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I've decided to join Rhea Freeman's '5 Things I'm Proud Of' challenge and will be adding one more thing each day until the 31st December!
1 – The Confidence To Make A Change
This started in 2017 when I made the big decision to leave my permanent contract teaching job and follow my dream to a live in job at boarding school stables, but this year (2018) I have made some more major changes.
Firstly, I decided to leave that job in order to return to the Cotswolds for my operation (with no future job lined up!) Three months into my recovery and feeling much better, I then made the decision to take a HLTA job (rather than try for a full time teaching one) alongside my self employed tutoring.
Both of these big changes have paid off for me so far but I am hoping I don't have such big decisions to make in 2019!
2 – Getting Out And About
It has certainly been a year of confidence growth! With a trailer and the commitment of my travelling head lad (boyfriend..) 2018 was meant to be a year for getting out and about with Pea. The hip replacement put a fairly big brake on this but we still managed to go out for lessons to two different places (in three different arenas). Riding in different arenas has been great for my confidence, we have now experienced an arena with no fence and been in an indoor arena for the first time ever!
Each time we go out the stress gets less as we establish our routines and roles. I am still nervous about travelling Pea (even though she travels fine) but the more we do it, the more settled I feel. I'm proud of us all for breaking out of our comfort zone.
The intention was to get out to competitions this year too but that wasn't meant to be.. hopefully we will have more success in 2019!
3 – My Recovery Journey
If you have ever visited my blog before you will know that in June I had a hip replacement. Quite aside from being proud that I actually did it in the first place (though I made that decision at the end of 2017), I'm proud of how I've made it out the other side.
I'm proud of myself for following the rules of my rehab, for doing my physio exercises, for getting back on my pony and 'living my life'.
I'm proud that I am now able to walk tall and (fairly) straight.
4 – Pea
As you can see in Pea's Year it has been a big year for Pea. After settling in to life in Malvern she went through the upheaval of moving back to Bourton with no stress or complaints.
After running away from my crutches before my operation, once my hip was done she couldn't have been more gentle and tolerant of me or the fact that she was being ridden by various tourists!
She responded to each stage of progress with interest and was almost unsure the day I led her out of the stable to get on! She has been pretty much impeccably behaved since, testing me only when I have been ready!
I'm proud of the willingness she has shown when my instructor has ridden her and I'm proud that we are finishing 2018 in a better position than we were at the beginning!
5 – My Blog
If you had asked me at the beginning of 2018 what I would be proud of by the end, the changes, the trailer travel, the operation and Pea would have all been very much on my list, I could never have predicted the fifth thing I'm proud of.
I started my blog with very little expectation or intention but I feel like I have achieved something with it!
- I am proud to have received messages and comments from people who have appreciated me sharing my story (some of whom live in a completely different country!)
- I'm proud to have been shortlisted and given an award in the Equestrian Blogger of the Year competition.
- I'm also proud to be writing again for a purpose other than work!


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One short month ago (or long, depending), I had just one class period to talk face-to-face with my students about what we hoped we could retain in in the change to distance-learning. On that last f2f day, I asked students (a) If they'd taken an on-line class before, what they liked/ hated about online learning; (b) What they most hoped we could preserve in our distance-ed class-space; and (c) What they were most worried about. Across three undergraduate classes, their responses were nearly unanimous. The gist of it:
- We like Zoom! We only like slides if you talk (screencast)
- We hate discussion boards where we have to reply to at least two posts
- We love your lectures and want to ask you questions
- We are worried about forgetting to come to class; if it's synchronous we think we'll more likely remember
- We are worried about forgetting assignments; please send us lots of reminders!
With these responses in-hand, my university generously gave us two weeks (one week + spring break) to get ourselves re-situated on-line. While managing my own anxiety about the situation and juggling family demands, I got to work. The first challenge? How to reconcile the fact that what my students emphatically wanted was counter to the recommendations for best practices in on-line teaching and learning. That is, they wanted synchronous zoom meetings. What to do?
Understanding that students don't always know what's good for them when it comes to "best-practices" in teaching and in learning, I first toyed around with screen-casting and all that entails. It didn't take long for me to realize that completely transforming my interactive f2f class formats to the "screen-cast-flip-discussion" style I was reading about would take a massive amount of effort on my part and would be met with a massive amount of disappointment by my students. That style of learning is not what they signed up for, when enrolling in a small liberal arts college known for it's student-centeredness. Indeed, I didn't think I really had the personal bandwidth to pull it off. So, also keeping in mind the fact that the current pandemic is deeply distressing and we need to give ourselves and others as much grace as we can, I decided to give my students what they asked for, and to give myself a break in the process.
So I decided on Zoom or bust. Relative to screen-casting (in my estimation anyway) the learning curve for fiddling with Zoom features was manageable, and was made all the more fun with the addition of a green screen. It didn't take long for me to see how I could use polling, break-out rooms, and the chat feature for active engagements. I can still show videos, and I can still digress when a student asked an engaging question. Regarding workload on the students' end, I made some adjustments too, given their stress levels and learning curves are quite high, as well.
At the end of the first week, I was heartened by my decision. I had excellent (near-perfect) attendance, despite the fact that many students had returned home thus we are now collectively scattered across three time zones. A sampling of student remarks about how the first few class periods went follows:
- Excellent! This was perfect!
- It felt like we were back in class
- It felt mostly regular, like I was in class again
- I loved it! I thought it was just as informative as our regular class
- I think today went good! I liked how we are able to still discuss and see you!
- I liked being able to see the PowerPoint and watch you talk at the same time. I liked the use of the mouse to point at things on the screen!
- Felt like a more normal lecture than expected. I like this set-up!! thank you!
- Today went well. It is easier to take notes now on the computer because I can take pictures of your notes and just listen more than have to worry about the notes I am writing. Felt like a normal class, loved it. Thank you
I am writing this now at the end of the second week and attendance has been great (not 100%, but it's not 100% in f2f classes either), student compliments and positive remarks continue, and I am finding reasonable work-arounds for students with scheduling and wifi issues that prevent smooth engagement. What have I done, to make this happen?
Honestly, just "little things." I hesitated to buy the green screen, but my husband knows me well and bought it anyways. I am so glad he did! The backgrounds for each class period are thematically related to the course topic of the day. The screen becomes a jumping off point for the material, and so we start off on a positive note. In-class review quizzes (something my students really like) are easy to do with polling. Think-pair-shares are easy to do with break-out rooms. Accountability is easy to do with the chat window. Students can still raise their hands whether in video feed or not. They can chat privately or publicly, and so we've retained what students wanted — the personal feel of our actual classrooms. I can't do everything I had planned in the f2f environment (I teach Cognitive Psychology and enjoy doing in vivo demonstrations in class, and I have pulled off some via Zoom, but not all, that I'd originally planned).
Other changes are also, to my mind anyways, small. In-class exams are now, of course, delivered through the LMS system. But to reduce stress (we have enough of that already), they are open-note and available for 24 hours. The learning is in the doing, after all. Rather than comprehensive finals, students will be revising unit-papers. This gets them back into the material again with a fresh eye, and with a purpose. That is, I have promised each class that I'll take their revised essays and create class e-books. Each class book has a theme and student essays will make up the chapters. I'm calling it the Covid-Keepsake Project. I am honestly excited about this new development.
With all this, rather than "zoom out," I am finding that many students are actually "zooming-in." Students who had not interacted much in my f2f environments are actually coming to our Zoom-room early to have a chat. Students who hide behind their computer screens in f2f class are showing me their faces in Zoom. Students who never raise their hand in class are writing in the chat window and sending me emails. As weird as it is to see many students in their bedrooms, as far as I am concerned, the semester is saved by the Zoom.
I understand, at the same time though, that it's working well because I had a positive f2f relationship with my students before "college in the time of Covid." I am under no illusion that what I am doing will always work this well. With the distinct possibility that our on-line learning situation may carry out into the next academic year I expect I'll need to take the best-practices with remote learning in-hand and give them more careful consideration. For the current time-being though, as imperfect as f2f synchronous learning can be, it was the right solution for me and my students this semester.

subset: commoncrawl


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I've always found that my patience seems to be most tested when my energy is at its lowest. It's no surprise that we become irritable and difficult when we're tired. This may be a slightly jumbled post, as I have a lot of thoughts that I'm trying to sift through today.
The problem is, I'm always tired. I'm always low on energy or close to it. The times when we most want to be angry and lash out are amongst the greatest challenges in life.
When we're happy, well-rested, well-fed and at ease, we can weather almost any difficulty in life. Yet, there is no challenge there.
There is no achievement in remaining cool when it's easy. It's about staying calm when life is throwing everything it has against you.
Whatever it is that wears us down, the only way to truly keep hold of our faculties, to keep our own desired integrity, is to be ever-vigilant of our own feelings.
It's a strange thing to talk about, for some. There are many and varied societal expectations on emotional expression. In some cultures its quite taboo, whereas in others its very open.
Here in Australia it can be mixed. It is worth understanding that everyone has their own unique manner of expression, but there are many amongst us who refuse to engage with themselves at an emotional level.
I'm not saying that people should always and forever pour out their deepest feelings to the world, but there must be a balance between that and being closed off. Before one can even express themselves to the world, they must be honest.
I've had a lot of experience with this. It starts with the decision – the choice – to be honest with myself. I need let myself feel whatever I feel, and understand that there's nothing wrong with emotions.
It took me a long time to not feel guilty whenever I feel anger, or resentment, or jealousy, or any number of negatively-connoted emotions. There is no pride in refusing to allow myself to feel something, in stifling any kind of emotional response.
In anger, for example, it is better that I experience that anger so that I may understand the source of it. If I do not want to be angry, or to hurt others because of it, I must deal with its source before I can hope to beat it. Stifling anger itself is an unhealthy form of avoidance.
Recently I've attempted to approach most circumstances in life with equanimity. It is a key part of the philosophy of life that I pursue.
This kind of attitude of calmness and perseverance is not to be confused with an emotional disconnection of any kind. It is about dealing with difficulties by responding to them thoughtfully instead of impulsively.
When something bad happens, rather than reacting immediately, it's better to ask "how could this have been worse?" or perhaps even "does this really matter?"
Things rarely seem so bad when you look at them in a different light, from a different perspective. The end of equanimity is to allow the bad perceptions we have of things wash over us, and thus deal with anger and negativity without letting it consume us. It ends if we let such negative perceptions get the better of us.


