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Hosts Aaron Stanley and Scott Malcomson speak with experts from the region in this first episode of the Peacebuilders series.
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to Diffusion, a podcast of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In this new nine-part series we're discussing peacebuilding in Africa. I'm Scott Malcomson.
STANLEY: I'm Aaron Stanley. Scott and I spent two weeks in Kenya and Ethiopia talking with experts in the peacebuilding field. This first episode focuses on ethnicity in East Africa.
MALCOMSON: "Tribe" and "ethnic group" are sensitive terms in East Africa and the Horn, not least because of their use by imperial powers. The modern, independent nation-state was meant to replace these ties. Instead, they've taken on new shapes and new power, fueling conflict but also providing solidarity.
STANLEY: As we will hear in a minute, the consensus on the issue has broken down. We begin with Jok Madut Jok, who is the executive director of the Sudd Institute in South Sudan and a former government minister.
JOK: The African state was created by the colonialists. When colonialism ended, on average Africans confronted the same question, which is: What do we do with this thing now that we have inherited from colonialism. Do we keep it the way it was created in the image of the colonial master, in which case you will have to use the same tools that the colonialists used in order to keep the country one, including violence? Or do we dismantle it and return our country back to what it used to be, where every ethnic group was a nation on its own, in which case you will have thousands of countries on the African continent, which was not viable. So then it was no longer possible to return Africa to the pre-colonial existence.
So the choice was made by African leaders at that time, people like Kwame Nkrumah, like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, all of them agreed that the colonial state must stay and its boundaries cannot be touched. And in order for these states to become nations, the tribe has to go away.
So they endeavored to imbue the African citizen with a sense of citizenship in a larger entity beyond the tribe. And that has been a problem, right? You try to do away with the ethnic group, while trying to maintain the very essence of the identity of the African people, which is rooted in their tribe. So you have that mix. You have a state that controls everybody but cannot control everybody in a successful way, in ways that are persuasive rather than coercive. It has not happened.
STANLEY: We're looking at four case studies: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Kenya.
MALCOMSON: Solomon Dersso is the commissioner at the African Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights and an Ethiopian scholar.
DERSSO: I have to say that I think much of my understanding of peace and security issues — but most importantly inter-ethnic relationships and dynamics and what it means to belong to a particular ethnic group in a diverse society like ours — has been informed by what this country has gone through historically. And also at the formative ages of my youth. So certainly it is shaped a great deal by what I have seen and also the change that I have experienced as the country has transitioned from the Derg to the new dispensation of the EPRDF.
MALCOMSON: The Derg was the left-wing group that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and put the country under harsh authoritarian rule.
STANLEY: In 1991, the Derg was overthrown in a civil war by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, better known by its acronym EPRDF. Its coalition of four ethnic parties continues to rule today.
DERSSO: When the civil war started, there was a contestation between groups that defined the problem of the Ethiopian state as essentially being one of class — and there were those who defined principally the Ethiopian problem as one of failure to recognize and accommodate the diversity of the different ethno-cultural groups in the country. And in the process, of course, those who were on the side of the second group succeeded in mobilizing against and defeating the Derg. And when they came of course they have both leftists, including the ones that were defining the problem in terms of class and the ones that were defining the major problem in terms of…
MALCOMSON: Ethno-cultural representation.
DERSSO: Absolutely. Absolutely. But historically the way they organized their mobilization and also their campaign was on the basis of leftist arrangements and leftist principles. So that is what democratic centralism owes its origin to. So during the armed struggle period, that's how they were organized, and democratic centralism was the basis on which they have organized and they have evolved historically. And when they came here [to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and seat of its national government], it was therefore, as far as decision-making process is concerned, something that they didn't abandon. So that is how you have this combination of on the one hand different members — actually EPRDF is a coalition of four parties — but the four parties claim to represent particular regions of the country. The major regions of their country. Not all ethnic groups of the country actually…
MALCOMSON: Well you have one for the Tigrayans in the north, one for the Amhara…
DERSSO: Exactly. Absolutely. So that is the kind of thing that they made. I think the trouble obviously is that combining — it must be such a very delicate balance to make. On the one hand, you have this highly centralized decision-making process; on the other hand, you also say that you actually give some autonomous space for decision-making for others, all right? Getting the balance between these two is extremely difficult. It brought about representation, without a doubt. It also gave recognition to the languages and cultures of the different groups.
MALCOMSON: From the point of view of the strengthening regions, with their ethnicized politics, the "democratic centralism" of the national government in Addis Ababa began to seem far away.
DERSSO: And also it created a self-government structure at the regional level. That enabled the regions to create their own center of power in terms of economic development, in terms of having local elites controlling what happens in their own localities, in terms of using their own language.
People start to say, despite the fact that we have a self-government structure, we are not really self-determining actually, we are not self governing, because decisions are made at the center and then we are just becoming a pipeline for passing on and implementing those decisions.
So that is hyper-centralization of decision-making, not only in political terms but also in socio-economic terms.
MALCOMSON: The Ethiopian synthesis of a strong central government and ethnically inflected regional governments looked fairly stable until a few years ago.
STANLEY: But by the time of our conversations, Ethiopia was in a state of emergency. The key question was how to rebalance the ethnic distribution of power in order to preserve the viability of the Ethiopian state.
STANLEY: Somalia is dominated by the Somali ethnicity but society is divided among lineage groups commonly referred to as clans. Clans are broken down into sub-clans and sub-sub-clans.
MALCOMSON: Colonial borders divided up the Somali ethnic group across the Horn of Africa. Beginning in the 1980s, years of civil war, followed by very weak central governance and, finally, the rise of the insurgency Al-Shabab, have created a huge Somali population living outside Somalia. We discussed these dynamics with Sagal Abshir, a lawyer, former Somali government advisor, consultant and researcher.
ABSHIR: This whole issue of the state, and recreating the state, a lot of people ask, a lot of African colleagues will say: But we don't understand, you've got one language and one religion and one people, like, what is it that you're not agreeing? And that was sort of the myth of greater Somalia was to bring all the Somali peoples into one state.
The Somali flag is a blue background with a five-pointed white star, and that star represents the five parts of Somalia that the founders of the country had dreamed of bringing back together.
And the five parts were the Italian, what they called Italian Somaliland, that had been colonized by the Italians which is through the long eastern part of the country; British Somaliland, which was along the north of the country, which is the part of the country today called Somaliland; French Somaliland, which is today Djibouti; Ethiopian Somalia, which is the eastern region of Ethiopia; and the northeastern part of Kenya.
That was the dream of the Somali creators of the nation and it was known as Greater Somalia.
Somalia in 1960, when we did gain independence, succeeded in bringing together two of those five points, which was the British and the Italian, and became what we know as Somalia. Today we have a situation where the two we did manage to bring together have also split apart, and you have one of them seeking recognition as an independent state. That's Somaliland.
So that dream is sort of, it's interesting because it's not my generation's dream, it's the previous generation's dream, but it still holds--it holds a very important part in the Somali imagination. The questions of citizenship, which is another big open question in our constitution process: Who's a Somali citizen. Under the former constitution, any Somali is a Somali citizen.
STANLEY: And not even for just the Horn of Africa region but now that there's such a Somali diaspora as well; that would complicate it even further.
ABSHIR: Yeah, we've got a significant diaspora as you mentioned. Our diaspora sent back $1.3 billion a year, which is about equal to the humanitarian development spending for a year. I think one of the resources is our diaspora, and the remittances that come back, and the networks and the systems that have come into existence. And where literally the resilience of the commercial side and of course personal side, to continue to exist 30 years without a central — without a government. I mean, I think this is like we're now in the arena of like that whole Westphalian concept of "you have to have a state to have certain things". I mean Somalia has disproved it. It exists.
MALCOMSON: Rashid Abdi is a former journalist for the BBC and Kenya's Daily Nation. He now heads the Horn of Africa Program at International Crisis Group and was Crisis Group's Somalia analyst for years.
ABDI: I think the problem with Somalia isn't even al-Shabab. The problem with Somalia is actually the clans. The inability of the clans to create a functional state, not at the national level but at the local level. In Somalia's case, it's a classic example, you create an ethnic state, or an ethnic sub-national state. That does not create a cohesive society. It actually legitimizes other competing sub-sub-national interests.
Let me explain. Somali clan system is a tree whereby there is the main family and then there are sub-clans within, so there are small entities within, all of them with very strong vested interests. Once you create — once you legitimize the ethnic federal system, you also begin to open up the system to other competing sub-sub ethnic … you know, there's a tiny enclave in Somalia which I always use. It created itself and called itself Himan and Heb. It is slightly… it's the area of Nairobi in size. And the only glue that was holding these together was it was a sub-clan of the Hawiye.
MALCOMSON: What does Himan and Heb mean?
ABDI: Himan and Heb. It's just a name. I can't even know where they picked it from. But then it was clear, right in the center of a bigger federal state called Galmudug. And so there were, we say in one of our reports, this is not viable. This is a town which basically — the river is on the other side. The main airport, airstrip, and even the infrastructure is on the other side. So how can you develop one as a federal entity? And this is what I think also one ought to consider, how can you simply use the idea of an ethnic, of the guiding principle as ethnicity, to create a viable functioning federal state?
