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Archive for the 'Bon Bon' Category
Bon Bon men's underwear videos
These last few days, I've been blabbering on about Bon Bon and the greatness of their men's underwear collection. Today is the last post about Bon Bon for now.
I know it must've looked like I am on Bon Bon's payroll or something (I'm not…yet, haha). But seriously, with so many new men's underwear brands popping up these days, I make an effort to point you guys in the direction of those brands that are truly worthy of notice – and your cash.
Anyway, to provide that final bit of Bon Bon inspiration, I've found three videos featuring footage from the photo shoots that brought you those amazing pics of the Colours collection, Bland & White collection, and Upgrade Gold collection.
And to all you up-and-coming underwear brands out there, a word of advise. The road to success in the market for high end men's fashion underwear goes through Youtube and the community of underwear bloggers. A great set of photos and a few videos will get you valueable attention. Just look at the way Bon Bon and some of the other brands featured here at the Guys' Underwear Blog have done it :)
Bon Bon Upgrade Gold Trunk – A review
The Bon Bon Upgrade Gold trunk review is the third of four posts in my series about my favorite Canadian men's underwear brand. I have to say it's been a pleasure reviewing the brief and trunk styles. I'll definitely return to the Bon Bon brand here on the blog some time in the future.
And if you like what you see below, you should also check out my review of the Bon Bon Colours collection as well as my post on the Black and White Collection.
Tomorrow I'll posting the best Bon Bon men's underwear videos. You won't wanna miss that, I cal tell you :)
Before getting to the actual review, I'd like to share with you some of the promotional shots that Bon Bon did for the Upgrade Gold collection. I really admire the quality of this brand's artwork. These pics are just awesome!
With that, let's get on with the review of the Upgrade Gold trunk.
The Upgrade Gold trunk is a true trunk style. This means that the legs are slightly longer than your average square cut but not as long a typical pair of boxer briefs.
I am usually a briefs/boxer briefs guy, but I found that the Upgrade Gold trunk style was a great alternative, capturing the best from both worlds. You can wear this trunk for all types of everyday purposes. As it is a premium brand, though, you may wanna save them for occasions where you wanna feel like a million bucks.
Pouch design
As was the case with the Bon Bon Colours brief, the Upgrade Gold trunk comes equipped with a doubled-layered contour pouch with no fly. This is a standard pouch design that you will feel totally at home in unless you're used to underwear styles with profile-enhancing features.
Back design
As with most trunk styles, the Bon Bon Upgrade Gold trunk provides excellent back coverage. A general advantage of trunks and boxer briefs is that they rarely ride up where the sun doesn't shine, and the Upgrade Gold trunk doesn't disappoint in this department either. The trunk also rises high enough on you hips, covering your buttocks and but crack just perfect.
The waistband is one of the key features of the Upgrade Gold style. I wore the white trunk, and the wide golden waistband gives this style a luxurious and almost royal look to it. A cool detail is the gold medal signature symbol embellishment directly below the raised embroidered decal on the left side. It's not something you'll see on other men's underwear brands and it will have you standing out from the crowd in any setting.
The waistband has a Bon Bon logo patch as well a separate production information patch stitched on the inside rear of the square cut. The stitching is done so that you won't notice it, and the product information patch can easily be cut off.
Fabric quality
As with the Bon Bon Colours brief, fabric quality is where Bon Bon's men's underwear collections have their competitors beat. I have totally fallen for the 90 % micro modal, 10 % spandex blend. It's simply so soft-feeling that at times I forgot that I was even wearing underwear.
I wore the white Upgrade Gold trunks, and it's probably the best color choice if you want the golden waistband to stand out the most. If you go for the white trunk, remember to wash with similar colors and follow the wash instructions meticulously. Bon Bon Upgrade Gold is a premium price tunk and you don't wanna ruin it by allowing it to go gray.
I wore a US size M for 32" waist and just as with the briefs the Upgrade Gold trunk provided the best possible fit. The perfected fit is achieved through the stretchy characteristics of the micro modal fabric, which provides extreme flexibility. This means that there should be no need for you to size either up or down.
I've mentioned it a few times and there's no denying it – the Upgrade Gold, as well as the other Bon Bon collections, are high-end men's underwear. You will pay US$38 for the Upgrade Gold trunk. There's no doubt, however, that in this instance price and quality go hand in hand. You get what you pay for, and what you pay for is one of the top men's underwear brands out there. If you don't want to compromise when it comes to your top drawer, Bon Bon Upgrade Gold is the underwear collection you've been looking for.
Bon Bon Black and White men's underwear collection. Classic hotness!
Bon Bon is the men's underwear brand of the hour here at Guys' Underwear Blog.
Yesterday I reviewed the Bon Bon colours brief and tomorrow I'll do a review of the Upgrade Gold trunk.
Today, however, is an all out picture post showcasing some of the awesome promotional shots that Bon Bon did for their clasically stylish collection, Black & White.
I've tried the Black and White brief and in terms of style, pouch design, back design, waistband, fit, and price you can consult my review of the yellow Colours brief because in that respect these briefs are equally great.
Of course they differ in color, and a pair of black or white briefs is always a safe fashion choice if the quality and cut are proper quality. Bon Bon is exactly that.
But do remember that just as appealing as a brand new pair of white briefs can look, just as offputting can they become if you don't wash them properly. Do not let your white underwear become grayish, it's just not sexy – at all! If you want more forgiving colors, go for black or similar darker tones.
With that said, clean white briefs can be an absolute hot style for any man.
Still in doubt? Take a look at these pics and you be convinced at the end of the post.
Bon Bon Colours Brief – A Review
Bon Bon has made a major impact in the market for high-end men's underwear this season with their exquisite designs, bold colors and incredibly soft micro modal fabric.
Today and tomorrow I have the absolute pleasure of reviewing a pair of briefs from the Bon Bon Colours Collection as well as pair of trunks from the Upgrade Gold Collection.
First up are the ultra hot yellow briefs, taken from the properly named collection, Colours. With this men's underwear collection, Canadian-based Bon Bon captures the essence of the current underwear fashion trends, which dictate bright neon-like colors.
Besides yellow, the collection comes in pink, green, purple, and blue. Oh, and a fun feature is the box in which the underwear is delivered. It simply oozes exclusivity and style. This is how underwear should be wrapped, guys!
It's difficult for me to hide my genuine enthusiasm when it comes to Bon Bon underwear. Much too often you will pay a premium for high-end brands, like €30+ for a pair of briefs, just to be disappointed with the cut, production quality, durability, etc.
Let me tell you now – nothing will disappoint you with these yellow Bon Bon briefs…
The Bon Bon Colours brief style is a classic brief cut. It rides neither too high nor too low around your waist. The attention to detail on the brief is astonishing and gives this style a posh and quality-like feel to it.
Take for instance the silver signature mark embellishment attached directly below the contrasting waistband logo. On a brief where the yellow color demands most of the attention, this slightly understated detail manages to make a profound impact on the overall look of the brief, making it stand significantly out from competing brands in similar colors.
This brief is a perfect choice for special occasions where you want to come off as classically stylish, yet trendy in terms of color choice, while also projecting a sincere attention to quality. Bon Bon is men's underwear royalty – and you will be respected for your choice.
Pouch design
The pouch is designed according to average standards, i.e. double layered with no fly. It has plenty of room for your boys, and for the entire day that I wore it, I found it to provide adequate support with no need for constant readjustment.
Back design
I was thrilled with the back design of the Bon Bon Colours brief. The but area was entirely covered, and the leg openings didn't stretch too low on the thighs. The black soft fabric around the leg openings provide a brilliant contrast to the solid bright yellow color of the brief.
The comfortable, non-skimpy back design combined with no back seams mean that you can easily wear this brief for hours on end without it escaping in between you but cheeks. Nor will you have to constantly pull the briefs up to avoid the appearance of an embarrassing crack above the jeans line.
The black waistband, complete with the Bon Bon logo printed in a yellow font, is plush and distinctly softer than competing brands. In fact, you will hardly even notice that the briefs even come with a waistband that's well over an inch wide.
Together with the black edges of the leg openings, the waistband provides a perfect visual contrast to the bright yellow base color.
The waistband has a Bon Bon logo patch as well a separate production information patch stitched on the inside rear of the square cut. The stitching is done so that you won't notice it, and the product information patch can easily be cut off.
Fabric Quality
Now, fabric quality is where Bon Bon's men's underwear collections really shine. I've always been a cotton blend fan, but I will bow in respect for this 90 % micro modal, 10 % spandex blend. It feels absolutely wonderful to wear. It's my new favorite, no question.
According to Bon Bon, the micro fibre, which micro modal is made from, comes from beechwood tree fibres. This fabric blend is 50 % more absorbent than cotton. The micro modal fabric will therefore allow your skin to breathe more easily while still being incredibly soft.
If you live in acountry with a very warm climate, the Bon Bon brief may be the ideal underwear for you.
The bright yellow color will look stunning on guys with darker skin tones or guys with well-developed tans. If you have a pale skin tone, you should maybe try to go for purple or blue briefs instead.
I wore a US size M for 32" waist and these briefs provided the best fit I've experienced in ages. Partly this is due to the stretchy characteristics of the micro modal fabric, which provides extreme flexibility. This is a major plus in my book and also means that you should go for your usual size when ordering your Bon Bon briefs.
The Bon Bon Colour brief is yours for US$34, which is a hefty price tag. But seriously guys, if you want to treat yourself to the best of the best when it comes to your underwear, this is it. Spend that extra 10 bucks and you will not regret it.
Get your Bon Bon underwear at MyBonBonWorld.com.