text: This was European Collaboration Summit 2019 Monday, June 3, 2019 7:00 AM Toni Pohl The European Collaboration Summit (ECS), also known as #collabsummit, is the largest community-driven conference in the world with a focus on modern workplace technologies and digital transformation. Experts from around the world informed about topics such as Microsoft 365, Azure, SharePoint, AWS, business apps and more. We were happy to be part of that great event in May 2019 in Wiesbaden, Germany. See some impressions here. Azure | Cloud | English | Event | Microsoft | MVP | Microsoft365 | Office365 | atwork | SharePoint | Developer | Office Mediumlink | Permalink | Comments (0) | Post RSS mehr


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There's a fishing pole in the rafters
out on the front porch of this house on the river
He bought it one day, convinced it would quiet the chaos
Give him some zen
A fly rod, dancing the line out over the water
Enticing bass
He tied a few flies. I wouldn't know
If they're any good. But he was proud of
Those lures.
He only went a couple of times. The zen didn't happen
The calm didn't come
But he had one perfect day on the water
With his dad, casting the line
Casting, dancing, searching
One day is something, at least
The rod stays with the house.
It's where it belongs. Here in this haven that was his cage
His safety net
His noose.


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David Bowie 'Space Oddity' LP
2015 remaster. 180 gram vinyl.
The album, produced by Tony Visconti (bar 'Space Oddity' itself which was produced by the late Gus Dudgeon), was a giant leap forward in terms of songwriting for Bowie compared to his eponymous debut, and can be considered as the first truly essential David Bowie album. Noted for a list of collaborators, including session players Herbie Flowers, Tim Renwick, Terry Cox and Rick Wakeman, the album delves into psychedelic folk-rock, as well as prog, with its genre-defying template creating a blueprint of what would become over the next decade and more, one of the most inimitable British artists.
Catalogue number: 0825646287390
Condition: New
Label: Parlophone


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It may seem like stripping down your original material in order to transform it into a completely new work is becoming the hot new trend right now, but for My Morning Runner frontman Jim James, it makes total sense. Returning earlier this year to share his latest solo album 'Uniform Distortion', the singer-songwriter has taken those extremely personal tracks and released as incredibly intimate serenades looking to warm your heart every step of the way.
This move is completely the right idea for someone like Jim James. His solo work has always looked to be a more minimal apparition when compared to his usual material within a band, and this new collection just adds that extra layer of understanding for the listener to really get under the skin of his compositions. Recorded in a very basic way with little to no added production, this new record not only highlights his stunning voice in even more context, but cements him as one of the most captivating singer-songwriters we have heard in years.
Those that enjoyed 'Uniform Distortion' will certainly be impressed with this new selection of reworks as the frontman swoons his way through each track, creating a beautifully effortless release in the process. Companion pieces are sometimes a large gamble but Jim James looks to have pulled this one off with sheer gusto and aplomb.


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By TOM WHITUS
SANTA MONICA, Calif.—I've been in the film business full time since 1998 and directed four films between 1998 and 2002. But it had been nearly three years since I went to the American Film Market with a film to market, so it was especially exciting late last fall to attend the event with "The Devoured," a low-budget horror film my company co-produced with Louisville-based KDM.
Granted, the film was shot in October and was nowhere near completed, but we had artwork and a promotional trailer, both more than good enough to spark interest from sales agents at this genre-dominated market.
Horror films are a great low-budget product, because you can cast unknown non-union actors and generally use one or two scary locales. And, because fear is a primal human emotion, horror films sell worldwide — from Wild and Woolly Video here to late-night television in Prague and pay-per-view in Thailand.
I attended AFM with "The Devoured" producer Sheila Frampton and KDM business manager Brad Allen. It was their first time at AFM. Since I remembered my first time walking through the lobby at the Loews Santa Monica in early 1998, I felt compelled to walk them through the process. As it turned out, they were more than up to the challenge of taking it all in and marketing "The Devoured" to the sales agents.
For the uninitiated, the American Film Market is in its 26th year, and is held at a luxury hotel in which the rooms are emptied of beds and tables and turned into offices for sales agents and distributors from around the world.
One thing to remember at AFM: The drinks at the lobby bar are too expensive. So I made sure they joined me across the street at Chez Jay's, a dive hangout bar and restaurant with great food, affordable drinks and saloon doors.
Across the street from the Santa Monica Pier, Chez Jay's has been open since 1958 and has hosted some pretty hip cats — Frank Sinatra, Eva Gardner and Warren Beatty, to name a few.
I was there last year with Jim Petersmith, an old friend and actor in many of my films, when Adam Goldberg showed up. Jim had acted in "The Hebrew Hammer" and knew Adam, so we talked for a little while. Nice guy.
I can't say as I've had any other sightings at Chez Jay, but I go there for the food anyway.
Speaking of Petersmith, he was in "The Devoured," along with Nathan Todaro, both of whom have homes in Los Angeles and joined me in hanging out at the market — Jim because he likes the beach, and Nathan just to soak in the scene and learn some things about the film business.
That said, most actors at the market are looking for work. Combine that with directors and producers looking to sell the films they've made to sales agents who are looking to sell the films they've already got and, well, it can get a little convoluted.
The top of the food chain, therefore, is the buyer. Every sales agent wants the buyer to stop by his or her booth, and will only meet with filmmakers as time allows. Every filmmaker wants to meet with a sales agent, and will talk to actors about future projects — only when time allows. It's fun.
So I'm walking around the lobby of the Santa Monica Loews, a large area that smells faintly of overpriced cologne and desperation (a heady combination), when a talent manager stops me in front of the Mercedes product placement booth.
I'd known her when she represented Diane Ladd and Sean Young, both of whom I had cast in earlier films. Those days behind her, she was repping Fred "The Hammer" Williamson and wanted to know if I had anything for him.
That led to a sitdown with Fred, a nice guy who produces as well as acts. He's perfect for the AFM crowd, a "name" who has worked with Tarantino and Rodriguez but who is still approachable.
After a quick chat with Fred in the lobby, I was back to speaking with some of the sales agents about "The Devoured." Meanwhile, Sheila and Brad made some great new contacts before the day ended at 6 p.m.
Somewhere along the line we all scored passes to a party that night, hosted by a sales agent who was marketing a horror film that seemed to be shot entirely in the daytime. Maybe not, but it sure seemed that way. Good party, free drinks and it was on the Promenade in Santa Monica. Which meant it was close to the King's Head Pub.
Where, as the veteran AFMer, I was compelled to take the gang. It is widely known that when visitors from the United Kingdom fly into LAX, they promptly get to the King's Head Pub. Horsehair dart boards, pints of Guinness and football (soccer) from some stadium in the UK playing on the tele. And, as Sheila found out, no shortage of vomit on the floor.
My sightings at the King's Head include Robert Forster and Bryan Brown, both of whom are nice folks and who didn't mind sharing a drink and a little conversation. I met neither of them on this particular night, but I did enjoy a Stella Artois.
Just so the reader doesn't think I spent the entire AFM on some drunken tour of Los Angeles, I must point out that every day was spent in the search of a sales agent who can make the most of the "The Devoured" when it is completed in early 2006. Speaking for myself, I do some of my best work when slightly hungover.
Brad and Sheila, meanwhile, were the picture of professionalism, taking it easy at night and working hard during the day.
Overall, this AFM was a great success for those of us from Louisville who made the trip. I got to see how my other films were doing, and I saw some films that were made locally, from Vin Morreale Jr.'s "Breaking and Entering" to "Forbidden County," made by locally based Cine-Vera Motion Pictures.
I was also able to speak with some of the folks who made "Death Tunnel," a locally produced horror film that is doing very well in the marketplace. It's one of those success stories that make me believe we're on the right track with "The Devoured."
Lastly, I can't say a word about AFM without mentioning a conversation with local-guy-made-good David Heavener, singer-actor-director-producer (you name it), graduate of the old Durrett High School and a renaissance man of sorts. Heavener has been at the AFM game for years, and he, too, hopes to make a film in Louisville one day.
And that was the theme of the market, I suppose, at least for me. All of the filmmakers wanted to make a film in (insert hometown), the actors wanted to act in said films, and the sales agents wanted to sell them.
That left the buyers, again at the top. For them, it was buy, buy. Or bye-bye.
Tom Whitus is a Louisville filmmaker and freelance writer. Contact him at [email protected]