MALCOMSON: The new nation of South Sudan was born from decades of civil war waged by southerners against the northern government, based in Khartoum. Sudan and South Sudan became separate states in 2011. We return to Jok Madut Jok, the South Sudanese head of the Sudd Institute, who spoke at the beginning of this episode.
JOK: The United States and the rest of the world in 2011 focused on building the state. So they gave more power and more resources to the political system, to the state. What they failed to do concurrently is building a sense of citizenship in that state such that people graduate from their citizenship in the community and the ethnic group into a sense of collective citizenship in the nation. That disconnect is part of the problem today.
MALCOMSON: What do you think remains of a sense of citizenship in South Sudan in a situation where half of the population is in Internally Displaced Persons camps or outside the borders and where the political elite has now failed for a number of years to even resolve the differences amongst themselves?
JOK: So with regards to the question of whether in the context of displacement and flight into refugee camps by so many citizens, the state has not only flagrantly failed — which is the reason why people are fleeing — it has also been a perpetrator of the causes of that flight. Where is the tribe then, now that people are fleeing the country and the tribe is no longer capable of providing the protection, now that the state is not doing it.
And I think the tribe has become stronger. Even when people flee, they flee to areas they know they will be able to converge with their relatives and with their community members. Such that if you go into an IDP camp, you find that the groupings of people are grouped according to those ethnic groups.
What it has done is actually strengthened the affinity between members of the ethnic group as opposed to others, so in a sense it has fragmented the country further along ethnic lines. It has given some of the political leaders the legitimacy they would never have otherwise, on a simple simplistic basis that they are members of your community, they support you as you become a political leader.
So in a sense you can say there is a very thin line, sometimes actually not so thin line, connecting the usual communal conflicts, the fight over resources between one community and the next along ethnic lines. Now it has — there is an ability of the political leaders to manipulate that communal level conflict and appropriate that communal power to give themselves a legitimacy to control the state at the national level. So in a sense the communal conflict: there was a time when you could distinguish the communal conflict, which has always been there by virtue of human nature, from civil wars, which are particularly confined to elites, between the government elite and the opposition elite. They fought over power. But now that the society at the seams is becoming undone, the political leaders can bank on their ethnic communities to give themselves legitimacy. And again, from the top, the country's becoming fragmented, and at the bottom it has become completely undone, such that if you ever have a chance to reflect on how to bring South Sudan from the brink, those are the things that you have to focus on.
MALCOMSON: George Gathigi is a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
GATHIGI: The question of ethnicity always features in every conversation,, and you have to go back to colonialism and how our colonizers sort of divided the Kenyan communities. Before, we had, in East Africa for example, you'll find different ethnicities spread spread across Kenya and Uganda. The Lua are spread between Kenya and Uganda, or the Luhyas, and also luos, Kenya and Tanzania, you have Masais in Kenya, you have Somalis in Somalia and Kenya, the Oromos in Ethiopia. So these artificial boundaries…traditionally we had small nation-states, which is what we now call ethnicities or ethnic groups. All these have had different ways of social and political organization.
So come colonialism and everyone is put in their own group and the colonizers identify different resources. If you are in the central highlands you have Kikuyus. Amerus and Masai, and you are pushed out and all that, and if you are displaced you are going to have more grievances than the people who have not been displaced. Or you go to the Luos, you think they can provide labor, and you bring them to the sisal plantations.
So there was that, there was that division that was created way back in the colonial period.
Then there was independence and so these ethnic fractures of course continued and the political class has always utilized these, you divide and rule. So they borrowed the same card that the colonizers took. If my political leader tells me "the reason why you don't have drinking water is because we haven't gotten a chance at the national cake…" That is the phrase we use. So when you get to the government and have access to the national cake, and therefore it is an opportunity for your people to eat, or to get the goodies, then people tend to view their non-co-ethnic, even when they are poor, as their enemies. Because the reason why we don't have what we [want] is because of your person who is there. So this has been more the politics. So, the political class uses the ethnic card to entice the people to access to certain resources, to certain services, and all that, while, in my view, the realities are a little bit different. During independence, we did not make the effort, for example, to pull up those who were left behind. So our system has perpetuated this and it has, in turn, increased the grievances for those who feel genuinely left behind.
NYABOLA: I was going to be an investment banker until December 2007…
MALCOMSON: Nanjala Nyabola is an independent researcher and Kenyan political commentator.
NYABOLA: … and then I came home for the first time. I had gone to the UK for my undergrad degree and I came home for the first time with one semester left and we had this big cataclysmic election and the feeling of — well two things happened. One is the feeling of impotence. At the time, my family was living in Langata, which is right next to Kibera, which is this huge informal settlement [in Nairobi]. There was a moment, I think it was December 30th, when we were sitting at home and you could see sort of the horizon glowing orange because people's houses were on fire and we couldn't do anything about it.
And the other thing was I remember switching on CNN. There's a road in Nairobi, Mbagathi Way, which kind of dips into a valley. It goes down to a river basin. And on one side is Kibera and on the other side is, well, it used to be this empty lot, now it's filled with apartments. And so some of the people who were in Kibera had marched out of — this was about a week into the [2007] crisis — had marched out of the settlement and were waving white handkerchiefs and saying in Swahili and in Dholuo, "We haven't had water for a week. We haven't had food for a week. Are you trying to kill us?" Because there had been this barricade.
And the CNN journalist was standing in front of them and he said, "These people are upset because their chosen leader has not been elected."
And I was furious. I was furious because he basically had like a 15-minute breaking news moment in which he was saying almost the exact opposite of what the people were saying.
For me, the ethnic balance and the ethnic question in Kenya, one political decision that we can make is to put it in its rightful place and not to overstate its importance. And that does not mean that we pretend that it's not there, or it's not an issue, but recognize that the two largest ethnic groups in the country, let's say the three largest…
MALCOMSON: The Kikuyu, the Luo, and the Kalenjin?
NYABOLA: The Kikuyu, the Luo, and the Luhya. Kalenjin are not even in the top, I think they're in the top five but not in the top three. It's Kikuyu then Luhyas, then Luos, then Kamba and then Kalenjin. Those five groups comprise 60% of the population of the country. The other 40% is divided between 30 something different groups. What's life like for those people? What's politics like? How do those people experience politics?
And I think once you do that, you start to see a completely different calculation, and you start to really see how much power we give to this narrative at the expense of investing in understanding, you know, why did 70% of eligible voters not vote in October [2017], the second rerun of the election. It wasn't because Raila asked them to stay home, it was because national politics does nothing for the vast majority of people in this country. The first thing people ask you when you arrive in Turkana is, "How is Kenya?" If you go to Marsabit, if you go to Mandera, Garissa, it's the same. "How is Kenya?" Because there is this spatial almost segregation between these two parts of the country. And when you talk to those people about ethnicized politics and all of that they look at you like you're crazy because it doesn't do anything for them, it doesn't matter whether the person in charge of Kenya is Kikuyu or Luo or Kamba or whatever. It doesn't do anything for them.
You get a lot of mixed marriages in Kenya, and when women marry outside their ethnic group, they lose their ethnic identity, most of the time.
And so what does it mean or how much credence or how much weight should we put to a concept when 51% of the population experiences it in a completely different way?
MALCOMSON: Returning to Rashid Abdi of International Crisis Group.
ABDI: There has been no doubt a rise of ethnic identity politics, and this is a phenomenon that has been there for a while. And this is something that happened as a sort of reaction to the post-colonial state.
After independence, I think there was a lot of euphoria, and a lot of galvanization of the entire, you know, the collection of tribes came together because they had won a nation. They had created a nation. So this sustained, I think, many African countries in the first 10 years. So there was a lot of even Pan-African dreams of one day creating a United States of Africa. So what we saw in the 80s and 70s was a reversal of that. The post-colonial state became in many eyes reactionary, it went back to becoming a single-ethnic-dominated state.
In the case of Kenya, we saw how the Kikuyu basically captured power, and basically created this massive ethnic state, and controlled and became almost a thoroughly venal and very corrupt system under the Kenyatta government.
And something similar was also happening elsewhere. The second generation of leaders who emerged were actually leaders who had no interest in Pan-Africanism or even creating a nation state. They were basically interested in advancing the interests of their ethnic communities. Now so we see this revival, this ethnic identity politics has become stronger. It exerts such powerful influence. In many ways it is the organizing principle of politics now in many parts of the Horn of Africa. Kenya has also been experimenting with a devolution process, and although Kenya has not called it ethnic federalism, in many ways it is de facto ethnicized.
MALCOMSON: Not to be critical of devolution, but it's easy to imagine a situation where five years from now you'll begin to have a generation in a given province where it'll be possible to get all your news in your vernacular language, where the kids will learn their history in their own way, in their own language, which on the one hand is praiseworthy in terms of preserving local cultures and not just steamrolling it all, or not having a single ethnicity, for example the Kikuyu, just simply being the dominant one, but at the same time it would — you can see how it would exacerbate what amounts to potentially an almost kind of feudal sort of political-cultural economy.
ABDI: No, I agree, and I think devolution in the Kenyan context but also in Ethiopia, if it works well it has the potential of actually putting all these countries onto a very solid path to what is stabilization.
There are many odds against decentralization actually working. First of all I mentioned a few minutes ago about the old centralizing bureaucracies, which are still intact and in place. Even the president himself, he's not a supporter of devolution, the current president in Kenya, because he belongs to that elite which feels that whittling away state power, central state power, is actually — diminishes his authority. And we saw him, when he came into office, actually begin to tinker with the laws in order to bring some functions back to the state. And so that I think is the constant battle.
