesday night. The court on Wednesday sent him to ED custody till December 7.
"An attempt was also made to see that the evidence pertaining to the commission of this scam running into thousands of crores were either destroyed which would contain valuable digital data and material to prove further kickbacks," the agency alleged.
"It is pertinent to note that major evidences with respect to the subject liquor scam were stored in digital formats both in mobile phones and laptops. However, as soon as the scam was unearthed and the case was handed over to investigating agencies, large number of digital devices were found to be destroyed/changed by the persons involved/suspected to be involved in this case," the ED alleged.
At least 36 accused or suspects involved in the "excise scam" have destroyed or used 170 phones (as per IMEI analysis), it alleged.
"There is no earthly reason for the suspects to change their mobile phones, specifically the phones that were used during the period of the scam," it said.
The "magnitude" of the destruction is such that most suspects, liquor barons, senior government officials, the excise minister of Delhi (Sisodia) and other suspects have changed their phones multiple times, it said, adding the cost of the phones involved in these instances is about Rs 1.38 crore.
Fortunately, it told the court, the ED has been able to recover 17 out of 170 phones, otherwise the kickbacks would have been much more and involvement of other important persons would have surfaced more clearly.
The ED annexed a report in the remand note, saying Sisodia handled four different mobile numbers and their IMEIs changed 14 times between June 6 and October 14 this year.
International mobile equipment identity (IMEI) is a unique number that identifies a cellphone. However, dual SIM phones can have two such unique codes.
The ED also listed the cellphone activity of Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot, claiming he handled a single SIM number but his IMEI changed three times.
It also furnished the IMEI change activity of other accused involved in the case such as AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru (earlier arrested in the case), Amit Arora, Abhishek Boinpally (earlier arrested) and Chief Minister Kejriwal's PA Bibhav Kumar.
The agency also said that a person named Kavitha Kalvakathla used two SIMS and her IMEI changed 10 times.
The ED told the court that in the phones recovered by it, data was found to be "deleted/formatted".
"It is in this background and hardship that the ED had to investigate. Despite this, incriminating material has been unearthed by the ED through the arduous process of extraction and examination of numerous devices," the ED said.
The agency alleged that Amit Arora played a "crucial role" in the alleged scam and he has been instrumental in connecting the cartels of liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to the political leadership and facilitating six per cent kickbacks by working closely with Dinesh Arora (another accused whom the CBI has made approver in the case) and Nair (arrested earlier) who were working "on behalf of AAP leaders."
It alleged that the "political leaders of AAP" received kickbacks at three levels by introducing irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi excise policy, which has now been scrapped.
The ED said Nair was "not an ordinary worker" of the AAP but a "close associate of Kejriwal. It said Nair recorded statements with the ED saying he functions from the camp office of Kejriwal and lives in the government bungalow allotted to Gahlot, who "ironically" lives in Najafgarh in southwest Delhi.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
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Price-fixing can only worsen the crisis in Venezuela
by Juan Daniel Goncalves	,	January 24, 2018
Venezuela is closer than ever to a full-blown humanitarian crisis, with its population being unable to satisfy dietary requirements amidst a climate of hyperinflation and collapse of national productivity. The government, instead of formulating a clear exit strategy, is forcing supermarkets and consumer goods manufacturers to cut prices at severe losses, in a move that is sure to worsen the situation. GRI's Juan Daniel Goncalves provides an insider's view.
Venezuela boasts the highest cumulative inflation rate of the last decade, as well as increasingly unavailable and/or prohibitively expensive food and medicine. These problems have become so systemic that anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 million people have left the country, and in 2016-2017 almost a third of Venezuelans reported a desire to emigrate.
Officially, the Venezuelan government wants to convince whoever bothers to listen that this in fact is not their fault, instead blaming US-orchestrated sabotage campaigns, and on the "economic war" – an alleged coordinated attack by the private sector against everyday Venezuelans. For those who have not yet raised an eyebrow, the government's long practice of denying responsibility is easily debunkable with one telling statistic: ever since 2005, after the ruling PSUV (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela) managed to reorganize public institutions under their full control by appointing party hardliners as leading bureaucrats, there has reportedly never been a Supreme Court ruling against the government in over 45,000 decisions.
The impact of hyperinflation
In any case, the most troublesome reality the PSUV does not want to recognize is that Venezuelans are starving, to the point were desperate lootings are now commonplace across the country.
A 2016 report by Venezuelan universities and NGOs revealed that approximately 74.3% of Venezuelans confessed to unplanned weight loss due to financial constraints. Since then, it is safe to assume that in a country plagued with a 2017 cumulative hyperinflation of above 2000% – citizens' purchasing power have continued to worsen, and with it, their quality of life.
To further illustrate the ramifications of hyperinflation's effect on Venezuelans' pockets, Harvard professor Ricardo Haussmann published a statistic where he shows that in order to be able to afford the country's cheapest calorie – yucca – at around 30 BsF, for a daily intake of 2000 kcal (what is recommended for an average adult female) throughout a span of a month, a person must earn at least 1,800,000 BsF. This feat is quite impossible as the current minimum monthly salary together with food stamps as of 18 January 2018 amounts to 800,000 BsF (it is worth noting that there would be no leftover money for utilities, transportation, entertainment, education, etc).
Price manipulation
In light of the looming humanitarian crisis, and reminiscent of similar disastrous policies implemented in Zimbabwe merely a decade ago, on 5 January Nicolas Maduro called for major supermarkets as well as smaller, independent outlets to sell their products at "fair" prices, strong-arming businesses via the SUNDDE (National Superintendency of the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights) to sell at 15 December 2017 prices with the threat to "shut down" or "expropriate" non-compliants.
Retailers were essentially forced to sell much of their stock at an approximate 50% discount overnight due to inflation, in what business executives protested as something that left them "unaware if they were bankrupt or not".
In an interesting twist, since most major supermarket chains in Venezuela are owned by the Portuguese immigrant community that came to Venezuela predominantly in the 1950's and 1960's, Luso-Venezuelan descendants were forced to call on Lisbon to intercede on their behalf. Senior level Portuguese officials – including Portugal's minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Campos Silva – flew into Venezuela to meet with the Portuguese community and affected business owners and hear their pleas, before a scheduled official sit-down with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza.
Most likely as a result of these meetings, it seems now that the SUNDDE and ANSA (National Association of Supermarkets) have reached an agreement in which "the Executive made a commitment to guarantee that supermarkets would be able to repose their stock and there would not be any new measures that would imply products to be sold in accordance with the December cost structure". It can also be interpreted that Venezuela did not want to risk to losing a lukewarm friend in Europe, especially as Arreaza "stressed that there is a very close relationship with Portugal that they will maintain and reinforce", according to state media. This is also in light of the PSUV becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage after the loss of major allies in the Ecuadorian, Argentine, and Brazilian governments, to name a few.
Venezuelan government in a bind
Having encountered a snag in their supermarket witch-hunt, the SUNDDE decided instead to go after major consumer goods manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, and Bimbo in an effort to cut prices somewhere along the supply chain and give desperate Venezuelans access to what can be interpreted as a "food-for-today-none-for-tomorrow".
However, there doesn't seem to be a resolution in sight, as the Caracas Chamber of Commerce has strongly rejected what they call "arbitrary rejections of price fixing via authoritarian practices that do not resolve the crisis, but rather deepen it and cause anxiety amidst the population that fears that inventory will disappear, mainly food and medicines, (in a climate where) there is an absolute absence of reasons to keep producing".
Perhaps what the SUNDDE will find in face-to-face meetings with manufacturers will be nothing short of a game of chicken, with manufacturers finding no alternative but to shut down completely in light of the regulator's constant threats of further controls or expropriation.
In other words, the traditionally populist government of Venezuela is in a bind.
From a risk point of view, Venezuela seems to be heading inevitably down a road in which the government fails to address the productivity and monetary policy problems that are causing the endemic situation – Venezuela's GDP in 2018 is estimated to contract by 11.9%. Most likely only a major change in the composition of the government would bring about the sensible policy required to rein in the spiral of chaos.
Addendum: Bearing out the forecasts in this article, on 26 January Colgate-Palmolive announced that it will cease its factory operations in Venezuela due to SUNDDE-imposed price control schemes that "make business unsustainable", according to an official communiqué. Furthermore, union spokesperson Carlos Rodríguez commented on how the decision jeopardizes 1,300 jobs.
Categories:	Finance, Latin America
Tags:	hyperinflation, manufacturing, Nicolás Maduro, Portugal, retail, Venezuela
Juan Daniel Goncalves
Juan Daniel was born in Caracas, Venezuela to a family of Portuguese origin. He has experience in private banking and emerging market investment, and is also passionate about hydrocarbons and energy infrastructure. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor's degree in International Political Economics as well as a Certificate in Latin American Studies. Besides English, Juan Daniel is also fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Helje Solberg is an award-winning journalist and news director at NRK. She is the chair of the fact-checking site Faktisk, a unique collaboration of the six largest media houses in Norway. Solberg has been CEO/Editor of VGTV and Executive Managing Editor for VG, the largest Norwegian media house on paper and internet combined. She has worked for a number of Norwegian newspapers. In 1995 she received the SKUP Award for Investigative Journalism for the so-called "AUF Scandal" (which led to the imprisonment of former treasures and leaders of the Worker's Youth League for membership fraud). She has studied at Phillips Academy, Andover ('85), and has studied Russian, social anthropology and political science at the University of Oslo, and international relations at Bosphorus University in Istanbul. Solberg is the author of "Karen – a history about Alzheimer" (1996).