text: Apple and cherry orchards, deer that wander around, impressive landscapes, refreshing water pools and thick forests- all of these are offered for your enjoyment in Ya'ar Odem (Odem Forest, or Red Forest), the largest Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights region. While touring this Nature Reserve you will encounter a unique natural phenomenon in the shape of 23 craters of different sizes, which are known as "Juba" or "Jubot" in plural, and are probably the result of a volcanic activity. Another interesting place here is the "Winds' Gate", an archeological site which received its name due to the strong winds that blow in it and contains remnants of settlements from the Iron Age and up until the Byzantine period. One can also find here a wishing tree that is decorated with ribbons, straight out of a fairy tale, and the Ya'ar HaAyalim (Deer Forest), a charming area inside the village of Odem where deer, ibexes and gazelles wander around. A walk in the Odem Forest trails offers one colorful flora, ancient trees and the magnificent views of the Golan Mountains and Mount Hermon.

subset: commoncrawl


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It is hard to believe that after the past decade or so of relying on "consumption(demand)" to primarily underwrite the growth of a developed countries political economies, which clearly has not worked and is equally clearly no longer sustainable, you continue to call for more of the same, from a country like Germany, that has done everything right for ALL levels of its civil society in the post war period.
What planet are you academics, economists and journalists living on when you continue to push this absolute rubbish about how political economies should be managed for sustainablity and realistic economic growth in very mature societies, where they more or less, have every conceivable human comfort they need today and in the future.
Also, when you talk about copying the good of Germany, nowhere do you mention the fundamental contribution that KFW(The Marshall aid bank)in Frankfurt and the other 700 or so local and regional banks in Germany, have made to Germany's overall economic success, all managed and owned by locals who have great knowledge of how finance(credit) should be used, again, to support all levels of their civil societies, which is clearly a great sustainable success over the past decades and which you rubbish here, because a few of their regional cooperative savings banks did get it all wrong, as a consequence of Goldman Sachs et al pushing their dodgy US products.
For someone like myself, who grew up in post war London in the "Golden Age" from a low income family, and now in my old age, watching the way you London financial capitalist elite's have, over this time, "extracted" all the generated wealth from the 99% of UK civil society, for the few of you to lavash on yourselves and the so called success of London (the City) just makes me sick.
And then you have the nerve to critique the German governing elite's for "not" doing the same - give me a break.
One has to wonder about the analytical skills of the author
"despite faster growth, personal consumption has risen by less than in the rest of Europe over the past decade"
Why don't you have a look at what drove consumption? I recommend you Greece for example.
"It has held down Germans' living standards"
Coming from or staying at which level? Ever thought about the fact that we will all have to adopt our living standards when the rest of the world is getting richer and the West no longer living at their expense? Might the problem be that those who haven't paid attention to that are now in big trouble?
"and the country does not welcome immigrants."
Really? Is that the reason why Germany has such so many immigrants and is trying desparately to attract more, even paying language courses and all that stuff?
"Its corporatist industrial relations, for instance, help companies hold wages down, but they can also be bad for shareholders."
Such a stupid comment can only come from a British magazine. And "bad" in which time horizon? Short term, long term? We can all see today where your short term radical shareholder value orientation has brought the UK and the US. Congratulations, you must be proud!
Services are indeed quite unproductive and overregulated. But at least the regulatin avoids mostly bad services and sets high standards. And since services are a "trust good", that is not too bad. Regulation in the digital market is rather medieval. Why is that not mentioned?
So Germany's "hair shirt philosophy [...] has held down Germans' living standards" and this because "personal consumption has risen by less than in the rest of Europe"?
The Economist needs to revisit (again) the connection between living standards and consumption. Rich countries like Germany have moved beyond the point where buying more stuff means living better. Come on! You know this already, you've written about it, so why continue to write such deadening non-sequiturs in your editorials?
"weniger arbeiten damit alle arbeiten"
(work less so that everyone works!)
Let me repeat what I said a while ago comparing the way many Germans view the economy vs the way most Anglo/Saxons view it:
Most Germans know that engine oil (money or fiscal policy if you like) is just for lubrication of the economic engine but it is not the real fuel that really runs it. The basic resources (or fuel) of a nation's economy are it's people, especially the quality (and happiness) of it's workers and co-operative/cohesive societal values. Firing workers do not, in general, fire up the economic engine. It might cause a short term blip in the stock market, where engine-oil (sic) is traded, but many Germans are wary of this kind of profit-taking. They instinctively think it's cheating. There are more fundamental ways of creating wealth. As we know there are now so many engine-oil leaks (caused by CDO's and CDS's, not to mention abacus's) that filling up the economy with more engine-oil (called QEx) doesn't quite solve the problem. First you have to stop the leaks, fix the engine and then you have to fill it up with real efficient fuel (a well-trained and happy workforce which is not scared of losing their jobs the next day and enjoy health and other societal benefits) to produce high level products to fire-up the economic engine. German society has a high respect for skilled technicians and trades people. Most American (and British?) kids get rather "generic" degrees from "Universities". They prefer to become lawyers, accountants or get their MBA's to become "players" in the " engine-oil market" believing that they can exploit cheap Indian and Chinese workers to do the manufacturing jobs. What an illusion! Big time Fata Morgana! Germans trade unions are also modelled very differently from the outdated ways unions operate in the US and UK. This black and white division of workers/labour against owners/management is a totally obsolete principle from early days of capitalism. Giving it up doesn't mean it's socialism and anyway if people don't like "socialism" why don't they just outlaw unions!
This articles cherry picking approach would gut the German model.
Employees deserve to have a greater say in company matters than shareholders, they have a bigger interest. Striving to export products is good, if everybody did that we wouldn't have a problem, the market would find a balance. Don't buy stuff you don't need and don't spend more than you have will also give good results. Save serious money for your retirement, don't expect your children to support you via taxation/social security. This is the stuff of the German model.
"In global financial markets, capital would increasingly move to countries in which property rights are still valued and respected."
Germany has a 'mixed model', called "mitbestimmung' (workers' participation in management). In no way workers in Germany can decide over the fate of capital, investment, dividends. Their participation concentrates mainly on "floor" issues related to production.
And yes, management has to answer to everything labor-related, including outsourcing and relocating production or parts of production in return for workforce lenience concerning flexible working schemes and fluctuating work-year wage records.
Summarized, it's a very functional, intelligent and highly efficient (for all side) labor-relation model.
The pure 'rentier-model', as some in Germans call the Anglo Saxon pure shareholder-value approach, led in the US to the 'production' of short term profits (to satisfy investment locusts) instead of the production of competitive goods, which, consequently, leads to the breakdown of long-term investments and the lack of far-sighted production planning.
'Cheapening' production, due to above delineated mismanagement, is the disease many companies in the US are suffering from.
Rolanda: "The phrase "Deutschland über alles" was born at times the German speaking Europe was a cluster of 38 different states".
It's not only that. It was an intrinsic part of the Perfidious Albion's war propaganda to alter the meaning of this stanza in a highly fraudulent manner.
As Rolanda pointed out above, the text of what later became "The Song of the Germans", Germany's National Anthem, was born at times when a united Germany didn't even exist. Thus it could hardly refer to an "all domineering" Germany, as the author of this editorial viciously tries to imply to his international readership.
If anything, it means the very same as if a young German tells his goddess "ich liebe dich über alles" (I love you above all things).
"Deutschland über alles" was (and still is) an Ode Of Love (not of dominance).
When 43 year-old Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote his 'ode of love' in 1841 he addressed it not to a human "goddess" but to the object of his imagination: a then, non-existent, United Germany.
To willfully distort the noble meaning and intention of this piece of poetry in a way the British media does ever since it became Germany's national anthem in 1922, is a prime example why the Brits are called worldwide "Perfidious Albion", which simply refers to this kind of character-defect we see here when an Economist editor or one the magazine's leading writers uses such primitive slur as the "catchy" teaser for this editorial.
At least we know now why the world named this type of Brit 'Perfidious Albion'; according to Wikipedia the label refers to "acts of duplicity, treachery and hence infidelity (with respect to promises made to or alliances formed with other nation states) in a pursuit of self-interest" performed by figures representing Britain (or England) in the world.
To use 'Perfidious Albion' here to label the anonymous writer of this editorial is, thus, not a pejorative phrase but an honest appellation.
Whom are you addressing here, thezenroom?
Are you castigating your own distorted imagination?
It is doubted here that self-pitying poster "Germanambassador" has anything 'German' to show, but his self-given pen-name . . . and maybe a German shepherd dog at home.
Concerning your assumption that people on this blog, calling Greeks "lazy", represent Germany or are indeed Germans: Where did you get this imbecilic idea from? This must be a product of your very own distorted complex-laden fantasy!
And who told you that Germany doesn't help Greece to reduce its debt?
The last I've heard, aside from Germany's 27% share of all the hundreds of billions of bailout-money Greece has received already (€215 billion so far), German banks, on top, forgave Greece 75% (!!!) of its Greek bond holdings! - But you guys want a 100% free-ride! Don't you?
Greece's politicians should perhaps ask their buddies at Goldman Sachs to also forgive 75% of Greek debt they clandestinely gathered through devious swap deals between 2000 and 2008.
- Or are you suggesting here that German taxpayers also pay back to Goldman-Sachs Greece's fraudulent debt deals, Greek politicians did behind the eurozone's back with these loan-sharks from Wall Street?
You really must be daydreaming, thezenroom.
Some Greeks currently do everything to completely cut off their only remaining "export-" and income-source: - The tourism! They scare German tourists away from their islands.
Mar 12, 2012: "Scared German tourists 'avoiding Greece'" (http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120312-41289.html)
Other than the Greeks, shooting themselves in the foot persistently, most worldly Germans I've met during my travels are quite content with their home-country.
No 'normal' German I've spoken to thinks that his country is the "most hated country in Europe"; . . . maybe in the twisted opinion of the Greek media and some Greek politicians, who believe that the German people are their 'milk cows' - as the public media-remarks of Greek parliamentarians are evidence of.
However, there are many places in this world that would gladly bid welcome to those German tourists whom the Greeks are scaring away.
Fact is, Germany remained also in 2011 the most popular country in the world, as the yearly global BBC poll shows:
"Germany remained the most popular country"
"Germany is the most popular country in the world, according to a poll that asked people to rate the positive and negative influence of 16 major nations. Of the nearly 29,000 people surveyed from 27 countries for the BBC World Service poll, 62 percent said that Germany's influence on the world was positive."
Isn't this something to think about, instead of pointing fingers at others?
Maybe polls would show, now, that shameless Greek politicians and the not less impertinent Greek media-landscape helped their country to become "the most hated country in Europe" . . . for your disappointment, regardless if almost 4 generations ago some crazed "nazis ran death camps and happy buses" . . . Not! . . .
Of course, the fact that "Germans made courageous and wise stakes in the new EU countries are now paying off."
Many products carrying the quality label "Made in Germany" are in fact - to some extent - produced in the new EU countries (under Made-in-Germany" quality supervision, of course).
This is only possible because the workforce in these countries is greatly receptive for the high-quality labor standards German producers expect and are used to. However, this is also how it should be!
German enterprises extent to the CE countries, especially to Poland, Czech R. and Slovakia, because of three factors: 1) the physical closeness of these countries; 2) the depletion of Germany's own labor market for quality skilled labor; 3) the, still, lower labor costs to the east compared to the west, e.g. compared to neighboring France or Belgium.
This is a very healthy development, and Euro-Slovakia and a strong Zloty in Poland show that "the Euro" can't be the only reason.
All three countries prove that it has much more to do with a willing, capable workforce that doesn't "stupidly" prices itself out of the market.
. . . And the gradual and robust increase in GDP and living standard in these countries shows additionally that "it's is the only way to go"!
I haven't heard that Mrs Merkel or any other significant German public figure is asking other European countries to "become Germans".
However, what many in the giver-countries (including Germany) are saying: If you want help from our people, then you shouldn't spend more money on average than our people can spend in our countries who are in a similar indigent situation. - As simple as that.
Only in your twisted world views this has anything to do "with thinking that inside every Greek there is a German trying to get out".
Instead, these are the simple laws and requirements of common decency, Kaplan, which seem not to have been part of your social education.
It made absolutely no difference which kind of currency the label "Made in Germany" was using in the past . . . And it will predictably continue to do be that way in the foreseeable future . . . whatever currency the country is going to use: The euro, a new-mark, a northern euro . . . or the Swiss Frank – the currency of a country with a very similar "people that make it work".
The Swiss example, which is also using a form of "applied ordoliberalism", shows that "the success of a currency" bears no reversed relation to the success of that country's economy. It's solely a question of the "the PEOPLE", as you correctly wrote, and the economic-political system these people choose for themselves.
If a German currency would have been "strengthened with Germany's success", as it was during times of the deutschmark, Germany's ordoliberalism would have simply found its own 'realistic equilibrium' . . . And surely no "suicidal pay raises", which could have priced the economy out of the market, would have taken place.
As far as I can look back in the industrialized world's history, Germany was an outstanding engineering powerhouse whose goods were sought after worldwide . . . with the gold-reichsmark as currency, with the deutschmark . . . and now with the euro.