NYABOLA: What devolution has done that's good is that it has made local politics very important for people. People care about, in rural areas — and Kenya is what, 67% rural — people care about who their MCA (Member of County Assembly] is. They care about who their senator is and they care about who their MP [Member of Parliament] is. But the flip side of it is that in a lot of places it has made national politics even less important. And that can be a problem.
ABDI: In many ways Africa is regressing back to a very old principle of organizing politics, which is around ethnicity.
MALCOMSON: Pre-colonial.
ABDI: Pre-colonial. I think once you remove the idea of collective citizenship and begin to legitimize these competing ethnic interests, you begin — you basically open up Pandora's Box. All these emerging counties, federal states, are in many ways also ethnic ghettos. How can you simply use the idea of an ethnic, of the guiding principle as ethnicity, to create a viable functioning federal state? Is there a way in which you can actually create mergers between ethnic communities so that they can take care of a shared infrastructure? I give you a classic example. There's a town called Isiolo which is in Central Kenya. Isiolo borders another county called Meru, and the two neighbors have had a very uneasy relationship over the years. Why? Because the Meru, who also are a tribe, migrated to Isiolo and began creating — they're very enterprising so they started building shops and so on. So the Meru as an ethnic community constitute now a very powerful significant minority in Isiolo County. And that has created border tensions. A smart engineer said, "How can I bring the Meru and the Boran together?" So they devised a clever—
MALCOMSON: Boran being the main group in Isiolo.
ABDI: In Isiolo. So they devised a very clever idea. They said, "We are going to build an airport and we are going to put it slap bang in the middle of the county, in the border."
MALCOMSON: The border, right. Wherever it is it's going to be on both sides!
ABDI: On both sides. How long is a runway? A runway is 3 km. We will put two kilometers on one side, one kilometer on the other. We'll put the terminal in the other and the runway in the other. And they did that. And all of a sudden tensions began to subside.
MALCOMSON: The next episode of this podcast will be on international interventions.
ABDI: I think countries, like the United Kingdom in particular — there is a fatigue with big peacekeeping operations.
Diffusion is the podcast of Carnegie Corporation of New York, promoting the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding around issues of peace, education and democracy.


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People enjoy steaks in a variety of ways, almost as many ways as there are types of steak. While some may disagree on what constitutes rare, medium, well done and everything in between, there are standards in the cooking industry. Suggested cooking times are different based on the thickness of the steak.
Discerning the difference between rare and medium rare is difficult by looking at the steak. Rare is often described as being pink on the inside. Medium rare is slightly less pink, which is obviously a difference open to interpretation. Professional chefs cook to temperature, not look. Rare steak has an internal temperature between 125 and 130 F. Medium rare reads between 130 and 140 F on a meat thermometer. Since the fat from a steak begins to dissipate above 140 F, thus releasing flavor, lean cuts of steak are better suited for rare or medium rare preparation.
Filet Mignon, Rib Eye and New York Strip
Filet mignon is tenderloin steak cut into pieces. One of the leanest cuts of steak, filet mignon is best served rare or medium rare. Rib eye, a much fattier steak, is better suited to medium well. New York strip steak comes from the short loin of the cow and is often cooked to medium. A 1- to 1½ inch fillet, 1-inch rib eye, and 1¼ to 1½-inch New York strip all require similar cooking times. For a very rare or rare steak, cook for 4 to 6 minutes; cook a steak 6 to 8 minutes for medium rare; and cook a steak for 7 to 10 minutes for medium.
Sirloin is a tougher cut than a filet or rib eye. For a ¾- to 1¼-inch sirloin, allow 5 to 8 minutes for a very rare or rare steak. The same size sirloin requires 8 to 12 minutes to reach medium rare temperatures. Medium takes 12 to 16 minutes.
Porterhouse and T-Bone
The T-bone and porterhouse steaks each feature a "T" shaped bone that separates the tenderloin on one side from the short or top loin on the other. In the T-bone, the tenderloin section is the smaller side, while the porterhouse features a larger tenderloin piece. Porterhouse steaks are more tender than T-bones.To cook a 1¼-inch cut of either steak very rare or rare, allow 6 to 9 minutes. Cook 9 to 12 minutes for medium rare; and cook 12 to 15 for medium.
- The_Pixeltree/iStock/Getty Images

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The National Sea Grant Law Center
is pleased to offer the March 2013 issue of Ocean and Coastal Case Alert.
The Case Alert is a monthly newsletter highlighting recent court decisions impacting ocean and coastal resource management.
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Dow AgroSciences LLC v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3650 (4th Cir. 2013).
Dow AgroSciences, a pesticide manufacturer, brought suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in a Maryland district court challenging the agency's issuance of a biological opinion (BiOp) as arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). NMFS issued the BiOp as part of the pesticide reregistration process required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The BiOp concluded that the use of certain pesticides would harm certain Pacific salmonids and their habitats, meaning these pesticides could not be reregistered and thus could not be used without substantial restrictions. The district court ruled for NMFS, finding that the BiOp was rationally supported by facts and studies considered by NMFS. The Fourth Circuit reversed that decision, concluding that the BiOp was not the product of reasonable decision making because it failed to explain or support several assumptions critical to its opinion. In making this decision, the court concluded: 1) NMFS failed to justify its model's assumption that juvenile salmonids would be exposed to lethal levels of pesticides for 96 hours; 2) NMFS failed to explain why they used outdated water monitoring data when new data is available; and 3) NMFS failed to explain why it imposed uniformly sized buffers to all water bodies regardless of the economic feasibility of such buffers. The Fourth Circuit concluded that NMFS relied on data, tests, and standards that did not appear to appear logical or obvious and did not explain its reliance on these choices with sufficient clarity so that the court could review them for reasonableness. For that reason, the BiOp was vacated for being arbitrary and capricious, the district court's opinion reversed, and the case remanded to NMFS.
South Carolina
Kiawah Dev. Partners, II v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl Control, 2013 S.C. LEXIS 25 (S.C. Feb. 27, 2013).
The South Carolina Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a permit allowing a bulkhead and revetment to be constructed on Kiawah Island. A development group initially sought permission to build a more than 2,500-foot sea wall, and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) permitted only a 270-foot sea wall. An Administrative Law Court (ALC) reversed the decision, stipulating that the development group make changes to its plans. DHEC and an environmental group appealed the decision. In 2011, the state supreme court issued an opinion siding with the DHEC; however, the court agreed to rehear the case. In February, the court ruled that the ALC did not err in refusing to defer to DHEC and that the ALC did have the authority to modify the revetment. The court found that substantial evidence supported the ALC's conclusion that the proposal complied with the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Coastal Zone Management Program, and state law.
Belle Co., LLC v. United States Army Corps of Eng'rs, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27546 (M.D. La. Feb. 28, 2013).
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana recently ruled that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdictional determination finding wetlands subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) is not a final agency action within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The plaintiffs had sought a permit to construct a solid waste landfill. After the Corps found that the land in question contained jurisdictional wetlands, the plaintiffs brought suit. Under the APA, a court may only review the decisions of an administrative agency when there has been a "final agency action." The court ruled that in this instance, the Corps' decision did not result in a final agency action, distinguishing the case from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA.
Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace, Inc., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 5033 (9th Cir. Mar. 12, 2013).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order granting an oil company a preliminary injunction to stop Greenpeace from interfering with vessels involved in exploratory drilling on the Arctic outer continental shelf (OCS) and from committing various unlawful and tortious acts against those vessels. Greenpeace argued that the action was not justiciable, that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to issue its order, and that the court erred in its application of a previous court case. The court disagreed and ruled in favor of Shell on all issues. In making its decision, the court relied on evidence of past actions Greenpeace activists around the world have taken to "stop Shell" from drilling activities.
Inst. of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Soc'y, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3887 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2013).
The Ninth Circuit recently held that the actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization known for investigating and confronting Japanese whale-hunting ships, did amount to piracy in that their actions were clearly violent acts for private ends. The Institute of Cetacean Research, a group of Japanese whalers, brought the action against Sea Shepherd. The Sea Shepherd had rammed the whaling ships, as well as thrown glass containers of acid, smoke bombs, and flares with hooks at the ships. The whale hunters believed that the Sea Shepherd's acts amounted to piracy, which violated international agreements regulating the conduct on the high seas. They sued under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. §1350, which provides a cause of action for torts committed in violation of the law of nations or a U.S. treaty. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington denied the request for a preliminary injunction. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit disagreed. The court found that a preliminary injunction was warranted, because 1) the researchers were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim under international agreements; 2) repeated dangerous acts could lead to inevitable harm, which would be irreparable; 3) without an injunction, the researchers would continue to be victims of the Sea Shepherd's violent acts; and 4) the researchers' activities were covered by a permit and were therefore consistent with congressional policy on the marine ecosystem. Therefore, the Ninth Circuit remanded and reversed back to the district court.
Schmeer v. County of Los Angeles, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 130 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Feb. 21, 2013).
