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Attend: Program Notes
Traffic | Steven Soderbergh | USA | 2000 | 147 minutes
Cinesthesia, Madison Public Library Central Branch, Thursday, February 2, 6:00pm»
Jason Furhman's program notes for tonight's screening of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic traces its journey from a British television mini-series to Academy Award winning feature film.
Steven Soderbergh's career reached a new high with this visually ambitious, hard-boiled panorama of the ongoing, disastrously ineffectual "War on Drugs". Described by the director as "Nashville meets The French Connection," Traffic traces the illegal drug trade from distribution to consumption through the lives of dozens of characters, from wealthy kingpins to world-weary students, from underpaid Tijuana street cops to idealistic Washington officials, from undercover DEA agents to ruthless assassins. Soderbergh delivers a fresh and lucid perspective on a multi-layered issue, while neither excessively editorializing nor foregoing entertainment. At once a gripping political thriller and a sprawling mosaic of human frailty and desire, Traffic lives right on the border between Hollywood and independent filmmaking.
Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan based his script on a 1989 British television series named Traffik, which follows the movement of heroin from the poppy fields of Pakistan to the open veins of British addicts. For his adaptation, Gaghan transplanted the story to North America, focusing on the flow of hard drugs from Mexico to the United States. Traffic concisely introduces us to an array of men and women involved in the illegal drug industry at multiple levels. These characters form an intricate network of supply and demand in which no one remains unscathed. Omitting as much exposition as possible while remaining coherent, the film tells three parallel narratives, which sometimes connect but usually do not. Each new scene contributes its own information to the larger puzzle. Traffic unfolds fast, and faster still as the story shifts rapidly from Tijuana to Washington, D.C., to San Diego, then back again to Mexico.
Traffic opens in the Mexican desert not far from California. Two plainclothes policemen, played by Benicio Del Toro and Jacob Vargas, intercept a truck filled with cocaine, but the drugs are seized by a powerful, shadowy army general (Tomas Milian). Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., conservative Ohio State Supreme Court Justice Robert Wakefield has just been appointed the nation's newest drug czar, a position that he embraces with the naiveté of someone who has no idea what the job actually means. In San Diego, two undercover federal agents, Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) and Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) successfully bust an articulate, cynical mid-level trafficker, Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), on their way to catching Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer), a drug lord who is ostensibly a respectable millionaire.
Unbeknown to Wakefield, his sullen 16-year-old daughter, Caroline (Erika Christianson), an honors student who attends a private school in a Cincinnati suburb, has graduated from recreational snorting with her amoral boyfriend (Topher Grace) to habitual freebasing. Back West, after an upscale lunch with friends at the local country club, pregnant socialite Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) discovers that her affluent lifestyle is not what it seems when her husband is arrested and the family's assets are frozen. Almost immediately, she is caught between her husband's associates, who are demanding money she doesn't have to give, and the DEA, which demands cooperation she doesn't want to surrender.
With 110 principal roles and a relatively compressed 54-day shooting schedule, Traffic presented Soderbergh with his most complex logistical challenge to date. "In the production meetings, I'd say, 'Look, what's most important is energy and emotion. Just be on your toes and be ready.'" To sustain momentum, the director shot the movie himself—a highly unusual choice for a production of its size and scale. Using a handheld camera and filming with available light where possible, Soderbergh sought to cultivate an atmosphere of raw immediacy on set. "For this film, I spent a lot of time analyzing [Gillo Pontecorvo's] Battle of Algiers and [Costa-Gavras'] Z—both of which have that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after. I just wanted that sensation of chasing the story, this sense that it may outrun us if we don't move quickly enough." His intimate, restless camerawork infuses Traffic with a documentary feel that rivets attention and brings the script to life.
Employing a range of techniques, Soderbergh adopts stylized color coordination to steer viewers through his astutely interlaced stories. The burnt ochre Mexico segments were shot through filters and with a 45-degree shutter to create "a stroboscopic feeling," then digitally re-saturated. For Wakefield's Ohio courtroom and Washington, D.C. sequences, he devised a vividly opposing icy blue, clinical scheme. In the San Diego scenes bursting with lush, vibrant hues, Soderbergh used a process known as flashing: overexposing the film to white light before the negative is developed ("to create an idyllic look that . . . would contrast nicely with the slimy undercurrent"). This innovative approach is a bold aesthetic maneuver with a practical advantage: the colors instantaneously signify where you are and with whom.
Soderbergh contemplates the role drugs play in an individual's life and the cultural reasons for how they are viewed, while raising difficult questions about self-medication, pleasure, dependence and addiction. The movie is powerful precisely because it doesn't preach. Traffic is epic entertainment with a social conscience and Soderbergh, who worked closely with Gaghan in adapting it, says impartiality was vital.
I didn't want to come off like we had answers. . . . But there seems to be a huge vacuum in the public debate and I guess this is one of the few times I felt a movie could actually help. The funny thing is, everybody who sees it thinks it puts their point of view across, and I was expecting exactly the opposite. We had a screening in Washington for Customs, DEA, and the Department of Justice and they all came out saying they really liked it. The following night, there was some hardcore leftie NPR/PBS screening in L.A. and some guy stands up and goes, 'Thank you for making the first pro-legalization movie.' Then the other night, [New York City Police] Commissioner [Howard] Safir came to a screening and said he thought it was the most accurate representation of law enforcement he'd seen in a long time. And I have, you know, stoner friends who are going, like, 'Dude, yeah, great . . .'"
Traffic presents a brutally honest, unflinching vision of a futile war being fought and lost. The film sets out the justifications for fighting the war, even as it also methodically exposes its hypocrisies and tragic dead-ends. Nevertheless, Traffic does not succumb to either despair or cynicism, and a humanistic undercurrent runs throughout it. The nuanced performances of an exceptional ensemble cast lend a vibrant personal dimension to the film, while evoking life at different social strata in various locations. Avoiding any affectation of being "Important," Traffic dispassionately and scrupulously conveys the sense that out there somewhere is an entrenched system that is ruining people's lives across the board.
Although every major studio in Hollywood turned it down, Traffic went on to obtain some of the American film industry's highest honors, including four Academy Awards, for best director, best adapted screenplay, best editing, and best supporting actor (for Benicio Del Toro). Soderbergh has said that he doesn't think Traffic could have been made by a studio, and perhaps he is correct. "It's an independent film," he insisted, days before it opened. To look at the movie then as now, to consider its dark, foreboding subject and its refusal to offer easy explanations, is to understand that it is a radical gesture disguised as an accessible thriller. With its rhythmic, kinetic energy, complex architecture, elliptical editing, and gritty realism, Traffic is a technically audacious and emotionally compelling masterpiece.


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Searching For General Lee: A Civil War Novel
Barrett Dowell
AuthorHouse (2012)
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (1/13)
Article first published as Book Review: Searching For General Lee: A Civil War Novel by Barrett Dowell on Blogcritics.
Barrett Dowell skillfully weaves a dramatic story around the Second Battle of Manassas, an offensive campaign waged by General Robert E. Lee and Major General John Pope. "Searching for General Lee: A Civil War Novel" is told from the point of view of Chadwick Curtis, a youth from outside Warrenton, Virginia.
Chadwick is on a mission to deliver a message to General Lee. Although not a soldier, he is faced with confusion regarding the implications of secession from the Union. As a member of a plantation family he is comfortable in his life and resists change, even as he struggles with the moral question of slavery, and the question of war.
In his search for General Lee, Chadwick is witness to the inhumanity of battle along with the courage and dedication of the fighting men. Chadwick's growth in character is a heartwarming take away from an unforgettable story of profound soul-searching historical fiction.
Barrett Dowell delivers a compelling story rich in the consistent use of powerful descriptive phrases that capture the reader's awareness of each of the five senses.
For example: "I could hear the screaming of Yankees trapped in their burning tents…a strange sight…with every flash of lightning we could see…" Another example: "The smell of wood smoke was heavily drifting into Chadwick's nostrils as he…"
Barrett's engaging dialog, vibrant language, and good visual writing create a clear picture of action that drives the story forward. Well-developed character descriptions lead to a participatory sense of drama and reader identification.
"Searching For General Lee: A Civil War Novel" by Barrett Dowell is a dramatic action-packed fictional account of a significant Civil War Battle, and will be enjoyed by history buffs young and old. Highly recommended.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dea is a 10 year old Pittbull! She loves to get attention from people and is well trained. She is purebred and was bought from a good breeder who did not breed pits to fight!! Dea is an example of a true pitbull!
Ferra is my big baby that is 14 weeks old. My guess is that she's a German Shepherd mix American Pitbull or a German Shepherd mix boxer. She's a very beautiful mix that I adopted from a rescue. Out of all my pups she's definitely going to be the biggest when fully grown. Ferra loves all her Flora and Fauna, such a beautiful young girl that loves nature and life. She loves laying on the grass chilling under a tree or lazing in the garden. I like threading flower accessories for her because it really suits her personality. She's my cute, little hippy.
Luna is a 3 month old mixed breed. She is 1/4 Plott Hound, 1/4 Pitbull and we're not quite sure what the other half is. She loves taking the stuffing out of stuffed animals and wrestling with her older brother, Charlie the Lab mix. She will also lick your face for hours if you let her!
This is Beans, whose actual name is Jasper. The reason we call him Beans is he is a very windy dog, so we started calling him Stinky Beans which then translated to Beans. We adopted him from Friends of the Strays at 7 weeks. His human owners at the time were not feeding his Mom nor any of her puppies. They were taken away and put up for adoption and the humans got in big trouble. Beans likes to spend his day playing catch with his half eaten toys, and following his sister Maddie around. Beans is the most snuggly, loving dog I have ever had. He follows me around and sits on my lap and snuggles ...
Koa is just 13 weeks. He loves playing in the water and we can usually find him splashing around in his water bowl. Sometimes he even manages to get all four paws in there. His favorite treats are beggin strips, and pretty much anything he gets his paws on and most of all Ice cubes :)