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The 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking is an overview of the UCI Track Cycling World Ranking, based upon the results in all UCI-sanctioned track cycling races of the 2010–11 track cycling season.

Summary

Source

Individual pursuit

Points race

Scratch

Sprint

Time trial

Keirin

Omnium

Team pursuit

Team sprint

Madison

See also

 2010 UCI Women's Road World Rankings
 2011 UCI Women's Road World Rankings

References

2010 in track cycling
2011 in track cycling
UCI Track Cycling World Ranking

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Houghton Library Blog
Writings on Special Collections and Archives at Harvard University's Houghton Library
New Pages to Turn: Recent Additions to Houghton's Theodore Roosevelt Collection
25 June 2019 Posted by HL Blog Staff Acquisitions Collections in Focus
By Gregory Wynn
In his recently published memoir, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Robert Caro recounts that an early career admonishment from an editor to "turn every page" while investigating a story was one of the best pieces of advice he had ever been given (Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing, 2019, p. 11). This call to thoroughness and detail served as a guidepost for him while conducting research for his epic biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. The thrill of discovering an overlooked or misfiled source that allows a writer to connect the dots is one of the great personal and professional rewards of archival research. However, even sage advice as "turn every page" is only so sage if all the pages are there to turn. We can't know what isn't there.
So, when an opportunity comes along to add more pages to a historical archive it is a terrific contribution to scholarship. Harvard has made just such a contribution with the addition of ten handwritten letters from Theodore Roosevelt to his sister Anna Roosevelt Cowles—nicknamed Bamie—to the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Houghton Library. These letters have never been published, nor utilized by researchers and scholars. It's worth noting that Theodore Roosevelt does not have a presidential library. Outside of his papers at the Library of Congress, Harvard—Roosevelt's alma mater—holds the most significant collection of Theodore Roosevelt material in the world. This includes the Anna Roosevelt Cowles papers (TRC b MS Am 1834.1), which this addition makes as complete as perhaps they may ever be.
TR letter to Anna Roosevelt Cowles; 1885. Anna Roosevelt Cowles Papers, Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Am 1834.1 (202a). Purchased with Theodore Roosevelt Collection funds, the Harmand Teplow Class of 1920 Fund, the Bayard Livingston Kilgour and Kate Gray Kilgour Fund, and the Herman Dunlop Smith Bequest.
In the possession of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and in a locked storage closet since at least 1954, these ten letters had been gifted to the TRA by the family of Roosevelt's sister, the Cowles. There are stories within stories within the letters, which are perhaps one of the most significant archives of Roosevelt's correspondence to surface since his death in 1919. I won't spoil the desire to turn these pages by revealing any surprises. Suffice to say, few and far between are the opportunities to acquire previously unknown material of any president, especially ten detailed and intimate letters from a specific point in time.
All consisting of multiple pages, six of the ten letters are from 1885 when Roosevelt was 27 years old and immersed in his ranching life in the Dakota Territory (today North Dakota). Although it was a transformative year for him, during this period we lack much in the way of primary source material from Roosevelt himself. In fact, within Harvard's holdings of the Anna Roosevelt Cowles papers there are no letters from Theodore to Anna in 1885. Moreover, interestingly, in a volume of letters titled Letters from Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles 1870-1918 (1922; GEN Roosevelt R020.1.R67c3 1924), edited by his sister herself, there are no letters from 1885! The only primary sources from this year in his life have been Roosevelt's own diaries and published writings on hunting and ranching, a few letters to Henry Cabot Lodge, and some accounts from his ranching companions.
Roosevelt biographer Carleton Putnam wrote that the events of 1885, now more fully recounted in these letters, "proved the decisive turning point in his lifelong battle for physical strength" (Theodore Roosevelt: The Formative Years, 1858-1886, Vol. 1, 1958, pp. 528-529). In a letter dated April 29, 1885, Roosevelt recounts a river crossing on horseback:
The river is now up so high as to be almost impassible; yesterday I was able to cross it in but one place, and there I had to swim my horse, through the boiling muddy current, splashing water in his face to guide him. I got pretty wet and afterwards had to strike my own line for twenty miles over broken country before I reached home and could dry myself. However, it all makes me feel very healthy and strong.
These letters are filled with Roosevelt's often animated and humorous accounts of ranch life, round-ups, and descriptions of his surroundings during a transformative time in his life. Roosevelt himself admitted that he would never have become president if it had not been for his time in the Dakota Territory. With the acquisition of these letters, Houghton Library has now filled a critical gap in our knowledge of one of the most important parts of his life.
The remaining four letters are equally revealing and fast forward the reader to the next decade. These were written while Roosevelt was residing in Washington, D.C., in his first national-level office as the U.S. Civil Service Commissioner. These too are important additions to the historical record as they reveal his first exposure to national politics. He recounts his impressions of President Grover Cleveland, Congressional machinations, and the salon he and his wife, Edith, hosted in their home. It became famous amongst attendees from the realms of art, literature, and politics, and shaped the intellect of the future president.
At the risk of revealing one of the discoveries in the archive, one of the letters also covers the family's years-long struggle with their brother Elliott's (Eleanor Roosevelt's father) spiral into alcoholism, infidelity, and mental illness, which ultimately resulted in his institutional commitment, a failed suicide attempt, and tragic death. In this letter, Theodore Roosevelt writes, "There was literally nothing to do unless we could persuade him to put himself completely in some surgeon's hands." It is not clear what Roosevelt was referring to with regard to a surgical procedure, but it is certainly worthy of more research.
It is worth noting that Theodore Roosevelt's correspondent in these letters, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, was a force in her own right. While biographers have recognized her impact and role in the family, these letters provide fresh insight into her relationship with her brother. Referred to as "Bye" and "Bysie" and "Bamie," she was born with a physical handicap—a deformity of the spine which, some biographers surmise, was a result of Pott's disease (a form of tuberculosis). Yet, her energy was typically Rooseveltian. Her brother wrote, "Oh Energy, Thy name is Bamie" (Betty Boyd Caroli, The Roosevelt Women, 1998, p. 68). She often carried the weight of the family on her shoulders. Bamie would raise Theodore's eldest child, Alice, for several years after his wife died during childbirth. Captivating, worldly, and gifted with a brilliant mind, Alice Roosevelt Longworth commented about Bamie that "I always believed that if she had been a man, she, rather than my father, would have been President" (Caroli, 68).
In so much as these letters provide fresh insight into the man who would become President of the United States, they also increase our awareness about a phenomenal woman who served as his muse and confidant, shaping him as much as did the American West.
Editor's note: In addition to the letters discussed in this post that were purchased by the Library, the Theodore Roosevelt Association generously donated other important journals, notebooks, and correspondence earlier this year, as described on Houghton's Modern Books and Manuscripts blog.
Gregory Wynn is a cyberspace defense strategist with Clear Ridge Defense in Maryland. He is a retired Marine Corps officer and a Trustee and Executive Committee member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The TRA is non-profit and non-partisan and was chartered by Congress in 1920.
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By Jimi FletcherFebruary 2019 No Comments
Jimi Fletcher looks at his first true arcade love: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a game that proved to be the cherry on top of a childhood obsession.
The rush of an arcade game. There's little that beats it. Far from the insulated, comfortable sanctuary of your own room with its own console, arcade games were out there in the public world: in leisure centre foyers, rental shops, takeaways and yes, even clubs.
The earliest video game I remember playing, in any format, was as a child in the social club where my mum and her friends would occasionally frequent and, presumably because she couldn't find a babysitter on a Saturday night, where I found myself navigating a dark, smoky, neon-lit and loud maze of tables, bars and yep, a videogame table.
You don't really see these around much anymore, but back in the 1980s there was a fad for tables where, in addition to being able to put your drinks and ashtrays on them, they also doubled as flat-surface arcade screens. This is where I tried and hilariously failed to get past the first level of Donkey Kong. Amidst the darkness of the club, this beacon of electronic eccentricity provided serious fascination between the boring adult conversations and what was probably a relentless run of Stock/Aitken/Waterman pop on the stereo. So that's where it began. It's not where it ended.
Down but not out
Even in the late 80s and early 90s, when consoles were stretching out into the 16-bit era with improved sound and vision which made their 8-bit older brothers look very old-fashioned, arcade machines were still a very big deal. The double impact of the Mega Drive and NES may have dazzled gamers at home (well, some homes – I didn't get a console until 1992), but the fact remains that at that time, coin-op arcade machines were still the final word in sophisticated gaming, and perfect if your home couldn't afford a console.