Last but not least, in order to balance out different performance, the Germans adopted their "social market economy", which describes in three simple words what Germany's applied "ordoliberalism" is all about.
Looking again at the title of this article, it doesn't surprise me with which shallowness this was written. I didn't know that TE belongs to the yellow-press... not to mention the fact that many both positive and negative things described in this article are not "German" but rather common in many other countries.
Have you ever been to Germany, I mean in the last 60 years? I highly doubt we are more nationalist than other countries.
"While Spain has a very well educated workforce ..."
From a Reuters article - http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/2012/04/02/a-two-speed-economy-...
"In Spain the number of under 24-year-olds out of work is 50 percent, in Italy nearly a third of young people are without a job and in France the figure is a quarter.
However, in Germany youth unemployment is expected to sink to record lows over the coming months and is currently well below 8 percent.
If you are a young person in Germany your prospects for work and the future are brighter than they have been for generations. But for their peers in Spain things have never been worse.
So what is Germany doing right and can Spain learn a few lessons? In an article written for the Centre for European Reform, John Springford lays the problem out clearly. In EU countries where rates of unemployment are high, levels of participation in higher education and vocational studies is approximately 40 percent. In Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland, where youth unemployment is fairly low, rates are closer to 60 percent in some cases."
I believe the main difference is Vocational studies, not university studies.
I don't bring this up out of mean-spiritedness. In my country, the US, its essentially the same. Everyone has a degree in art history, modern music, and other degrees for which one cannot make a living, but very few engineering and science degrees. We have more or less given up on vocational training such as welding, carpentry, electrician, machinists, etc. Its heartbreaking to see the youth who have borrowed to get a degree and in great debt, but cannot obtain employment.
Hopefully Spain and my country will restructure the educational system to provide useful education.
And, since you got me wound up with your inappropriate, almost racist "1930s reference", your mentioning of Japan in this context shows that you don't have much of a clue about japan either!
It is true that Japan didn't quite meet some "Anglo-Saxon" expectations, but you forgot to mention that -
1) - Japan is an aging, shrinking society. Hence, GDP growth can't be compared with a country that adds 1.2 million new arrivals to its workforce every year, additionally to its biological population growth.
2) - Japan is still one of the technology- and industrial-leaders in this world.
3) - Japan's gigantic government debt load was partly induced on U.S. and WTO insistence in an effort to avoid negative growth from overageing in a world-leading shrinking market as Japan's is. This was, after all, following the Keynesian advice from across the pond, the result of the mistaken belief that government stimulus can jumpstart an aging and shrinking economy. On US-economists' insistence the Japanese had tried repeated stimuluses . . . to no avail (this should rather be a lesson for the Europeans).
4) Japan doesn't have and never had a social market economy as Germany does which proved its crisis-resilience during the last 2008/2009 recession.
5) Japan has one of the lowest concentrations of foreign-source debt-funding. Almost all G-bonds are held domestically. Disruption in their sovereign bond market is unlikely, given their stable domestic savings rates and their healthy current account surplus. Thus Japan's G-bonds function almost like a generation-contract, whereby the working, tax-paying generation is funding the G-bond-holding older generation via interest payments and "royalties". It is almost like an old-age "insurance" scheme.
And last but not least, Japan in the 1970s was thriving on a mixture of large international corporations and smaller SMEs in form of retail outlets and factories. Foreign goods (US- and Europe-made) were available.
Still, it irked (mainly) the U.S. that large corporations found it often hard to break into Japan's economic pattern. From the other side of the Pacific it resounded constantly, "open your services; open your market!" (doesn't this sound familiar, also from TE's very editorial here on Germany?).
But it was not market-exclusion that hindered Western operations to establish themselves in Japan, as the many foreign firms showed that were ready to adapt to Japanes language and Japan's way of doing things.
However, the Japanese did what they were told; the society "incorporated". Unable to compete with the big 'in liquidity swimming' corporations, the traditional SME businesses that provided livelihoods for generations of Japanese families were being replaced by "service" corporations and retail chains that paid minimum wages "a la WalMart".
Before this, Tokyo used to be full of quirky, individually owned coffee shops that brewed an individual cup or pot from the beans of your choice, served it on fine china, and played the owner's choice of classical or jazz on the sound system. It's hard to find those anymore in Tokyo. They've been replaced by Starbuck and McDonald's and its imitators. Restaurants, drugstores, bookstores, and clothing stores have met the same fate.
The blinded 'freshly-baked' Japanese MBAers, returning from America's schools of economics, started laying people off en masse and cutting back on hiring young workers . . . all in the name of "shareholder value".
Meanwhile, the small businesses, which otherwise might have absorbed many of the laid-off workers, were being squeezed by the unwillingness on the part of the banks, which got - in the light of the high corporate returns on investment - too greedy to keep lending to small SMEs. This dangerous charade went on while the interest rates on parallel existing savings accounts stood at zero.
This is where "the Japanese" stand now, muddling through the mistakes of their past, but having one of the best infrastructures in the world, ready to take on global trade competition any time.
My advice to the Germans from my "Japanese experience": Don't assume "good advice" from economic adversaries with an agenda.
And . . . never change a winning horse in midstream!
raghuvansh1 wrote: "I spend 18 day in Germany. I ask you why Hitler united people of Germany in few years?"
This is the best question asked so far on these TE blogs, concerning the making of a dictatorship in modern times with modern means. And you are lucky, that I know a little about this. So I'm most happy to answer your question.
Whenever U.S. officials and people on these Economist blogs wish to demonize someone, they inevitably compare him to Adolf Hitler or call him "Nazi". This happened to me and others when vivashorsemachete, emmafiney or A J Maher don't agree with my or others' way of representing facts. As a matter of fact, it will most likely happen after they have read and digested this documentary-style contribution of mine. The message they are sending immediately resonates with people because everyone knows that Hitler was a brutal dictator and the Nazis were, in fact, the 'untermenschen' they labeled others with.
But how many people outside Germany know actually how Hitler became a dictator? My bet is, very few. I'd also bet that more than a few people would be surprised at how he pulled it off, especially given that after World War I Germany had become a democratic republic.
The story of how Hitler became a dictator is set forth in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer, on which this contribution is based.
Why Hitler "united" the people of Germany in only few years, part I
Some, a little better informed, know at least that Hitler had turned that nation into a totalitarian system, virtually 'overnight', after he had gained 'democratically' power with only 33% of the vote, some lesser numbers may know that, as soon as Hitler had established enough power as ruling chancellor he enacted the so called "ermaechtigungs gesetz" (look up Enabling Act of 1933 on the internet).
And only historians (besides those who received their historyeducation in Germany or Austria) usually know that this was already Hitler's second coup d'etat, after a failed attempt during the infamous "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich, on November 9, 1923 (he was subsequently arrested, sentenced and imprisoned).
This second attempt was politically and strategically much better planned. Hitler's sandbox simulations took place well in advance, right after the Great Depression started to take its toll on the still war- and hyperinflation-damaged Weimar Republic. The Great Depression and its consequences for the unstable German Republic offered Hitler a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Before they carried out their decisive coup, Hitler and his fellow members of the Nazi Party did everything they could to create chaos in the streets, including initiating political violence and murder, while presenting themselves as the "orderly saviors" from all the chaos. Everywhere in the downtrodden 'proletarian' quarters in the big cities they opened "solidarity councils" and installed soup kitchens for the needy, head on with the "commis". Anyhow, they managed together with the communists that the situation got so bad that martial law was proclaimed in Berlin.
In the presidential election held on March 13, 1932, there were four candidates: the incumbent, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg, Hitler, and two minor candidates, Ernst Thaelmann (communist leader) and Theodore Duesterberg (leader of the paramilitary organization 'steel helmet').
Hindenburg 49.6 percent
Hitler 30.1 percent
Thaelmann 13.2 percent
Duesterberg 6.8 percent
Even though Hitler had badly lost the presidential election, his promise to give "work to all family breadwinners" was drawing ever-larger crowds during the following congressional elections. "Work and bread" was the burning issue 1932/1933 in the cities, where every day long lists were published with the names of people that had died the previous day/night of starvation - or had simply frozen to death. One third of the workforce was unemployed in winter 1932/1933, another third was 'underemployed.
To pay for his "new social programs", Hitler promised to annul the burdens of the Treaty of Versailles. He campaigned with slogans like "weg mit dem Versailler Schanddiktat!" (away with the disgracing dictate of Versailles). Hitler promised, once became chancellor, to stop all WW I reparation payments resulting from that "Versailler Schanddiktat".
This is why he was able to draw ever-larger crowds during the congressional election. In one day, July 27 1932, he spoke to 60,000 persons in Brandenburg, to nearly as many in Potsdam, and that evening to 120,000 massed in the giant Grunewald Stadium in Berlin while outside an additional 100,000 heard his voice by loudspeaker. Because of the severe life-threatening situation that many were facing, millions of people and their families were "searching for a Messiah"; following everyone who convinced them that he was "their savior".
Indeed, time will tell. However you seem to have overlooked that all those countries you mentioned (Greece, Portugal and Spain) were following rather the capital-orientated (shareholder) model than the German 'mitbestimmung'-model and that the only country where businesses and SMEs are awash with liquidity . . . is Germany.
You can easily add the failed "real" economies of the USA, the UK and Ireland to this "Anglo Saxon" bandwagon scheme, since they are exactly the countries that are still in financial and/or economic trouble ... or started the global 'financial crisis' of 2007/2008 in the first place.
And you can surely not compare the QE-efforts and effects of a fiscal economy that waters down the whole world's USD-assets with every rotation of the printing presses with countries that don't have such home-turf advantage.
What you seem not to know is that very successful firms in the US (e.g. Google) actually practice voluntarily labor relations which are much closer to Germany's mitbestimmung-model than to the traditional American, capital-orientated and often labor-disrespecting views. German 'mitbestimmung' doesn't mean one or the other ('shareholders' vs. 'stakeholders'), but an intelligent 'merger' of the two.
And you also seem not to know that this isn't something 'newly' invented in Germany, but is rather part of Germany's unique "soziale marktwirtschaft" or "social market economy", which had evolved from the socio-economic theories of Ordoliberalism, taught at first at the Freiburg School of Economics, and promoted by most political parties in West Germany since World War II.
After studying, 'living' and earning my money in both world's models as an entrepreneur and investor for a number of years, I personally give - any time - clear preference to Germany's ordoliberal approach over the "Anglo-Saxon" finance capitalism.
When I talk to colleagues here in this country, who often hold degrees from one of the major economic schools in the US, I generally notice their grave ignorance of economic theories they weren't taught. It's, strangely, almost like the famous saying that "boorish peasants only eat what they know".
ryVToRd4GG blares: "Germans are simply incapable of keeping the peace in Europe"!!!!
It seems that you are from the very same moronic racist stock as those you keep shouting against.
The answer to your (both) rants is simple:
Greece should do what is best for Greece (and will eventually, I'm sure).
Germany should do what is best for Germany - not "best for Greece" or any other county (and will eventually, I'm sure).
Germany has the opposite of low wages (at least for less skilled workers).
Lidl, Marktkauf and Kaisers pay more than double what Walmart offers to its US employees.
As a rickshaw driver during some of my time in Berlin, I was raking in 26 euros an hour (though it's seasonal and informal with short working hours).
And if you want an internship or workplace training, it's far easier to get in Germany (even for a Brit) than to find it in the UK (which is far more nepotistic).
Germany just has a higher capital stock with a falling workforce - businesses are actively searching for anybody with even basic skills and motivation, and are happy to provide the necessary training.
Agenda 2010 wasn't so much about reducing German wages, as ending national pay bargaining and labour market regulation. Companies are now more free to set pay rates that are locally competitive, and to innovate in ways that result in new working practices. This has been especially important for growth in the East, and for lessening the (relative) economic decline of the North-West. Though, yes, it has resulted in some worsening of inequality in Germany, and wage stagnation for many.
@ The Author of this article:
Is there still a research departmet at the Economist, or are you guys free to take guesses and ventilate opinions?
"... the country [Germany] does not welcome immigrants"
... is about the most ridiculously prejudiced sentence I've read in these pages in quite a while (comments section included).
Yes, Germany has problems with the integration of minorities - no less so than any other Western European society with large foreign-born minorities such as the UK and France.
But the sort of crass de facto ghettoization as in the banlieues of big French cities or in North London does not exist in Germany, and you can find immigrants in leading positions in all walks of life.
Merkel's deputy chancellor, for example is a first generation Vietnam-born German.
In the US, first generation Americans aren't even eligible for the Presidency or Vice Presidency.
Catholicism and liberation theology: A new sort of religious radical
Johnson: linguistic co-existence: Neighbour languages
Robotic hotel staff: A byte to eat
Pakistan's political path: Two steps back
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I have defended him forever as a top 10 qb, playoff losses were not his fault, etc.
I did not expect us to win tonight but we were in position to do so.....and then bug eyed, choking romo comes along.
And thanks tony. Thanks so much.
I have defended him forever but tonight I would rather have drew bledsoe or quincy carter ot clint soerner. At least we know what we are getting with them.
Romo is the ultimate tease but when it really comes down to it he is a loser