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FRAMINGHAM (09/24/2003) - Two exciting studies published last month in The Lancet and Cell, respectively, provide excellent examples that DNA microarrays are not merely passive platforms to survey gene expression data but, in the right hands, can shed important light on aspects of disease, in these cases cancer, that have previously proven intractable -- the prediction of drug response and the underlying cellular mechanisms.
Writing in the Aug. 2 issue of The Lancet, Jenny Chang and colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine describe a 92-gene signature in breast cancer biopsies that predicts, with impressive accuracy, the sensitivity or resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the drug docetaxel. This is perhaps the first in what will become a flood of clinical studies using DNA chips to monitor chemosensitivity in patients.
Although docetaxel (produced by Aventis, which also funded the Baylor study) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent, many patients are either partially or completely resistant. Frustratingly, there is no a priori means of predicting whether a given patient will respond until after the treatment begins.
Chang's team set out to see if the expression patterns of genes in the breast tumor itself might correlate with resistance to the drug. They used needle core biopsies in 24 women to extract RNA from tumors averaging 8 cm in size. Then, using the Affymetrix GeneChip HG-U95Av2 array, which consists of probe sets for more than 12,500 genes, Chang's team measured the gene expression patterns from the 24 samples. Eleven women were sensitive to docetaxel, as evidenced by a reduction in the tumor mass, whereas 13 were resistant.
After filtering out those genes with either low expression levels or minor differences between the two patient groups, the Baylor team was left with a subset of 1,628 genes. From these, they identified a group of 92 genes that were differentially expressed under stringent statistical criteria when comparing the resistant to the sensitive tumors. Based on the gene signatures, 10 of the 11 sensitive tumors (91 percent) and 11 of the 13 resistant tumors (85 percent) were correctly classified (88-percent accuracy overall). The results were confirmed in an independent group of patients.
The drug-resistant tumors tended to exhibit increased activity of genes involved in protein and RNA synthesis and the cell cycle; the sensitive tumors featured genes with functions in cell death, cell structure, and signaling. But the results do little to clarify the mode of action of docetaxel, in part because some genes that might be important, but were expressed at low levels, were deliberately set aside in the analysis.
"If validated," Chang and colleagues conclude, "these molecular profiles could allow development of a clinical test for docetaxel sensitivity, thus reducing unnecessary treatment for women with breast cancer." The raw data have been submitted to the NCBI gene expression omnibus (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo), allowing their reuse in follow-up studies. As University of Cambridge's James Brenton and Carlos Caldas say in an accompanying editorial, "Data from clinical studies and molecular profiling need to be tightly coupled and widely accessible if the promise of predictive cancer genomics is to be achieved."
KSS and Tell
Meanwhile, investigators at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute writing in Cell have applied data mining to DNA microarray data, revealing surprising clues to the role of a key oncogene. Levels of cyclin D1, a well-known cog in the cell cycle, are commonly increased in a wide variety of cancers, but its precise mode of action remains cloudy. Mark Ewen, Todd Golub, and colleagues set about scrutinizing the activity of thousands of genes in hundreds of cancer samples to divine a mechanism of action for this oncogene.
Applying a statistical method called Kolmogorov-Smirnov Scanning (KSS), Ewen's team ranked these 16,000 genes to find which best correlated with the 21-gene signature -- genes, Ewen surmises, that may work with cyclin D1 to switch on the signature. Among the top 50 genes revealed in this way were a group of three transcription factors, but of these, only one -- a protein called CCAAT enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) ß, not previously associated with cyclin D1 -- held up when the expression analysis was expanded further. A series of conventional wet-lab experiments further supports the notion of a direct physical interaction between cyclin D1 and C/EBP ß.
The new data-mining approach to the expanding digital compendium of gene expression signatures reveals "previously unappreciated relationships between genes involved in the development of cancer," Ewen says. Look for many more examples to follow.
Featured Reports
Chang, J.C. et al. "Gene expression profiling for the prediction of therapeutic response to docetaxel in patients with breast cancer." The Lancet 362, 362-369; 2003
Lamb, J. et al. "A mechanism of cyclin D1 action encoded in the patterns of gene expression in human cancer." Cell 114, 323-334; 2003 Using Affymetrix chips (Hu6800), Ewen's team first investigated the effects of artificially raising the level of normal and mutant cyclin D1 in cultured cells. This identified a group of 21 target genes, the activity of which increases significantly in response to cyclin D1. Next, they compared the expression of this 21-gene set with more than 16,000 genes, in the archived data sets of more than 190 tumors, in a resource called the Global Cancer Map.


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Nanotech device inspired by butterfly's wings
By mimicking microscopic structures in the wings of a butterfly, an international research team has developed a device smaller than the width of a human hair that could make optical communication faster and more secure.
The researchers, from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia and Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany, have produced a photonic crystal that can split both left and right circularly polarised light.
The design for this crystal was inspired by the Callophrys Rubi butterfly, also known as the Green Hairstreak. This butterfly has 3D nanostructures within its wings which give them their vibrant green colour. Other insects also have nanostructures that provide colour, but the Callophrys Rubi has one important difference.
"This butterfly's wing contains an immense array of interconnected nano-scale coiled springs that form a unique optical material," Dr Mark Turner, Swinburne PhD graduate, said.
"We used this concept to develop our photonic crystal device."
Using 3D laser nanotechnology, the Swinburne researchers built a photonic crystal with properties that don't exist in naturally occurring crystals, specifically one that works with circular polarisation. This miniature device contains over 750,000 tiny polymer nano-rods.
The photonic crystal acts as a miniature polarising beamsplitter, similar to a device invented by Scottish scientist William Nicol in 1828. Polarising beamsplitters used in modern technology — such as telecommunications, microscopy and multimedia — are built from naturally occurring crystals, which work for linearly polarised light but not circularly polarised light.
"We believe we have created the first nano-scale photonic crystal chiral beamsplitter," said Professor Min Gu, Director of the Centre for Micro-Photonics at Swinburne.
"It has the potential to become a useful component for developing integrated photonic circuits that play an important role in optical communications, imaging, computing and sensing.
"The technology offers new possibilities for steering light in nano-photonic devices and takes us a step closer towards developing optical chips that could overcome the bandwidth bottleneck for ultra-high speed optical networks."
The research has been published in the journal Nature Photonics.
The researchers involved were Mark Turner, Qiming Zhang, Benjamin Cumming and Min Gu (Swinburne University of Technology) and Matthias Saba and Gerd E Schröder-Turk (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg).
Dr Turner is now working in California's Silicon Valley to develop and commercialise new photonic technologies for real world applications.
This project is part of the Centre for Excellence for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), funded by the Australian Research Council under the Centres of Excellence Program, with further support from seven constituent universities, and fifteen partner investigators.
Dr Turner's PhD project was also partly supported by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers.
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Meyersdale Historic Locations
The following historic locations are located in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Please select a historic place in Meyersdale to view detailed information including address information, historical signifiance, and much more.
Pennsylvania Historic Places
|Bollman, W., and Company Bridge
1.5 mi. (2.4 km) N of Myersdale on U.S. 219
Meyersdale, PA
|New Colonial Hotel
319 Main St.
Meyersdale, PA
Hotel, Restaurant, Meeting Hall
|Second National Bank of Meyersdale
151 Center St.
Meyersdale, PA
Financial Institution, Government Office
Pennsylvania Historic Places


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Hubby's at work.
Asher's at Camp.
Kendyl and I slept in.
We snuggled and talked and fell back to sleep.
LAZILY... we got up about 9.30.
When we got up we made Red, Green and Black playdough, and created lots of crazy Playdough creations with The Killers playing in the background really loudly!
At 10.30 we decided we'd have Brunch, since we were hungry and hadn't had breakfast.
Easily and simply we had mouse-traps
and Iced water with lemon slices......
............While watching Victorious.... (Yawn) lol.
We are going to PJ it all day today!
We had been planning to go to the Library, but the weather is pooh! Tomorrow we will venture in to the Library as they have crafty goodness going on there Tues to Thurs!
I hope my big boy is enjoying Camp,and hopefully this weather hasn't stretched right to Marsden Bay!