Developer/ publisher
For just 20, 30 or maybe 50p, you could play a game right there and then. Providing you had the necessary change, arcades could be played by anyone. Of course, the cost of all those relatively cheap plays added up, and maybe they weren't as cool an investment as an actual cartridge which, of course, you could sell afterwards, unlike the transient experience of the arcade. But there was an appeal in the latter – the fact you had continually spend money to play them, as opposed to the one-off payment of a home game, gave each turn extra importance. You wanted your money's worth.
If you were like me, you probably only had a one or a couple of machines to choose from, and those few games became extra special. In my case it was Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Taito's Chase HQ that stood proud and tall in the Chinese takeaway about five minutes away from my home, and where many an evening was whiled away, the sun setting outside, fully aware that I had to run back home before dark or in time for dinner, so I kept one eye on the clock and one on the screen.
Those two machines fascinated me. When you're a child and cabinets like these literally towered over you, their presence and power can be daunting as much as they were thrilling. Away from adults, and during a time when parents worried over video games and their addictive, money-grabbing "evil" nature, the illicit thrill of these titles felt rebellious, if only mildly so. Plus, as it was in a Chinese takeaway, these games even smelled good, although in retrospect the Turtles game probably would have been better situated in a pizza parlour.
The tremendous, exciting Chase HQ felt like the more adult of the two, it being a driving game, not to mention because of its more mature action content (drug dealers, bank robbers, etc), and also because that steering wheel always felt so big and beyond my capabilities as an amateur gamer. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, on the other hand, was perfect, and another thing that suckered young me out of my (well, my mum's) money.
Ah yes, money.
The insertion of money also felt exciting. There were few things that beat the access permitted whenever you put a 20p or a 50p piece into the coin-op slot. It wasn't just games, either. As a child, I desperately wanted one of those red Dairy Milk dispensers that gave you a single wrapped segment of chocolate when you put in a penny. But arcade machines were where it was at. Hearing that sound after you put the money in, that little siren that varied from game to game but meant the same thing – that you were permitted to play – man, that can't be beat. One of my most cherished sounds was that "Cowabunga!" call when you selected your character. For the following ten or 15 minutes, I was one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Before I delve into the game proper, it's worth reiterating just how much of a cultural phenomenon the whole Turtles craze was back in the day. True, they're still a viable commercial proposition even today, thanks to ongoing reboots on both the big and small screens, but it was back in the late 80s and early 90s that they were at their most successful, popular and unavoidable. The odds are if you were between five and 12 years old at the time, you loved all of this. I even remember reading in the newspaper about some kids who snuck into the sewers to try and relive their heroes' lifestyle. I imagine the results were predictably smelly.
In the UK, I was instead a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle, as it was renamed in our market thanks to an uproar over the original word 'ninja' being used in a children's cartoon. Regardless of the name, it was an absolute phenomenon. I fell hook, line and sinker for anything Turtles related: Turtles pizza, Turtles trading cards, that famous Turtles medal set. That said, if we're talking favourites, I edged slightly more towards the spookier, scarier antics of The Real Ghostbusters, but that show didn't dominate the playground like the newer, superficially hipper Turtles did.
Originally a comic strip back in the early 80s, it wasn't until it was adapted into animation in 1987 that it became a cultural titan, although I don't think we got the show here in the UK until a couple of years later. Indeed, the first time I'd heard of the series was when season-two opener "Return of the Shredder" was broadcast on BBC1. I recorded every episode of that season onto Betamax (we really were behind the times) and watched/re-watched it countless times; how that incessant surfer-speak must have irritated my mum. I think the only thing that annoyed her more was the soundtrack to Thundercats, with its shrill, piercing orchestral score.
The concept of the show was pretty far out – four domestic turtles accidentally found themselves in the sewers of New York and then got covered in "mutagen", which turned them into anthropomorphic teenage slackers who were trained into discipline from the equally transformed human-rat hybrid Splinter, who used to live in Japan before he was banished from his ninja clan when the scumbag Oroku Saki framed him for attempted murder.
This Saki bastard also moonlighted as Shredder, who corrupted the old clan and replaced all the humans with robots from Dimension X and – blimey, this sounds utterly mental now I've summarised it. But I and many others adored it – we loved the bright colours, interdimensional plotlines, goofy humour, fight scenes and colourful characters.
Even though the Turtles started out as a comic book, you could be forgiven for thinking they started off as a cartoon, or even a toy line, as with He-Man. It all just seemed too perfect from a commercial point of view. The whole martial arts/ninja fad was still corrupting our minds (and bruising our bodies), and this show was perfect for kids as there were four different characters to roleplay as in the playground, each one with a distinct personality, headband colour (seriously, that shit mattered) and weapon.
Even their names, taken from the unlikeliest source – Italian Renaissance painters – had unexpected cool appeal. There was de-facto leader Leonardo (blue headband, katana blade, earnest), scientific whizz-kid Donatello (purple headband, bo staff, smart), Raphael (red headband, Sai daggers, sarcastic) and Michelangelo (orange headband, nunchuks, party-loving stoner in all but name). Together, along with intrepid news reporter April O' Neil, they dedicated themselves to protecting New York from the evil "tin-plated" Shredder and his various lackeys, as well as brain-in-a-suit supervillain Krang.
Losing the plot
Far-out storylines in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show involved them being shrunk to microscopic size, enormous mutant plants, dangerous machinery, "killer pizzas" (specifically monsters straight out of Alien which hatch from meatballs), and that's just from a single season. The plot of the game? Non-existent.
April gets kidnapped (surprise, sur-bleedin-prise) and the Turtles must save her. Once they save her, they then have to save Master Splinter. After that, they just want to kick some additional arse, so it's off to the Technodrome, which is the big spherical lair of the bad guys that's currently deep underground.
Now beat 'em ups do have the potential to get tiresomely repetitive, but the relentless, constant high-stakes approach lent itself thrillingly to the arcade approach, even if (or maybe because) there was no option to pause the game. No time to relax or enjoy the scenery: it's do-or-die here, people. Put simply, a hell of a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles involved you beating the shit out of an endless parade of Foot Soldiers, who are colour-coded to signify their strength: purple were mindless drones, the orange, blue and white versions were trickier to kill, and many were armed with swords, daggers or massive hammers.
If it wasn't Foot Soldiers, it was the pain-in-the-arse and hilariously named Roadkill Rodneys (robots with a tendency to electrocute) or bitey Mousers to contend with. As was the law in this kind of game, getting cornered by a couple of enemies meant you had to smash the hell out of the buttons to free yourself. If you saw a parking meter or traffic cone, you could use it as a weapon. If a stray pizza box was visible, grab it – it'd replenish your life and not, as a real pizza would in real life, make you bloated, sluggish and fall asleep in front of the telly.
End-of-level bosses would be instantly familiar to fans – what was weird was how ruthlessly evil erstwhile dunces and pathetic lackeys Rocksteady, Bebop and Baxter Stockman were in arcade form. I thought they would be easily vanquished like they always were in the cartoon but here, they appeared with goddamned laser cannons and were out to KILL. Bastards. Saying that, the Turtles were a million times tougher here too – when they weren't falling down manholes, that is (cue the predictable "who turned out the lights?" gag), so both parties were well matched.
Crammed laughs and long-range staffs
What felt unique at the time was the option to play with three other people. The debit of that option was that four player arcade cabinets always seemed somewhat crammed; players on the left and right had to view the screen from an askew angle, while those in the middle were subject to being crushed. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was no exception. Still, if you were playing solo, or with just one more player, then the two middle control spaces were preferable. It was a great cabinet too, with each control section appropriately colour-coded to match the colour of the Turtles' headbands.
I often played as Donatello, because the far reach of the bo staff. This also probably said more about my lack of skills – I opted for the character with the safest defence strategy, because I couldn't afford to spend cash on trial-and-error tactics. As soon as the game began you pretty much had to start fighting; no tutorial from Master Splinter here, kids.