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Queen Rania lays cornerstone for National Museum
(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah laid the cornerstone for the National Museum at the heart of Amman in Ras El Ein on Sunday, celebrating the Kingdom's rich and diverse history and culture and the country's commitment to showcase and preserve local treasures for future generations.
During the ceremony, the Minister of Public Works and Housing, the Mayor of Amman, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism highlighted the Museum as a national landmark and a vital resource to preserve and promote Jordan's cultural heritage and identity. Participants further commended the Japanese Government's support to the project as well as other initiatives in the tourism sector.
On his part, His Excellency the Japanese Ambassador to Jordan highlighted the strength of bilateral relations between Japan and Jordan, and the role the Museum will play in promoting Jordan's rich and diverse history to both local and international audiences.
The cornerstone laying ceremony was attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Sumayya Bint El-Hassan as vice-chairman of the National Museum Board of Trustees, other members of the Board, the Japanese Ambassador to Jordan, representatives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project's Japanese consultants PCI, and representatives from the Japanese construction firm Jurgon Consultants Pte. Ltd/ Synergy Construction Pte. Ltd.
Construction works on the three-storey 10,000 square meter Museum began earlier this year with an eye on opening its doors to the public by mid 2007. Exhibits within the main exhibition halls will span the country's history from the Great Arab Revolt to the modern Jordan of today and will take visitors through an exciting journey of the many historical civilizations which inhabited the land of Jordan.
Following the ceremony, Queen Rania chaired the National Museum's second Board of Trustees meeting at the King Hussein Cultural Center.
Her Majesty stressed that the meeting marks a new phase in the project's development and requires expanding synergies between the private and public sector as well as the local community, in addition to creating new partnerships with specialized and expert institutions both locally and internationally.
The meeting included several presentations on the Museum's positioning within the Tourism Sector Development Project, the project budget, plans to expand the Museum to include a children's interactive area, as well as a presentation on the Museum exhibit content.
مواضيع مختارة
موقع جلالة الملكة رانيا العبدالله الرسمي
هذا الموقع الإلكتروني لا يدعم متصفحات الإنترنت القديمة. الرجاء تحديث متصفح الإنترنت إلى نسخة أحدث من إنترنت إكسبلورر 9
متصفح الإنترنت الذي تستخدمه قديم. لتحسين مستوى الأمان عند تصفح مواقع الإنترنت و مشاهدتها بالشكل الصحيح و بفعالية افضل قم بتحديث متصفح الإنترنت الخاص بك


text:
Let's say we have a space ship and it's moving at some velocity. It's not accelerating — its drives are off — it's just drifting. There is nothing to slow it down in space (no air resistance or other interesting friction sources) and nothing to speed it up. There's no reason for it to change direction. It's just going to keep going at this speed in this direction forever. For simplicity we'll use units of meters per second and consider time in 1 second increments.
We can represent this situation like so:
On the right is our space ship and on the left is a vector indicating its velocity. In one second, the ship will be at the end of the arrow: its length indicates how far the ship will move in our 1 second tick. It's predicting the future for our space ship. This will go on forever.
Now if we want to turn, we can't just steer — there's no surface to get traction on, no wheels to redirect our momentum. The only tools we have are rotation and thrust. So that's what we do. We rotate and we turn on the drive for a while, adding more velocity which we represent as a second vector in the direction of our burn. We can use the vector to find out where we'll be next: we add a vector to the end of the existing one but at the angle of our burn.
So where will we be after our next tick? Well the trick with vectors is you add them nose to tail, preserving the angles, and then find the hypotenuse (sticking two vectors together gives you two sides of a triangle, and your new vector is the missing side of it!)
And we'll see that with that little 40-odd degree turn and burn (adding velocity!) our new vector has us starting to turn to the left. But we are also going faster than before! And we're not pointing in the direction we're travelling. This, in my opinion, summarizes a great deal of what's weird about travelling in space compared to a road vehicle — you can only add velocity, the direction you're pointing in determines the direction of acceleration and nothing else, and you need to spend an awful lot of fuel to make an interesting change of direction. Let's try that turn again but much more sharply.
We're really cranking the wheel over here! The same rules for adding vectors apply of course so we get a final vector of:
Well that's a tighter turn! Notice a few things. We're totally pointing away from our direction of travel for one. For another, our vector is shorter: we've managed to slow down by adding velocity in a direction that partially opposes our initial vector. So now we know that the only way to slow down is the same as everything else in space travel: add velocity.
This is why in the latest rev of Diaspora we only track a space craft's "delta-v" or its total ability to change its velocity. Everything about how it moves, how fast it moves, and where it goes depends on this value. It's how you start, how you steer, and how you stop. And, when you're out, you just follow that vector forever.
Well surely not forever. What if there's a planet in the way? I'm glad you asked. Same rules.
So when you travel near another significant mass, it continuously adds a vector for you, whether you accelerate or not. So let's say we're passing by a planet. We have our existing vector but we also add a new one that points to the center of the mass and has a size (magnitude, we say) related to the total mass. Planets add pretty big vectors.
And the result is:
Wow! Notice a few things here. First, you don't fall into the planet if you already have a big enough vector. If we had a smaller (or no) vector, we'd splat on the surface. But we fall past it! Precisely choosing altitude and vector is how we go into orbit: we just keep falling forever around the planet. But that's not what this maneuver is going to do. The other thing to notice is that we are going way way faster than before — we've taken a ton of delta-v from the planet itself! Since delta-v is in such short supply, this has to be a useful move! We sometimes call it a slingshot maneuver, and it's a very common way to get real spacecraft long distances in a relatively short period of time. Let's look at the next second in this picture.
So now our two vectors are our original vector and the gravitational vector, which points to the center of mass of our planet:
Which gives us a result of:
We are going even faster now! All for free! And in a radically new direction.
Now, reality doesn't actually progress in one second increments, so to find our actual path of travel we'd need to start looking at smaller increments. Do the vector addition every tenth of a second, every millionth of a second, refining and refining the path. This would be calculus, and we would see our actual path is a smooth curve. But the principle is the same and the result we care about is the same: we can steal velocity from planets.
In space all you can control is the change in your velocity, but you can steal velocity from planets. Another time we'll talk about stealing negative velocity.
a note on gaming
This post is not about a game. You could game this way — it's easy to see how you could do that, using counters or miniatures. It's already been done too — Traveller, Triplanetary, Mayday, and even in 3-dimensional space in Vector-3. It's not news for gaming. But my game targets people who don't know the physics and maybe don't care about it, but need a context to understand the design decisions that are based on physics. I will be leaning heavily into abstraction but you need to understand what you're abstracting first.


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Corky's Corner: Getting to the roots of the shortboard
By Corky Carroll
ContributorI recently got an e-mail asking me for my take on who was really responsible for the shortboard revolution that took place in the late 1960s. Was it the Californians or the Australians?
This subject has been debated for so long and I have read and heard so many different opinions on it that I hate to even offer my opinion on it. But I will anyway because I was deeply involved in that movement and for some reason, that I don't fathom, hardly ever get any credit for. It's not really not getting the credit thing that bugs me as much as those who take credit for these things when they shouldn't. So anyway, here is the way I saw it all come down from a front-row seat.
In the mid 1960s California surfing was in love with noserideing. There was even a special noseriding contest that Tom Morey, of Morey Boogie fame, put on with a cash prize — the first cash prize ever offered. We were also riding pretty long boards at the time, mostly 9'6" and up. In '65, Mickey Munoz, Phil Edwards and Hobie Alter came up with the "noserider" design for the Morey contest and that caught on big time. It seemed that they worked better in longer versions. Mine was 9'10."
In 1966, the World Championship was held in San Diego. The Californians were favored. But we had heard about Nat Young doing some great things with a new board design and when he showed up it was apparent that he was onto something. His board was not really different than ours other than it was shorter. His was 9'2" — and him being a fairly large guy made it seem even smaller.
On the first day of the contest both David Nuuhiwa and I were able to beat him in sizeable lefts at Mission Beach. But then the event moved to smaller right-handers at Ocean Beach and he just flat out creamed all comers. When it was over he had clearly won and it was also clear to me that the shorter board length was the direction of the future.
Right after the contest got over with I started experimenting with all kinds of different shorter board designs. Dewey Weber made a little board for a girl surfer named Joey Hamasaki that was interesting but too square in shape for my taste. I borrowed a board from Mike Hynson that was pretty cool and I liked the nose outline a lot. I wound up using that outline along with a combination of the different experiments on the original "Mini Model" which we released at the end of 1966 and sold through 1967. That board was the first "shortboard" on the market.
These boards where not all that short by today's standards, but for then they were radical. When I look back on those boards now they look like dinosaurs. I won almost every contest that year on boards in the 8' range. Nobody else was riding short boards yet so I kinda had a huge advantage. I took some smaller boards to Hawaii that winter and everybody thought I was nuts. Dick Brewer told me flat out that they would never ride short boards in Hawaii.
By the end of '67, the writing was on the wall and everybody was thinking "shorter." Brewer made Gary Chapman a 8'11" semi gun and that board is called "the first mini gun."
The Aussies showed up in Hawaii with a fleet of short wide "vee bottoms." They had great results at Honolua Bay on Maui, but they spun out on the thick-faced waves on the North Shore.
In 1968 everybody was making short boards and within a couple of years longboards almost ceased to exist except in garages and under houses. Between late '67 and the end of '72 the most radical transformation in equipment took place. By then the boards were heading in the direction of where they are now. It's been constant refinement since then and newer and better technology and materials.
So, getting back to the question at hand. Who was responsible for the shortboard revolution? If I had to pick out the one thing that triggered the whole thing and one person that I would give the credit to it would have to be Nat Young. It was his excellent surfing and powerful attack that won him the World title and certainly opened my eyes to a different and better way to do it. Here in California myself, Dewey, Hynson and maybe a few others were the ones who led the way — and Bob McTavish and a slew of others in Australia. But it was Nat Young who should get the nod for bringing on the shortboard revolution — in my opinion.
Corky is a five-time U.S. and three-time international surfing champion, currently offering surf adventure trips to surf with him at his home near Zihautanejo, Mexico. Send comments to


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A plea for pings
Blogs I would read a lot more often if only they pinged weblogs.com when they updated:
Without pings, they languish at the bottom of my blogroll where I won't notice or visit them. My blogroll is my only mechanism for keeping track of the blogs that I read regularly—aggregators just don't do it for me, and with tabbed browsing my blogroll is almost as efficient for staying up to date.
It doesn't have to be weblogs.com—a ping to blo.gs would be just as effective.