A Los Angeles County, California ordinance prohibits retail stores from providing plastic carryout bags to its customers and requires them to charge 10 cents per paper carryout bag. California residents and a plastic bag manufacturer brought suit, claiming that this ordinance violated the California Constitution, which prohibits any new general or special tax imposed by local governments without prior voter approval. The district court and appellate court found that according to California law, charges were only considered "taxes" if they produced revenue for the government. Here, the paper bag charge was paid to and retained by the stores providing them, and the store was required to use those funds for specific purposes. Because no funds were remitted to the county, the court found that the paper bag charges were not "taxes" under the state Constitution. Therefore, the voter approval requirements were inapplicable.
Humane Soc'y of the United States v. Bryson, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20616 (D. Or. Feb. 15, 2013).
Several environmental organizations sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) over its decision to authorize several states to kill particular California sea lions feeding on salmonids at Bonneville Dam. The salmonids, which are protected as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, must work their way up to the dam's fish ladders. As the salmonids congregate below the dams, they are easy prey for the sea lions and efforts to deter the sea lions have been ineffective. The court concluded that NMFS did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when authorizing the killing and that the authorizations do not conflict with the Marine Mammal Protection Act's protection of Steller sea lions. The court also found that NMFS complied with the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued a supplemental information report in lieu of supplementing its environmental assessment.
District of Columbia
Safari Club Int'l v. Salazar (In re Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing & Section 4(d) Rule Litig. - MDL No. 1993), 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 4194 (D.C. Cir. 2013).
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently rejected challenges to the listing of the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The court upheld the listing, finding that the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision was amply supported by data and well within the mainstream on climate science and polar bear biology. Further, the information was supported by a wide variety of scientific experts.
Casitas Mun. Water Dist. v. United States, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 4067 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 27, 2013).
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision dismissing Casitas Municipal Water District's takings claim against the United States. The water district, located in California, was required by the government to construct a fish ladder to allow endangered steelhead trout to pass its dam. In 2005, the water district brought suit, arguing that the water diversion over the fish ladder caused it to lose water, which resulted in a physical taking of property. In 2008, the Federal Circuit ruled that the diversion could be analyzed under the physical takings test. On remand, the federal claims court held that this claim was not ripe because the water district failed to show any reduction in deliveries of water to the district's customers. On appeal, the Federal Circuit agreed. Furthermore, the court found that any loss in the amount of water to which the district was entitled did not amount to a loss in water property rights because such rights have been limited to "beneficial use" of the water.
Federal Claims
Lone Star Indus., Inc. v. United States, 2013 U.S. Claims LEXIS 124 (Fed. Cl. Feb. 27, 2013).
The United States Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government's closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) did not result in an unconstitutional taking of property from Lone Star Industries, a deep-draft vessel terminal. The court found that the terminal owner had no compensable property interest in deep-draft access to its property. Further, the terminal owner failed to show that the closure of the outlet was a direct regulation of the property. Ultimately, the court dismissed the suit for failure to state a claim.
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[Return to Previous ]
Published on 05 March 2018
A 'Cracker Packers' statue has been unveiled in Carlisle, Cumbria on International Women's Day - Thursday 8 March 2018. The public art not only represents women workers but is also sculpted by a woman.
Hazel Reeves, an award-winning artist and an elected member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, has created the statute - depicting two women McVitie's factory workers.
Hazel is a well-respected artist. Her Emmeline Pankhurst statue commission for St Peter's Square, Manchester will be unveiled on 14 December 2018 to mark 100 years since women first voted in a UK general election. Hazel is also renowned for her seven-foot bronze sculpture of Sir Nigel Gresley, proudly displayed in King's Cross Station.
Privately funded, the Cracker Packer bronze statue will be installed in Caldewgate, Carlisle, close to the pladis factory, home of Carr's Table Water Biscuits. It depicts two Carr's factory women workers - one from past times and one from the modern day dressed in their respective factory uniforms. Hazel worked with current and former Cracker Packers to develop the statue, with the support of Carlisle City Council, pladis and Cumbria County Council Archives.
Hazel Reeves said:
"The statue conveys the humour, warmth and camaraderie of the Cracker Packers, past and present. This was only made possible by the generosity of the Carr's workers who shared their vibrant stories with me. This statue formally marks the importance of these women workers to the factory, to Carlisle and to each other."
The two Cracker Packers, the name given to workers at the (then-named) Carr's biscuit factory, will be standing on a bronze Carr's Table Water biscuit, with the distinctive Carr's signature logo embossed into it.
The total height of the statue and its base, with granite plinth, is just over one and a half metres (approx. 5ft 4 ½ inches).
Carlisle City Cllr Anne Quilter said:
"We're delighted that Carlisle has a sculpture of two women workers on public display. Hazel has worked alongside current and retired 'Cracker Packers' to create a sculpture that celebrates our city's female workforce - a fitting tribute to commemorate International Women's Day."
The statue is privately funded, including a contribution from pladis, £65,000 from Sainsbury's (as part of their development of a Carlisle superstore) and £5,000 from author Hunter Davies, who has a keen interest in the history of the McVitie's site. He wrote "The Biscuit Girls"; stories of six Cracker Packers working in the Carr's Biscuit factory.
A 'Spirit of the Cracker Packers' exhibition, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has been drawn together by current and past Cracker Packers with the support of Tullie House and Carlisle City Council. This will tell the stories of the Cracker Packers, their work and the development of the statue.
Mike Heaney, Factory General Manager at the pladis factory in Carlisle, said:
"We are proud that our factory is part of the fabric of the local community, and this commission reflects and celebrates a key element of Carlisle's distinctive social and industrial history. This public art work helps honour those who have helped shape our town's history."
To find out more about Hazel Reeves' work, visit www.hazelreeves.com
Hazel is passionate about people and their stories, specialising in figure and portrait commissions in bronze. Her Emmeline Pankhurst statue commission for St Peter's Square, Manchester is underway. She is also renowned for her seven-foot bronze sculpture of Sir Nigel Gresley, proudly displayed in King's Cross Station.
Hazel's sculptures have been exhibited in over 60 galleries, museums and sculpture gardens across the UK. She is also a member of the Society of Women Artists and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Before becoming a sculptor, she spent many years promoting women's rights across the world.
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text:
This recipe is a great twist on traditional chicken noodle soup. The lemon zest really gives it that distinct lemon flavor, don't leave it out!
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (original recipe from A Spicy Perspective)
32 ounces chicken broth (1 large box)
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion
2 large lemons, zested and juiced
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
1 cup couscous
1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onions
Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat oil in dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Slice onion into thin strips. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 8-10 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, lemon zest and juice, and crushed red pepper to the pot. Raise the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, and stir in the couscous, shredded chicken, a pinch of salt, and black pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on. Then turn the heat off.
Stir in the crumbled feta cheese and chopped green onions. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.


text:
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Palestine 1896 -- First film footage taken in Palestine (Lumier Bros.)
Posted by LJansen at 1:25 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Three Little Birds -- Apartheid [wonderful song!]
to read their important story on the In Gaza blog, go here: http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/three-little-birds-talented-ottawa-band-takes-principled-and-musical-stand-against-apartheid/
to read their important story on the In Gaza blog, go here: http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/three-little-birds-talented-ottawa-band-takes-principled-and-musical-stand-against-apartheid/
Posted by LJansen at 7:20 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Anaheim Anger: Fatal police shooting sparks calls for justice
Posted by LJansen at 10:54 AM 0 comments
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Obama for America TV Ad: "Drone Warrior"
Posted by LJansen at 6:29 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 21, 2012
A.M. 1090 Progressive Radio Fest Showare Center in Kent
guard chased us off the property with our signs, so David and Phil
doffed their signs and managed to pass out almost 400 flyers to the
folks as they entered the show. One of the flyers, written by Richard, was aimed directly at
the "progressive except for Palestine" talk hosts and the other was
written by an ex-IDF soldier explaining to the seemingly clueless media
that Israel was like a bear sitting on a hive of honey and then
complaining when it got stung. David had his Palestine map shirt and
Phil was wearing his Veterans for Peace shirt. Great job!
|Phil & Richard face the multitudes from our appointed spot on the public sidewalk.
|Phil & Richard
|Our "competition". ;)
|David near the end of the gig.
|Sibyl & Ann catch the incoming cars and pedestrians.
|Voices of Palestine crew celebrates new black & white signage, heroically arranged by Richard, with some extra help from Anne and Ziyad.
Posted by LJansen at 8:11 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Pro-Palestinian Ads Ignite Firestorm Of Controversy
Posted by LJansen at 6:22 PM 0 comments
Goodbye, Sassy, Good Old Girl
My sister's effervescent sidekick will be so missed.
Posted by LJansen at 3:19 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Mr. Fish & Real Democracy
Posted by LJansen at 11:40 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Eli Cane: Wounds and Scars [Native America Under Attack]
Tweet http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/eli-cane-wounds-and-scars/
On August 26, 2011, 68-year-old Vernon Traversie was admitted to the Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota for emergency double bypass surgery. After his operation, Traversie, who is blind, discovered that he had been brutally mutilated while under anesthesia. In addition to the surgical scars, his torso was covered in gashes, with the letters KKK carved into his stomach. Traversie is a Lakota Sioux who lives on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
"They're squeezing us, just like they were before Wounded Knee," said Guy Dull Knife Jr., who lives on Pine Ridge Reservation. Along with Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge is one of over a dozen territories scattered throughout the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Minnesota that were granted to the Lakota Nation by the U.S. government in a series of treaties, most of which were signed in the late 1800s. Pine Ridge, about a hundred miles south-east of Rapid City, is in the heart of America's Great Plains—prairies, canyons, buttes, and dry riverbeds stretch impossibly far in any given direction, framed by the Black Hills on one side and the Badlands on the other. I speak to Guy regularly to get updates on his life and news of the reservation—a result of my visits over the last few years to film a documentary that I am producing.