The levels were visually in-keeping with the atmosphere of the show: burning buildings, streets, sewers, roads, the Technodrome. We weren't in the era of Turtles in Time when they went back to prehistoric times or climbed aboard pirate ships; you felt like you'd stepped into an episode of the show. The mechanics were great, too – for example, some cool side-scrolling levels where you fought off airborne rifles on skateboards, and there was even a bit in the Technodrome where you moved at a diagonal level on a descending platform.
As for the soundtrack? Music in arcade games often has a specific sound: a timbre I still can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's because they had to compete with the rival soundtracks of nearby machines, but the sound always feels more immersive, three-dimensional and spacious. Together with the on-screen action, it added up to a rush of the senses, an addictive mix of lights, flash, sound and colour.
The soundtrack to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was slightly fever-pitch – plenty of the time it was sped-up variations on the main title theme, and to be honest, a lot of it whizzes past in a rush like the scores of lackeys you smash to bits with your weapons. Familiar, forgettable and yet pleasingly complementary to the on-screen action. I must say though that the outstanding first-level theme is ridiculously brilliant and super-exciting – like the original theme but on speed.
It instantly made you want to take on the Foot and kick their arses. You ever kicked a foot? It's great. You also got some neat vocal samples (as well as on-screen speech bubbles) that brought smiles to fans – top marks for the spelling of "turtles" as "toitles" when Rocksteady said it – he really did pronounce it that way.
An old friend in Southend
Despite the local popularity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Chase HQ, those two cabinets were inevitably replaced by other titles I can't remember. Maybe one of them was Street Fighter II, but I was so hopeless at that game that I didn't really give it much of a chance until it was released for the SNES. Also, it attracted more of the harder, tougher local kids, which put me off it somewhat. So yes, the departure of TMNT from my local vicinity was quite distressing. The game was gone. Forever.
How I would ever be able to play it again? I felt like Tom Hanks in Big when he was trying to find that one Zoltar machine that could turn him back into a child, but unlike him I didn't resort to the phone directory and call around to find it once it had gone. I just pined and whined until I happened to come across another one in an environment where not just one, not two, but hundreds of machines were available to play, and they wouldn't be carted out of the door after a few months either. The only problem was I only got to visit this environment once a year, so it was still a cruel turn of events.
I'm talking about arcade halls.
I can't remember the first time I stepped into one, but it was most likely in the Essex seaside resort of Southend, which is where I was taken to as a child back in the late 80s and early 90s and was the place where I rediscovered Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've been to Southend a fair few times in recent years, and whatever magic it swayed over me all those years ago has dulled somewhat, but not entirely.
It helps that, while much of it has changed, some of it has stayed exactly the same, and I still get an uncanny buzz of nostalgia for those one-off days where I get on the train at Southbury in Enfield, change at Liverpool Street and then go all the way back out of London again to Southend Victoria: the end of the line, and the start of a great day. While the high street offers much of the same shopping attractions that I'm used to back home, the sea front itself was unique for obvious reasons, and not just because of the beach, the pier and, er… the sea.
Arcades were a rush of noise, lights and excitement as a child. At the time, I couldn't understand why my mum and nan thought they were a total headache, but that's how intoxicated I was with the promise of all this entertainment. You stepped in it and it was like walking into a club, except I had no idea what that was supposed to be like. I just knew it was a club where no-one was dancing, not even on one of those dance games, not least because they hadn't been invented yet.
But there was music, and music on top of music, with game after game blasting out their soundtracks, fighting for audio space. It wasn't just video games; there was the cordoned off bits for fruit machines, where only over-18s could go in because it was gambling. However, as an alternative for junior punters there were those crazy machines where you placed a mini-bet on a plastic horse and screamed at the rickety miniature equine git to reach the end first. That way you could win a voucher, and a dozen vouchers could win you a water pistol from the prize wall. Yes, you could spend (and waste) a lot of money in a place like this.
We weren't made of money though, so I was never one to move from machine to machine – in fact, I probably spent more time looking at other people playing arcades. But whatever money I did have I made sure I spent it on the rediscovered Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, and maybe The Simpsons game too, which was also produced by Konami and essentially the same game: no bad thing at all.
Both TMNT and The Simpsons were perfect examples of candy-coloured, intoxicating, surface-level gaming entertainment – topping-stacked pizza or hot, sugar-coated doughnuts in videogame form, full of humour, action and fan-pleasing content. In both cases, I never played another game based on either of these shows that wowed me nearly as much as these two, although I do have soft spots for the Game Boy titles from around the same time – Fall of the Foot Clan and Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly respectively.
Pushed away from greatness
While I did manage to complete The Simpsons in arcade form, albeit years later, I never managed to complete Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was so close to doing so one time, but – and it makes me shudder to recall this – I was about two-thirds into the game but clearly had been hogging the machine for too long as some absolute twat-bastard shoved me off the game before I had the chance to put some more money in during the continue countdown.
I was so upset (tears were indeed shed); I was doing better than I ever had. So much for the world of The Last Starfighter, where everybody circled around the hero as he reached the final screen. No such camaraderie in Waltham Cross, let me tell you. Honestly, what an absolute fucker. I hope someone dropped an original After Burner arcade cabinet on his head shortly afterwards. Victory was postponed, but it would be achieved, albeit via different means.
I was aware that TMNT had been adapted for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), but given there'd already been a Turtles game for that console, this conversion was rebranded Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. The first NES game was a curious platformer, often brutally difficult, but fun enough for me to try again and again to complete it.
This quasi-sequel was never going to be able to replicate the look of the original arcade though, and it was certainly a lot less exciting; the sheer volume and speed of the original was painfully lacking. From smooth 16-bit to flickering 8-bit, from receptive joystick to clunky D-pad, from immersive stereo to chintzy mono, meant it really was a downgrade in almost every respect.
Other differences included the double-team of Bebop and Rocksteady in level two being replaced with Baxter Stockman in his Baxterfly incarnation. But this version did add an extra couple of levels as compensation for its crummier look, one of which saw New York unexpectedly covered in snow and another one where the only interesting elements were that the mid-level boss was a tiger and the main boss was a samurai, whose head had the tendency to fly independently of his body.
The arcade version of Turtles was a short game, and not the sort of thing you could take your time over. You really had to keep pushing on from start to finish without pausing for breath, so all run-throughs clocked in at around half an hour. The NES version, given the extra levels and the slower pacing, took around double that time, although less is more in this game's case.
The extra levels don't really add too much, and monotony set in after a while. After its appearance on the NES, the game slipped away into the sewers until the arcade game was made temporarily available on Xbox Live and also as an unlockable extra in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, although I've read the music has been changed for this version, which makes me less tempted to fork out the money to buy it second hand. You can't change the music! What were they thinking?
The past is in the past
I must admit, it was somewhat unusual writing about this game because unlike the other titles I've written about for GameTripper, I have no means to replay the arcade game, and relied on walkthroughs on YouTube, of both the arcade and NES versions, to stir up those faded memories. I can see why these walkthrough videos are so popular – obviously they're not the same as the interactive, real thing, but if you don't use an emulator and/or can't afford to go retro, then these provide massive nostalgia and entertainment, not to mention envy at just how brilliant these uploaders are at the games themselves.
It's been a very long time since I played an arcade game, barring a single multiplayer spot on a recent incarnation of Mario Kart at Butlin's, but I like to think that the arcade halls at Southend still have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game somewhere in the back, waiting for me to get the train down with a pocket full of 10 and 20p pieces. I should go back there. Cowabunga!
Beautifully faithful to the original cartoon
Non-stop excitement
Still looks and sounds fantastic
Not currently available in original form – sort it out, people!
Admittedly superficial, it's strictly all about surface thrills (but what thrills!)
Some may find the game too short
Jimi's take
Some games just arrive at the right place at the right time. Turtles Fever was at its height between 87-91, and of all the merchandising and spin-offs and cash-ins to emerge from this phenomenon, this game was one of the very best things to boast the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles name. It's a great four-player game, beat 'em up and overall arcade experience; it's the perfect distillation of everything thrilling about late 80s, early 90s gaming.