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The Department of Education have confirmed that the Glyn Learning Foundation (GLF) will be the approved sponsor for the new primary school in Redhill this follows the recommendation by Surrey County Council executive member for schools and learning. Surrey County Council welcomes the establishment of Lime Tree Primary School from September 2013.
The GLF is a cross-phase multi academy trust based in Surrey comprising the Glyn School and Danetree Junior School. The Foundation also provides the Executive Headteacher to a third Surrey Primary School. The Glyn School is a National Support School and the Executive Headteacher is a National Leader of Education. The GLF has been granted sponsor academy status. The GLF supports an 'Every child counts' philosophy. Children would be encouraged to enjoy learning and benefit from an inclusive ethos, excellent teaching underpinned by strong leadership.
Applying for places
Surrey County Council and The GLF welcome applications for the new school in starting September. We will initially accept applications on the attached form up to 5 April 2013. 60 places will be offered for a start in 2013. You can apply for Lime Tree Primary School if you have had made an application for another school in the normal admission round, this will not impact upon that application, but would be considered if you do not receive any of your original preferences.
Meet the team
A number of events will be set up where you can meet the team that will be developing the school.
Two open days at Alexander Road have been arranged where you will be able to meet staff and talk through developments at the school.
Lime Tree Primary School and Staff would really welcome your attendance. An application form is attached below. All applications should be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com. Applications will be accepted up to 5 April 2013.
Additional Documents
Permalink: http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/view?a=397765