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On the eve of his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Debbie (Tawny Kitaen), unassuming nice guy Rick (Tom Hanks) is dragged out for a night of debauchery by his friends. The gang includes cocky Jay (Adrian Zmed), self-appointed ringleader of the party, and depressed, recently divorced Brad (Bradford Bancroft). Along the way, they run into Debbie's wealthy, disapproving father (George Grizzard) and her ex-boyfriend, Cole (Robert Prescott), who attempt to stop the wedding in an unexpected way. (Comedy)
Purchase Tickets for BACHELOR PARTY ('84)
Presented by : Wizard Video


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When finally we get to February (which seems to take AGES!), I do feel the plants and bulbs itching to pop out of the ground, and now, the other thing which is bursting into bloom, is me! I am 19 weeks pregnant, and very, very excited!
|Mother and Child. (part of a triptych)
I was demonstrating my Fractured technique at Virginia Water Art Society last night, and we were discussing pregnancy and art. Do the hormones which are racing around my system alter my creativity? Does the choice of subject change, or the colour scheme? It got me thinking.....and I thought, I wonder how interesting it would be to do a sketch, drawing/painting, every day from now, until the birth day?
My lovely husband bought me, for our Anniversary, a beautiful leather bound sketchbook. Seeing as I have this, gorgeous red book, it would seem rude not to use it!
|My leather sketchbook, waiting to be filled!
I will post my drawings one a week, as every day might be a bit ambitious (and along with a full time job, a 5 year old and preparing the nursery time will be of the essence!)
It will be intriguing to see what I do!
|The Three Swimmers- Virginia Water demo piece
I am yet again attempting to get work accepted into the very difficult Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. There are so many entrants, and a very strict/unpredictable judging panel. This is what I have decided to enter, it is relatively small and a watercolour, but quite contemporary.
|A town like Valparaiso
I will be back soon! The Pregnancy and Art project will now begin!


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Monday, 4 May 2015
The first game we played was "Roll for the Galaxy. As 2 of us had never played it before the others gave us a tutorial which was confusing as they all chipped in and tried to explain at once as opposed to one person explaining the rules and the result was 3 different voices all telling us new players at the same time slightly different things or more rather the same things in different orders! Needles to say I got muddled up and it is a good job the rules were actually fairly easy. We played the game 3 times and I came 4th out of five the first time, then last and then finally the rules twigged and in the last game I actually won. Ian said " I have never seen Clint roll as many dice and not a single 1!" The git there were no numbers on any of the dice! Yeah I was surprised as well and I don't think they were going easy on me! But for once the Dice Gods favoured me. (All praise the dice gods).
And while the three games were quite quick (about 1 hour each game) we had time left at the end for another game of something different. I did mention a couple of games that I knew I liked but they had not brought them this time. But we quickly settled on "Camel Up". I had played it once before but had forgotten what it involved. For those of you who have not come across the game it is about betting on a camel race. Very simple, a lot of fun and just a bit of strategy and planning (but not enough to make me think too hard). I do have a slight advantage here, no I am not a camel jockey and no I could not fix any races. The advantage comes that the three other players (Dave from the earlier games had left) all try to stitch each other up. I on the other hand try to move camels. OK so the result was a very decisive win in the first game by me as I ended with 12 pound (£) tokens more than anyone else. I did not do so well in the second game and came in last as I think I was trying to join in on the sabotaging of other players. But the Third game was another win for me. And they all looked at me with deep suspicion.
So out of 6 board games played on Sunday I won 3 of them! Well that's my luck used up for another year!
Thanks for looking today I hope you had a good weekend, all the best from me.
10 comments:
- Anonymous4 May 2015 at 04:11
Carry On and follow that camel Clint :)ReplyDelete
Boardgames are a lot of fun as I have discovered these past few months. Many congrats on your three wins. That must have been a great feeling.ReplyDelete
Not heard of this game Clint??ReplyDeleteReplies
Which one? "Roll for the Galaxy" or "Camel Up" ? Not knowing if you would want to play with family or other Rejects. "Camel up" could easily be played with family 9+ yrs old I would suggest. "Roll for the Galaxy" I would suggest 12+ or most of the Rejects,Delete
I've played a lot of "Race for the Galaxy" with my boys and I think it's fair to say that it is one of my favourite card games of all time. Not sure how "Roll for the Galaxy" compares, but I might get that as well some time.ReplyDelete
Maybe that's the secret for you - only play games where the dice don't have a '1'. Old WRG games that use average dice should work well, I think :-) .
lol awesome and well done on the victories!ReplyDelete