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18th October 2012
See also this related blog post
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
On 17th October 2012, it finally became public knowledge that
disgraced Chief Internal Auditor David Garry – who had perversely
and inexplicably given the disgraced HESPE contract 3 stars – had
received permission, to leave his employment with Wirral Council.
Above is a link to a news story published today in the
Wirral Globe, which reported this matter, along with the departure
of the suspended Director of Law, Bill Norman. Once again, the
comments beneath the article indicate the strength of feeling
amongst a still outraged public.
The former CEO, Jim Wilkie, who himself is the subject of another
freedom of information request, currently breaching the FOI Act:
…admitted to years of learning disabled abuse by the council.
This was followed by the departure of two senior social services
officers in January of this year. It is still not clear whether
these two individuals WERE leaving as a result of their involvement
in abuse AND whether they signed compromise agreements with gagging
clauses. As of today, despite several assurances, Wirral have not
responded to the following FoI request and are many months overdue
and again in breach of the FOI Act:
Despite the fine words trotted out in Appendix S2 of the Anna
Klonowski "Refresh and Renew" Supplementary Report, the Wirral
public have still yet to see any sign of accountability or a
reckoning towards the as yet anonymous employees who perpetrated
this sustained abuse against learning disabled people over a period
of several years – which totalled over £700,000 plundered from
their bank accounts.
There were also abuses of power, as found by two independent
investigations – but which remain unpunished, and an admission to
learning disabled abuse here (See 7.1):
Please provide all information you have which is connected to the
departure of Mr Garry. This will relate to meetings, hearings,
discussions, reports, and may be stored in the form of recorded
minutes, verbatim and non-verbatim notes, emails, letters, memos,
aide memoirs, documents, whether electronically or manually stored.
Please confirm and provide full details of the existence of any
payments made to Mr Garry in relation to his departure. This will
include precise amounts, the method of payment and the budget from
which the payment was / is to be derived.
Please confirm details of the existence of any "compromise
agreement" or "confidentiality agreement" or "compromise
contract"or "confidentiality contract" agreed and signed by Mr
Garry in relation to this departure or to his involvement in abuse
or malpractice. This will include confirmation and description of
any 'gagging clauses' and whether a positive / neutral / negative
reference was provided regarding potential future employment.
In light of the [strangely] recent discovery by Wirral's NOW
EX-Chief Internal Auditor David Garry that "compromise contracts"
were NOT being recorded but were being arranged behind closed
doors, beyond any councillor scrutiny and beyond view of the
…please describe the exact process that was followed and supply the
documents, reports, aide memoirs, notes, etc. that were created and
recorded as part of the NEW process. Please take a deep breath
before you do this, and ponder your overriding duty to act not out
of self-interest, but fairly and impartially in the unbending
service of us the public.
Please provide the names and addresses of all organisations /
bodies involved in providing legal advice to Mr Garry. Please also
provide details of meetings which occurred including times, dates
and matters discussed.
Please confirm the details of any disciplinary charges either
planned or levelled against Mr Garry in relation to any failures /
malpractice / abuse which may or may not have brought about his
departure from the Council.
If Mr Garry was provided with a "clean bill of health" regarding
his time served at the council, please provide a copy of this /
these document(s).
Please redact documents as you see fit, and remove any personally
sensitive information in accordance with the requirements of the
Data Protection Act."
Please confirm which meetings have taken place. Presumably there
will have been at least one gathering called to scrutinise the
so-called "compromise contract" that was drawn up and agreed,
Yours faithfully,
Paul Cardin
For further context and background information, see the story of Nigel Hobro, an accountant of 30 years' standing, working for Wirralbiz, who blew the whistle on alleged malpractice at Wirral Council, attached to the BIG (Business Investment Grant) Fund:
Mr Hobro has taken his issues to an employment tribunal, which was recently postponed due to a contributor's illness. Presumably he will have lodged a case against his former employer WirralBiz for discrimination or for unfair or constructive unfair dismissal ~ which is often what happens to whistleblowers. The messenger is attacked.
Mr Hobro has also made some revealing remarks in the comments pages of the local media and has been very keen in his blog to get his message out there.
The story was continued in the Liverpool Daily Post during the last week of September 2012 on page 9. However for some reason, there is no web link to the story.
Here's a WhatDoTheyKnow request, lodged in May this year, but not yet answered by the council five months on. It is now at appeal with the Information Commissioner's Office.
UPDATE 14th March 2013
The following updating story re: whistleblower Nigel Hobro and the BIG / ISUS / Working Neighbourhoods issues has appeared today in the Wirral Globe:
This is a story which is developing, growing legs and is going to need a separate blog of its own….
Here are some further links to earlier articles, which were posted by Nigel Hobro on the Wirral Globe's comments pages:
UPDATE 18th March 2013
There's been a further development with this FoI request – the one relating to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the departure of former chief internal auditor David Garry.
The council have now responded, withholding the information I asked for with the claim that my request is 'vexatious' and the manner of my conduct 'obsessive'. I will be developing a separate post to discuss these issues…. here.


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A popular New Year's resolution is to get fitter and healthier, so in the spirit of this, the folks at Shoe Zone decided to take a slightly different angle on things and find out how many calories you would burn if you climbed each of the world's tallest buildings and landmarks. The results are slightly surprising, as you can see in the following infographic.
[Click image for full size version]


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Apart from being a well known retailer, we are also known for our distribution network. The network encompasses around 1000 dealers covering across Goa. The network encompasses dealers from the range of hardware, electrical, plumbing, paints and cement. Our routes spread from the north to the south, covering every possible area of Goa.
This has been possible only after exploring several methods of delivery within our distribution system. We always strive to better our system in a practical and feasible way to provide the best service possible.
Our motto for doing business with dealers is 'Dukan aapka Godown humara'. Through flawless service we strive to minimize inventory and maximize turnover for our dealers. Warehousing more than 15000 SKU's across approximately 29 brands, we stand by the claim of providing unbeatable service for our dealers.
With a team of 25 on the front line of our distribution channel, we have been able to deliver and maintain fruitful relations with our dealers across Goa since 1998.


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Longtime Baldwin athletic director Jon Garcia has retired.
Garcia, 63, spent 34 years at the school, including 20 as AD. He also spent 23 seasons as basketball coach, molding the Bears into one of the state's most successful teams.
Former baseball coach Kahai Shishido is the interim AD.
Siena, in New York, is a smaller school with big accolades. The Saints played in the NCAA volleyball tournament last season, where they were the first victim of eventual champion Washington.
"I feel super relieved. I have some place to go and I don't have to worry about finding a school. And I'm excited to leave," said Robello, who played just about every position for Punahou during her four years on varsity.
At Siena, she will focus on libero. She will also be a backup setter.
"I hope I can play right away, but I'll still work as hard as I can," said Robello, who has seen the Saints play.
"They have this really good outside hitter from Trinidad, and their setter was really good."
Two former Buffanblu, Kathi Kobayashi and Robin Beck, played last season.
"Kathi played back row and she dug everything," Robello said.
"They had a young team, a lot of sophomores and juniors. There were only two seniors."
Robello plans to major in child psychology or business.
Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis by the host, Moanalua High School's football program. Only 150 players will be accepted. The camp, June 12-17, is open to youths 12 to 14.
A medical waiver/physical exam is required.
"That's why we need the kids to get this done early, way before the camp starts," Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez said.
The waiver form is available at www.moanaluafootball.com.
For more information, call 368-7673.
Bucky Aona, Punahou: Hit two home runs with five RBIs against Saint Louis.
Michael D'Alessio, Kailua: Pitched a two-hitter in a win over Castle.
Macanas Delbert, Leilehua: Went 5-for-5 with four RBIs at Nanakuli.
Corey Fujishige, Pearl City: Went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs against Leilehua.
Wally Marciel, Iolani: Fired a one-hit shutout and fanned 10 against Damien.
Brett Nakasone, Leilehua: Needed just 58 pitches in a five-inning, one-hit shutout at Nanakuli.
Joshua Suguitan, Leilehua: Went 4-for-5 at Nanakuli.
Darren Takemoto, Kalani: Went 4-for-4 with seven RBIs in a win over Kahuku.
Jason Tamanaha, Pearl City: Pitched a three-hitter as the Chargers downed Leilehua.
Scott Uehara, Kaiser: Went 4-for-4 with two runs scored at McKinley.
Rick Yoshikane, Kailua: Went 4-for-5 with two triples and two RBIs against Farrington.
Nicole Fu, Maryknoll: Scored 29 points in a win over Kamehameha.
Courtney Gaddis, La Pietra: Scored 25 points in a win over Punahou II.
Jodi Kamemoto, Hawaii Baptist: Scored 24 points against Iolani II and 28 against Kamehameha II.
Tatriana Lorenzo, Kamehameha: Scored 18 points as the Warriors upset No. 1 Iolani.
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy: Scored 31 points in a win over Hanalani and 37 in a win over Iolani II.
Kimberly Meyerowitz, Waialua: Scored 20 points, including a game-winning basket with 16 seconds left, against Waianae.
Sharde Pratt, Kaiser: Scored 26 points in a win over Farrington.
Iwalani Rodrigues, Roosevelt: Scored 20 points in a win at Kahuku.
Artevia Wily, Kahuku: Scored 26 points in a win over Farrington.
Evan Nagano, Pearl City: Carded a 75 to share OIA West first-place honors.
Iris Okariza, Moanalua: Shot a 73 to pace the OIA East girls.
Jared Sawada, Mililani: Carded a 75 to share first-place honors in OIA West play.
Samantha Cabreros, Punahou: Won the long jump (17 feet, 34 inches) and triple jump (36-1).
Anthony Taylor, Kamehameha: Won the long jump (20-10) and triple jump (42-11 1/4).
Kinohi Warrington, Kamehameha: Won the 100 (11.2 seconds) and 200 (23.09).
Nicole Hagi, Kapolei: Scored seven goals in a win over Mililani.
Valentina Knudson, Mililani: Scored five goals in a win over Aiea.
Greta Morgan, Radford: Scored five goals in a win over Moanalua.
Liana Rapoza, Castle: Scored nine goals in a win over Moanalua.