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Hysterical Antecedents
Never mind Snakes On A Plane, airline travelers and crew members are much more apprehensive about terrorists on a plane. Indeed, in the aftermath of the alleged British terror plot that was foiled earlier this month and the heightened security that followed this event, the friendly skies have been downright hysterical. Fliers are jumpier than members of Dick Cheney's hunting party (and perhaps his political party). They're seeing terrorists everywhere. Suspects abound. And, by suspects, I mean those who appear of Middle Eastern descent or of Muslim faith. Thanks to their dangerously extremist brethren, these are exceedingly difficult times for such folks, who, however innocent or unassuming, are viewed with more suspicion than Cindy Sheehan at a GOP fundraiser. Consider the recent consequences…
From the Washington Post:
Travelers Are Jittery After Air Plot Arrests
At an airport in Spain, a terrified 12-year-old girl began crying and pointing at two passengers, both Muslim college students, fueling a panic that led to their removal from the plane. A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated when officials wrongly suspected that luggage belonging to a woman of Pakistani descent contained liquid explosives. A Muslim doctor was escorted off a United Airlines flight in Denver after passengers became suspicious when he recited prayers.
A growing number of these kinds of incidents in recent days suggest how jittery and suspicious air travelers have become. Since British police announced earlier this month that they had broken up an alleged plot by young British Muslims to bomb jetliners flying from Britain to the United States, passengers and pilots are reporting high anxiety in the skies.
Some say the feeling is an understandable response to extraordinarily unsettling events involving airplanes, beginning with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But many Muslims—and even Sikhs and other non-Muslim people who appear Asian—say they are suffering for doing nothing more than "TWA: traveling while Asian.� [full text]
From the New York Times:
Dutch, Seeing No Terror Link, Free 12 Held After India Flight
Dutch authorities said Thursday that they were releasing all 12 passengers arrested on Wednesday after they aroused suspicion on a Northwest Airlines flight to India and it made an emergency landing in Amsterdam.
The police said that the men had been unruly but that no evidence was found that they were planning any terrorist actions.
The men, all Indian citizens or of Indian descent, had aroused the suspicion of the crew and several federal air marshals when they began using and passing around cellphones soon after takeoff from Amsterdam and ignored orders to keep their seat belts on and stay in their seats.
Because of the group's behavior, the pilot of the DC-10 decided to return to Amsterdam, and on the way back the plane was escorted by two Dutch fighter jets. On arrival, the 12 men were handcuffed and led away by the police, who held them overnight in a detention center. [full text]
From the Bangor Daily News:
Handcuffed Man Removed from Plane Diverted to Bangor
A man was handcuffed and removed Friday from a trans-Atlantic flight that was diverted to Bangor International Airport, passengers said.
American Airlines Flight 55, a Boeing 767, was en route from Manchester, England, to Chicago, when it was diverted for security reasons, said Arlene Murray, New England regional spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
She declined to elaborate….
Passengers told reporters that a man they believed to be of Middle Eastern descent was handcuffed and taken away by police. [full text]
Despite these incidents and others like them, government officials in the U.S. and abroad seem rather blasé about the growing hysteria and the prejudice and harassment that such breeds. Through their inaction or collusion, they sow further seeds of discontent in the Muslim and Arab world and so, rather than creating greater security, create less.
Cranston Ward 2 Debate Last Night
It sounds like this was a lively debate. I'm sorry I had to miss it, but we already had an important commitment to honor — the publication party for The Book of Regrets, a poetry collection published by Little Pear Press, which I'll say more about soon. The summary of the debate seems to focus more on the clashes between Navarro and Castellone, so if others can add comments fleshing out what was covered, that would be great. From Projo:
CRANSTON — Emilio L. Navarro stressed his "lifelong commitment" to the Democratic Party, drawing attention to his opponent's past Republican affiliation. Joseph C. Castellone praised the city's fiscal strength and suggested that Navarro was allied with politicians who had nearly bankrupted the city four years ago.
That was just in their opening remarks.
The candidates for the Democratic nomination for the Ward 2 City Council seat faced off last night in what will probably be the only debate before the Sept. 12 primary, and they seized on the opportunity to distinguish their platforms.
"I am the only choice for that seat," said Navarro, 39, a truck salesman who heads the local Little League. "If you want what's best for your family, you will give me your vote."
Republican Mark J. Lucas, who has no primary opponent in his bid for the Ward 2 seat, also participated in the debate, held at the Central Library, on Sockanosset Cross Road. The debate, sponsored by the Cranston Herald newspaper, attracted more than 50 people.
The most pointed exchanges, however, were between Navarro and Castellone, 42, who appeared eager to stake out conflicting positions on most issues and, at times, ridiculed each other's ideas.
At one point, Castellone mocked Navarro's proposal to drain the Budlong Pool every fall to accommodate skateboarders, saying mischievous youths need structure and parental oversight. "Rather than send them off on a skateboard," he said, "I'd like to send them off in the right direction."
Later, when Castellone called for eliminating the fees residents pay to use the pool, Navarro dismissed the idea as counterproductive. He said the city needed to raise revenue to improve the aging facility. (Residents pay $50 for a season family pass, $25 for an individual.)
"The fee that's charged is a bargain," Navarro said, agreeing with Lucas. "Every little bit helps."
Navarro, who has never before sought elective office, said the City Council should strip developer Piyush Patel of the liquor license it issued him for the restaurant Patel says would be part of his redevelopment of the long-closed Park Cinema.
That project, he said, is as good as dead. "The only thing that's happened is weeds growing," he said. "We need to tell Patel to just give it up."
Castellone, the owner of Cranston Firearms, disagreed. Navarro's plan, he countered, would doom the project. "The idea is not to continue to strangle this businessman," he said, a position echoed by Lucas. "We need to work with him."
The two switched their postures dramatically when asked about the council's strained relationship with the School Committee, with Navarro counseling reconciliation, and Castellone taking a hard line.
Navarro, running with the endorsement of the Democratic Ward 2 City Committee, said the council members should "build relationships" with the school board members to find common ground. He said the department should continue to enjoy virtual autonomy over its spending. [full text]
I was wondering if the issue of the Cullion Corporation Concrete batching plant came up. The latest news on this issue seemed discouraging, as the lawyer for Cullion was quoted in the Projo earlier in the week saying he fully expected the DEM to approve their building permit, over the strong objections of residents and businesses in the area. Council President Garabedian said that there will be another hearing of the City Council to solicit testimony from the DEM about the project.
Help Chafee Take a Position on Net Neutrality
The issue of net neutrality has been an issue that Lincoln Chafee, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Steve Laffey have all avoided taking a position on. The House of Representatives has already voted to give more power to corporations on the issue of internet communication. Now there is an effort from corporate lobbyists to force a vote on this issue in the Senate. Senators like Lincoln Chafee need to know that this is not a small, insignificant issue. Further, if Chafee takes a position on this issue, it may help encourage the other candidates to research this issue thoroughly and let the public know where they stand. From Moveon.org:
Can you help deliver the petitions next Wednesday—asking Senator Chafee to protect Net Neutrality? Please RSVP below.
What: Internet freedom petition delivery to the senator's office
Where: Senator Chafee's Providence Office, 170 Westminster Street, Providence, RI
When: Wednesday, 30 Aug 2006, 12:00 PM
For more on net neutrality, visit Save The Internet.
Failing Health Care
Occasionally, President Bush is forthcoming about what he stands for, as illustrated in the photo above. Earlier this year, Mr. Bush presented his proposed 2007 budget to the nation. A careful review of the budget revealed cuts to many valuable health care programs, as reported by the Washington Post:
If enacted, the 2007 budget would eliminate federal programs that support inner-city Indian health clinics, defibrillators in rural areas, an educational campaign about Alzheimer's disease, centers for traumatic brain injuries, and a nationwide registry for Lou Gehrig's disease. It would cut close to $1 billion in health care grants to states and would kill the entire budget of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center.
In a $2.8 trillion budget, the amounts involved may seem minuscule, but proponents argue that the health care projects Bush has singled out are the "ultimate homeland security," as Vinay Nadkarni put it. The spokesman for the American Heart Association said he cannot fathom why the administration has recommended eliminating a $1.5 million program that provides defibrillators to rural communities and trains local personnel on how to use the machines to restart hearts that go into cardiac arrest.
"Coronary heart disease is the number one killer in the United States," Nadkarni said. "This is actually something we can arm ourselves with." [full text]
There appears little question that the health care system in this country is inadequate, inefficient, and inequitable and that the Bush administration and Congress have failed to take any substantive action to remedy the situation. Compelling evidence of the health care crisis is offered by Doug Pibel and Sarah van Gelder in an article in the Fall 2006 issue of YES! Magazine:
Health Care: It's What Ails Us
For Joel Segal, it was the day he was kicked out of George Washington Hospital, still on an IV after knee surgery, without insurance, and with $100,000 in medical debt. For Kiki Peppard, it was having to postpone needed surgery until she could find a job with insurance—it took her two years. People all over the United States are waking up to the fact that our system of providing health care is a disaster.
An estimated 50 million Americans lack medical insurance, and a similar and rapidly growing number are underinsured. The uninsured are excluded from services, charged more for services, and die when medical care could save them—an estimated 18,000 die each year because they lack medical coverage.
But it's not only the uninsured who suffer. Of the more than 1.5 million bankruptcies filed in the U.S. each year, about half are a result of medical bills; of those, three-quarters of filers had health insurance.
Businesses are suffering too. Insurance premiums increased 73 percent between 2000 and 2005, and per capita costs are expected to keep rising. The National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) estimates that, without reform, national health care spending will double over the next 10 years. The NCHC is not some fringe advocacy group—its co-chairs are Congressmen Robert D. Ray (R-IA) and Paul G. Rogers (D-FL), and it counts General Electric and Verizon among its members.
Employers who want to offer employee health care benefits can't compete with low-road employers who offer none. Nor can they compete with companies located in countries that offer national health insurance.
The shocking facts about health care in the United States are well known. There's little argument that the system is broken. What's not well known is that the dialogue about fixing the health care system is just as broken.
Among politicians and pundits, a universal, publicly funded system is off the table. But Americans in increasing numbers know what their leaders seem not to — that the United States is the only industrialized nation where such stories as Joel's and Kiki's can happen.
And most Americans know why: the United States leaves the health of its citizens at the mercy of an expensive, patchwork system where some get great care while others get none at all.
The overwhelming majority — 75 percent, according to an October 2005 Harris Poll — want what people in other wealthy countries have: the peace of mind of universal health insurance. [full text]
Hurricane Katrina Coverage and More
Ava Lowery, the young activist phenom from Alabama, has recently created two new animation videos which may be viewed on her website, Peace Takes Courage. Both videos, "Progress� in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina, are powerful and well-worth watching.
By the way, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating rampage through the Gulf Coast is nearly upon us. The enormous human costs of this tragedy have been well-documented, but the ecological costs have generally received less attention. The National Geographic explores this subject (and many others related to the disaster) in their current issue:
• Hurricane Katrina's Ecological Legacy: Lost Swamps, Crops, Islands