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Introduction: Political Polarization, Downward Socioeconomic Mobility and Core-Periphery Division
The results of the European Parliamentary election on 25 May 2014 should not have come as a surprise to the EU leaders, especially to Germany's conservative Chancellor, France's Socialist President and UK's conservative PM, all linked together by their commitment to globalization, neoliberal policies, and strengthening the corporate welfare state at the expense of the social safety net and downward socioeconomic mobility of the middle classes. That Marine Le Pen's ultra-right wing, a camouflaged neo-Fascist xenophobic political party, won 25% of the vote and became the resounding winner indicates not only a problem for France's debilitated Socialist Party that is hardly much different in its economic approach than any European conservative party, but Le Pen's (Front National) FN party victory signals a serious political problem for all of Europe. If we consider that extreme right wingers in the UK, neo-Fascists and neo-Nazis across Europe increased their popularity in the EU elections, as did leftists outside the confines of the traditional leftists - Socialists and Communists - then we must ask what policies are at fault for the anti-EU and Euro-skepticism sentiment that has become so strong.
One could argue that with 10.5% official unemployment, a steadily decline in middle class and workers' incomes, and lack of prospects for the youth the EU election results are not surprising. After all, during economic contractions sociopolitical polarization is expected, even if there is no illegal immigration issue confronting society as there is in Europe's case with roughly 140,000 people entering every year. The Great Depression of the 1930s brought onto the political arena as movement and regimes ultra-right elements across Europe, not just in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, while France and UK maintained their pluralistic liberal bourgeois systems. In 2014, after several years of recession that has cut deep into middle class living standards and eroded not just working class wages and benefits, but contributed to rising unemployment and dim prospects for upward socioeconomic mobility, what could people do except to seek solutions in the extreme right wing that offers fantasy of immediate solutions of strong nation with which people identify, and to the left that promises greater social justice. An unemployed professional, a small store owner, a college graduate unable to find a job may not have much money or great prospects for themselves and their children, but they embrace themselves around the mythology of the strong and pure nation-state free of foreigners, gypsies and Muslims who are the scapegoats for all calamities of Europe.
This is not to say that the EU is in imminent danger of falling under the control of the ultra-right wing. After all, the EU Parliament has some influence but not a determining voice in national policies. Moreover,
conservatives and socialists between them hold a majority, while the small varieties of leftist and right wing parties are fairly divided and cannot really do as much damage as Marine Le Pen has announced by blocking the will of the majority. However, the mere presence of so many anti-EU right wingers, so many varieties of leftists who either want an EU committed to workers and the middle class instead of the banks and multinationals makes Chancellor Merkel and EU supporters very uneasy. Europeans against the EU or wishing a different model of integration perceive a threat to national sovereignty by the hegemonic German economy and state working behind the veneer of EU institutions that do not represent the will of the majority. That France has elected a neo-Fascist party and Greece a Socialist one (SYRIZA) sends a message to the EU of how polarized Europe has become as a result of the deep economic recession and austerity regime. This is not to suggest that the EU is about to break up or even change very much from its current neoliberal/monetarist policy orientation. After all, new nations like Ukraine are eager to join, as the behind the scenes manipulation that has been unfolding throughout 2013 and 2014 reveals. Nor is the EU about to become unstable and its reserve currency about to weaken along with its global trade relations because of political polarization at this early stage. The question, at least for now, is what happened that things have gone so badly for the EU mainstream political supporters.
It is not just the deep recession of 2008-2013 that contributed to the socioeconomic polarization reflected in the political arena, because if there were continued prosperity and a solid social safety net we would not have polarization in Europe. Below, I will briefly analyze the changing integration model that is at the core of the problem for socioeconomic, political and geographic polarization in Europe. In addition, I will look into the image that the EU projects as the super-powerful entity spending taxpayer money to strengthen banks and large corporations, while weakening the social safety net once strong in the EU and the envy of many countries. I will also examine the issue of collusion between public and private sector corruption that many see as a product of the mainstream (conservative and socialist or labor in the case of UK) political parties that appear different in modalities but are following the same economic and social policies. Finally, I will examine the question of nationalism and identity in the age of globalization to determine the role it played in voters choosing Euro-skeptics, right wingers of various types and leftists.
Changing Integration Models: From the "inter-dependent model" to the "patron-client model"
The European Union was founded on principles of solidarity, common values based on human rights and social justice, and a sense of greater equalization across national borders under what I call an interdependent integration model. The ideological and political foundations for the EU integration model were laid down before the downfall of the Communist bloc and globalization that swept the international arena and became institutionalized in the 1990s. This is not to say that the EU integration model of interdependence did not have as a goal strengthening the EU economically and politically at the expense of countries outside this economic bloc. However, the EU was not as aggressively imperialistic as the US toward its Latin American neighbors in the last one hundred years operating under the patron-client integration model, or the Sterling Area that the UK used as a means of maintaining its supremacy even after its former colonies secured their political independence.
From the very inception of the EU, the integration model of interdependence was clear that the stronger economies of northwest Europe, especially Germany, would be providing capital in the form of loans, subsidies and grants to the weaker periphery southern and eastern members that lacked the ability to compete economically under a strong reserve currency favoring the core nations of the EU. This meant massive spending on infrastructal development, but also some funds for the primary sector of production as well as tourism. In return for ready access to capital, the periphery EU members would be the consumers of products and services from northwest Europe that would also enjoy cheap labor, cheap land, and natural resources from its southern and eastern neighbors. No doubt, the major beneficiaries in the periphery nations of the EU would be the larger enterprises especially those linked to EU commercial interests, but with some protection and benefits through various programs accorded to small and medium-sized businesses. Such a model, its advocates argued, would actually result in greater trade within the EU and it would result in greater upward socioeconomic mobility.
The EU integration model in the last five years has caused many people across Europe to realize that Germany has emerged hegemonic and essentially the periphery members have been reduced into quasi-colonies within the union. This is exactly what some politicians in Spain, Portugal and Greece have been saying, but even the nationalistic right-wing Silvio Berlusconi agrees with this assessment, as do leftist politicians across Europe, even the French and British nationalists. If Germany is using the EU as its economic empire in order to compete effectively in the world, what is in it for the rest of Europe? When people across the Southern and Eastern European regions opted for integration with the EU they hardly expected that their countries would be the Third World within the economic bloc, something that is becoming a reality and on which Germany insists.
EU as an instrument of Corporate Welfare Capitalism
The global economic crisis for the EU started in 2008 and became a debt crisis for the EU when Greece entered under an austerity regime under the extremely corrupt PASOK - Socialist Party turned neoliberal - in 2010. Soon thereafter followed Portugal and Ireland, with Spain and Italy flirting with becoming mere dependencies of Germany that determined policy for all EU. Many people became convinced that the EU existed not to safeguard the interests of European citizens, but those of the banks and large corporations to the detriment of the declining middle class and workers suffering loss of labor rights amid lower wages and benefits and higher unemployment. If we consider that the root cause of the financial crisis rested with the banks that the governments and EU central authorities should have been watching and regulating much closer, then the common sense answer for everyone from Madrid to Rome is that those responsible for the crisis must pay. However, the EU, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed austerity, officially in Portugal Greece and Ireland, unofficially in Italy and Spain and gradually across all of Europe as part of an effort to strengthen banks that were responsible for the financial crisis in the first place, partly owing to corrupt and illegal practices for which they paid token fines to European governments and US if they had operations there.
As the supposedly neutral arbiters for society, politicians opted to strengthen not just banks during the deep recessionary cycle that started in 2008, but they used austerity measures as a means of transferring massive wealth from social welfare programs to corporate welfare, and from the periphery EU members to the core. At the same time, governments used austerity as a means to sell lucrative public enterprises to private concerns invariably linked to the ruling political parties (clientist politics), invariably at low cost and to the detriment of the public interest and taxpayers. Privatization schemes that had started in the Reagan-Thatcher decade accelerated in the last five years (2009-2014) in EU because politicians argued this was the way to "save" capitalism and return society to growth and development. After all, the state was corrupt and horrible manager, though the same corrupt and horrible managers were in charge. The result has been higher costs to the taxpayers for services wherever private enterprises have taken over public concerns, in everything from utilities to transportation. No matter the neoliberal propaganda, many Europeans see privatization as something that helps specific corporate interests within the periphery EU members, but also benefiting German and northwest European core EU members to the detriment of the rest.
Corruption: Public-Private Sector Collusion
The level of corruption in banks, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, industrial giants like Siemens, GSK pharma, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and dozens of others. has not been a secret any more than the consequences of such corruption scandals that usually involve public officials. When governments employed Goldman Sachs to "cook the numbers" so that public debt appears as an asset on the books instead of a liability, EU officials in Brussels knew about it but did nothing. After all, many EU public officials have past linked to corrupt financial institutions, including Mario Draghi who worked for Goldman.Eventually, the EU discreetly asked member countries to stop employing Goldman and "cooking the books", but the legacy was enormous public debt, much of it the result of massive bribes spread all around to various officials.
Besides official-private sector corruption that helped create the debt crisis, the parasitic defense sector was another favorite, considering that the core EU members were the sellers and the periphery the buyers. Everything from tanks to submarines was among the most notorious in bribery schemes, everything from government purchases of buses to signing privatization deals involved bribes, resulting in massive markups for often defective hardware. Meanwhile, to make up the gap in public finances that parasitic defense linked to corruption created governments borrowed and added to the public debt that firms like Goldman Sachs made it appear like an asset; that is, until the deep recession of 2008 hit the world and the Greek crisis spread across Southern and Eastern Europe. Only then did EU officials, the same ones turning a blind eye to massive corruption, argued that austerity and neoliberalism is the medicine for public debt problems.
Ordinary citizens read in the press and watched on TV story after story of scandals involving bribes, corruption schemes about which EU officials were fully aware, and all along, people observed the enormous salaries and luxurious lifestyles of EU officials who imposed austerity on workers and the middle class. Without shame or any sense of reality, the same EU officials lecturing ordinary citizens on how they must endure austerity for the good of society - no mention of shared sacrifice by EU officials who were themselves responsible for lack of oversight regarding public debt schemes and corruption scandals. This did not go unnoticed with many people who viewed the elitist EU officials as well paid servants of banks and corporations, rather than servants of the public good for all Europeans. The same officials imposing austerity across Europe invoked the propaganda term democracy and freedom at a time that their actions were authoritarian veiled under the constitutional cover of the EU. This until many people began to doubt the very constitutionality of the EU and its authoritarian nature, and more recently the blatantly open backing of neo-Nazis in Ukraine, while condemning neo-Nazis inside the EU.
Nationalism, National Sovereignty and Social Justice
From John Locke in the 17th century to John Stuart Mill in the 19th century, political philosophers argued that citizens voluntarily surrender their autonomy to be under the social contract because they assume the state will afford them basic protections and services. The question of course is which people or social classes does the state represent and which does it oppress? Just as people understand that surrendering their freedom and autonomy to live under laws of a state entails benefiting from all the organized state has to offer, similarly nations surrendered their national sovereignty to the EU and subordinated their nationalism to their European identity in exchange for some benefits. But what if the benefits outweigh the detriments, or the benefits accrue to a very small group of people within the member state?
Besides the sense that EU members have surrendered national sovereignty and by extension they have compromised their national identity for few benefits falling onto the lap of the domestic socioeconomic and political elites, there is the larger question of what the future holds for member states, even larger countries like France that in essence play second fiddle to Germany. Is cooperation much better within the EU than competition outside of it, as nationalists contend? Clearly, politicians of the far right are selling fantasies of a strong nation-state against the evil EU behind which is German hegemony, a strong symbolic presence given its legacy of two world wars and its Nazi past. Anti-EU politicians realize as much as the pro-EU neoliberals that Europeans have no choice but to trade with each other just as the US trade with its neighbors. But the question is one of degree of strength as a nation state inside or outside of the EU.
The immigration from outside the continent and internal migration (Eastern European, and especially gypsies) issue that has inflamed the right wingers, including neo-Nazis and neo-Fascists targeting Asians and African, especially of Muslim faith, is one that the EU has helped create. If we focus on the numbers of illegal immigrants, we see that most come from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, all countries that the US and its northwest EU allies invaded and caused such tremendous social disruption to society that people have been fleeing. This is something about which both the rightists and the leftists agree, just as they agree that the Ukrainian crisis is the result of US and EU overt and covert intervention, and not just Russian imperialism Ukrainian ethnic differences. In other words, people within the EU recognize that the foreign policy of the bloc is an extension of US policy that causes tremendous disruptions and instability in Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe, thus causing a massive refugee problem. While it is true that the Europeans have a long history of conflict among their own nations and they do not really need an external player like African and Asian illegal immigrants to remind them of their strong nationalistic tendencies, the ultra-right wing mythology of the pure super race of white European appeals to a segment of the disgruntled population.
Finally, there are the leftist critics who point to the erosion of social justice in the EU that was once on the forefront of protecting all social classes, minorities and defending human rights. Leftists are also concerned that EU operating under the NATO military structure remains essentially the junior partner of the US, thus lacking its own defense and foreign policy. Defense spending is hardly the sole cause for the debt crisis, but it is an area that contributed and one where we find most of the public-private sector corruption, as well as an area that shifts money from social projects intended to strengthen health care and education. That the EU has been carrying out policies as though it is the instrument of the European Central Bank working on behalf of private banks and corporations has further strengthened the argument of the leftists who believe there can be no social justice within the bloc any more than national sovereignty.
Leftists also recognize that EU mainstream politicians are responsible for strengthening the ultra-right wing with policies targeting illegal immigrants, gypsies and Muslims, especially in the northwest core nations. The mainstreat EU politicians have played right into the political propaganda of the far right and alienated the left by ignoring human rights whenever it is convenient as in the case of Muslims, gypsies and Africans. Social policy of the mainstream EU parties has not been that far off from those of the ultra-right with which the conservatives are competing for votes at home.
It took many years, decades, for political leaders to convince their citizens that EU membership was good for everyone and not just for banks and multinational corporations based mostly in northwest Europe. It has taken a relatively shorter time for people to judge for themselves the degree to which the EU best serves the interests of all people in all the member states. As far as many ultra-rightists are concerned, the EU has been eroding not just their living standards and prospects for the future, but the cultural purity of ethnic and national identity many see as part of their personal identity. If they will be poorer in the future, at least they want to hold on to the myth of ethnic and cultural purity, whatever that means to varieties of people, from neo-Nazis in Greece to ultra-nationalists in the UK and Denmark and Holland.
The EU always had opponents, but they are a small minority largely because the promise of national integration under the strong dynamic bloc offered the prospect of better economic conditions for the members and its people. There has been a growing realization that the EU best serves its strongest members, especially Germany that has prevailed in monetary and economic policies imposed on the weaker periphery members, while leaving segments of the middle class and workers disgrtuntled and without much confidence in the EU. The skepticism of whether there are really any benefits to the national economy and society as an EU member, or if membership really serves the domestic financial and political elites as well as the core EU members, especially Germany, is an issue that cannot be overcome with propaganda, but rather substantive policies resulting in real changes across Europe.
Such changes will not come because the powerful banks, insurance companies, pharmaceutical, defense, and other multinationals are behind the regimes of Europe and they resist any change in the patron-client integration model, and in making a commitment to social justice by strengthening the middle class and workers that have suffered high unemployment and major cuts in living standards. Along with some programs to reduce unemployment by strengthening businesses and providing even greater tax and other incentives to corporations to hire and keep workers, there will be a major propaganda campaign for people to support the EU. The result will be continued rise in the right wing and left wing political parties and disparate groups that want their countries to leave the EU or they demand a different integration model. Geographic, social, economic and political polarization will continue in Europe, with mainstream political parties adopting policies of authoritarian regimes but defending them as "democratic".
The contradiction of the EU is that it is trying to project itself as the most desirable bloc with the strongest reserve currency on earth, as it tries to attract new members in Eastern Europe, while at the same time, it is chocking off grown and development within the periphery areas precisely because it has a strong currency under monetarist policies and neoliberal course of privatization and corporate welfare programs undercutting the middle class as the popular base of a democraci society.