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Home Faces of Africa Faces of Africa – Horse Racing For Unity Pt. 1
Faces of Africa 2018
Wildlife/ Environment
Faces of Africa – Horse Racing For Unity Pt. 1
Mauritius is an Island nation known for its pristine white sandy beaches that overlay the Indian Ocean. But unknown to many, this country plays host to a sporting event that has been an open secret for over 200 years – Horse Racing.
Horse racing in Mauritius was started in 1812 by a British national, Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar as a way to encourage socialization and harmony. After the British had defeated the French in battle for the Island, Sir Farquhar was looking for a way in which to unite the two communities. As an avid lover of horses, he decided to introduce horse racing to ease this tension through sports.
Over the years, horse racing has grown to become the number one sport in Mauritius. Usually witnessing large crowds during races. Mauritius occupies a significant place in Africa's horse industry,boasting an average racing population of over 400 horses.
Champ de Mars Racecourse is the oldest racecourse in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world.
Before the horses are ready to race, there is a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes. Horse training is not easy and can take up to three months of intensive coaching for a horse to be ready to race.
Each horse is assigned to a groom whose main job is to ensure its overall well being on behalf of the trainer. The groom feeds the racing horse up to 15 kilograms of carbohydrates, vitamin supplements and hay each day to build up on its stamina. He also takes it for a walk to warm up before the trainer arrives.
Amar's most experienced groom Rungiol Sigh reckons,"If you want to be a good groom, you must first and foremost have a love for horses. I love them as my kids. I give them same care, same love, same affection".
Working before the break of dawn, 43-year-old horse trainer Amar Sewdyal is overseeing the training of his horses for an upcoming race.
"I have to wake up every day at 3:00 AM, to get the horse ready and to prepare the track, Amar Sewdyal says, "every gallop run is done on Tuesday and Friday and racing day is normally on Thursday".
Amar Sewdyal a horse trainer at with one of the race horses at his stable.
Ramapatee Gujadhur, a 73-year-old veteran trainer is preparing for the task ahead. Ramapatee is passionate about horses, his desire for winning is also equally strong that he never misses a day of practice.
Slated only a few days away, both Amar and Ramapatee would like to win the Classic horse dubbed – Barbé Cup. But to achieve this fete, they have to line up against 14 other Mauritian trainers who have the same aspirations of winning this prestigious cup.
Ramapatee states that, "For us, racing (horse) is a sport. We have not been to an academy or to any professional institution to learn how to train. We learn it on the spot, by learning it from our elders."
Ramapatee's chief jockey is 29-year-old New Zealand national, Daniel Stackhouse, while Amar's chief jockey is 39 year old local, Swapneel Rama. These two gentlemen have the onerous task to bring victory to their respective employers in a few days' time.
"Horse racing is a very expensive sport. If you don't have the means, I wouldn't advise anybody to be involved in the sport. If you gamble in this game, you don't last long". Ramapatee confides.
Ramapatee Gujadhur (second from left) a veteran trainer poses for a photo after winning at a previous competition.
As a cultural and sporting event, spectators do get to enjoy the thrilling spectacle of horse racing in Mauritius' Champ de Mars track.
With a circumference of about 1300 metres, the Champ de Mars track is actually quite small. Races here tend to be anything from 1000 metres to 2400 metres in distance. Over the years,the course has undergone some improvements to ensure that the conditions are at their optimum best for the horses.
The horse racing season starting in March of each year and ends in December.
Faces of Africa – Aquatic Master Pt. 2
Faces of Africa – Confluence Pt. 2
Faces of Africa - Horse Racing For Unity, Part One
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FRE-251 and seven other courses numbered above it, approved by the advisor from French offerings. Courses must be graded C or higher to fulfill the requirements for the major. In addition, the last semester before their graduation, majors must register for FRE-099 and must work on their senior portfolio. The senior portfolio is a final semester-long project, for which students write a series of reflective papers and other activities that will evidence the student's competency in the following areas: a) Aural Comprehension; b) Speaking; c) Writing; d) Literature; e) Since the portfolio includes a collection of selected papers/exams completed in courses for the major, students in courses numbered 252 and above are strongly advised to save all papers and exams from these courses. Students will be provided with details about the portfolio process upon declaring the major, which should be done no later than the first semester of the junior year.
FRE-251 and four other courses numbered above it. Courses must be graded C or higher to fulfill the requirements for the minor.
099 Senior Portfolio (0 course) This is the final requirement for the French major. Although the portfolio does not carry numerical credit it must be successfully completed before a student can be approved to graduate with a French major. Advisees are responsible for working and consulting with their advisors to develop their portfolio throughout their final semester. The portfolio must be revised and approved by the advisor prior to the evaluation by the whole French faculty. The portfolio must be approved by the advisor, completed, and turned in by May 3, 2018, at 4 p.m.
101, 102 Beginning French Language and Culture I, II (1 course, 1 course) This is a sequential two-semester program designed to introduce students to an understanding of the variety of the French-speaking world. Students acquire elementary reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills through varied exercises on different aspects of French and Francophone culture such as manners, gestures, customs, arts, and values. FRE-101 is prerequisite for FRE-102. Offered annually.
251, 252 The Art of Reading, Writing, and Speaking I, II (1 course, 1 course) These two courses are complementary and required before taking upper-division courses. They are designed to introduce students to a more profound appreciation of French and Francophone literatures and cultures. Students acquire, through discussion and writing, a higher level of competency in speaking, reading, writing, and aural comprehension. Students will study short stories, novels, and fairy tales as well as essays on environmental protection, family traditions in varied cultures, and immigration. Prerequisite: FRE-202 for both courses (with a minimum grade of C) or placement by exam. WRITI for FRE-251. Fall semester for FRE-251, and Spring semester for FRE-252.
352 French Cinema (1 course) A study of the styles, themes, and narrative structure of French film. Although scenarios, novels and critical articles on cinema are used, the films themselves are the primary material for the course. This course also examines French cinema's evolution of styles and themes, using a variety of critical approaches. Prerequisite: FRE-251 or equivalent. ARTS, Spring semester, even years.
364 Francophone African/Caribbean Literatures and Cultures (1 course) This course is a study of the literatures and cultures of Francophone African and Caribbean societies. Materials used for the course include literary, historical, sociological, and political texts as well as films. The course may focus on a specific theme in a particular year but may also involve examining in general the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial experiences of African and Caribbean societies. Topics of interest include the clash between tradition and modernity, governance of modern nation states, gender roles, Négritude, Antillan ité, and Créolité. Students will discuss, make presentations, and write research papers. This course counts toward the African Studies minor and the LALACS major/minor. Prerequisite: FRE-251 or equivalent. GLOBL, LARS, WRITD, Fall semester, odd years.
366 French and Francophone Cultures and Civilizations (1 course) This course will focus on one or several themes related to France and/or some Francophone country. Subjects of focus will include issues such as political, social, and economic institutions in France and/or a Francophone country (e.g., Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, African countries), immigration in France, France's role in the European Union, the relationship between France and Francophone countries (Francophonie). Students will discuss research topics to write on and do oral presentations. Prerequisite: FRE-251 or equivalent. Spring semester, odd years.
367 North Africa (1 course) This course focuses on three countries of the Maghreb—Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco—by analyzing their community of destiny: geography, religion, history, and language. Students will examine this unity, sealed by history, throughout literature and cinema. This literary and filmic analysis will be based on short stories, novels, and films written or directed by Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian authors who have chosen French as their language of expression and are living either in their country of origin or in France as a land of exile and adoption. This course counts toward the African Studies minor. Prerequisite: FRE-251 or equivalent. GLOBL, Fall semester, even years.
399 French Civilization (1 course) This course will focus on the history and geography of France. It will deal with the main values of French society, such as the role of the Catholic Church and of the government, socialization, marriage and friendship, and images of the body. We will compare the core values of French and American societies. Students will write papers and do oral presentations. Topics will vary. Prerequisite: FRE-251 or equivalent. Fall semester, odd years.