Weapons of Mass Distension
The following article from today's Chicago Sun-Times offers hard evidence that, on occasion, some claims of a terrorist threat are inflated:
Is that a grenade in your pocket?
Mardin Azad Amin found himself in a tight squeeze last week when security at O'Hare Airport discovered a suspicious-looking object in his luggage.
So, Amin, 29, handled the delicate situation this way: He told security the object was a bomb, Cook County prosecutors say.
The security guard then asked Amin to repeat what he'd said to a supervisor. This time, Amin was chuckling as he spoke, prosecutors say.
In fact, Amin was trying to disguise the fact that the black object — resembling a grenade — was a component for a penis pump.
All the same, Amin was charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in prison if convicted, said Andrew Conklin, a spokesman with the Cook County state's attorney's office. Amin is due in court today for a preliminary hearing, Conklin said.
Amin eventually told investigators he'd lied about the object's true use because his mother was standing nearby when the object was discovered and he didn't want her to know about it, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing last week.
The incident occurred Aug. 16 as Amin was set to catch a flight to Turkey, Scaduto said.
Amin has no known criminal history, Scaduto said.
Clearly, some individuals will go to great lengths to avoid embarrassment—even if it means serving hard time. I wonder what sort of defense Amin's attorney will erect. ;-)
The Tragedy of Unintended Consequences
Tragedy abounds in this world. It always has, in various measures, and always will. In the face of tragedy, many questions linger. Why did this happen? What does it mean? Could it have been averted? Those answers that perchance come tend to be rather individual, filtered as they are through one's beliefs, values, and experiences. Rarely do the answers, such as they are, bring adequate comfort and resolution. For the past, with all its losses and horrors, cannot be undone. The fact of the tragedy remains, and so the question becomes: what can be taken from this event?
Today's Boston Globe offers a story of one recent tragedy. Here is an excerpt from that article:
Injured woman drowns when rescue boat capsizes in Connecticut River
CHARLESTOWN, N.H. –An injured woman drowned after a rescue boat taking her to an ambulance capsized in the Connecticut River, trapping her underneath in 20 feet of water, authorities said.
Virginia Yates, 60, of Rockingham, Vt., was stepping on a dock when she slipped, injured her head and fell into the river, said Sgt. Craig Morrocco of the Fish and Game Department.
A fire and rescue crew from Cornish brought Yates onto their brand new, flat-bottomed airboat and strapped her onto a backboard.
But as the boat headed to a waiting ambulance at a landing, it started taking on water and capsized, said Morrocco, whose agency was called to the scene about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"The boat swamped and emergency services personnel were unable to recover Miss Yates until some time later, and she's passed" said Marc Hathaway, Sullivan County attorney.
Edgar Emerson, of Bellows Falls, Vt., said he and Yates were on their way to visit friends when she slipped getting out of his pontoon boat and onto a dock on the Vermont side of the river.
She had cuts and bruises on her head and arms and might have broken her ankle, so he made sure she was seated on the shore before he boated to Hoyt's Landing in Springfield, Vt., to find a cell phone and call friends. Others persuaded him to call 911, he said.
"She didn't want to go in the ambulance, she didn't want to be rescued," Emerson told the Rutland Herald….
None of the Cornish fire and rescue crew members were reported injured. Yates remained underwater for nearly an hour.
The cause of the accident was unclear. [full text]
What may be taken from this unfortunate event is the sadly ironic parallel with a tragedy of far greater proportions: the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. President Bush and members of his administration have frequently asserted—once the dissembling about weapons of mass destruction and links with al-Qaeda were exposed—that a key reason for invading Iraq was, in effect, to rescue the Iraqi people, to liberate them from the injurious regime of a brutal man. In March of this year, Mr. Bush described the invasion as "the necessary first step in restoring stability and freedom to the people of Iraq.� While there appears to have been no time in recent history that the Iraqi people have actually experienced much "stability and freedom,� thus making its restoration a questionable premise, it nonetheless appears clear that the lofty goals espoused by the President remain a distant likelihood. The "freedom agenda,� as he has taken to calling it, has proved disastrous. Far from being rescued, the people of Iraq have experienced enormous suffering and loss of life. Consider the following:
• At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 US-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry, and other agencies — a toll 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration. Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but have not been counted because of serious lapses in recording the number of deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government and continued spotty reporting nationwide. (Boston Globe, 6/25/06)
• Malnutrition among Iraqi children has reached alarming levels, according to a U.N.-backed government survey showing people are struggling to cope three years after U.S.-forces overthrew Saddam Hussein. Nine percent — almost one in 10 — of children aged between six months and five years, suffered acute malnourishment, said the report on food security and vulnerability in Iraq. "Children are…major victims of food insecurity,â€? it said, describing the situation as "alarming.â€? A total of four million Iraqis, roughly 15 percent of the population, were in dire need of humanitarian aid including food, up from 11 percent in a 2003 report. (Reuters, 6/15/06)
• Nationwide statistics during the past three years suggest that American efforts to secure Iraq aren't succeeding. While various military operations have at times improved security in parts of the country, the bloodshed has mounted with each U.S.-declared step of progress, according to figures that the Brookings Institution research center compiled from news and government reports. When L. Paul Bremer, then the top U.S. representative in Iraq, appointed an Iraqi Governing Council in July 2003, insurgent attacks averaged 16 daily. When Saddam Hussein was captured that December, the average was 19. When Bremer signed the hand-over of sovereignty in June 2004, it was 45 attacks daily. When Iraq held its elections for a transitional government in January 2005, it was 61. When Iraqis voted last December for a permanent government, it was 75. When U.S. forces killed terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al Zarqawi in June, it was up to 90. (McClatchy Newspapers, 8/14/06)
• July appears to have been the deadliest month of the war for Iraqi civilians, according to figures from the Health Ministry and the Baghdad morgue, reinforcing criticism that the Baghdad security plan started in June by the new Iraqi government has failed. An average of more than 110 Iraqis were killed each day in July, according to the figures. The total number of civilian deaths that month, 3,438, is a 9 percent increase over the tally in June and nearly double the toll in January. The rising numbers indicate that sectarian violence is spiraling out of control and seem to bolster an assertion that many senior Iraqi officials and American military analysts have been making in recent months: that the country is already embroiled in a civil war, not just slipping toward one, and that the American-led forces are caught between Sunni Arab guerrillas and Shiite militias. (New York Times, 8/15/06)
How much evidence is required before Mr. Bush and others who would tout America's success in Iraq wake up and smell the gunpowder? Whatever the intentions may have been, however noble or nefarious, it is patently obvious that U.S. efforts have produced greater harm than good. A fundamental tenet of medicine is primum non nocere, which is Latin for "first, do no harm.� Those responsible for formulating and implementing this nation's foreign and domestic policies ought take this principle more to heart and take heed of the difficult lessons such tragedies as Iraq may afford. Virginia Yates died while being rescued on the Connecticut River, for reasons that remain unclear. It was an unintended consequence. Iraqi civilians are dying every day in Baghdad and Basra and Ramadi, for reasons that are perhaps more clear but no less deadly. It is an unintended consequence, as well. Daily, the body count rises, and the liberation grinds on. What is to be taken from all this?
Bush Administration Fails to Help New Orleans
I know that the business of governance is diverse and complex, but anyone who would give the Bush administration a passing grade, particularly for its performance in the last year or so, ought have their head examined. (For a modest fee, I can make myself available for such a consultation.) The biggest reason to flunk Mr Bush and his inglorious band of flunkies is the unconscionably shoddy response to Hurricane Katrina, past and present, which has left New Orleans (and other areas of the Gulf Coast) in such utter disrepair that it may be years before the city and its residents adequately recover. The gross incompetence, malfeasance, and corruption that has marked—or, more accurately, impeded—the rebuilding efforts and the misery that has resulted from such are shameful. The situation is inexcusable and decidedly unbecoming of a nation as rich as ours. It sickens me, a feeling that grew exponentially after I read an article today on the Common Dreams website by Bill Quigley, who is a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Quigley thoroughly documents the many ways in which New Orleans is presently far from recovered and the federal government has failed to offer due relief. I highly recommend the article, which is too lengthy to excerpt but may be found here:
New Terrorist Plot Uncovered!
As much as I hate to admit it, President Bush may have been right when he asserted that the terrorists are "people who will stop at nothing to achieve their objectives.� On the heels of the recently foiled British terror plot (a.k.a. the al-Qoolata conspiracy) comes word of a plot so fiendish and disturbing that it begs the question: how low can these dirtbags go? It's bad enough that the terrorists are exploiting angry and impressionable Muslim youth, turning them into IEDs (Improvised Explosive Dudes). But now, apparently not content with their exploitation of one species, these yahoos are using woodland animals to wreak havoc on innocent Americans. It's true! Thankfully, the ever vigilant folks at the Department of Homeland Security (motto: We Put the Cur in Security) were able to uncover the plot, as reported in today's Washington Post:
Psycho killer raccoons terrorize Olympia
OLYMPIA, Washington—A fierce group of raccoons has killed 10 cats, attacked a small dog and bitten at least one pet owner who had to get rabies shots, residents of Olympia say.
Some have taken to carrying pepper spray to ward off the masked marauders and the woman who was bitten now carries an iron pipe when she goes outside at night.
"It's a new breed," said Tamara Keeton, who with Kari Hall started a raccoon watch after an emotional neighborhood meeting drew 40 people. "They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid."
Tony Benjamins, whose family lost two cats, said he got a big dog — a German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix — to keep the raccoons away….
In one case five raccoons tried to carry off a small dog, which managed to survive.
The attacks…are highly unusual, said Sean O. Carrell, a problem wildlife coordinator with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, adding that trappers may be summoned from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove problem animals….
Meanwhile, residents have hired Tom Brown, a nuisance wildlife control operator from Rochester, Washington, to set traps, but in six weeks he has caught only one raccoon. He and Carrell said raccoons teach their young — and each other — to avoid traps.
Brown said he had seen packs of raccoons this big but none so into killing.
"They are in command up there," he said. [full text]
Stunning Evidence of Dark Matter
From today's Boston Globe:
Scientists say they have proof of dark matter
For decades, many scientists have theorized that the universe is made up of nearly undetectable mysterious substances called dark matter and dark energy. But until yesterday there was no proof that the subatomic matter exists.
After studying data from a long-ago collision of two giant galaxies, researchers now say they are certain dark matter exists and plays a central role in creating and defining gravity throughout the universe.
While the scientists are not sure exactly what dark matter is, since they have yet to identify it in a laboratory, they said the workings of the universe cannot be explained without it.
The finding will have potentially great impact on an active debate among physicists and cosmologists about not only dark matter, but the workings of gravity. Indeed, the theory of dark matter evolved largely to explain the finding several decades ago that there was not enough visible matter in the universe to produce and account for the gravity needed to keep galaxies from flying apart.
"A universe that's dominated by dark stuff seems preposterous, so we wanted to test whether there were any basic flaws in our thinking," said Doug Clowe of the University of Arizona in Tucson, leader of the NASA-Harvard University study. "These results are direct proof that dark matter exists." [full text]