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Post by: Kim Stephens
[picapp align="left" wrap="true" link="term=google+maps&iid=7211246″ src="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/7211246/california-gov/california-gov.jpg?size=500&imageId=7211246″ width="380″ height="516″ /]Mapping data before, during, and after a disaster is not new. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used effectively for years by emergency managers and geospatial technology professionals to visualize hazards for mitigation and document impacted areas after a disaster. What is new is how interactive mappings tools, such as Google Maps, Google Earth, and Open Street Map, are being used by humanitarian organizations or just interested volunteers to create interactive visualizations of data during a disaster or crisis response. The reasons for mapping a crisis could be to influence the outcome of that disaster, create a better understanding of the event, or possibly affect changes in policy or future behavior.
On Oct. 1, the International Conference on Crisis Mapping will convene for its second year. The conference will " … bring together the most engaged practitioners, scholars, software developers and policymakers at the cutting edge of crisis mapping to address and assess the role of crisis mapping and humanitarian technology in the disaster response to Haiti and beyond." If this topic is of interest to you, the conference web page has a wonderful list of hyperlinks for each of the speakers giving "ignite" talks.
Another great source for information is the working syllabus for a new Political Science course entitled: "Crisis Mapping, Politics & New Media (part I)". Part II is also available. The course was created by Jen Ziemke. The course materials are listed on the website and includes many hyperlinks to great information on the topic, which might be quicker than reading the 5 books listed.
For more background see the comprehensive writings on the topic by Patrick Meier of Ushahidi. He explains that crisis mapping "is more than mapping crisis data" and describes three "key pillars" that combine to make a comprehensive process: Crisis Map Sourcing–Crisis Mapping Analysis–Crisis Mapping Response.
- Crisis Map Sourcing includes four components: Crisis Map Coding, or hand coding geo-referenced event-data. Participatory Crisis Mapping, or many people participating in mapping with a focus on a crisis, like what was done during the response to the crisis in Haiti; Mobile Crisis Mapping, which "includes the use of mobile phones, geospatial technologies and unmanned areal vehicle (which I would guess depends on data availability); and Automated Crisis Mapping, which "looks at natural language processing and computational linguistics to extract event-data."
- Crisis Mapping Analysis enables the users to identify patterns over space and time. This includes three components: Crisis Mapping Visualization, 2D or 3D imagery or color coding, etc.; Crisis Mapping Analytics, or using broader analytical tools, such as statistics, to understand patterns; and finally Crisis Map Modeling, which uses "empirical data to simulate different scenarios."
- Crisis Mapping Response simply refers to the deployment of a crisis map during a disaster event. This involves Crisis Map Dissemination; Crisis Map Decisions Support–or identifying relevant patterns in the data that can impact the response decision-making process (e.g. where are refugees staging impromptu camps, etc.); and finally Crisis Map Monitoring and Evaluation, which applies an analytical approach to how the map project itself was deployed (or what I would call crisis map after-action analysis).
I am going to attend the conference in Boston with the hope of obtaining a better understanding of the theoretical basis of crisis mapping, crowdsourcing and collaborative technologies. I hope I can read those 5 books before Friday!
Related Articles
- Collaborative Technologies and the Future of Disaster Aid (futurechanges.org)
- MapQuest debuts four new OpenStreetMap enhanced mapping sites in Europe (eu.techcrunch.com)
- Geotagged Photos Help Prioritize Oil Spill Response in Gulf (eon.businesswire.com)
- Today is Crisis Camp Day: Here's how you can help and learn (thenextweb.com)
- When software fights for human life [Good Deeds] (io9.com)


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For Immediate Release
1.800.584.6460 | email@example.com
NEWS: Rare Wolverines Closer to Getting Long-Awaited Federal Protections
"Threatened" listing would help protect species and promote recovery
Bozeman, MT - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today its proposal to list the wolverine in the lower-48 states as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). If finalized, the move will focus new resources on wolverine recovery and take steps to help the species survive the impacts of climate change.
The proposal resulted from more than a decade of consistent pressure from several conservation groups, including three separate legal actions taken to secure an ESA listing.
"This proposal at long last gives the wolverine a fighting chance at survival in the lower-48 states," said Earthjustice attorney Timothy Preso, who represented conservationists in court. "The most immediate need is to stop the threats to the species that we can control, including direct killing of wolverines through trapping."
Wolverines are rare, wide-ranging members of the weasel family that exist in high-altitude 'islands' of mountain ranges. Biologists estimate there are fewer than 300 wolverines in the contiguous United States, primarily in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and north-central Washington. A couple of lone dispersing individuals have been detected recently in Colorado and California as well.
Due to climate change and increasing human development, wolverines are likely becoming increasingly isolated in their mountain strongholds. Protecting wolverines from other losses such as trapping is key to allowing them to persist in their scattered habitats and helping them move safely across the landscape.
"For wolverines to survive over the long run, they need to be able to reclaim habitat they once occupied," said Kylie Paul, Rockies and Plains Representative for Defenders of Wildlife. "Federal protection will provide resources to help ensure that wolverine populations can expand, remain connected, and are resilient enough to overcome the looming impacts of climate change as well as other threats."
Female wolverines require deep snow that persists through mid-spring for raising their young, but wolverines may lose up to two-thirds of suitable habitat by the end of this century. Researchers estimate that the extent of areas in the western U.S. with persistent spring snowpack is likely to recede 33 percent by 2045 and 63 percent by 2099 as a result of climate change.
"We see the impacts of a changing climate all around us," said Chris Colligan of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "The best buffer against these species impacts are large intact ecosystems and we see the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as being a stronghold for wolverines."
Background: Today's proposal to protect the species marks the culmination of a lengthy advocacy campaign by conservationists that spanned three presidential administrations. That campaign began in 2000 with a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting a listing of the species under the Endangered Species Act. When the Service refused to act, conservationists successfully went to federal court to put the agency on a schedule for the listing process. Then, when the Service in 2003 issued a preliminary negative finding on the listing petition, conservationists won in court again, this time eliciting a 2005 opinion from a federal judge that the Service ignored "substantial scientific information" demonstrating threats to the species. That ruling sent the Service back to the drawing board, but the agency returned in 2008 with yet another negative listing finding for the wolverine. Conservationists returned to court, this time yielding a settlement by which the Service agreed to reconsider its finding. In 2010, the Service determined that wolverines warranted federal protection, but further action was delayed because of other priorities.
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Because of people like you, another world is possible. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. We don't survive on clicks. We don't want advertising dollars. We want the world to be a better place. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. We need you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do.
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Tags: ASD, Aspergers, Assessment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Chloe, General Ramble
I don't know if there's anything in the world more painful than watching your child suffer… whether that be a physical suffering, or an emotional suffering. It's fair to say that for a parent, this can translate to a physical nearly-pain like feeling. Very hard to describe.
I've talked before about the problems we have with Chloe and I don't want to go into too much here really.
But she's facing difficulties, socially (amongst other things), and at six years old she's been having social difficulties for most of her little life.
So the school as a whole have been great at getting an Educational Psychologist referral and appointment but not all that great at any thing else, so today (Friday), I think I've finally made the decision to move her to another school. It's not an easy decision and it's not set in stone at this point but I owe it to my children to give them the best childhood I can, and the best education and the best school life I can. And having a school that actually seems to care would be a good start.
This crazy beauty deserves the best of everything and that means finding her a school where her teachers don't find her annoying or irritating (and if they do, they are able to find a more diplomatic and sensitive way of saying so!).
If anyone has experience of moving a child to a new school at about this age (6), I'd love to hear how it went for you. Please share. Thank you.
My parents moved me when I was 7. Believe me – the earlier the better. I was having similar sounding social issues (when I was 6, my teacher at parents' evening refused to talk about my grades in english/maths even when my mum asked and instead just blamed her migranes on me and said how terrible I was). And don't even talk about my relationships with other pupils!
10 years later, when I left my "new" school having achieved straight As, I could hardly remember any of that – which at the time had been really traumatising. It might be hard at first, but it is definantly the right choice. It makes a world of difference when you feel as if the teachers understand, you even just a little bit – believe me!
thank you. I understand earlier the better, it of course makes sense. I moved schools several time as a child so I have first hand experience, but not as a parent if that makes sense. Your teacher sounds horrific and I'm glad your move worked out so well for you. I hope it's the same for my daughter!
Six is a very good age to move a child to a new learning environment, earlier the better. Obviously you know she deserves to be better understood, otherwise you would not be making this change. I don't know what autism education is like in the UK, nor what spectrum Chloe falls under, also my suggestion would be to take as much time as you can afford to find her a good placement that also works for you. If you have met with a parenting group, ask them for referrals. Any medical professionals that you have met with regarding Chloe may have some good input too.
Good luck! These are hard decisions, but know in your heart that what you are doing is for the good of your gorgeous girl!
Thanks Missey. We have already viewed a school we love (a while ago when we first toyed with this idea). We are waiting now to hear if there would also be a space for our other daughter. Thanks for taking the time to reply. x
Primary school is always a traumatic experience for those who dare to be different simply because it's non-selective. Everyone at the same age,from the same area is thrown into one sack and forced to spend half of their lives together. I always had trouble socializing with people whose behaviour and stupidity I found difficult to bear. But now, when I look at my school life I treat it as a process of creating my own circle of trust which blossomed fully during my studies. I understood that there's no need to please those who aren't worth it and the narrow group of weirdos, loners, social paranos who happen to be my best friends is one of the greatest achievements of my life. Nonetheless, this knowledge does not mean that I do not shudder and clench my fists when I think hear about some idiots bullying my older son.
You are so well balanced and I just hope for the same for Chloe. x
I think its so tough deciding whether or not to change your childs school. Before we moved into the house we are in now, we was considering moving to another area which was quite a distance from the kids school's. We didn't obviously end up going to that area and that was because I didn't want my boys to have to adjust to a new school, make new friends etc. Even though Harveys only 4, he has he little friends in nursery, who he talks about constantly. I used to lay awake at night thinking how awful it would be to take him away. Im such a worrier. Plus the fact both the boys go to damn good schools.
Your situation is slightly different though. It sounds like Chloe needs a lot of care, attention and support from the teachers. If shes not getting this, then you're definitely making the right choice to move her. If I was having trouble with the teachers at either of my boys school, without a doubt I would move them. You're doing the right thing.
Thanks Jo you've got it just right and I hope all works out well for her in the end. xx
I don't have any experience but I guess the earlier the better, you have a beautiful daughter – she looks so full of character and has an awesome head of hair!!!