The Ticino weather forecast at the moment is for sunny perfect climbing weather. I was there last weekend and the weather was fine for climbing but this weekend should be even better, also during the week next week. I'd like to get some last days on rock before the ski touring season starts. Send me a message if you're interested.


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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's 'Jazbaa' Trailer Release Date Changes Again
The trailer release of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback film 'Jazbaa' has been re-scheduled.
Director Sanjay Gupta seems to be undecided about the trailer release date of upcoming film "Jazbaa". The trailer of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback flick will now release on 25 August.
The trailer was initially scheduled to go online on 15 August. It was then postponed to 27 August and now Gupta shared the new release date on his Twitter handle.
I know the delay in the #JAZBAA trailer date upset a lot of fans. So to make up we are pre-poning the release date.
— Sanjay Gupta (@_SanjayGupta) August 19, 2015
JAZBAA Theatrical Trailer will release on Aug. 25th. LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN. — Sanjay Gupta (@_SanjayGupta) August 19, 2015
Is this the makers' way of creating more curiosity around the film?
It seems like 25 August is the final release date of "Jazbaa" trailer. On Independence Day, the makers revealed the digital poster of the film, which showed the Bachchan Bahu and Irrfan Khan racing against time.
"Jazbaa" has been making headlines for a while now, as it marks the comeback of the former Miss World after a hiatus of five years. The posters of the much awaited flick unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival received positive response from viewers across the world.
The film is a female-centric and will see Aishwarya performing some high octane, never-seen-before action sequences. Irrfan will play the role of a suspended cop who has problems with authority and discipline.
The film is a remake of South Korean crime drama "Seven Days" and will hit theatres on 9 October.
After wrapping up "Jazbaa", Aishwarya will start working for Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.
The gorgeous actress will play the role of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur in director Omung Kumar's biopic on Sarabjit, who died in a Pakistani jail in May 2013.