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By Julie Straw - bio | email | twitter
JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Just as quickly as it came, the snow nearly melted all away. That was good news for Entergy crews that worked quickly to restore power across the state. Heavy snow resting on power lines knocked out electricity to thousands of Mississippi residences. At its peak 19,800 customers were without power.
WLBT spotted crews out working in North and South Jackson this afternoon. Entergy spokesperson Mara Hartman announced only 100 customers were without power 5:30 p.m. Saturday and expected power to be fully restored by late Saturday night.
"We have a generator so that hasn't been a problem for us. Several of the neighbors along this street also have generators, so I don't think they have been affected," said Susie Puckett who lives in Jackson's Eastover subdivision.
The snow also snapped tree branches and forced a large oak to split in half then topple onto a house on Woody Drive in south Jackson. The home is for sale and unoccupied. No one was injured.
©2010 WLBT. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
A boy calls 911 from inside a carjacked vehicle with four other kids.More >>
A boy calls 911 from inside a carjacked vehicle with four other kids.More >>


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Bookshop joins in World Book Night (From Ledbury Reporter)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting MG NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
Bookshop joins in World Book Night
Updated 12:06pm Tuesday 22nd April 2014 in News
LEDBURY Books and Maps will be participating in World Book Night on Wednesday, April 23, by giving away copies of Cherub: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore, a book for young readers, 12 and up.
Incredibly gripping from the very start, this is an adventure that's set very much in the real world with trouble from school, the police and bullies as well as terrorist threats to contend with. Gritty, powerful and very thrilling.
Ledbury Books and Maps have copies of this book to give away free. Just pop up to the shop at 20 High Street, Ledbury during normal opening hours on Wednesday, April 23 to pick up your copy.
World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books, when passionate volunteers give hundreds of thousands of books away in their communities to share their love of reading. The event is run by The Reading Agency - the charity with a mission to give everyone an equal chance to become a reader.


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Cool Monitor Setups.
Computer Workstation Setups:
And here we got some ultimate 'Computer Workstation Setups', which are very impressive. We are sure it will make one think to setting up their own workstation, if they don't have it yet! Here is the rest of the gallery - link.
Other Posts:
Wood World.
Ads Using Pillows.
Amazing Lighthouses.
Creativity With Banana.
Not The Usual Schools.


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Couture Reassigned to Worcester
Could be any number of reasons (salary cap for example), so it's not a sure thing that he won't be up with the big club tomorrow in Nashville. That being said, the Torrey Mitchell winds are blowing strong. Let's see if those winds are more than just hot air.


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Wearable tech clearly has legs, and is projected to grow into a $19 billion market in the next four years, with consumer spending ballooning by more than 1200 percent by 2018. And my general feelings for wearables are warm and supportive. I'm jazzed by the prospect of strapping sensors and microchips to my temples and wrists. It's just so irresistibly gadgety.
Still, aside from a small collection of fitness products, currently available wearable offerings are difficult to use and aesthetically challenged. They confuse users (I'm looking at you, smart watches). They elicit contemptful stares (I'm looking at you, Google Glass). Bluntly speaking: They're not very good.
The situation evokes memories of 2011 when traditional laptop manufacturers reacted to the stunning success of the iPad with a throng of flawed Android tablets. But this time around there's not even an iPad to validate the concept. At least one industry analyst, however, is optimistic.
"The wearables market is experiencing a hype bubble right now, but so did the Internet in 1999, and that didn't make the Internet any less important," says J.P Gownder, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. "Still, wearables vendors need to make sure that they are solving unique problems for users. A smart watch that simply replicates the same activities you can do by pulling your smartphone out of your pocket won't find a huge market."
Activity trackers step to the front of the line
Activity trackers form the one wearables category that's somewhat mature, and not defined from top to bottom by flawed design. Certainly, a number of bottom-feeding fitness-tech companies will make a showing at CES 2014, if only because it's so easy to pack a simple wristband with an accelerometer, pair it with some off-the-shelf algorithms, and then go to market.
But a number of proven fit-tech players will also be at the show, and I'm excited to see how they'll evolve their gear. Basis, the company that trumpets the greatest array of body sensors in any wrist-worn activity tracker, promises interesting tricks up its sleeve, but is currently keeping mum on whether it will be showing off new hardware or extensions to its software platform.
Basis CEO Jef Holove did, however, tell me that he "anticipates a shift" in how manufacturers approach fitness-tracking hardware. "When Apple released the iPhone 5 with the M7 processor, it became even more clear that many of basic functionalities of trackers would be assumed by users' smartphones, creating a challenge for health trackers to do something more," Holove says. "For Basis, we've been taking this approach from the start with our multiple sensors getting at real bio signals. And we expect others will begin to look for ways to do more than apps can do on their own."
Then there's Fitbit, which has a large line of activity trackers, and will be at the show for the third year in a row. I don't expect any new wearables from this company, as it just released the Fitbit Force in October. But perhaps we'll see overall platform updates, or some kind of announcement that keeps one of the biggest names in activity tracking in the CES news mix.


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LONDON / Jemima - There's a shop in London, walking distance from where I work, that makes me happier than I can really explain without sounding weird. Shepherds Falkiners are a fine paper and book binding specialist who, among every type and colour of paper imaginable, stock this unutterably gorgeous screen-printed paper from Japan. It's so delicate and intricate and beautiful, I often buy a sheet or two whenever I need an indulgent treat – though it's far too pretty to actually use!
ABU DHABI / Kate - I made laser cut business cards and these are the remains. What shall I do with a whole box full of paper birds?
LONDON / Alice – Some ep sleeves of my mums from the 60′s which I discovered. I love the colours so much I put them up on my bedroom wall.
LEEDS / Lizzie - Today I went to the sculpture library at the Henry Moore Institute [in Leeds]. This place is such a brilliant resource for all those interested in art; the time seems to disappear while you've got your nose in a book full of pictures
MELBOURNE / Alison - My beautiful paper flowers from my husband on our first wedding anniversary.


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"Cap-and-trade is wildly unpopular with Americans."
The health care reform bill -- on Page 16 -- outlaws private insurance.
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The infamous AMOLED
Firstly, apologies if this has been mentioned ad nauseam.
Today I noticed something sad on my Galaxy S screen other than the fact that I am still using a Galaxy S (I try to leave it for the next best thing, but for some reason I stick with it; like the abusive spouse I'm unable to free myself from.) Staying on topic, I noticed something that I haven't come across in the two & a half years from owning the phone. Today I noticed...burn in.
In all the articles I've read about all the different screen technologies there was the occasional mention of burn-in for AMOLED screens. "Pfff" I'd balk. "I don't see any on mine, nor have any friends with their S & S2's mention it.
No, most articles are about pentile this, and over-saturation that; two "faults" I have no qualms with whatsoever. I watch many videos on the phone and find the calibrated saturation level to give them a bit of extra life. Pentile orientation never concerned me. It wasn't an issue before better screens came along so why would it now? At that time in the smartphone race I found the screen to be beautiful. I still do.
Perhaps it's the dark levels? Such a void, as stars set against its deep abyss on a clear night. How dramatic. Yet, there is a warmth to the screen that I don't find in others. It's definitely something.
...I found the screen to be beautiful. I still do.
Experiencing an issue that is more objective now, I find my impression with the technology cast in doubt. Is this just an issue with early AMOLED screens? I message my friend and ask him to take a look at the homescreen on his S-AMOLED+ SGSII. He changes his launcher homescreen setting to hide the notification bar as I have it.
"I see it," he types. "I still see the notification bar - especially the top-right corner where the time is displayed." My suspicion - confirmed. My certainty for AMOLED - sent into remission. This is not my next.
It is just a screen, but I can't help feel uneasy about the millions of other Galaxy owners. Will they all one day notice and cry foul? The SII is well shy of its 2nd birthday yet here we sit with confirmed cases. For the most part, LCD trumped Plasma in the TV market and we know burn-in to be one of several factors for plasma's less-popular status. Relatively recent plasma televisions include features to counter burn-in. Displays with a few tricks to help prevent the damage. Is AMOLED headed this way, is it already here in the SIII, or is it a technology forever stamped with an expiry date? Will OLED suffer the same long term affects? Have you experienced burn-in on your AMOLED screen, and if so do you care, or disregard it?
For now, I remain cautious. Obviously other display tech have equaled and surpassed that of AMOLED. My next may very well be IPS+ or Super LCD, but I will miss that something.