Posted by LJansen at 3:24 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Renegade Jewish Settlers Part 1/5
Posted by LJansen at 9:27 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Visualizing Occupation: Freedom of Movement
Tweet http://972mag.com/visualizing-occupation-freedom-of-movement/45605/
Whereas West Bank settlers can travel freely between Israel and the West Bank, Palestinian movement is governed by the Israeli security establishment. This illustration is the fourth in a series of infographics on the effect of the occupation on the Palestinian civilian population.
By Michal Vexler
Whereas West Bank settlers can travel freely between Israel and the West Bank, Palestinian movement is governed by the Israeli security establishment. This illustration is the fourth in a series of infographics on the effect of the occupation on the Palestinian civilian population.
By Michal Vexler
Posted by LJansen at 3:58 PM 0 comments
Team Palestine at All Nations Cup in Tukwila! Really Fun to Watch!
|Ziyad tells t-shirts supporting Team Palestine
|Queen of Team Palestine
|Team Palestine's Enthused Supporters
|Team Palestine's Entrance to the Field
|Teams from Around the Globe
|Team Palestine on Way to Match w/Brazil, a hard-fought test. Brazil ended up on top, 3-0.
Posted by LJansen at 11:18 AM 0 comments
Friday, July 13, 2012
Backer of NY Ads Exposing Palestinian Land-Loss Says Response Has Been 'Astounding' & News 'Coverage is Pouring In'
TweetEXCERPT from Mondoweiss:
Last night I talked to Henry Clifford, the 83-year-old Connecticut man who paid for the smashing ads on New York commuter train platforms that describe the dispossession of Palestinian lands over the last century.
"I've been plowing this field for many years and I am absolutely astounded by the response I've received, and the news coverage," the former financier said. "We've been begging for coverage for years. Now it's pouring in."
He said he had been interviewed by CBS, Fox News, NBC and many radio stations, and the questions were fair ones.
"I have received nothing but positive responses with two exceptions [by email]," said Clifford, whose email address firstname.lastname@example.com, is on the ads. "This has produced an overwhelming response."
Posted by LJansen at 11:16 AM 0 comments
Thursday, July 12, 2012
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y for Olympia Co-op Members & BDS!
Bruce Johnson, on right, and other attorneys discussing happy court result with co-op members and supporters.
Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/07/12/v-print/2171566/olympia-food-co-op-defendants.html#storylink=cpy
Bruce Johnson, on right, and other attorneys discussing happy court result with co-op members and supporters.
[FROM THE OLYMPIAN] Five Olympia Food Co-op members who had sued to overturn the store's boycott of Israeli goods must pay $160,000 in damages, the result of a judge's prior ruling that the lawsuit was an illegal Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
SLAPPs are defined as nuisance lawsuits designed to stifle free speech and create onerous legal costs for those who choose to exercise their free-speech rights. SLAPPs are illegal under a state law that the defendants' attorney, Bruce Johnson, and another staff attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine helped draft.
The 16 defendants are entitled to $10,000 each under Washington's anti-SLAPP statute, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee ruled Thursday.
The defendants are former board members who voted to enact the boycott in July 2010 and current members who joined the board after the boycott was enacted.
The 16 people who'd sued had argued that the co-op's board acted outside its authority and didn't follow its own rules when it enacted the boycott. In February, McPhee rejected that argument and ruled that the lawsuit was a SLAPP.
Olympia Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement member Andrew Meyer said Thursday that McPhee's award recognizes that the co-op acted within its rights to continue the boycott until Israel secures "equal, civil and human rights for Palestinians."
Attorney Bob Sulkin, who represented the 16 people who'd sued, declined to comment outside court. It's unknown whether he will appeal.
McPhee ruled that the defendants also are entitled to attorney's fees but did not decide on a dollar amount. Johnson said outside court that he has asked for $280,000 in attorney's fees. McPhee told Johnson during Thursday's hearing that he wants to see a detailed itemized account of each defense attorney's work on the case within two weeks.
Sulkin called Johnson's request for $280,000 in attorney's fees "outrageous."
He argued Thursday that the co-op itself was responsible for paying for damages under the SLAPP statue. That's because those who'd sued are in essence "shareholders" in the "corporation" known as the co-op, he said.
"We are nominal parties, nominal," Sulkin said in court. "The corporation is the real party and interest here."
McPhee said, "I don't find that argument persuasive."
The co-op board voted in July 2010 to boycott Israeli products; it was not a unanimous decision. Products that were removed from the co-op's two stores, one on Olympia's east side and the other on the west side, include gluten-free crackers, ice cream cones and a moisturizing cream.
Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/07/12/v-print/2171566/olympia-food-co-op-defendants.html#storylink=cpy
Posted by LJansen at 4:50 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Water Torture -- Gideon Levy
Avi is an inspection coordinator for the "Civil Administration" - the occupation regime, to speak without euphemisms. Presumably Avi likes his job. Maybe he's even proud of it.
He doesn't bother mentioning his last name in the forms he signs. Why should he? His ornate "Avi" signature is sufficient to carry out his diktats. And Avi's are among the most brutal and inhumane diktats ever to be imposed in these parts.
Avi confiscates water containers that serve hundreds of Palestinian and Bedouin families living in the Jordan Valley.
The containers are these people's only water source. In recent weeks, Avi has confiscated about a dozen containers, leaving dozens of families with children in the horrific Jordan Valley heat, to go thirsty.
The forms he takes pains to complete, in spiffy style, say: "There is reason to suspect they used the above merchandise for carrying out an offense." Avi's bosses claim the "offense" is stealing water from a pipe. This is why the containers are seized - with no inquiry, no trial. Welcome to the land of lawlessness and evil. Welcome to the land of apartheid. Israel does not permit thousands of these wretched people to hook up to the water pipes. This water is for Jews only. Even the greatest Israeli propagandists could not deny the nationalist, diabolical separation taking place here.
The axis of evil is located about an hour's drive from your home. But emotionally distant and far from the heart, it inspires no "social protest." And on the scale of Israeli evil, it is one of the worst. Backed with forms and bureaucracy, applied by ostensibly nonviolent inspectors, it involves not a drop of blood, yet leaves no drop of water either.
The Civil Administration is supposed to take care of the people's needs. But it does not stop at the most despicable measure - depriving people and livestock of water in the scathing summer heat - to implement Israel's strategic goal: to drive them from their lands and purge the valley of its non-Jewish residents.
The stealing of water, whether it did or didn't take place, is of course only the excuse. Even if there was such a thing - what choice do these people have? The authorities won't allow them to connect to the water pipe running through their fields; pipes whose water is flowing to saturate the settlers' green vineyards and fields.
Last week I saw the people whose water container Avi had confiscated, leaving them thirsty. Newborn babies, a handicapped little girl, a small boy post-surgery, women and old folks, and, of course, the sheep - the only source of income here. Denizens with no water - in Israel, not in Africa. Water for one nation only - in Israel, not in South Africa.
But this is not the only watershed. A few days ago, the Israel Defense Forces decided to hold training exercises in the area. What did it do? Evicted the residents from their homes for 24 hours. Not all of them - only the Palestinians and Bedouin. It occurred to nobody to evict the residents of Maskiot, Beka'ot or Ro'i. The authorities don't call that apartheid, either.
Where did the IDF evict them to? Wherever the wind carries them. Thus some 400 people were forced to leave their huts and tents and spend a day and a night on the arid soil by the roadside, exposed to the elements.
Amjad Zahawa, a 2-day-old infant, passed his third day under the hot sun, with no shelter over his head. Greetings, Amjad; welcome to the reality of your life.
Avi, as we have already mentioned, loves his work and is proud of it. Dozens of others like him are also doing this contemptible work. But they are not the only ones at fault. Behind them stand millions of Israelis who are entirely untouched by all this. They blithely drive through the valley roads, paying no heed to the endless embankment alongside the road, imprisoning the residents and blocking their access to the road.
There is an iron gate every now and then. The soldiers, representatives of the merciful occupier, show up every few days to open the gate for a moment. Sometimes they forget, sometimes they are late. Sometimes they lose the key, but what does it matter?
The occupation is enlightened, Israel is right, the IDF is the most moral army, and apartheid is merely an invention of Israel's haters. Go to the Jordan Valley and see for yourselves.
Posted by LJansen at 6:15 PM 0 comments
"Israel's social protest: Will you stand with the Palestinians?" -- Udi Pladott
Do Israelis involved in the social protest movement really have a moral argument for affordable housing in Tel Aviv while, only a few kilometers away, the same system of power targeted by protesters has turned entire villages into refugee camps?
By Udi Pladott | Jul.08, 2012 | 5:54 PM
"If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time…But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." (Lila Watson)
Last week Haaretz published an opinion piece by Yotam Marom, an Occupy Wall St. organizer. The article was presented as "Advice from the Occupy Movement" for Israel's social protest movement, which recently faced egregious police violence in Tel Aviv. Israeli activists, however, do not have to look overseas for guidance or inspiration in countering forces of oppression in Jewish Israeli society. The legacy that passes through Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., the Egyptians in Tahrir Square, and the Indignados in Spain can be found much closer to home: Israeli activists need only look over to Bil'in, Ni'lin, Nabi Saleh, Sheikh Jarrah and al-Arakib to learn about the pain of repression and value of resistance.