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Give "Competence" Another Try: This Time it Might Work.
by tds, May 23rd, 2006 11:20 PM EST
by Elaine Kamarck
In the 1988 presidential election, Michael Dukakis was pilloried – rightly – for running a soulless campaign whose message consisted of the phrase, "It's not about ideology, it's about competence." But times change. That was before the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina so overwhelmed us with its incompetence that America was humiliated before the world. The response to Katrina, however, was only the most dramatic in a long series of government failures, from the planning of the war in Iraq, to the failure of the occupation, to the design of the Medicare prescription drug policy. At the Kennedy School of Government, where I teach, we have traditionally begun the required course in government management with a case study on the Chicago heat wave of 1995 where hundreds of people died before the government even knew what was happening. The message we try to convey to our students of government every year was brought home to the entire country in September of 2005: when the private sector fails to manage organizations well, people lose money; when the public sector fails to manage well, people die.
For decades, Democrats have suffered under the political albatross of being the party of big government. But in the past decade we have had several dramatic "teaching moments" in America; moments that just might allow us to change the political conversation going forward and get out from under this millstone. First came the government shutdown in early 1996. Lots of Americans learned that the federal government was everywhere – it was funding pieces of their state and local governments and it was funding charities like Catholic Charities. President Clinton won a fairly dramatic victory over that shutdown – to the surprise of the Republicans who had believed perhaps too much in their own small government rhetoric.
Next came the tragedy of 9/11 where the heroes were government workers – from the New York firefighters who ran into the collapsing buildings, to the cops, to the airmen, seamen and soldiers who took off into Afghanistan. In the aftermath of 9/11 "trust in government" leapt higher than it had been at any time since the late 1950s and early 1960s. Nothing like a tragedy to make people appreciate when and why government matters. While the trust-in-government numbers came down to more normal levels in the months after 9/11, the temporary spike served as a useful reminder that, in the end, the private sector does not keep us safe.
And then came Hurricane Katrina where government at all levels, but especially federal government, failed spectacularly. Once again, everyone understood that we needed a government that works. No one seriously thought that the private sector could have rescued New Orleans.
In just four years tragedy showed us that sometimes we really need government and that when we really need it we need it to work. Just as Democrats had no trouble agreeing on a message of opposition to Social Security privatization, they have had no trouble agreeing on a message about the incompetence of the current government. Focusing on competence allows those Democrats who voted for the war and those who voted against the war to have a unified message. No wonder that the opening of the Democratic response to the 2006 State of the Union focused on competence. The new Governor of Virginia, Tim Keane, summed up the argument as follows: "You know, no matter what political philosophy you hold or what state you call home, you have a right to expect that your government can deliver results."
Competence is not a very rousing theme. It is not easily turned into a convention cheer. But for the upcoming mid-term elections it's not a bad start for the Democrats. For six years now the Bush Administration has beaten up Democrats over values: patriotism, family, life – you name it. But they are in a tailspin now. Why? They can't deliver results. They can't get armor to troops in the field in Iraq, they can't design a Medicare prescription drug program, they can't save lives in a hurricane, they can't protect American ports. This list of what they can't do is fairly impressive. Think about it for a moment – maybe a political party that hates government is doomed to govern badly.
It is not just that competence is back – over the past six years the entire basis for disliking Democrats has been turned upside down. In 2001 a Republican president inherited a budget surplus; by 2008 a Republican president and a Republican Congress will have bequeathed record budget deficits. Numerous conservative think tanks and scholars have pointed this out as well as Democrats. So just who is the party of big government these days? And, perhaps more importantly, aren't we entitled to some competence for all that money?
Republicans will try to argue that the Bush deficits are all about military and homeland defense, but the Cato Institute, not exactly a bastion of liberal apologists, has shown the fallacy of that argument. Looking at spending policy back to President Johnson, Stephen Slivinski says, "Contrast that with Bush's presidency so far. He has presided over massive increases in almost every category. This is a dramatic change from previous presidents, when increases in defense spending were offset by cuts in non-defense spending…"
Democrats have a chance to morph their image as the party of government into the party of government that works. They should put together a robust reform agenda that focuses on the adaptations the federal government needs to make to protect America in this new era. To do that they should start with one simple but powerful proposal (championed by Senator Hillary Clinton): take FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) out of DHS (the Department of Homeland Security).
A government that can "deliver results" will stand in stark contrast to the current situation. Democrats voted for and against the Iraq War, but none of them thinks it has been led wisely. Democrats are the long-time champions of a prescription drug program, but no one thinks the bureaucratic mess that seniors are now muddling through is what the doctor ordered. Democrats do not have to solve every internal disagreement they have in order to go to the country with a pretty convincing case that the Administration is the "gang that can't shoot straight" and that allowing a pliant and beaten Republican majority to control Congress has allowed a bad situation to get even worse.
Looking beyond the mid-terms, a government reform agenda can do for the Democratic candidate of 2008 what "reinventing government" did for Bill Clinton in 1992: show that he or she is attuned to the fact that government needs to work better and more efficiently than it does now. This was an important message for Clinton to deliver in 1992 since it helped him show people that he was a "different kind of Democrat." In 2008 a new version of that message, re-worked around the theme of government competence, will be a welcome change from the record of the previous Administration.
In the long run focusing on the competence issue will be the political equivalent of making lemonade out of lemons. Democrats need to take the fact that they created the modern federal government and show that they are uniquely qualified to make it work. This means a non-stop reform effort, one that will sometimes displease the government workers unions that now constitute the largest portion of the American labor movement. This means taking on entrenched interest groups that benefit from government ineptness. This means a constant drive towards productivity in government as a way of moving the Democrats away from the party of big government to the party that provides the government that you need.
5 comments on "Give "Competence" Another Try: This Time it Might Work."
Isaac Segal on July 16th, 2006 - 3:19pm
As exasperating as the rote repetiton of talking points by the Republicans may be, we can't overlook the simple fact that this technique has been effective in framing the debate over many issues.
So, in highlighting the across-the-board incompetence of the Busheviks, why not adopt the same tactic? In fact, why not use their own words?
Specifically, "heckuva job."
These two words have become universally recognized, even among Republicans, as a symbol of the cluelessness and carelessness of the Bush administration's response to a national disaster.
Why not apply them to its many other failures?
Mideast policy? "They've certainly done a heckuva job in making the area more peaceful."
The environment? "They're doing a heckuva job in addressing a problem that could affect the lives on everyone on earth."
The economy? "The Dow is about where it was when they took office. A heckuva job by any standard."
A little derision can go a long way. Especially when combined with statements of self-evident fact.
And if the Hannitys, Limbaughs, and Coulters of the world find it disrespectful of their president–hey, they're his own words.
brian on July 12th, 2006 - 3:24am
I agree with the victory strategy above.
Neither party has one.
Stay and hope for the best in Iraq (and the region). Leave and hope for the best in Iraq (and the region). THese Seem to be the publically presented options.
There is no Victory strategy.
Victory is an evolving target with the administration and Dems are not loud and proud with a decent way out.
How to get out and preserve (not honor) but Strength (in the region).
There is no leadership.
jonathan reed on June 21st, 2006 - 5:34pm
If Democrats want to expand their base they have to realize that much of what partisans of either party say sounds like annoying spin to independents. For example, the Katrina disaster was a spectacular display of governmental incompetence at all levels, including the collapse of the New Orleans police. This article seems to attribute main blame to the federal government which sounds like opportunistic salesmanship to independents. Likewise, the argument that Democrats can conduct the Iraq war with more competence than Republicans while glossing over whether the war should have been started will strike independents as laughable bravado or salesmanship.
To win on competence Democrats are going to have to develop candidates for progressively higher offices who can boast of actual prior acheivements in government. This is a long term goal, admittedly, but one that Democrats should have an advantage over Republicans on as Democrats are greater believers in the ability of government to benefit people.
But please, arguing that Democrats conduct foreign invasions better than Republicans just strikes independents that the Democrats are clueless.
William M. Ford on June 21st, 2006 - 3:38pm
I am an independent. I don't care about either party. I am American to the bone!!!
If the Democrats are to take back the country, they must find a way to WIN in Iraq.
The problem is and has been – not enough troops to win.
WE must send a force of 400,000 troops, get the job done and get out.
It won't be a popular suggestion for all, but it is the way to win.
William M. Ford, Ph.D.
USAF, Retired
Dave on June 15th, 2006 - 5:16pm
I agree with the spirit of this article, but I wonder if the idea:
"maybe a political party that hates government is doomed to govern badly"
couldn't even be expanded. I do not suggest that Republicans are conspiring to make government perform badly (that would be an outrageous thing to say), but it's noteworthy that, in the long run, the prime beneficiaries of government incompetence, whether by Republicans or Democrats, will be Republicans.
It is, in essence, a win-win situation for Republicans. Incompetent government, after all, only appears to prove their point that government can't be trusted. While the Republicans may take a hit in the short term, in the long run their actions only tend to reduce public trust in government, leaving voters more open to Reaganesque "government is the problem" rhetoric.
One thing Democrats might work on is finding ways to describe government competence beyond big, abstract numbers. Let's see campaign events centered around (for example): once-polluted rivers that government action has cleaned up, working families who got a leg up thanks to the Earned Income Tax Credit, the elementary school where kids are reading better thanks to an innovative government program, and so on.
We shouldn't even be afraid to (occasionally)highlight successful programs pioneered by the Republicans, because any time we can show how competent government makes lives better and communities stronger, Democratic ideals win.
Dave Kamper
Candidate for Sangamon County Board, District 18, Springfield, Illinois


If you're like me, you saw the preview for Upgrade with Logan Marshall-Green and thought "This will be a lot of action with absolutely no story". However, we're Sci-Fi fans, which means that we're going to spend our hard earned money to go watch it regardless of how bad the previews look.
What do we get for our sacrifice and time? I hidden gem! Upgrade was a fantastic movie. It may be because I went in with no expectations for the movie except that it'd have explosions and violence. However, the movie had a decent storyline. It's nothing new: man loves woman, man loses woman, man gets opportunity for revenge and takes it.
There is a ton of violence in this movie. It is extremely violent, bloody and gruesome. Definitely not for those with weak stomachs.
The movie is set in the not so distant future. It tells the story of a man who refuses to follow the times and still prefers to work with his hands. He still prefers grease on his hands. Little does he know that it is because of this that he would be "chosen" to receive a computer implant that would provide him with functionality that he lost.
He soon learns that he was never in control, but being controlled. The end of the movie has a very reminiscent feel of Inception. You can't help but feel happy and at peace with the way the movie ends for Logan's character, Grey.
I give the movie 4 couch cushions and a throw pillow. The acting was good, the story was good, the action was great. The movie exceeded my expectations!


James joined Vrakas in 2010 as a tax manager and quickly advanced to his current role as a Tax Principal His primary responsibilities include tax planning and compliance for closely-held businesses. He also has extensive experience working with corporate entities, including consolidated corporations, multi-state and multi-national corporations. James has a concentration of clients in the manufacturing, professional services, real estate and construction industries.
Prior to joining Vrakas, James spent 3 years working for a local CPA firm in the southeast region of the United States and 4 years serving as a tax accountant with a Big 4 firm. During his years with these firms, James often spent time researching emerging tax laws and complex tax related issues. This familiarity with research techniques has proven to be a valuable asset to Vrakas and our many clients.
Raised in northern Milwaukee, James moved to Florida to attend school and spent the early years of his career there. He moved back to the Milwaukee area in 2010 to continue his career and be closer to family and friends. He attributes his success to hard work, accessibility and developing strong relationships with both colleagues and clients. When away from the office, James is a fan of outdoor activities and enjoys baseball, backpacking, deep sea fishing and SCUBA trips.
Providing my clients with valuable information is my top priority. As an advisor, my job is to ensure my clients stay ahead of the game with any and all information they need to make important decisions. If the information is late or inaccurate, it is worthless. It's my responsibility to see that never happens.