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Drop off donations for Habitat for Humanity, buy a storm door, drink some coffee and talk to a local artist!
At today's art event, dubbed Refab I (artists showing work with reclaimed materials in a recycling environment) , I was joined by two fabulous interdisciplinary art-friends, Annette Hegel, and Nancy Green. I was privileged to spend the day exchanging stories and ideas with these engaging and inspirational folk.
Annette Hegel, a local and international art activist who has done everything (no, really!) , brought intriguing pieces combining miniature figures with reclaimed objects to create arresting environments that challenge ones sense of scale while drawing in political themes.
In Watching the fireworks, tiny white figures sit watching Gaza burning from their perch on a chunk of rusted steel.
Nancy Green, whose show, Variable Change at Zen Kitchen runs until the end of December, is exceedingly resourceful at combining found objects in smart compositions and shows remarkable facility with paint, ceramics and metal while maintaining an art of delicacy.
The work Nancy brought to the show included paintings on off cuts of plastered doors, glassed in drawers with birds nests and framed antique bottles with subtle text punched into copper strapping.
I brought a selection of current junk masks, and debuted my 2013 photo calendar.
Thanks to Myrna and the Gang at the ReStore for their hospitality and remember, you can now bring your e-waste to either NCR location anytime. Look out for Refab II, coming in the new year!


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Fun Wedding Photo Ideas
Photos are an indispensable component of any kind of wedding event. Newlyweds are usually thrilled to obtain their images back from the professional photographer so they could relive their special day. But there are many special activities you could develop into a wedding celebration that include images.
One enjoyable concept that many new brides use is to take photos of everyone as they reach the wedding, virtually like you do at a high school senior prom or company Christmas party. You could provide a background and couples can present either for a paid professional photographer or for whoever occurs to pick up the cam. These pictures could be taken with a Photograph electronic camera for instant enjoyable or with a non reusable cam. If you want somewhat better photos, choose a digital video camera.
This could be an outstanding means to maintain visitors active as well as satisfied up until the "main" reception begins with the arrival of the bride and groom.
As an extension of that concept, you could take immediate photos and also produce scrapbook pages or album pages with the images. There could be products handy so visitors could develop pages on site, or pages can be pre-made and pictures simply put into the ready spaces. If guests don't wish to develop web pages on site, or the bride-to-be does not desire this certain task taking place, the pictures could be saved for later. As a present for the couple, someone can develop memory books with these photos.
If Photograph video cameras are made use of, another alternative is to have the people in the image sign the Photograph photo as well as area that in a basket someplace. The couple will delight in taking a look at the photos late


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Esomeprazole Magnesium With or Without Aspirin in Preventing Esophageal Cancer in Patients With Barrett Esophagus
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00474903
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : May 17, 2007
Results First Posted : July 2, 2014
Last Update Posted : July 2, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Barrett Esophagus Esophageal Cancer
|Drug: acetylsalicylic acid Drug: esomeprazole magnesium Other: placebo
|Phase 2
Hide Detailed Description
I. To assess the effects of a 28 day intervention with aspirin 81 mg placebo orally (PO) once daily (QD) + aspirin 325 mg placebo PO QD + esomeprazole 40 mg PO BID versus aspirin 81 mg PO QD + aspirin 325 mg placebo PO QD + esomeprazole 40 mg PO BID versus aspirin 325 mg PO QD + aspirin 81 mg placebo PO QD + esomeprazole 40 mg PO BID on the absolute change in tissue prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentration, as determined from Barrett's esophagus mucosal biopsy samples obtained pre- and post-intervention (i.e. two pair-wise comparisons of two different doses of active aspirin regimens versus aspirin placebo group), Specifically, the two active aspirin + esomeprazole arms will be independently analyzed to see if they significantly reduce the mean tissue PGE2 concentration from Pre- to Post-intervention as compared to the aspirin placebo + esomeprazole arm.
I. To determine if the change in the tissue PGE2 concentration decreases significantly in the aspirin placebo + esomeprazole arm.
II. To compare the change in mean tissue PGE2 concentration between the two active intervention arms to determine which one appears the most promising for further testing.
III. To assess the effects of the three agents (arms) with respect to proliferation (Ki-67), apoptosis (caspase-3 expression), COX-2 expression, and p16 methylation using Pre- and Post-Intervention biopsy samples obtained from Barrett's mucosal tissue.
IV. To evaluate all adverse events associated with each of the three intervention arms.
V. To provide exploratory summaries of PGE2 concentration values by patient subgroups of interest.
VI. To provide descriptive summaries of the esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) results, the rate of dysplasia, adverse events, and the Run-In Agent compliance on all participants that signed a consent form and started the Run-In phase of the trial.
VII. To establish a biospecimen repository archive for future correlative studies.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients are stratified according to dysplasia status, gender, and length of Barrett segment of circumferential involvement (5 cm vs = 5 cm). Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms.
ARM I: Patients receive two oral placebos once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium twice daily.
ARM II: Patients receive oral acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and oral placebo once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium twice daily.
ARM III: Patients receive a higher-dose of oral aspirin (higher than in arm II) and a lower-dose of oral placebo (lower than in arm II) once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium twice daily.
In all arms, treatment continues for 28 days in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. Tissue samples are collected before and after treatment and examined for tissue-based biomarkers (i.e., PGE_2, Ki-67, caspase-3 apoptosis, and cyclooxygenase-2) by immunohistochemistry, enzyme immunoassay, Western blot, and polymerase chain reaction.
After completion of study therapy, patients are followed 7 - 30 days.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|122 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Randomized, Double-Blinded Phase II Trial of Esomeprazole Versus Esomeprazole + Two Doses of Aspirin in Barrett's Esophagus Patients
|Study Start Date :
|April 2007
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|March 2011
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|June 2011
Active Comparator: Arm I (placebo, esomeprazole magnesium)
Patients receive two oral placebos once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium (40 mg, twice daily).
Drug: esomeprazole magnesium
Given orally
Other: placebo
Given orally
Experimental: Arm II (low-dose aspirin, esomeprazole magnesium)
Patients receive both an oral placebo and acetylsalicylic acid (81 mg dose), once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium (40 mg, twice daily).
Drug: acetylsalicylic acid
Given orally
Drug: esomeprazole magnesium
Given orally
Other: placebo
Given orally
Experimental: Arm III (higher-dose aspirin, esomeprazole magnesium)
Patients receive both an oral placebo and acetylsalicylic acid (325 mg dose), once daily and oral esomeprazole magnesium (40 mg, twice daily).
Drug: acetylsalicylic acid
Given orally
Drug: esomeprazole magnesium
Given orally
Other: placebo
Given orally
- Change in Mean Tissue Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) Concentration as Determined From Barrett's Research Mucosal Biopsy Samples [ Time Frame: Baseline to 30 days after completion of study treatment ]The mean tissue PGE2 is reported for each Arm.
- Toxicity [ Time Frame: Up to 30 days after completion of study treatment ]Toxicity is defined as adverse events that are classified as either possibly, probably, or definitely related to the interventional agent, graded using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3.0. The number of patients reporting adverse events will be tabulated by grade.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Histologically confirmed Barrett esophagus, meeting all of the following criteria:
- Presence of specialized columnar epithelium anywhere in the tubular esophagus with ≥ 2 cm of circumferential involvement
- No evidence of high-grade dysplasia or cancer by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)
- No prior histologically confirmed esophageal dysplasia, including cancer
- Adequate Barrett mucosa, defined as ≥ 4 of 8 research samples with≥ 50% intestinal metaplasia in research biopsies
- No ulcer, erosion, plaque, nodule, stricture, or other luminal irregularity within the Barrett's segment or erosive esophagitis (Los Angeles classification > grade A) detected at pre-intervention EGD exam
- Eastern Cooperative Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2
- Hemoglobin normal
- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
- Bilirubin ≤ 2.5 times ULN
- Creatinine ≤ 2.5 times ULN
- Not pregnant or nursing
- Negative pregnancy test
- Fertile patients must use effective contraception
- No nasal polyps associated with asthma or induced or exacerbated by aspirin
- No malignancy within the past 5 years except for nonmelanoma skin cancer
- No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to the study agents or rescue medication
- No history of endoscopically or radiographically diagnosed peptic ulcer disease (bleeding or nonbleeding)
No other uncontrolled illness including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- Ongoing or active infection
- Symptomatic congestive heart failure
- Unstable angina pectoris
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Bleeding disorder
- Vitamin K deficiency
- Alcohol abuse (defined as ingestion of ≥ 3 drinks per day)
- Psychiatric illness or social situations that would limit study compliance
- At least 3 months since prior chronic use (defined as ≥ 7 days during the 3 months preceding the beginning of the Run-in phase) of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAIDs), or selective cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors
- At least 3 months since prior investigational agents except innocuous agents with no known interaction with the study agents (e.g., standard dose multivitamins or topical agents for limited skin conditions)
No prior fundoplication, bariatric surgery, or any other major upper gastrointestinal surgery
- Prior cholecystectomy allowed
- No other concurrent NSAIDs (including aspirin) or selective COX-2 inhibitor therapy
No concurrent anticoagulant drugs including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- Warfarin
- Heparin
- Low-molecular weight heparin
- Clopidogrel bisulfate
- Extended-release dipyridamole
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00474903
|United States, Minnesota
|Mayo Clinic
|Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
|Principal Investigator:
|Paul Limburg
|Mayo Clinic
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|National Cancer Institute (NCI)
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00474903 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
NCI-2009-00838 ( Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program) )
MAYO-MAY04-4-01 ( Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic )
MAY04-4-01 ( Other Identifier: DCP )
N01CN35000 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|First Posted:
|May 17, 2007 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|July 2, 2014
|Last Update Posted:
|July 2, 2014
|Last Verified:
|January 2014
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Esophageal Neoplasms
Barrett Esophagus
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
Digestive System Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Digestive System Diseases
Esophageal Diseases
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Digestive System Abnormalities
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic
Sensory System Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Antirheumatic Agents
Fibrinolytic Agents
Fibrin Modulating Agents
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Anti-Ulcer Agents
Gastrointestinal Agents