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In horror, queer women have always been subject to their own version of the virgin/whore dichotomy: predator or sex object. Colin Minihan's thriller 'What Keeps You Alive' offers not only a burst of fresh air, but hope for a new generation of queer audiences.
As with any type of media depicting specific parts of the human experience, the different iterations of queer stories tend to have patterns to consistently fall back on. From the saccharine-sweet but somewhat unsatisfying love stories where no queer character can seem to do wrong, to the more insidiously negative depictions of queerness as a predatory trait, or simply the token gay, functioning only as an attempt to weakly convince the audience of some diversity of narrative, there are a few tropes that are simply impossible to ignore. Obviously not all cinema conforms to these rules, and films made by queer people are often a whole lot more nuanced than those produced by heterosexual and cisgender filmmakers (at this time of year, lists of excellent queer horror movies float around the internet, and I highly recommend many of them!). However, within the mainstream, each genre seems to have its own interpretation of being LGBT. The romantic-comedy has had the gay best friend. The drama has had the tortured, sometimes homophobic, closeted gay person struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. Horror has the gay man or lesbian as a predator, obsessed with a straight protagonist, often to the point of murder. While all of these tropes are harmful in their own ways, horror is such an inherently political genre with its power to define morality and villainy, that the constant depiction of LGBT characters as predatory is particularly worrying. It's an understatement to describe it as exhausting.
Against a backdrop of such monotonous and toxic character tropes, Colin Minihan's 2018 horror-thriller What Keeps You Alive is a jolt of electric. Set deep in the Canadian wilderness, What Keeps You Alive follows Jules and Jackie, a recently married couple spending their anniversary at Jackie's parents' secluded holiday-home. As the trip progresses, Jules begins to realise that her wife may not be all she seems to be, as she begins to find out more and more about Jackie's childhood. After a visit from their only neighbour within several square miles, who calls Jackie by a different name, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Jackie is not who she says she is. Minihan does a masterful job of keeping the tension high, and you can feel on a physical level just how isolated the pair are in both the forest and in their own relationship. Only two other characters feature in the movie (and only on an insignificant level) making this very much a queer movie. I won't spoil the movie, it is certainly one that deserves to be experienced first-hand and while it's not an open scare-fest, it is guaranteed to leave you on the edge of your seat. What Keeps You Alive plays with its audiences emotions deftly, with Jules' visceral fight for survival and glimmers of quickly dashed hope likely to have you screaming at the screen. Minihan's script does away with gender binaries that might lead you to expect certain things from certain characters and the incredible performances from Brittany Allen as Jules and Hannah Emily Anderson as Jackie are brutally beautiful in a way that stayed with me for days after the movie finished.
On the surface, What Keeps You Alive might appear as a run-of-the-mill, predator-prey story. As much as the specifics of that dynamic are played with through the non-heterosexual elements of the story, it would be easy to dismiss this film as a simple, formulaic premise, with a lesbian couple injected into the narrative (indeed, the original script featured a heterosexual couple, which arguably would have made the film far more conventional), but what makes it feel so fresh is the departure it takes from typical depictions of LGBT people, especially lesbians, in horror. The lives of LGBT people on screen was dictated for decades by the Hays Code, a supposed moral guide for filmmakers to follow which declared that 'No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin'. Surprise, surprise which groups were most maligned by the guide. While the Hays Code was technically voluntary, many studios looked to it as a guiding influence in the production of film from 1930 to 1966, influencing an entire new generation of filmmakers. While many filmmakers made excellent work subverting the Hays Code, many were left with one of two choices: depict LGBT people sympathetically, only to have their stories end in tragedy so as to avoid condoning their lifestyles, or to depict LGBT people unsympathetically, as villains and predators. The horror genre typically leaned towards unsympathetic portrayals of anything that could even be vaguely associated with LGBT people, including more feminine-presenting men and more masculine-presenting women, hiding queerness in subtext, but nevertheless being perfectly clear regarding who was a hero and who was not. The 1970s brought a new generation of horror, in which lesbians were depicted with the almost exclusive purpose of titillating audiences. The male gaze was all that mattered, and in an era of increasing liberation for queer women, the position of sex object in B-movies is one that reminds us of the progress that is still to be made. Which brings us to today.
In the 21st century, these tropes have become amalgamated, reformed in modern horror. While rare gems like What Keeps You Alive often come along with nuanced lesbian characters, the more common depiction is a deeply concerning one. The predatory lesbian never really disappeared from film. From low-impact horror such as The Roommate (2011) to more sophisticated fare like Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon (2016), the predatory lesbian trope of the Hays Code-era has been fused with the sex object of the 1970s. The vilified queer woman is a focus for the male gaze as much as any final girl character may be, and with even more worrying implications. When an antagonist is both a villain and a sex object, she becomes an object of both condemnation and consumption. While some films, such as Jennifer's Body (2009) can be interpreted as more subversive attempts at this trope (Megan Fox's titular succubus character uses her sexuality to destroy the men who would have destroyed her), it's difficult to not sense the constant aura of male gaze surrounding the film. This is why What Keeps You Alive is so beautifully new. As an antagonist, Jackie defies categorisation. As she says to Jules at one point in the film, 'It's nature, not nurture'; queerness is not built into Jackie's identity as an antagonist any more than it's built into Jules as the protagonist, it simply is. And while there are erotic moments between the couple, none of it feels designed for the sake of titillation. What Keeps You Alive is a movie that feels refreshing and vital, a terrifying film about the horrible thread between love and violence that we haven't already seen before. Jules' sense of hope carries us through the movie: hope in her relationship, hope that she can save her wife from herself, and hope that she can survive. This faint glimmer keeps the movie from dropping into what some describe as torture porn, and instead keeps its audience in a state of agonising for Jules emotionally, as well as physically. Hope is threaded into the very fabric of the film, and personally, from the plot to the wider hope it may provide to queer people for a future in cinema of nuanced, exciting queer characters and stories.
Hi everyone! My name is Molly Adams, and I'd like to thank you for reading my work on GenderTerror. I'm a student and horror writer, currently working on my first graphic novel. If you'd like to discuss this piece or keep up with any of my work, follow me on twitter at @mollywrites_ or read more of my work over on my website.


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#CHIversity at the Diversity Lunch
Ebtisam will be giving a brief talk at the Diversity Lunch this year in relation to experiences of Arab researchers at CHI and in the wider HCI community.
While attending CHI for three years in a row, she has been wondering about: Where are the Arab researchers @CHI? Why there is a very limited number of HCI research focused on the Arab context over the past years? Who is assessing the trustworthiness of these researches? Do they have the needed experience with the context? Do we have any Arab researchers in the program committees?
She turned her energy and established the ArabHCI initiative, ArabHCI.org, which reflects her eagerness to empower HCI research in the Arab context and increase the visibility of Arab researchers. As part of this community, a series of events organised in the SIGCHI conferences for 2017 at CHI and DIS, to discuss cross-cultural differences, challenges and opportunities in the HCI field. She has been invited by the 'Diversity and Inclusivity Lunch Chairs' @CHI2017 to discuss these issues in front of the community.
Ebtisam is a Saudi PhD candidate based in Newcastle University at Open Lab, and remains a lecturer in the IT Department at King Saud University. Her current research is in the area of HCI, mHealth and social computing. She's @Ebtisam on Twitter.


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Most recently, Pringle has proven it's a classic brand in a modern era by launching a digital program that ensures fans of the iconic brand can purchase clothing they will adore and keep forever. The Deconstructed program is an interactive platform offering highly personalised bespoke cashmere styles in fully customisable designs; there's even an option to monogram each style, select logo placement and colour menus for each component such as trims and sleeves.
To showcase the wide variety of options, the Deconstructed Program collaborated with style influencers such as Tilda Swinton, Manolo Blahnik, Caroline Issa, Bryan Boy and David Shrigley to show you just what each of these personalities could come up with for their own wardrobes.
Whether you prefer to wear ice cream colours like Susanna Lau, boldly shaded diamonds like Bryan Boy or a more minimalist style like those created by Tilda Swinton and Manolo Blahnik, your own personalised cashmere sweater will be delivered to you within six weeks after design.
- Reasons To Use Hair Oil That May Surprise You - March 3, 2023
- How To Beat The Blues With Aromatherapy - February 24, 2023
- 7 Of The Most Romantic Getaways In Europe - February 10, 2023


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The Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society kicked off its annual Lecture Series for 2012 on Thursday, March 8 at 10 am in its community room. Combining the Thursday morning Coffee Hours with its Sunday afternoon Society Programs, the Lecture Series explored aspects of the U.S. Civil War. Historical organizations throughout the country are honoring the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which began in 1861 and ended in 1865.
John Hunsinger, retired educator, spoke on the Civil War Veteran's organization, the Grand Army of the Republic and its local chapter, the Reno Post. Many of the artifacts from the Reno Post are housed at the Taber Museum. Mr. Hunsinger substituted for his nephew Lou Hunsinger, Jr. who was to be the speaker for Thursday's lecture. Lou will present his lecture on "Lycoming County During the Great Rebellion" at a future time.