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I would like to share with you my card for this month's challenge: Black & White card over at Double D Challenge Blog.
Thank you Annie for your lovely comments.
Oh Leanne this is just GORGEOUS!! Beautiful design! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Double D 'BLACK & WHITE' challenge! We hope you'll come back often.
Thank you Darlene for your lovely comments.
Oh, my word, a stunning and elegant creation! I so love the embossed background to display that gorgeous medallion. How beautiful! Thanks for sharing with us in our Black and White Challenge at Double D!
Thank you Leslie for your lovely comments.
Stunning card! I love your attention to detail, beautiful creation! Thanks for sharing with us at Double "D" Challenge.
Thank you Amelia for your lovely comments.


Go for your personal best in ultimate comfort and style. This short sleeve women's running top is a great choice for any type of runner. Stay comfortable during your workout. The material, enriched with ASICS MotionDry technology, wicks away moisture from your skin as you run. Have nothing hold you back. The raglan and set-in sleeve combination means you have optimum range of movement.


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Home Topics Referendum
UK parliament holds final votes on Brexit divorce law
British lawmakers on Wednesday began their final round of voting on a landmark piece of legislation that enables Britain to leave the European Union on January 31.
Britain eyes piecemeal post-Brexit deal with EU
Britain said on Wednesday it could seek a piecemeal post-Brexit deal with the European Union that leaves some issues unresolved but still lets it break free from the bloc at the end of the year.
Arewa youths seek inclusion of referendum in constitutional amendment
Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has urged the National Assembly to without further delay commence the amendment of the constitution with the primary aim of inserting the referendum clause in the constitution that would pave way the restructuring of the country.
Boris Johnson to present Brexit bill to MPs on Friday
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government intends to present a bill to parliament on Friday to enable Britain to leave the European Union next month, his spokesman said on Monday.
Report: Ethiopia tensions could force election delay
Ethnic violence and mounting rancour among political elites could force Ethiopia to postpone landmark elections set for May, according to a report released Monday by conflict analysis and prevention group ICG.
Future of Brexit at stake in Britain election
Voters in Britain are casting ballots Thursday in an early general election that may bring a long-awaited resolution to the departure from the European Union they approved in a 2016 referendum.
Boris Johnson unveils manifesto for Brexit Britain
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveils his Conservative Party's manifesto on Sunday, pledging to move on from Brexit and austerity in a bid to secure a general election majority.
Bolivia's President Evo Morales announces resignation
Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he would resign after the military suggested he step down and allies resigned amid a fierce backlash to a disputed election last month.
Biafra: Nnamdi Kanu gives federal government fresh conditions for dialogue
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has given the Federal Government fresh condition upon which he would sit at a round table with Nigerian Government officials to discuss the issue of the Biafran struggle.
UK braces for election as Labour Party backs early vote
Britain's main opposition Labour Party has said it would support Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for a December election, although the date remains to be fixed.
Truck driver remanded at UK court over 39 dead migrants
A UK court on Monday remanded in custody a truck driver over the deaths of 39 Asian migrants he had been smuggling, in a case that has horrified Britain and sparked a search for their country of origin.
Supreme Court strikes out appeal against President Buhari's election
The Supreme Court on Monday struck out a fresh suit filed by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and it's presidential candidate, Ambrose Owuru, challenging the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the Feb. 23 presidential election.
Bolivians pick between Evo Morales and change in tight vote
South America's longest-serving leader was seeking an unprecedented fourth term in Bolivian elections on Sunday, but polls suggested Evo Morales is in the tightest race of his career.
British MPs hold knife-edge vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal
British MPs gathered on Saturday for a knife-edge vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal for a decision that could see the UK leave the EU this month or plunge the country into fresh uncertainty.
Brexit will not be delayed – EU chief
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker congratulated Prime Minister Boris Johnson on their Brexit withdrawal deal on Thursday and said it meant there would be "no further delay".
Protesters clash with policemen as Spain jails separatist leaders
Spain's Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to heavy jail terms yesterday over the failed 2017 independence bid, bringing thousands of angry protesters on to the streets of Barcelona and blocked access to its airport.
British premier prepares to unveil 'final' Brexit offer
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will submit "final" proposals for a new Brexit agreement on Wednesday, officials said, warning that if the European Union did not engage with them, Britain would leave the bloc this month with no divorce deal.
UK's Boris Johnson rallies party with vow to 'get Brexit done'
Embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered his Conservative party Sunday for what could be its final conference before an election, promising to "get Brexit done".


The woodpecker says wake. wake.
It sounds like a distress call. It is impossible to sleep through. I peek through the wooden blinds and the bird is looking at the house, at the window, at me.
I roll out of bed and go carry the suet feeders, tube feeders and bell feeder, which are stored inside overnight because of raccoon banditry, back out to the porch.
The piercing one-note call stops. Now the chorus of ordinary morning birdsong carries no special message for Bird Food Lady.
Our most popular and successful back porch suet cake here at Amy's Early Bird Diner: Feathered Friend High Energy Suet from our local Agway.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged backyard birds, bird feeders, birds, downy woodpecker, suet, woodpeckers on May 29, 2014 by Amy.


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Cantwell helps reintroduce legislation regarding missing, murdered indigenous women
By: Fife Free Press Staff
Source: Fife Free Press
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), reintroduced Savanna's Act to combat the epidemic of murdered and missing Native women and girls. The bill increases coordination among all levels of law enforcement, increases data collection and information sharing, and empowers Tribal governments with the resources they need in cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women and girls wherever they occur.
"Nationwide there are 506 cases of murdered or missing Native American women. And too many Native American women face barriers that can prevent perpetrators from being convicted," Senator Cantwell said. "I am proud to sponsor Savanna's Act with my colleagues to help improve reporting and give communities additional tools they need."
In an effort to better respond to reports of disappearances or murders of Native women and girls, Savanna's Act would increase coordination efforts across federal departments, Tribes, and states. It would also standardize protocols for responding to reports of missing or murdered Native Americans and Alaska Natives, improve Tribal access to certain federal crime databases, and require annual reports to Congress on ways to improve the collection of data on these crimes. Specifically, the legislation would:
• Improve Tribal access to certain federal crime information databases and mandate that the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior consult with Indian Tribes on how to further develop these databases and increase access to them.
• Require the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, and Department of Health and Human Services to solicit recommendations from Tribes on enhancing the safety of Native women and improving access to crime information databases and criminal justice information systems during the annual consultations mandated under the Violence Against Women Act.
• Require the creation of standardized guidelines for responding to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans and Alaska Natives, in consultations with Tribes, which will include guidance on inter-jurisdictional cooperation among Tribes and federal, state, and local law enforcement.
• Require statistics on missing and murdered Native women and recommendations on how to improve data collection, to be included in an annual report to Congress.
The legislation is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old member of the Spirit Lake Tribe who disappeared on Aug. 19, 2017, while eight months pregnant. Eight days later, her body was found in the Red River north of Fargo, North Dakota. Police determined her death to be caused by "homicidal violence."
Native women and girls have faced devastating levels of violence in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly half of all Native women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner; one in three will be raped in their lifetime; and on some reservations, women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than the national average.
A report released last year by the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) found 506 unsolved cases of missing and murdered Native women and girls nationwide. Of the 71 urban areas throughout the United States included in the study, Seattle had the highest total number of missing and murdered individuals, as well as the highest total number of murdered individuals. Tacoma was found to have the highest total number of missing individuals.
"We can no longer sweep these statistics under the rug," Senator Cantwell said. "It's time to pass this legislation and get it on the President's desk."
Senator Cantwell co-sponsored Savanna's Act last Congress. The legislation passed the Senate unanimously but did not pass the House of Representatives before the end of the 115th Congress.
This Congress, in addition to Senators Cantwell, Murkowksi, and Cortez Masto, U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jon Tester (D-MT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are cosponsors of the legislation.