Marom correctly points out how the forces of deprivation disproportionately impact those already marginalized, but he forgets to identify the group of people most clearly marginalized, oppressed, displaced and dispossessed by decades of Israeli policy and practice: the Palestinian people. As Israeli protesters rally against rising prices for housing, food, education and healthcare, there is no acknowledgement that their current level of welfare, however relatively eroded, has been accumulated on the backs of the Palestinian people. Can one really articulate a compelling moral argument for affordable housing in Tel Aviv while, only a few kilometers away, the same system of power targeted by protesters has rendered entire villages into refugee camps?
Some of our finest moments here at Occupy Wall St. were exactly those in which we recognized - as Marom points out - that oppressed communities face various systemic forms of violence every single day, and that this violence is much more destructive than what we face in the streets of New York City at our protests. Only when we followed the lead of the people most impacted by this violence and stood with them against home foreclosures and against the NYPD's racist policy of "Stop & Frisk" did we actually embody the world we want to live in.
Organizers in today's social movement in Israel have crafted messaging to avoid alienating some of the Israeli public and attract a "broad tent." Perhaps it was with that careful, circumscribed messaging in mind that Marom avoided any mention of Israel's oppression of Palestinians - neither those who are citizens of the state, nor those living in the Occupied Territories or beyond. But would not a much heartier coalition be created in standing with the most oppressed?
Last summer, and again in these past several weeks, Israelis demonstrated a readiness to take to the streets to challenge the system of economic power that has prevailed there for so long. Please don't constrain the reach and potential of your movement by adopting national and ethnic fault-lines to construct and constrict your movement's collective identity. These fault lines have been perpetuated and celebrated by the same system that is the target of your protest. The very absence of solidarity between all the people within its domain makes it possible for this system to function. It pits Israelis against African asylum-seekers, for example, deliberately obscuring the reality that Tel Aviv's poor neighborhoods had been severely underserved long before the recent influx of refugees and other migrant workers.
Over here, the Global Justice Working Group at Occupy Wall Street has highlighted how our struggles at home are intertwined with worldwide struggles against oppression and injustice, seeking guidance from the people directly affected by the target of our protests and following their lead whenever possible. This brought the group to trace the use of U.S.-made (and often U.S.-taxpayer financed) tear gas against civil society protesters in several countries. The gas used against our friends in Oakland and Seattle is produced by the same companies supplying the forces of oppression in Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and yes – also in Nabi Saleh and Bil'in. Israelis rising up for social and economic justice would do well to identify their oppressor and see who has borne the brunt of the suffering under its violent force: these people are your allies - those whose liberation is bound up with yours.
As Marom points out, we can learn a great deal from the violent response of the state when we succeed in challenging the status quo. Obviously, the repression of dissent in Israel did not start this past week. There is a rich history of violence to study. Even if you choose to not extend your inquiry beyond the green line, you may recall how, last April on Israel's Independence Day, the police lay siege to the Zochrot office in Tel Aviv because activists there wanted to read a list of Palestinian villages that were razed in 1948. You may also recall the events of October 2000, which left thirteen Palestinian citizens of Israel dead. They also were your allies. Stand with their families. Stand for their memory, and for a future in which their communities will not be constantly threatened and impoverished.
In Israel, where your liberation is intertwined with that of the Palestinian people, look at where you can work together, not only under Israeli leadership. What are the Palestinian people asking for? Where can you stand with them? There have been several groups of Jews and Palestinians working together for justice for many years. Will you direct your energy in support of Solidarity - Sheikh Jarrah? Will you support Boycott from Within and other Israelis who heed the call from Palestinian civil society to join the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement?
A fight for freedom and independence and security and equality that comes at the expense of another people is not a true fight for liberation. When our fight for liberation ignores the subjugation of other people by our own hands, we remain bound and tied.
The Israeli social protest movement faces a challenge and an opportunity to end its isolation, and to join a global movement. It is a movement for social and economic justice; it is aimed at ending the domination of our political systems by the financial elites, but even more than that it is a movement that transcends the boundaries between nation-states and calls for reclamation of the Commons for all peoples. Liberate yourselves by fighting for an end to the occupation of Palestine, without which none of us will ever be free.
Posted by LJansen at 11:48 AM 0 comments
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Israeli Recycling -- Nidal El-Khairy
Tweet Israel often releases prisoners and leaves them in areas where Palestinians are not allowed to be in and rearrests them immediately. This is a part of a systematic psychological war on Palestinian political prisoners.
Posted by LJansen at 7:02 PM 0 comments
Voices of Palestine Seattle Vigil Focuses on Water Rights in Palestine, Thirsting for Justice
Voices of Palestine (voicesofpalestine.org)
Posted by LJansen at 4:14 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Celebrate This Tomorrow, Rather Than Our Imperial Militarist State!
Tweet peoplesworld.org/louisville-orchestra-musicians-win-tough-battle/
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Local 11-637 of the American Federation of Musicians, and the Louisville Orchestra Inc. (LOI - the management), recently signed an agreement, ending a lockout of workers from their jobs that began in May 2011.
To understand this we need to travel way back to 1697 and listen to William Congreve: "Music has Charms to soothe a savage Breast,/ To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak." More recently, an unsoothed savage breast, marked by malignant greed, class antagonism and lack of common decency, descended upon the Louisville Orchestra. Management offered an unacceptable contract, and the union said "no."
Louisville Orchestra management then began hiring "scabs," non-union replacements: "Openings are available for qualified symphonic musicians looking for permanent employment to replace musicians ...."
The bosses claimed they had no money to pay the musicians a decent wage, and then said they must also "downsize," a euphemism for throwing employees out of their jobs.
The Louisville Orchestra and the Fund for the Arts boards of directors are dominated by Louisville's financial elite: bankers, stockbrokers, realtors, manufacturers, law firms, health care providers and profiteers, and utility executives. There is big money behind these folks.
Yet and still, orchestras are in crisis all over the country. The League of American Orchestras reported that US orchestra paid attendance fell 8% between 2002 and 2007. Young people don't attend orchestra performances as much as older people. As older people move on, will there be replacements from the younger generation? Yes, but only if there is music appreciation in the school curricula.
Truth be told, music appreciation in the classroom is dying. In Indiana, the Monroe County Community School Corporation voted to trim $4.5 million.
Louisville Orchestra management filed for bankruptcy in late 2010. In May, 2011 the union contract expired. Both the Bankruptcy Court hearings and the negotiations between the musicians union and management were well covered by local media and extended over more than six months.
When the 2011-12 school year started in September 2011, the staff of the Jefferson County School Board (JCSB), as well as its seven board members, were well aware that the management of LOI was not going to be able to fulfill a contract that both parties had signed long ago for a music appreciation program, scheduled for the spring of 2012. The contract was supposed to be the continuation of a 70-year-old joint effort.
Regretfully, JCSB became an objective ally of Louisville Orchestra management. The school board cancelled this 70-year-old music appreciation program for all 14,000 4th- and 5th-grade students this year, depriving LO musicians of a desperately needed source of income. The JCSB, in essence, let itself be dictated to by a vendor that could not fulfill a signed contract.
"Keep Louisville Symphonic,"' a nonprofit formed by the locked-out orchestra musicians, was, on the other hand, indeed able to fulfill the contract that LOI could not. But the school board scrapped the program just the same, using the excuse that it was too late for the music appreciation program to take place in the coming school year.
When the orchestra management began advertising for outside musicians, so as to break the back of the union, there were reports that the musicians recruited to replace the locked-out Louisville Orchestra musicians would be coming from the ranks of Catholic high school music students and from the Jewish Community Center Orchestra.
Catholic Social Justice informs us: "The economy must serve people, not the other way around. All workers have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, and to safe working conditions." What would Thomas Merton say about scab musicians?
I spoke with a prominent member of the Louisville Jewish community, and he called the replacement musicians by their rightful name: "scabs." Yet the deafening silence on this issue by the mainstream Jewish community contradicts a point made by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: "Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible."
A notable exception in the Jewish community was Uriel Siegel, the distinguished maestro who served as music director of the Louisville Orchestra for six years, and who came back to Louisville a few months ago to picket the Kentucky Opera alongside the locked-out musicians and their supporters. (The lockout also had adverse consequences for the Kentucky Opera and the Louisville Ballet.)
The union musicians and the orchestra management finally did reach an agreement. It was a tribute to the tenacity of our brave band of musicians; they got what they got under dire circumstances - musicians with major illnesses who were facing big hospital bills and no health insurance, for example.
Local government had become involved. A key role was played by Louisville Metro Council President Jim King, no big-time friend of working people but someone who may be positioning himself to run for mayor next time around. He was perceptive enough to want an agreement. Kentucky AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan played an important role, as well.
The musicians behaved with dignity, integrity and steadfastness in the face of a management determined to break its back and destroy its union. To those who knew right from wrong in this struggle of workers versus bosses and said nothing, we quote the words of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
Ira Grupper, email@example.com, is a retired labor and peace activist in Louisville. This article was originally published by FORsooth, newspaper of the Louisville chapter of FOR, Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Posted by LJansen at 6:38 PM 0 comments
Monday, July 02, 2012
Who will you be voting for in 2012?