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Student Raider Mail (Email) Help
The College issues each student a GSuite for Education account that includes an email address with the @raider.rose.edu extension. This is the email address that the College uses for all official communication.
Account Creation
Student email accounts are created one college business day following the first enrollment in classes for college credit. Plus, you'll be able to utilize this email for up to 18 months after you finish taking courses at Rose State College.
Login Instructions
To login to your college email account, go to mail.raider.rose.edu in your web browser.
Your student email address is in the format email@example.com. If you have both a first and last name in common with another student, to avoid duplicate email addresses, a sequenced number will follow the name in the email address. To verify your email address, you may need to log into the OASIS system and navigate within OASIS following the path SA Self Service » Personal Portfolio » Home » Personal Portfolio. Under Contact Information, click the Email Addresses link to view your assigned email address.
Your email username is the part of your email address before the @ symbol. You must use your full email address to login. Your initial password is your birth date in MMDDYYYY format. Note that the system requires you change your password on the first login.
EXAMPLE: Suppose John Smith is born on July 1, 1983.
Email Username: firstname.lastname@example.com
Password: 07011983
Password Changes
You will be prompted to change your password with your first login. You may change your password as frequently or infrequently as you wish. If you want your email password to match your other college passwords, you must update it separately in each system. If you need help choosing a secure password, see Guidelines for Choosing a Secure Password.
Email Forwarding
If you wish to forward your school email to another email account which you check more frequently or on a mobile device, you may do that as well, but be sure to update this setting if you change your forwarding email address.
For more information on the GSuite system, see GSuite Learning Center. If you have questions or problems with student email, contact IT Services at (405) 733-7356.


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HBO has ordered to pilot Avenue 5, a new space comedy from Veep creator and former showrunner Armando Iannucci.
Don't get left behind. Stay plugged in to the industry with our free newsletter.
HBO has ordered to pilot Avenue 5, a new space comedy from Veep creator and former showrunner Armando Iannucci.
From Reese Witherspoon's Big Little Lies speech to Kate McKinnon's Saturday Night Live song to heartbreaking This Is Us moments from Sterling K. Brown and Ron Cephas Jones, here are our favorite Emmy-nominated moments of 2017.
Fall television has arrived! While we're all excited to see what new shows networks have made for us, it's also time to look back at the past year and the shows that are competing for the golden statues at this year's Emmy Awards.
HBO's beloved and critically acclaimed comedy Veep, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will come to an end after the upcoming Season 7.
Season 6, Episode 10 – Veep's season six finale is a hilarious flashback-fueled journey through Selina's political past. She's consistently chosen politics over family/relationships and with an upcoming presidential run (yes, again), it looks like that won't be changing for a while.
The Television Critics Association announced their nominations for the 2017 awards, giving Hulu its very first nomination for the critically acclaimed series The Handmaid's Tale.
Season 6, Episode 9 – The penultimate episode of Veep wraps up some of the supporting cast's storylines and finds Selina going from her lowest to highest point post-presidency.
Season 6, Episode 8 – Selina and her entourage travel to White City, Alabama to attend Gary's 40th birthday and meet his parents in a darkly hilarious, yet overstuffed episode.
Season 6, Episode 7 – Veep brings back Tom James for a hilarious episode that sees Selina open up and Jonah ascend to new political heights, fueled by spite.
Season 6, Episode 6 – Veep delivers a predictable episode hampered by an overly familiar storyline. Once again, Selina bungles a big opportunity, ending up in a worse position than when she started scheming.
Season 6, Episode 5 – In another hilarious episode of Veep, Selina learns some harsh truths about her late father while working on her memoir with Mike. Meanwhile, Richard agrees to be a sperm donor while Jonah sleeps with Sherman Tanz's daughter.
Season 6, Episode 4 – In another very funny episode, Team Meyer, now including Amy, deals with rumors that Selina might be nominated for the Supreme Court and a health scare, while Jonah once again manages to fail upwards.
Season 6, Episode 3 – Veep delivers its best episode of the season so far, as the majority of the cast is reunited when Selina goes to Georgia (the country, not the state) to supervise an election. Also featured this episode: the return of her Finnish nemesis Minna.
Season 6, Episode 2 – The sixth season of Veep is off to rocky start, as this episode felt as uneven as the premiere. Splitting up the characters makes sense logically, but the cast's chemistry was part of what made the show so great.
Season 6, Episode 1 – Veep returns for its sixth season with a place-setting episode focused on catching up with the characters and establishing the new status quo. It's not the funniest episode the show's done, but it sets up what will be an interesting season.
There were a few big surprise wins at last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards, but politics were on the minds of those attending, as most speeches highlighted the events around the country following an executive order out of the White House.
While the debate continues over whether or not Deadpool will receive any Oscar love, The People's Choice Awards is happy to show the actioner the love, as the film picked up wins for Favorite Action Movie and Favorite Movie Actor.
The complete list of winners from the 74th Golden Globe Awards hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Find out who took home the top prizes in film and television at this year's ceremony!
Ahead of their awards ceremony on Friday, January 27, the ACE Eddie Awards have announce this years nominations. Picks were chosen by members of the American Cinema Editors and continue the reigning favorites of awards season with La La Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea all landing noms.
Sophia Bush and Common revealed the nominations for the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Award and needless to say, they turned several heads. Current awards frontrunner La La Land failed to land a Best Ensemble nomination, while the television categories are dominated by newcomers Stranger Things, The Crown, and Westworld.
Last night, the 2016 Critics' Choice Awards handed out the top prizes to various categories in film and television, further heating up the awards race. Damien Chazelle's musical breakout La La Land took top honors for film, while Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley nabbed the highest awards in the television race.
As we head into a season of indie films and critical darlings fighting for a few awards season nominations, the 2017 People's Choice Awards has released their list of nominees, celebrating the big hits that gained pop culture notoriety over the past year.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 68th Primtime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday in a swiftly-paced event that saw plenty of perennial favorites take home statues, including Game of Thrones and Veep, as well as some first-time wins for stars Kate McKinnon, Rami Malek, and Tatiana Maslany. See the full list of winners from television's biggest night.
This weekend, ahead of next week's 68th Emmy Awards, marked the annual Creative Arts Emmys. While you can watch the edited version on FXX on the 17th, we've already got your complete list of winners here!
The Television Critics Association held their 32nd awards show this weekend, where The People V. OJ Simpson continued their awards success. They entered the event tied with Mr. Robot for the most nominations.
This year's nominations included the usual appearances from House Of Cards, Game Of Thrones, and Modern Family as well as attention for newcomers like Mr. Robot, The Night Manager, and Master Of None.
Veep ends its strongest season yet with a darkly comedic, completely unpredictable episode. In a shocking development, Laura Montez is elected president, and Selina is officially a civilian again for the first time in decades.
Catherine's documentary is finally unveiled as Team Meyer gathers for the most important day of Selina's presidency: the vote in the House of Representatives.
Selina heads to Camp David for negotiations with the Chinese, while in New Hampshire, Jonah Ryan improbably wins the election.
Selina and Tom's love/hate relationship gets more complicated while Jonah's campaign heats up in New Hampshire in another great episode.


text:
A few weeks back I argued that PSPP is not (yet) a real replacement for SPSS. I also claimed wrongly that there are no introductions to statistics that use PSPP. I had book-length introductions in mind, but alas no is not quite the right word. Today, I give you The PSPP Guide: An introduction to statistical analysis. This isn't a proper review, nor an endorsement, simply because I haven't actually read the book.
Nonetheless, here are some observations (looking over the table of contents). First off, the book does not seem to introduce much beyond PSPP's capabilities. On the one hand, this is great for the readers, on the other hand, when teaching, there are many things I want my students to be aware of — doing statistics is one thing, reading and interpreting another. I note chapter 6 which sidesteps current shortcomings by using graphing capabilities in OpenOffice. The 2014 version of the book includes factor analysis, keeping up with PSPP. This said, personally, I cannot envisage teaching an introduction to statistics without mentioning logistic regressions.
Given the active development of PSPP I have no doubt that we will see more books like this in the future (and probably from more reputable publishers, too), but frankly, I can't see myself using a book that doesn't cover some of the methods I consider essential.