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Have you ever heard of the mystery of the 'Taman Shud case'? I remember being told about it from an early age by my Dad. A man found dead on the Adelaide beach, South Australia, in 1948, and one of the only pieces of evidence relating to the case was a torn piece of the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam which said 'Tamam Shud' – roughly translated, 'Tamam Shud' means 'It is ended.'
After over 60 years, the case remains a mystery – who was the man, how did he die, was he killed, and what is the significance of some of the more unusual clues relating to the case? A recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine titled 'The body on Somerton Beach' by Mike Dash (12.08.2011) is a fine introduction for anyone interested in the case. It led me to look up a few links about the case, including the NationalDryCleaners.com.au website article titled 'Dry cleaning or laundry marks could be the key to solving decades old murder mystery' (date unknown), from John Ruffles. That article in turn led to an interesting Popular Science magazine article from June 1940 titled 'Laundry-mark detective solves mysterious crimes' by Edwin Teale (pg 60-63), about Lt. Adam Yulch of the Nassau County Police, USA, who had indexed laundromat markings – the article said he had a card catalogue of up to 75,000 of them to help identify the marks left on the clothing (made when clothes were professionally laundered) of victims of crime (NB: an article from the New York Times indicates that Adam Yulch died in 1950, and had by then indexed up to 100,000 laundry marks – 03.07.1950, pg 10).
As a result of looking at the work of Adam Yulch, and his index of laundry marks, it made me wonder if an indexer could have a look at this case, and possibly bring new evidence to light. South Australian newspapers are digitised at Trove, currently including The Adelaide Advertiser, The Adelaide Morning Chronicle (1948/49 not yet digitised), and The Mail. Page 3 of The Advertiser, 2nd December, 1948 mentions the finding of the body for the first time, while The Mail carried the first story on page 32 on 4th December, 1948. Here is a saved search for the word 'Rubaiyat' in Australian digitised newspapers at Trove between January 1948 and December 1950, and it reveals a few stories about the case. Helpfully, a number of newspaper articles in Trove have been tagged with 'Taman Shud'. Considering the man appears to have arrived in Adelaide on 30.11.1948 by train (although there is the mysterious discovery of clothes on Somerton beach on 28.11.1948), a search of all Australian newspapers using keywords like "Keane OR Kean", or Somerton, might be useful because the man may have come from another state. If the answer is in code, could the eagle eyes of an indexer find something waiting to be found in these newspapers, from just before the body of the man was discovered on 1st December, 1948, or just afterwards?
Fishing around in the newspapers myself for something interesting to relate, I found the word 'Omar' in answer to a disproportionately large number of crossword questions in the Argus during 1948 – it turns up no less than 11 times (NB: the Argus was a Melbourne based newspaper). In comparison, the word 'Omar' doesn't appear to figure in newspaper crosswords anywhere else in Australia that year. In 1949, the word continues to crop up regularly in Argus crosswords. The last time the word appears before the man died was in answer to a question for 14 ACROSS 'Persian poet' in


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Since smart folks over at MIT and Aachen Uni get to do all the cool research no one else has the time for these days, new findings have revealed that sunflowers could make a huge difference in the nascent solar power business. It's fundamentally about design, especially how sunflowers are themselves patterned by mother nature to optimally absorb sunlight. For proof, just mesmerize yourself with the pic below. It's entrancing, to say the least.
According to MIT, the Fermat spiral found among certain types of flowers is an ideal pattern that can be applied to any large scale solar-capturing equipment. A heliostat in particular, examples of which are ofund in Spain where they generate up to 11-megawatts of power, could borrow from the sunflower's aesthetic superiority.
The geniuses over at MIT and their partners in Aachen have calculated that an array of panels arranged 137 degrees 'relative to its neighbor [solar panel]' is not only space effective, but does its job more efficiently.
Ah, mother nature. What other lessons are you hiding from us?
Source Gizmag
Filed Under: Concepts & Design, Geeky Stuff


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Mid-Autumn Festo Rama 2013
The second Mid-Autumn Festo Rama will take you to the times of Old Shanghai through decorative cabaret and sepia-shined dance hall in Lebuh Pantai. Set to be a joyous day of arts and culture, check out the Golden Old Shanghai musical performance, qi pao show, creative mooncake competition, golden oldies karaoke, Tsukimi moon viewing, the Chinese martial art competition, the Chinese arts and culture pavilion, mini classic car rendezvous as well as lion dances and Chinese drum performances.
|Event phone:
|03 6250 0999 / 019 272 0999
|Event website:


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These beautiful, charcoal-hued roots look like they're still in the ground. But they taste wonderful. Spicier and meatier than your average red radish. It's like biting into a piece of jicama that has been marinating in horseradish all night. It actually gives off the same tongue-numbing effect that sichuan peppercorns have. Sprouts a whole new garden of ideas. Substituting traditional sichuan flavors with black radish. Maybe cleaner tasting versions of sichuan dishes. Although I haven't much desire to toy with such a perfect cuisine. Well, here are some off-the-top ideas anyway.
spicy lamb's tongue salad with black radish, fennel, chili oil, tomato, cilantro
salmon ceviche with black radish, anise oil, kalamata, yuzu, nori
dehydrated black radish chips------>fish & chips
black radish raita
black radish on oysters with apple
black radish cream.^
served with roast beef
rice with shrimp paste, coconut, black radish, coconut milk, pistachio