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Sunday, July 01, 2012
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Fighting for Kids and Families by Margaret Hart
I've been absent from my blog for a couple weeks. I can blame it on a hundred different things as it seems my plate is always full. But one thing's for sure, I was definitely preoccupied by a sucker punch thrown by our town's interim superintendent, and focused a lot of my time and energy on trying to right what many felt was a wrong. Good news: we won!
It started with a facebook post to a link with an obtuse memo written by the acting superintendent of schools stating that a review had been conducted of the impact of swapping bell times with my son's elementary school and a magnet school that houses both elementary and middle schools. It provided little or no details as to the who, what , when, where, and why, accept for stating that the bell swap would enable middle school students to participate more easily in inter-scholastic athletics.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, bell time and bell swap means swapping the times that our school starts in the morning and dismisses in the afternoon (i.e., the bell times). Our school was chosen, supposedly, because we had an equivalent number of buses necessary to transport the middle school students at the other school, thereby causing minimal financial upheaval to the district. Our current bell times are 8:10 and 2:40pm and the other school is 9:00 and 3:30pm.
Once news of this memo leaked, whispers started in the hallways. On a Thursday afternoon, our school's principal talked to teachers suggesting they put in for transfers if this bell swap was going to cause them hardship next year with their commute. Those whispers quickly turned into reality when a memo came home on a Friday from the principal confirming that the bell swap decision was a done deal. The timing was ironic. Some parents most assuredly welcomed the change, given that we had just sprung ahead and lost an hour of sleep in the morning!
The overwhelming response to the news was outrage. How could the interim superintendent make a sweeping change like this without consulting families of some 800 children attending our elementary school? Working parents, stay-at-home parents, and even parents who were somewhat neutral on the subject, were shocked at the way in which the decision came about: with no transparency, and with total disrespect for the families of our school, many of whom would now have to rearrange their schedules and lives to accommodate the change. All because some middle school students— and presumably their parents— didn't want to have to leave school a handful of times, a little early, to participate in inter-school athletics programs.
What about the kids at my son's school who would no longer have a life after school? Many kids who take the bus wouldn't get home until 4pm or later. And kids bused across town, would likely not get home until closer to 5pm with rush hour traffic— in good weather! And my son, who I have mentioned in previous blogs has a busy after-school schedule, would not be able to participate in after school activities unless I pulled him from class one hour early (three times a week), disrupting his day, and that of his classmates. What about working parents who would have to not only figure out what to do with their kids for nearly two more hours each morning, but also have to figure out how to get themselves to work on time! Not to mention the fact that studies show kids learn better earlier in the day when they are fresh; and how many Kindergarten and first grade children are going to be fresh at 3:30 in the afternoon?
It was a further stinging blow because the other school gets state funds, is new, with state of the art classrooms, and many complain that this school seems to get everything it wants. Compared with my son's school, which was built in the 1950s, does not have air conditioning, and is in desperate need of many things. As you can image, the emails began to fly. Letter writing and phone call campaigns swung into action. Parents contacted the local media. The story was covered on television and in the newspaper. Parents were interviewed. They came off sincere and concerned, and understandably angry. The interim superintendent did not speak, but a spokesperson did. The board of education sent letters back in response to parents who wrote, saying the board had no say in the matter. Again, rumors that the board and the superintendent were not on the same page. While the stories in the media were fairly reported, they made clear the interim superintendent's decision was made without consulting families and without a thorough review of the impact of her decision on both schools. A survey went out on the local news facebook page asking whether schools should engage parents in decisions such as these. An overwhelming majority of respondents voted "yes."
Additional rumors and speculation began to circulate. Since there was no transparency, families had no way of knowing what the real reason was behind the decision. New businesses are set to open in the part of town near the other school. One is a large sports complex that is sure to draw thousands of participants from as far as 50 miles away. Speculation was that these businesses had put pressure on the Mayor's office to do something about traffic congestion that was sure to increase once these business open their doors. There were also rumors that a group of powerful middle school parents were putting pressure on the city because they didn't want their kids' busses to be delayed by traffic congestion.
The next thing we knew, the decision was officially "on hold." And the following week, our school's parent teacher organization secured a meeting with the interim superintendent. A new memo came home in backpacks. It stated that our bell time would remain the same. Victory! Now the reason given for the change was stated as a desire by the interim superintendent to provide students at our school with morning enrichment programs. Seemed like a face saving excuse to many.
The bottom line? If you pay taxes, if you feel you should have a say in how your kids' schools are run, you need to be involved and you need to speak up! Even people who were afraid to write letters and didn't know what to say, gave it a shot. Every voice counts. When it comes to our kids, and our families, we, as parents, need to be the strongest advocates.
Tags: advocates, board of education, buses, dismissal times, elementary school children, elementary school kids, families, fighting for rights, fighting the board of ed, inter-scholastic athletics, Margaret Hart, media, parents, school dismissal times, schools, superintendent, superintenent, taxpayers


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Sorry, just joined - currently in hospital for the first time, been here for a few days
I have had UC for 11 years, a d this is my first time inside.
From 8am to 2pm today I was only offered paracetamol and buscapan yet I was curled up on the hospital bed, complaining about the pain, and asking for more relief. I also was buzzing every 20mins, yet was simply told "the doctor has been informed". I didn't really realise what had happened until tonight and now I am very confused.
When asked to rate my pain I said it was around a "7" ... On my night of admission I was giving a rating of 8 and they gave me morphine.
Anyone had a similar experience? I wrote down a retrospective time breakdown of the day. I think I asked for additional pain relief around 15-20 times through buzzing the nurses. Happy to share the timeline if someone has advice.
Sorry if this is not an appropriate post. I was not sure where else to turn, or sure if I have made my point clearly above
First time in hospital immense pain without suitable pain relief
Use this forum for anything else colitis related. Strugling with the disease on a day to day basis - then somebody may be able to help you. Looking for some information - each topic in these forums are viewed by hundreds of other sufferers who may be able to help.
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Good Teachers--Guaranteed
To the Editor:
This spring, California State University-Long Beach will issue warranties with each of the 700 graduating student-teachers ("Warranty Pledges Help for Struggling Teacher Graduates," March 3, 1999). Under a policy adopted last month, the university guarantees job performance by its novice teachers. But unlike dysfunctional toasters, newly hired teachers cannot be returned for replacement. The university promises to send out education professors to assist any floundering teachers.
On the surface, this is a wonderful idea. The first year of teaching is enormously challenging whatever your preparation has been, and, without support, many talented new teachers simply throw up their hands and walk away. Thirty percent quit within the first five years. As for a warranty, I just don't think new teachers have much in common with household appliances. And a guarantee from a university that is busy training next year's 700 candidates seems improbable. Such a program garners headlines but is unlikely to solve real problems.
The place to support new teachers is in the schools. A guarantee meaningful to new teachers should come from their more experienced colleagues. It might look something like this:
"We, your new peers, promise to keep our doors open, to listen, to withhold judgment, to offer our best advice, never to say, 'I told you so,' when you ignore it. We promise to invite you to our after-school gatherings and to introduce you with gusto when you arrive. We promise to help you circumnavigate the campus and also such rules as must be circumvented. And on those days when an errant child has caused you to forget, we promise to remind you why you became a teacher in the first place. We solemnly swear to be there when you need us."
New teachers deserve nothing less.
Carol Jago
English Teacher
Santa Monica, Calif.
Regulations Fuel Classroom Exodus
To the Editor:
Jana S. Eaton's "The 'Excuse' Schools," March 10, 1999, is a great piece. She candidly describes the frustrations most teachers feel because of the federal government's interference in our classrooms. How can we deliver a high-quality product when we are not allowed to set reasonable expectations for our learning-disabled students to reach?
The federal laws governing the education of students with disabilities have turned classroom teachers into "enablers"--the result, "learned helplessness" on the part of our learning-disabled students. I believe that teachers are leaving the profession not only because of low salaries, but also because of the frustrations imposed on us by federal regulations, as interpreted and misinterpreted by those around us.
Donna Garner
Hewitt, Texas
Reform Target: Obsolete System
To the Editor:
While one can sympathize with Perry Oldham's concerns over intrusions and distractions in the classroom, ("Contending With Distraction," March 3, 1999), I feel compelled to respond to his theme in relation to the tone pervading much of what was reported in that issue.
The methods of education making news as we enter the 21st century appear to be basically the same as when we entered the 20th century. Reform revolves around calls for grade retention and teaching phonics. No matter who you are--governor, mayor, or anyone else--if you can say the phrases "retention vs. social promotion," "phonics vs. whole language," and "higher standards," you're an educational expert.
The next level of expertise involves a desire to maintain the sanctity of the safe, conventional classroom, that oasis that offers our children a temporary stay against confusion. This is far too simple. The reality is that, yes, our children are different from how they were in the past, our world is different, and, no, we or they are not going back to the way we were. As Neil Postman correctly points out in The End of Education, the central tenets that supported public education in ages past no longer exist, at least not in the form they were in before the advent of the information age. Technology has changed how students learn, but unfortunately not how we instruct. The real world's intrusions into the safe systems of the schools will only be increasing.