text:
Iran-Pakistan 'lifeline': Pipeline aims for global power balance
by Eric Draitser
Russia Today
March 11, 2013
The pipeline will bring more than simply an economic boost to both countries; it is a crucial guidepost on the path to peace. After generations of conflict, Iran and Pakistan are taking their economic destinies into their own hands – together.
The pipeline, which would bring Iranian gas to Pakistan through its western Balochistan province, will stretch almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Iran's gas-rich Asalouyeh region into the Pakistani heartland, supplying major cities like Karachi and Islamabad with much needed, reliable energy while carrying a pricetag of roughly $1.5 billion. Similarly, the project is critical for Iran as it struggles to survive and grow amid the hostility of US-European sanctions.
The Benefits for Both Countries
It is against the backdrop of brutal, draconian sanctions initiated by the US and its European partners, that Tehran has taken the countermeasure to develop itself and the region, constructing an economically independent framework of relations not beholden to Western financiers. Undoubtedly, the centerpiece of this strategy of economic independence as a means of anti-imperialist resistance is the Iran-Pakistan pipeline. The project, already nearing completion on the Iranian side of the border, would bring desperately needed Iranian gas to energy-starved Pakistan – a country battling a perpetual energy shortage. Needless to say, the project is critical for the economic survival of both nations.
For Iran, the pipeline means economic stability at a time of tremendous turmoil. While the Islamic Republic often downplays the impact of the sanctions, the reality is inescapable: an inflation rate hovering around 30% , the loss of key regional markets such as India, and the continued shortage of medicines and staple foods among other things . These problems plaguing the Iranian economy require both short-term and long-term solutions. The pipeline conveniently addresses both as it provides Tehran with much needed energy revenue today, while offering the potential for increased revenue and infrastructure expansion in the future. Essentially then, the pipeline is really more of a lifeline, anchoring the Iranian economy for decades to come.
Like their Iranian neighbors, Pakistan also has had to address glaring economic deficiencies, particularly with regard to the energy sector. A recent poll unsurprisingly showed that energy shortages, along with unemployment, remain the greatest economic issues facing the country. Public anger over the inability of the government to meet the country's electricity demands has boiled over in the form of riots numerous times, most recently in the summer of 2012 . This type of public unrest over the energy issue serves to delegitimize the government, especially the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and weaken their hold on political power.
For Islamabad then, the pipeline means energy security which, in turn, means political stability. Moreover, the project as a whole is, at least in small part, a way of resisting Washington and the Obama administration's continued violations of Pakistani sovereignty. By pushing forward with the project, in the face of countless threats from Washington, Pakistani president Zardari is walking a fine line between maintaining a working relationship with his US partners and forging new relations from which Pakistan will benefit while the US loses.
A Sectarian Bridge?
One critical aspect of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline is the simple fact that it brings together two countries that, if western imperialists were to have their way, would always remain enemies. Pakistan (a majority Sunni Muslim country) and Iran (a majority Shiite Muslim country), have historically been at odds with one another, choosing rather to align themselves with other Sunni and Shiite countries respectively. This fundamental conflict has, for more than a century, been at the heart of the imperialist/colonialist strategy.
Whether British, French, or American, western powers have long dominated the vast energy resources of the Middle East and Central Asia by dividing the Muslim populations along these sectarian lines, exploiting the differences between them in order to prevent independent economic development. However, the Iran-Pakistan pipeline flies in the face of this "divide and conquer" strategy. Bringing together these two countries through mutually beneficial economic development, the project seems to signal a major change in the Muslim world in the 21st Century. No longer will the imperialists be able to control the destinies of nations in the region by exploiting their differences. Rather, it is the imperial powers themselves who will have to reevaluate their strategy and come to terms with a changing world in which their unchallenged hegemony becomes a relic of the past.
The Geopolitics of the Pipeline
Although the Iran-Pakistan pipeline is economically and politically significant to both nations, it takes on perhaps its greatest importance in the context of world geopolitics. The project fundamentally alters the balance of power in Asia and the world for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, the pipeline links two countries that, each in its own way, seek to undermine US hegemony in the Middle East and South Asia. While Iran has been the implacable foe of Washington since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Pakistan has maintained relations that at one time made them close allies, but in recent years have deteriorated to the point where the United States is seen as Public Enemy No. 1 in the streets. The pipeline brings the two countries closer together and, in so doing, helps to solidify a relationship united by a common mistrust of the US.
Secondly, the Iran-Pakistan pipeline could quite easily become the Iran-Pakistan-China pipeline if Beijing decides to finally get involved. In this very plausible scenario, China would finally get the "holy grail" it has sought for years: land-based access to energy imports from the Middle East. For China, an energy-starved economy that continues to grow, this would greatly enhance their regional position. It would also transform the balance of power in Asia, as the era of US domination of energy resources in the Middle East would be over. So, were the project to be extended to China, the pipeline would become the focus of a new power paradigm, making it one of the most important economic development projects in the world.
Additionally, the pipeline shows the growing power and influence of international alliances and organizations that represent a counterweight to the imperialist establishment of the West. Iran has taken on the role of leading the Non-Aligned Movement, thrusting itself into the forefront of the anti-imperialist bloc. At the same time, both Iran and Pakistan seek membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), led by Russia and China, which is showing signs of developing into a full-fledged strategic alliance that provides a check to US-NATO dominance. In this way, the pipeline becomes the tangible link between various organizations and alliances which seek to beat a path independent of US hegemony. It is for this reason, more than anything else, that the United States has vigorously attempted to subvert the development of the pipeline, going so far as to heavily promote the much-touted Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, seen as the main competitor to the Iran-Pakistan project. However, despite the fierce opposition from Washington, the project will go ahead while the TAPI still remains on the drawing board, subject to security concerns in Afghanistan and elsewhere along the route.
When seen from the broadest perspective, the Iran-Pakistan pipeline fundamentally transforms power relations in the Middle East, South Asia, and throughout the world. Not only does it benefit the two nations involved, but all other nations and peoples who have been oppressed, controlled, or otherwise coerced by the Western powers. In this way, the Iran-Pakistan Pipeline represents peace and progress. In short, it is the promise of a better future.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City and the founder of StopImperialism.com.
[hat tip: Nile Bowie]
Full-Scale War In Syria
August 9, 2012
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov calls it "full-scale civil war." It's full-scale but not civil.
Syria's been invaded. Civil war implies two internal warring sides. That's very much not the case. Primakov said:
"Mercenaries and volunteers from other states are fighting (Assad) jointly with" violent internal forces. Most Syria opponents are nonviolent. They want peaceful conflict resolution. Washington has other ideas.
"President Obama has given a direct order to the CIA to support the Syrian opposition."
"That is flagrant interference in internal affairs of a sovereign state, which does not endanger the United States or anyone else."
"Saudi Arabia and Qatar are funding militants. Turkey is giving them active support." So are other regional countries.
"Russia holds the only correct position," he added. "We have a moral position: we care for life and security of millions of people and for stability of the huge and important region."
Syria is strategically important for Moscow. Tartus is its only Mediterranean base. Protecting it is key. Assad is a valued regional ally. It's in Russia's interest to support him.
Moscow backed Annan's peace plan dependent on keeping him in power and having Syrian sovereignty be respected. Its strategy also lets other global allies know it's committed to back them if needed. Some have their own internal problems and need reassurance.
Regional economic interests are also important. Much more is involved than weapons.
Russia constructed Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility and agreed to build three more. Both countries have strategic ties. They also have other economic relations.
Russian Federation regions have additional ones. Both countries cooperate on oil and gas interests.
Russian expertise and technology helped build Syrian infrastructure. It's also responsible for dozens of industrial facilities. It includes about one-third of its electrical power capacity, another third of its oil-related operations, and help building the Euphrates dam.
Maritime interests are important. Linking Latakia, Syria with Novorossiysk, Russia on the Black Sea facilitates cargo shipments. Gazprom has oil and gas development operations.
Both countries have nuclear energy ties. They also cooperate on other commercial, scientific, military, and environmental issues.
Russia and Syria enjoyed strategic relations for decades. Patrick Seale called Moscow Hafez Assad's main ally. Given Washington's regional ambitions, both countries serve each other strategically.
Greater Washington Eurasian control threatens Moscow directly. Preventing it is key. Standing firm on Syria and Iran is vital.
America infests the region with military bases. Offensive missile shield installations target Russia and China. Both countries partnered with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) alliance.
India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mongolia have observer status. Belarus and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. Expanding the organization is planned.
SCO supports economic cooperation, peace, and national sovereignty. Member states are a potential bulwark against Washington-led NATO aggression.
On June 6 and 7, members met in Beijing. Security and economic cooperation issues were discussed. Washington's missile shield was condemned.
Its North Africa/Eurasian militarization threatens Russia, China, Iran, and other countries. Syria is ground zero. Holding the line is vital. Odds of succeeding are uncertain. Washington doesn't quit once strategic plans are implemented.
Assad promises to try. On August 8, SANA state media said he's determined to defeat terrorists responsible for mass killings and atrocities.
He spoke during a meeting with Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili. They met on issues affecting both countries. They agreed that resolving Syria's crisis depends on internal solutions.
Separately, SANA reported Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warning about:
"Plots which aim at destabilizing peace and stability in the region, instigate conflicts among the minorities and sects which lived together in peace in order to change the situations in the region."
Salehi met with Turkish officials in Ankara. They discussed 48 Iranian visitors abducted by Syrian insurgents. At issue is ensuring their safety and release. Reportedly three were killed.
Syrian captors said one was a Russian general. They identified him as Major General Vladimir Kuzheez. Moscow's Defense Ministry called the claim "complete lies." An official statement added:
"The goal of broadcasting such statements is not just to cause a sensation, but a clear attempt at a slur toward the Russian Army."
Kuzheev is very much alive. He met with journalists and dismissed reports of his death, saying:
"I want to express thanks to the media for their attention to my person….I want to confirm that I am well and alive in Moscow….I realize that this information is a provocation not only against me but against my country."
Saudi controlled Al Arabiya broadcast a video featuring Free Syrian Army representatives claiming Kuzheev was killed. They showed what they called his photo ID identity card. It was fake.
The battle for Aleppo continues. Government forces cleared insurgents from Salaheddin. They're gaining the upper hand. Reports are the city is surrounded.
Five Saudi and two Turkish military officers were captured. One was a Turkish general. Earlier insurgent claims about controlling most of the city were false.
They're outmanned, outgunned, and outmaneuvered. They're being defeated. Nonetheless, clearing them from neighborhoods takes time.
Press TV cited reports about insurgents supplied with chemical weapons. It said Turkey gave them surface-to-air Stinger missiles. They came with "thermal rockets and sophisticated weaponry."
"More than 100 Turkish troops backed with armored vehicles and helicopters entered the Syrian border town of Cerablos in the Kurdish region of Kobani on Tuesday."
"A spokesman for the Kurdish militias in the border towns of Kobani and Efrin accused the Turkish forces of supplying arms and ammunition to insurgents fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government."
"NBC News also reported on July 31 that nearly two dozen MANPADs (man-portable air-defense systems) have been delivered to the insurgents in Syria by Turkey."
Rick Rozoff also said Turkey has troops in Syria. They threatened to use them to protect a site agreed to in 1921.
Ankara was guaranteed the right to station forces at the Suleyman Shah mausoleum. He's the grandfather of Ottoman Empire founder Osman I (Osman Bey).
Turkey considers the site and surrounding area sovereign territory. A small military contingent protects it. Whether it's a wedge for larger numbers and planned belligerency remains to be seen.
Rozoff said the site was "proclaimed a NATO outpost in Syria." Developments ahead warrant close monitoring. Incrementally they head toward Western and/or regional intervention.
On August 6, Ron Paul warned about more war, saying:
"The administration seems determined to fight yet another war in Syria that has nothing to do with American national interests."
"Neoconservatives have long demanded that we overthrow the Syrian government before moving on to war against Iran. This bellicosity continues regardless of which party is in the White House."
"In Syria we see once again we see how our interventionist policies backfire and make us less secure."
Washington has no business being involved in Syria, he added. "When will we learn our lesson and stop intervening in conflicts….having nothing to do with American national interests?"
Republican and Democrat hawks way outnumber Paul and other congressional doves. Obama heads toward war. Electoral politics dictate timing. Post-election may be planned. He and Romney are like-minded.
It doesn't matter who wins. Both men support war. Expect it. Only its timing is unknown. Catastrophic consequences look certain.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.