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About Camp Twin LakesCamp Twin Lakes is a network of camps providing lifechanging camp experiences to thousands of children with serious illnesses, disabilities, and challenges. Camp Twin Lakes collaborates with over 40 different organizations (their Camp Partners) to create customized programs that teach campers to overcome obstacles and grow in their confidence and capabilities. Camp Twin Lakes is thrilled to provide programs at various state-of-the-art facilities throughout the state of Georgia, including overnight camps in Rutledge and Winder, day camps in Atlanta, children's hospitals, and more. Since its opening, Camp Twin Lakes has welcomed more than 40,000 children and volunteers. Each year, thousands of campers and volunteers head to Camp Twin Lakes- Rutledge and Camp Twin Lakes- Will-A-Way for weeklong summer sessions and fall and spring weekend retreats.
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text: Both have players have had their moments during preseason, but if you were to decide which player were to start at SG while Avery Bradley recovers who would it be? Lee is pegged as the starter as he brings defense and youth to the counter, though he has had a rough start to the preseason. Terry on the other hand, still shoots great for his age. The "JET" has been played more than I would have expected this preseason, though he faces a tough challenge of getting over his 6th man reputation, and winning the starting job. Terry seems to be adjusting better in Boston (both on and off the court) than Lee, but ony time will tell who Doc will go with.


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I had send DND registration message on 3.09.10 & received a message "Your DND registration seccessful & it will activate after 45 days".
After that a "FUNNY MESSAGE" message subcription automatically activated with my Mobile NO, which cuts Rs 10/- automatically from my balance. I called to customer care to deactivate that, But he told me " You have to send a message from your phone to deactivate".
He has no responsibility to that funny thing.
On 05.11.10 i called customer care because DND is not activated ( TILL NOW ). He said me "That SERVICE is not registered with your no".
He Again REGISTERED MY NO & said that will be activate after 45 days.
I want to activate DND quickly. What can i do.
Yours Faithfully,


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As of Thursday, August 23, 2012
© Copyright 2014 Clayton News Daily
You know, for a world heritage site, Stonehenge is not all the brochures make it out to be.
First off, you're in the middle of Salisbury Plain, which is pretty to look at as long as you can find beauty in places where the moo cows and fat (like really obese) hogs hang out.
Second, the presentation at Stonehenge sucks. I'm sorry to be so brutally blunt about it, but it's terrible. They walk you around the circle of stones and spend the entire time telling you what Stonehenge is not instead of playing to the audience's imagination.
One of the first things they tell you is that Stonehenge was not a place where sacrifices were conducted.
Really, you're going to take all of the fun out of it right off the bat?
That myth apparently got started because the chemical make up of the rocks and the stuff growing on it does a funky reaction whenever it rains. It's really present only on what people call the sacrifice stone because that stone fell over.
When it rains, the rock turns red.
Blah. What fun is a chemistry lesson in the middle of my vacation?
Most of what follows is basically blah, blah, blah.
The celts didn't build it. It wasn't a religious temple. It's a marvel of ancient engineering.
By the time you get to the end of the tour, the only theory they haven't discounted is that Stonehenge may have been a giant calendar. In fact, they drop little hints along the way that suggest it was a calendar but they keep trying to claim they don't know what Stonehenge was used for.
Come on now. I may be from the south but I'm not that dumb. I can see when you're secretly trying to plant an idea in my head.
It all made me say, "M'eh."
I won't deride Stonehenge too much. It is pretty cool to see the arrangement of stones in circles — or at least what's left of the circles.
You just have to keep in mind that it's cool in that "I'm staring at a bunch of rocks" kind of way. What was more interesting for me was getting the opportunity to photograph the stones.
Once you hear no bloodbaths took place there, it just becomes a cool photo opportunity.
They should have actors in costume jump out from behind some of the stones and charge at people with Neolithic weapons in hand. That would make the presentation go a lot farther.
It's got to be a lot better than getting a chemistry lesson with the moo cows.
Curt Yeomans covers government for the Clayton News Daily. He can be reached at (770) 478-5753, ext. 247 or via e-mail at email@example.com.
More like this story
- What's in a name like Bath? — Curt Yeomans ( September 13, 2012 )
- Life way outside the perimeter — Curt Yeomans ( July 19, 2012 )
- Free brings glee for budget-minded tourists —CURT YEOMANS ( December 6, 2012 )
- What makes a small town so great ( November 14, 2013 )
- Flying in the face of danger — CURT YEOMANS ( June 6, 2013 )


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There are some fantastic homes on the market on the West Bank that are just sitting there. It used to be that if a house was listed for more than a couple of months, the safe assumption was that there was something wrong with it – priced too high, poor condition, funky floor plan or any other number of things that would cause a buyer to pass it by.
In today's market, we can't make those same assumptions. Even when priced perfectly and in show ready condition, some homes are losing out because the supply of available properties is greater than the number of qualified buyers.
What's an Absorption Rate?
An absorption rate is an estimated of how long it will take the current inventory of homes to sell. It's a moving target, but the best we can do is base it on the most recent month of sales and make a projection. Less than 6 months of inventory is a seller's market, 6-7 months of inventory is a pretty balanced market and over 7 months of inventory is a buyer's market. If your neighborhood is a buyer's market, patience is going to be a must while waiting for the right buyer to come along.
West Bank Absorption Rates
Across the West Bank, there are currently 1,199 single family homes for sale. In May, there were 136 sales. That means it would take almost 9 months to sell the existing listings – a buyer's market. This doesn't account for any new homes that may come on the market in the meantime. It's a snapshot of what's happening right now.
How does this breakdown by zip code?
Belle Chasse (70037) 8 sales in May, 44 active listings, 5.5 month supply of listings
Algiers (70114, 70131) 37 sales in May, 328 active listings, 8.9 month supply of listings
Gretna (70053) 7 sales in May, 81 active listings, 11.6 month supply of listings
Terrytown (70056) 13 sales in May, 161 active listings, 12.4 month supply of listings
Harvey (70058) 35 sales in May, 149 active listings, 4.3 month supply of listings
Marrero (70072) 23 sales in May, 251 active listings, 10.9 month supply of listings
Westwego (70094) 12 sales in May, 144 active listings, 12 month supply of listings
Need more details on the competition in your neighborhood? Sign up for our free market snapshot and get the latest listings and sales delivered to you each month – spam free.


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Return to the Current Exhibitions page
November 18, 2011
The School of Art & Design's annual All Student Exhibition will run from Friday, November 18 to Wednesday, December 14, 2011. Undergraduate and graduate student work will be installed throughout the School's facilities: Slusser Gallery, Robbins Gallery, Work•Ann Arbor, and all the corridor venues in the Art & Architecture Building.
The exhibition will open on Friday, November 18, 2011 with gala receptions from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at all Ann Arbor galleries. There will be refreshments, music, and bus shuttles between North Campus and Work • Ann Arbor on State Street.
Awards were selected by a 4-member faculty jury:
Rebekah Modrak, Associate Professor, Jury Chair
Seth Ellis, Assistant Professor
Sadashi Inuzuka, Professor
Stephanie Rowden, Associate Professor
The 2011 All Student Exhibition awardees are:
First-Year Undergraduate Awards:
Meghal Janardan
Marco Lorenzetti
Joanne Ly
Caroline Marin
Lonny Marino
Ira Richardson
Second-Year Undergraduate Awards:
Elise Beckman
Anna Brown
Nicole Hankus
Marla Jones
Melania Plasko
Theo Zizka
Third-Year Undergraduate Awards:
Taylor Bultema
Emily Cedar
Lindsey Eldredge-Fox
Rose Rosenhauer
Stephanie Schutter
Julia Tan
Graduating Senior Awards:
Kathryn Bonsted
Andrew Hainen
Amber Harrison
Allison Hylant
Emerson Schreiner
Brijit Spencer
Graduate Student Awards:
Ann Bartges - First Year
Bernadette Witzack - Second Year
Reed Esslinger - Third Year
2011 All Student Exhibition poster by Ellen Rutt.
As of July 1, 2014, the Warren Robbins Gallery is closed.
Open during exhibitions Monday through Saturday: 8 am - 5 pm. Closed Sundays and Holidays. Free Admission, Handicapped Accessible
UM School of Art & Design, 1st Floor
2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069
Google Map
Open during exhibitions Monday through Saturday, 12 pm to 7 pm. Closed Sundays and Holidays. Free Admission.
306 State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Google Map


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Thank you for visiting our website and for taking the time to learn about our school. Housed in a beautifully renovated space, the Day School at Christ & Saint Stephen's is an Episcopal preschool for children of all faiths. We warmly invite you to visit our school and learn more about our program.
News & Announcements
Accepting Applications
November 01, 2013
Applications are still availbale for our 3-year-old class Learn More »