And simple attempts at reform will only increase the gap between what has to be done and what is being done. Serious school reform must mean implementing new and expanded curricula and instructional methods, using technology and assessments that require research and questioning. Thinking deeply and broadly about issues should underlie any actions we take. A yearly calendar, as opposed to an agriculturally based 180-day calendar, and research that is available and being used on a 7-day, 24-hour basis--as now exists outside our schools--should shape our educational system.
Today's typical reform advocate sees symptoms such as failing city schools and bored students, but fails to understand their source in outdated structures. They are treating symptoms, not causes, which is not a comforting vision for the future.
Leon Botstein writes in Jefferson's Children that "the problems we face have as much to do with motivation and linking learning to life in age-appropriate ways, as with defining proper tests and standards." The underlying cause for the dissatisfaction between the public's expectations and schools' performance is rooted in the dissonance between an aging, industrial-based organization and a modern, rapidly evolving information-age society.
Unless public educators take strong and dramatic steps to address underlying obsolescence in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and use of time and technology, the public will continue to focus on quick-fix solutions that will not only fail, but will, in doing so, further undermine public education.
Linking education to the real world, being compassionate, employing meaningful research, and ceasing to blame the students and their parents are the first steps to accepting responsibility and creating educational systems that fit our society.
Barnett Sturm
Superintendent of Schools
Cairo-Durham Central School District Cairo, N.Y.
More Testimony on Smaller Schools
To the Editor:
What a refreshing Commentary by Andrew Rotherham about the many advantages students receive at a small high school ("When It Comes to School Size, Smaller Is Better," Feb. 24, 1999). As an assistant principal at a small rural high school, I would offer a few more benefits:
The small size of my school gives me the opportunity to know all the students. With about 180 to 200 entering freshman each year, I can learn names and faces in about two weeks. This enables me to spot strangers who come on campus without permission or to cause trouble. Although large high schools usually have more than one assistant principal, recognizing nonstudents from among the 3,500 to 5,000 students on their campuses must be close to impossible for these administrators.
Students in a small high school also benefit from increased access to support services. Some students in large high schools invariably fall between the cracks because of the overwhelming problems all students bring to school. But our counseling department, even though understaffed, still has the ability to offer all of our students that extra help that can make their education successful. A small school also gives every student the opportunity to connect with someone else, so that no student feels totally alone. These connections can be with counselors, administrators, teachers, classroom aides, or community members.
The high school of the future needs to be no bigger than 600 to 700 students. Mr. Rotherham cites educational research to back up this statement. I offer my real-life experiences. Small high schools do provide students a better educational setting. The politicians in charge of school funding and construction must be made to realize that smaller is better.
Mark D. Babiarz
Assistant Prinicpal
Woodlake High School
Woodlake, Calif.
Essayist Defends Voucher Stance
To the Editor:
I'd like to reply to two letters written about my Commentary, "Bribing Students Out of Public Schools," Jan. 27, 1999. Leon J. Leonard, who chairs a county board of education in Georgia, takes me to task in his letter, primarily because I am a teacher-educator ("Voucher 'Bribes': Why Parents, Professors Disagree," Letters, March 10, 1999). He asserts that such people remain out of touch with public opinion, oppose rigorous academic standards, and, in general, prepare teachers poorly for their work. Although I would be pleased to debate these charges with Mr. Leonard, here I have only the space to say that none of his attacks on professors of education is responsive to the issues I raised in my Commentary, which dealt with private school enrollment trends and vouchers.
In my essay, I argued that voucher advocates' use of "exodus" metaphors to conjure up flight from public schools just doesn't square with reality. The share of K-12 students enrolled in private schools is not only low--about 11 percent--but it has been remarkably stable throughout this century and especially during the 1990s. Today, despite several decades of sustained criticism of public education, even families with the money to send their children to whatever schools they wish are not switching to private schools. Mr. Leonard ignores all these points, but he does respond to one thing I wrote: He objects to my characterizing vouchers as "bribes." David Lemire lodges the same objection in his letter ("Giving a Choice Is Not a Bribe," Letters, Feb. 17, 1999).
I stand by my use of the admittedly provocative word "bribes," although I don't mean to imply vouchers are necessarily an "inducement to do something dishonest or unethical," as Mr. Lemire claims. Bribes are indeed inducements, according to my dictionary, but not always to do something wrong. I believe private schools can be right for some children, and in my Commentary I went so far as to confess I can sympathize with arguments in favor of means-tested vouchers limited to poor and minority students. But, curiously enough, Messrs. Leonard and Lemire do not mention such students in their letters.
This telling omission lends support to the concluding point of my Commentary, a prediction that the current campaign for means-tested vouchers, if successful, will prove to be the opening move in a game of political strategy whereby the face value of vouchers will be increased and income restrictions will be eased. Eventually, middle- and upper-income families who are currently satisfied with their local public schools will not only become eligible for vouchers, they will be tempted to use them. Money talks. A family unwilling to switch to private schooling for, say, $1,000 per student will surely be more likely to make the move when the inducement rises to $3,500, $4,000, or $5,000. That's the way politics and markets work.
Voucher advocates realize that, of course, and those in their ranks who are determined to get students out of public schools will see to it that the bidding for students continues until an exodus finally occurs. And that will amount to using public money (which, as Mr. Leonard points out, comes from taxpayers' pockets) to bribe students out of public schools.
Joseph W. Newman
Professor and Chairman
Educational Leadership and Foundations
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Ala.
Vol. 18, Issue 29, Page 35-36
Vol. 18, Issue 29, Page 35-36
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Ticketmaster Announces a New Way to Screw Concertgoers: "Dynamic Pricing"
Ticketmaster pretends to care about the customer, but in reality nothing they have done in their entire history has ever lowered ticket prices to the public. This despite the huge scale of its operation, which should provide some cost efficiencies. It is a corporation, after all, and its reason for being is to squeeze every penny it can out of the shrinking wallets and pocketbooks of the people who attend live performances.
The fact that this ravenous corporate sponge has not made any inroads into the Berkshires is one reason our music, theatre and dance organizations are so much healthier than those other places who have to cede a large portion of their potential revenues over to "service" and "convenience" and "on line ordering" fees. These can amount to one third of the price of a ticket.
Over the years they have dreamed up new excuses for charging ticket buyers more, and today, they announced a doozie. It's dynamic ticket pricing, and it is based on the way airlines sell tickets – raising prices as the seats become fewer. What they want to do is to cut the scalpers out of the mix, and grab their profits, too.
Click here to read the rest of this story at Berkshire on Stage


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For non-academic use please inquire for pricing.
Cells are only guaranteed with purchase of Celprogen Media and Celprogen Extra Cellular Matrix for appropriate cell culture, for 30 days from the date of shipment.
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View Safety Data Sheet


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JLG Industries Australia is the supplier of choice for elevating work platforms, telescopic material handlers and mobile lighting towers. JLG manufactures the mobile lighting tower at our facility located in Port Macquarie NSW for various markets across Australia including hire and rental and mining applications. We pride ourselves on providing robust dependable designs with a high degree of reliability as demanded by our customers. The company has been a supplier of this type of equipment in Australia for over 30 years.
JLG chooses to use the Sincro brand of AC alternator in our light tower product based on a proven reliable design and excellent field performance of the machine. However buying a product is just one aspect that we take into consideration when choosing products to meet our needs and the needs of our customers. Equally important is after sales service and support together with the ability to work with our supplier on design and application. Sincro provides total support on its range of products which in turn provides JLG the level of comfort we need to be confident going forward in the sale of our products to meet the demands of the Australian market.
Gwyn Richardson - Branch Manager
Light Tower Manufacturing - JLG Industries Australia.
Sincro Australia has established, developed and serviced the market in Australia for the last 20 years. This has been achieved by a commitment to the market and providing excellent customer and technical support -backed by rigorous R&D initiatives. The result is Sincro is a leader in its field. This year with the support of the Soga Energy Group in Italy - Sincro increased its distribution reach into SE Asia with the establishment of its office in Singapore. The future looks very bright for this company that displays great Aussie entrepreneurial ingenuity.
Anthony Moss | CEO
Bemobile Solomon Islands is the second provider of mobile services in the Solomon Islands. It had established a total of 52 BTS sites throughout the country. These sites use the TELGEN 4890 DC Sincro generator as the main power source to provide battery re-charge for each sites battery bank.
Locations for these BTS sites vary in terms of the environment, some are situated within small urban towns so are reachable by vehicle. Some are located on smaller islands. Some are situated on coastal areas where the BTS is approximately 50 metres inland from the shore line. Some sites are as high as 300m above sea level on a mountain top for example. Most of these sites are in rural Solomon Islands. Where there is a TELGEN 4890 Sincro DC generator on site, it is the only power source feeding 48V dc power into a battery bank. The generator is solely used for battery re-charge purposes. So for a given 24 hour period the generator could be switched on and off from twice a day to even 4 times within the 24 hour period, depending on the number of batteries installed in the site battery bank.
The Telgen Sincro dc generators deployed in the Bemobile SI Ltd network are very reliable and consistent in its operations. To date we have not had any reports of burnt out winding failures or dc alternator burn-out. These generators have been working faithfully with minimal attendance. Each site has one generator working in a hybrid power solution. With this arrangement a solar array can be connected to supplement the battery re-charge process. Our opex savings is realised in the fact that the opex cost for dc generators is approximately half the cost of ac generator opex costs through the hybrid working arrangement.
Harry Zoleveke