text:
Speech at the Rally Opposing China's Membership on the UN Human Rights Council,
In Front of the UN Headquarters – Nov. 5, 2013
Mr. President Obama: We Are All Citizens of the World.
by Jim Glanzer
There are many notable people here. Yang Jianli, I thank you, above all. I will always support you in these causes.
There is one illustrious person who is not here today. He should be. President Barack Obama, I address this to you, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient like Liu Xiaobo. You were, with your prize, presumed to be a citizen of the world.
In June of this year, Lix Xia, a dear friend with whom I have exchanged letters and ideas about art and photography and poetry – she, the artist and wife of Xiaobo – sent an open letter to China's President. She wrote:
President Xi Jin Ping:
I am Liu Xia, a citizen of the People's Republic of China. I have been under house arrest and have lost all my personal freedoms since October 2010. No one has told me any reasons for detaining me. I have thought about it over and over. Perhaps in this country it is a "crime" for me to be Liu Xiaobo's wife.
I think the prison sentence of my brother Liu Hui, which was handed down on June 9, 2013, is totally unjust. I doubt whether the judicial authorities or even any other part of the public authority system really administered his case properly.
Under existing law, we should see justice from the state's power instead of ruthless crackdowns and violence; all events that erase individual rights are tragic and cast a dark shadow over the aura of a state power's legitimacy.
Justice in criminal trials can only be manifested in actual cases. I cannot imagine justice – what we are hoping for – will be realized through disrespecting and disregarding the rights of the accused.
Mr. Chairman, the China Dream that you speak of must be realized through every citizen. I hope the China Dream doesn't turn us as individuals into "China Nightmares."
Today is the traditional Chinese Duanwu Festival (the Dragon Boat Festival). Can you ever imagine how our family is feeling during these celebrations?
She signed the letter: Liu Xia, Citizen
President Obama. I am a citizen of the United States of America. I can only repeat today the words of my friend. Only she can speak for herself. And I cannot speak for her husband, Liu Xiaobo – I do not have nearly the intellectual tools or the wit to recreate his presence here today.
But I can speak as an American who cannot stand in silence while the Chinese Communist Party stamps its muddy boots on the rights of free-thinking friends in Beijing or Shanghai or Jinzhou and then, with the same feet, races to seek the world's acceptance as a "leader" in the field of human rights. If this weren't actually happening this week, it would be laughable.
I can speak on behalf of fellow Chinese and American citizens who seethe when we see our compatriots, Liu Xianbin and others, repeatedly imprisoned for years just for holding fast to their convictions, for believing in democracy, freedom of association, freedom of thought, and civil liberties.
Beyond that, I can speak as a member of civilized society both here and abroad – we object to the treatment of democracy's leading thinkers, Tianna's father Wang Bingzhang and others, those illegally kidnapped and thrown into prison by the Chinese Communists or sent to rot in unknown locations, held in solitary confinement, or tortured, or electrocuted or disappeared inside of China's black jails.
One month after seeing her open appeal to Xi Jin Ping, I sent another of my letters to my friend in Beijing. It began:
Dear Liu Xia. There is tragic irony in my writing to you today, July 4th, America's Independence Day – to you, who suffer through detention at home. It is without question that my independence and your liberty are indelibly linked. Where there is no liberty, there can be no independence to celebrate.
Liberty is difficult to achieve when an obnoxious, self-righteous government feels justified in using detention, prison, threats, torture, or worse against its politically-minded citizens and, in particular, against their extended families. In its attempts to block any civilized path toward creating a rational government, China's Communists add to their long list of crimes against the Chinese people – and the rest of humanity – by taking hostages among the family members of citizens whose politics they find disagreeable. There are few states that do this and fewer that commit such heinous acts so habitually: Iran and North Korea come to mind…
Your family has been victimized by the Party and by its paid thugs far more than most and for far too long. Your home detention and the recent false arrest and unjust imprisonment of your brother Liu Hui (劉暉) are only the most recent examples of this.
Retribution toward activists' families has become a main instrument of the Party's toolkit for dealing with dissent. This is a practical way to allow the Party to continue to rule without being forced to try in court and then, perhaps, convict the remainder of the Chinese population for treason. You and your family are not alone in suffering from this despicable practice.
Case one. Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟) was disappeared into China's jail system in 2006, but not before Chinese security guards planted themselves in his apartment building, then forced his wife and family to keep their apartment's lights on, then forced them to keep their doors open 24 hours a day, and then harassed Gao's daughter daily on the way to and from school. Liu Nian Chun and Chu Hai Lan, the translators of my letters to you, they may have the stoic temperament required to some day make peace with their former tormentors. I never will. I am not that noble.
Case two – dissidents' family members denied jobs. Case three – activists' parents whose social security payments are cut off for no reason other than guilt by association with their own children. Case four – withdrawal of access to schools, or education or other institutions. Zhang Lin, the prominent rights activist (张林) whose 10-year-old daughter was even denied access to grade school. More and more petty bureaucratic revenge.
The Party makes a specialty of first easing conditions on activists and their families ahead of important meetings with Western leaders, and then reverting back to viciousness once those meetings are concluded.
When it suits the Party to avoid conflict with civilized governments, magical things start happening. Consider dissident human rights lawyer Zheng Enchong (郑恩宠). Party leaders boasted about the abuse visited on Zheng and his family. Yu Zhengsheng (俞正声), the Chairman of the Party's Standing Committeee (中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会主席), said: "We couldn't beat Zheng Enchong and Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) with legal knowledge, but we could deprive them of their jobs. So we stopped claiming that they disclosed national secrets and began to use political means to make them unemployable."
True, Zheng was freed after 7 years of home detention -but just 6 days before Xi Jin Ping (习近平) held his June meeting with Barack Obama (贝拉克·奥巴马).
Excuse me…? Did I read my own letter correctly…? Let me interrupt my own writing at this point to ask a simple question:
Is this the same Chinese government that now wants to take a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council…? China, a country that routinely redefines human rights as excluding any political rights… ?
The imprisoners of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo for writing seven sentences that the government disliked… ?
The detainers of Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia without charge and without even the decency of a public acknowledgement that she remains under house arrest…?
The kidnappers of Wang Bingzhang from Vietnam, outside of any accepted international law…?
The serial jailers of Liu Xianbin without cause… ?
The disappearers and torturers of Gao Zhisheng…?
The vindictive retaliators against activists' families… ?
The deprivers of activists' livelihoods…?
And, yes, the murderers of the blind and deaf Li Wangyang who, somehow, despite his disabilities still managed to supposedly "hang himself" in a hospital room in Shaoyang all while his feet were still squarely on the ground …?
I could go on and on and on with case after case after case of abuse. But this is the by-product of a state, so terrified of its own population, that it spends more on domestic surveillance and so-called "stability maintenance" than it does on outward looking national defense. It's made me re-think where the "home of the brave" is really located.
President Obama. In March 2006, the UN established the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva with the express purpose of – and I quote from its founding resolution – "promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner."
That resolution also said the Council "should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations."
President Obama, when did you stop seeing gross and systematic violations of human rights in China…?
Can you not see the plight of our fellow democrats imprisoned and beaten and electrocuted and tortured in China's jails, or see their families being systematically harassed and denied and placed in extra-legal home detentions…?
Do you see anything in the Council's mandate that would suggest inviting one of the world's leading abusers of its own citizens to sit on such a UN Human Rights Council…?
Your predecessor had the good sense to boycott the UN Human Rights Council in 2007 because it's mission had become deeply contorted by the revenge agendas of some of the UN's most illiberal members. It was you who decided to re-engage with the Council because you thought you could make it relevant again.
Yes, you may make the Council relevant, but it will be relevant in the entirely wrong way.
China has become in this century a militarized kleptocracy, a gross and systematic violator of its citizens' most basic human rights. Does any leader of any free nation really believe that letting their UN representative vote to give China a seat at the Council's table will somehow help the Council fulfill its mandate…? That it is in the interest of human rights…? No one who cares to be a citizen of a civilized world would want their country's leader or his representatives to do this.
My name is Jim Glanzer. I am a citizen of the United States of America. And we – all of us – here today are citizens of the world.