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Cookies and processing of personal data: by using Holmen.com you approve that we gather data about your visit. Read about cookies and how to avoid them. Also read Information about Holmen's processing of personal data.
Holmen has invested significant sums in process equipment intended for economical use of electrical and thermal energy. Environmental protection expenditure is reported in accordance with Statistics Sweden guidelines.
At the mills, environmental and energy concerns are important aspects in the planning of production and investments. Under Statistics Sweden guidelines, the investments are divided into direct and integrated investments, and investments for economical use of energy. Environmental investments include both direct (for treatment of emissions) and indirect (preventive) investments.
Electricity and heat-saving investments have been significant in recent years.
Two major investment projects have now been completed in the business area producing paperboard and sizeable environmentally related elements where included. A new recovery boiler with turbine was taken into use at Iggesund Mill in 2012. At the mill in Workington, a new bioenergy boiler and turbine were commissioned in early 2013. These investments are intended to make more economical use of electricity and thermal energy. The investment at Iggesund Mill amounted to SEK 2.3 billion, and the investment at the mill in Workington was worth SEK 1.1 billion. The Group's environmentally related costs for investments to save electricity and heat totalled almost SEK 580 million in 2012, with the main part consisting of costs linked to the above projects.
The costs for 2014 amounted to around SEK 320 million, with the environmentally related cost of erecting wind turbines in Varsvik in the Municipality of Norrtälje accounting for the majority of this figure. The electricity and heat-saving investments for 2017 amounted to SEK 20 million.
Efforts are needed to be able to pursue ambitious environmental activities. The costs of this include environmental personnel, operation of treatment equipment, waste management, supervision, environmental training, permit applications, environmental consultants, and costs of measures when operations are discontinued. The costs have totalled between SEK 140 and 210 million in the past five years.
The mills pay tax on landfilled waste, carbon dioxide and sulphur tax and charges for emissions of nitrogen oxides.
As the Swedish mills have been able to reduce their use of fossil fuels in recent years, the costs of fuel-related taxes have consequently also fallen. Environmental taxes and charges are expected to decrease further as a result of comprehensive energy and climate-related investments that have been and are being made at several mills in the Group.
The environmental costs of forestry are estimated as the value of the wood that is not harvested for environmental reasons. Holmen sets aside around twelve per cent of its productive forest land and thus refrains from harvesting around twelve per cent of the possible volume. The loss of income was estimated at around SEK 62 million in 2017.
The Group's mills have participated in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme since 2005. The steps taken by the Group to reduce the use of fossil fuels and therefore carbon dioxide emissions have made it possible to sell emission allowances. The reported result varies from year to year. The result for 2017 was SEK 21 million.
Holmen has produced renewable electricity for many years. Participating in electricity certificate trading has generated revenues from this. The reported result has ranged between SEK 30 and 435 million over the past five years. The highest figure came in 2015. This was due to income from the sale of certificates received in relation to the biofuel boiler that was commissioned in early 2013 at the mill in Workington.
Surplus thermal energy produced at some of the mills has been sold to municipal district heating networks for several years. The surplus electricity from the mill in Workington is sold to the local community.
Various types of by-product/waste arise in production. Large parts of this waste can be recycled and put to use, for example as fuel for energy production. Several of the mills sell such by-products to external users, for example for energy production and construction purposes.
If officially permitted emission levels are exceeded, penalty charges can be imposed on the company that causes the emissions. The environmental and energy management systems introduced and regular checks on the industrial operations by the authorities mean that the risks of limits being exceeded can be managed successfully. For a long time Holmen has not caused any emissions that have led to penalty charges.
The high costs stated for 2013–2014 mainly consist of environmentally related elements of the implementation of biofuel boilers within Iggesund Paperboard and the wind farm at Varsvik, Norrtälje, Sweden.
The stated amount includes costs for waste management, energy tax charged in Sweden on the use of fossil fuels, nitrogen oxide tax and inspection charges.
This includes costs of environmental personnel, operation of treatment equipment, waste management, management systems, environmental training, applications for permits, environmental consultants and the costs of inquiries and measures in connection with discontinued operations.
The environmental cost of forestry is calculated as the value of the wood that is not harvested for environmental reasons. Holmen sets aside 12 per cent of its productive forest for environmental reasons and thus refrains from harvesting around 12 per cent of the potential volume. The annual loss of income is estimated at around SEK 62 million.
Holmen AB, P.O. Box 5407, SE-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden.
Tel: +46 8 666 21 00 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement
© Holmen Group 2019


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Environmentalism and Sustainability:
How our sector is promoting green awareness
Date: Monday, April 15, 2013, 10:00am-3:00pm
Location: Ruthven Park National Historic Site, 243 Haldimand Hwy 54, Cayuga, ON
WE WANT TO KNOW what exciting and innovative ways your museum/gallery is promoting sustainability and green awareness.
Do you:
-run an environmentalism program?
-participate in an interesting partnership?
-integrate sustainability and green awareness in any way in your museum/gallery?
We invite you to share your approaches and ideas in a presentation that will engage others in conversation and offer learning in this informal peer learning environment.
We ask that presentations be a maximum of 15-20 minutes in length, followed by 10-15 minutes discussion period. However, new approaches are welcome and creative presentations may be longer or shorter depending on what you want to share or get out of them. All ideas related to the topic are welcome. Step up and share!
For more information about the HME PLC, please contact one of HME's coordinators or visit our blog.
We look forward to hearing from you!


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All "Revue" articles will be SPOILER FREE (and to help with that, also image-free, other than a Title Screen / Header image) and Safe-To-Read even before viewing [I personally don't like to read Reviews before movies, but I know many do - please let me know if any of my Revues are 'too spoiler-y' and I will adjust them]. Enjoy!
Revue #1 - Fantastic Four (2015)
What an oddly finished product to make an opinion on... I just watched this on Netflix, and while it's not just that the movie feels disappointing, it also left me feeling 'empty' or even 'sad' somehow. Like the movie was a small animal that someone found, took in to care for, then forgot it out on the street again later on... That odd mixture of disappointment and sadness is what I came away from this movie with.
Without getting into the 'technical' or 'background' details of it (how they handled the Origin Story is what most people did not like, for example), the first two-thirds of the movie is actually not bad, if a little slow-paced. It develops their backgrounds slightly and places them together, trying to get you to have empathy for the characters somewhat. It does in fact feel like a caring hand was hanging over it all, keeping it 'realistic' and the work put into that made me ignore the slow pace of the development. The cast themselves by the way, seem like they could become decent actors, but they all feel 'held back' and are almost stoic here.
Then, after about three-quarters of the movie has gone by, they throw everything out the window and 'chop together' a 1980's-quality "battle-with-the-bad-guy" that has none of the feeling of care and pace of the first majority of the movie. Now, I know production houses, crews and casts all have time limitations that put chains on a movie - turning into whips at times, urging completion; but this last section of movie feels like someone forgot about the animal they found out in the wild that they cared for so well up to now and left it out in the elements again... In my opinion, they could have even eliminated the 'final battle' and just finalized the development of the Origin of the characters - maybe with some 'competition' or other plot point, to end on; at least then, this could be an Origin Only movie and you would be left with some feelings for them after it was all over, not minding 'the wait' until the expected Sequel with 'real action' could come along.
While the 2005 Fantastic Four is a bit 'campier', it still is in my opinion a better movie than this, because of its' overall polish and the mistakes of this one. In the end, I gave this movie, not a Zero like many, but a 2 out of 5 because of the effort that was put in ..at times
Review submitted and published on Netflix
[Personal Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Netflix in any way, pay my own account with them, and have not received any compensation, in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely an enthusiastic user of their service; but have also utilized other, similar services as well, such as Amazon's PrimeVideo and Sony's Crackle and other online streaming services. All opinions herein are my own personal opinions and do not reflect in any way, any opinions or influences of the companies, production houses, peoples or persons involved with the projects mentioned (movies). These articles which are "Revue" posts are my own personal ideas/opinions/predictions and are not open to 100% re-posting or re-distribution (please try to stay ~50% re-posting of the text involved). Some Rights Reserved.]


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Read before you die
Written in beautiful English
Halina the bookworm
Published: 5th May 2003
Number Of Pages: 880
For Ages: 18+ years old
George Eliot's most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community. Peopling its landscape are Dorothea Brooke, a young idealist whose search for intellectual fulfilment leads her into a disastrous marriage to the pedantic scholar Casaubon; the charming but tactless Dr Lydgate, whose pioneering medical methods, combined with an imprudent marriage to the spendthrift beauty Rosamond, threaten to undermine his career; and the religious hypocrite Bulstrode, hiding scandalous crimes from his past. As their stories interweave, George Eliot creates a richly nuanced and moving drama, hailed by Virginia Woolf as 'one of the few English novels written for grown-up people'.
This edition uses the text of the second edition of 1874. In her introduction, Rosemary Ashton, biographer of George Eliot, discusses themes of change in Middlemarch, and examines the novel as an imaginative embodiment of Eliot's humanist beliefs.
About the Author
Mary Ann (Marian) Evans was born in 1819 in Warwickshire. She attended schools in Nuneaton and Coventry, coming under the influence of evangelical teachers and clergymen. In 1836 her mother died and Marian became her father's housekeeper, educating herself in her spare time. In 1841 she moved to Coventry, and met Charles and Caroline Bray, local progressive intellectuals. Through them she was commissioned to translate Strauss's Life of Jesus and met the radical publisher John Chapman, who, when he purchased the Westminster Review in 1851, made her his managing editor.
Having lost her Christian faith and thereby alienated her family, she moved to London and met Herbert Spencer (whom she nearly married, only he found her too 'morbidly intellectual') and the versatile man-of-letters George Henry Lewes. Lewes was separated from his wife, but with no possibility of divorce. In 1854 he and Marian decided to live together, and did so until Lewes's death in 1878. It was he who encouraged her to turn from philosophy and journalism to fiction, and during those years, under the name of George Eliot, she wrote Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, as well as numerous essays, articles and reviews.
George Eliot died in 1880, only a few months after marrying J. W. Cross, an old friend and admirer, who became her first biographer. She was buried beside Lewes at Highgate. George Eliot combined a formidable intelligence with imaginative sympathy and acute powers of observation, and became one of the greatest and most influential of English novelists. Her choice of material widened the horizons of the novel and her psychological insights radically influenced the novelist's approach to characterization. Middlemarch, considered by most to be her masterpiece, was said by Virginia Woolf to be 'one of the few English novels written for grown-up people'.
Written in beautiful English
Halina the bookworm
"One of the few English novels written for grown-up people" -- Virginia Woolf
"The most profound, wise and absorbing of English novels...and, above all, truthful and forgiving about human behavior." -- Hermione Lee
Series: Penguin Classics
Audience: General
For Ages: 18+ years old
For Grades: 9+
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 880
Published: 5th May 2003
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 19.9 x 13.3 x 3.9
Weight (kg): 0.6
Edition Number: 1