'Big Three' getting old? Djokovic doesn't think so | Inquirer Sports
sports / Tennis
'Big Three' getting old? Djokovic doesn't think so
Reuters / 05:53 PM May 16, 2021
FILE PHOTO: Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 15, 2021 Serbia's Novak Djokovic during his semi final match against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
The 'Big Three' of men's tennis has found some "fresh energy" to thwart the charge of younger players on the tour, world number one Novak Djokovic said after setting up yet another title clash against his biggest rival against Rafa Nadal.The 'Big Three' of men's tennis has found some "fresh energy" to thwart the charge of younger players on the tour, world number one Novak Djokovic said
The last four ATP Masters 1000 events, the most prestigious tournaments outside the Grand Slams, have been won by players outside the grouping of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer.
But it will be top seed Djokovic facing second seed Nadal at the Foro Italico on Sunday for the Rome Masters title in a 57th career meeting between the duo, with the Serbian leading 29-27.
"Rafa and I had a little laugh today in the locker room after I won against (Stefanos) Tsitsipas," Djokovic, 33, told reporters after his semifinal win against local favorite Lorenzo Sonego.
"We kind of joked around that the old guys are still not giving up. I saw he said somewhere a few days ago that Roger, him and I are old, but I disagree with him. I think we're showing some different, fresh energy.
"We had a laugh about it…I'm really glad that we are showing we're not backing off from the NextGenATP attacks."
Russian Daniil Medvedev, 25, won the ATP Finals and the Paris Masters titles last year and has already displaced the 34-year-old Nadal from second spot in the rankings.
Hubert Hurkacz, Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have won the three Masters events this year with Greek Tsitsipas the youngest of them, at 22.
But Djokovic and Nadal will return to the Masters winners' circle on Sunday, having survived some stern tests during their previous rounds in Rome.
"It's great to play him again in the final," Djokovic said of the 20-times major winner. "He's the guy that I have encountered the most in my career. Definitely my biggest rival of all time.
"Playing him on clay in the finals of one of the biggest tournaments in the world is always extra motivating for me. Even after all we have been through in our careers, there's still this excitement when we have to face each other."
Zidane to leave Real Madrid at end of season – report
TAGS: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer


Berrien County Paid Terrible Toll on the Otranto
October 6, 2016 at 5:45 am	(HMS Otranto, WWI)
Tags: Arthur Harper, Ben Griner, Benjamin Easters, Benjamin F. McCranie, Bennie Griner, Burrell McMillan, Charlie S. Railey, Colon Easters, Elisha E. Davis, Frank Moore, George Bruce Faircloth, George Hutto, George Robert Hayes, Gordon Flowers, Guy G. Coppage, J. Bart Gaskins, Jack Boyett, Jake McMillen, James J. Hancock, James M. McMillan, Jesse W. Zeigler, Jim Boyett, Jim Melvin Boyett, Joe E. Hancock, Joel Wheeler, John B. Wheeler, John F. Moore, John Guy Coppage, John Railey, K.H. Holland, Lafayette Gaskins, Lester A. Hancock, Lester Albritton Hancock, Luke Hutto, Mack Hilton Easters, Moses Greyson Sirmons, Neil E. McCranie, Peter Harper, Ralph Knight, Robert J. Hancock, Rufus Davis, Thomas H. Holland, Thomas Jefferson Sirmans, Thomas Jefferson Sirmons, Thomas Webb, Walter Howard Knight, William C. Zeigler, William McMillan, William P. Hayes
When the troopship Otranto went down on October 6, 1918 near the end of World War I, Ray City and Berrien County, GA paid a heavy toll. Among the hundreds of Otranto dead were dozens of soldiers from Berrien. For weeks news of the disaster trickled into American newspapers. Facts were sketchy at best – In some cases, soldiers who perished in the sinking were incorrectly reported as survivors. The article below incorrectly reported the Irish coast as the site of the sinking. In actuality, the ship went down off the coast of the Isle of Islay, Scotland. It would nearly two months before the names of the lost were known to the folks at home…
Berrien County Paid Big Toll On The Otranto
Nashville, Ga., November 27.- (Special.) – Berrien county paid a terrible toll in the loss of her young men when the ill-fated Otranto went down off the Irish coast a few weeks ago [October 6, 1918]; in today's list seven new names of dead from here were added the to already heavy toll. The names of the dead in today's list include:
Joe Wheeler, son of John Wheeler, of this city; Lester Handcock, son of Joe Handcock, of Enigma;
William P. Hays, father unknown [George Robert Hayes, died 1914], of Enigma; James M. McMillen, son of Jake McMillen, of Alapaha; Ben F. McCranie, son of Neil McCranie, of Adel. Mr. McCranie had heretofore lost his son-in-law, Gordon Flowers, killed in action some weeks ago. Shelby [Shellie] L. Webb, son of Thomas Webb, of Ray City; Arthur Harper, son of Peter Harper, of Alapaha.
Those Berrien county boys reported lost prior to this report include Jim Boyett, son of Jack Boyett, of Milltown; Guy Coppage, son of Guy G. Coppage, of Cecil; Lafayette Gaskins, son of Bart Gaskins, of Ray City; Bennie E. Griner, son of Ben Griner, of this city; Robert J. Hancock, son of J. J. Hancock, of Lenox, George H. Hutto, son of Luke Hutto, of Adel; Mack Easters, son of Benjamin Easters, of Lenox; George B. Faircloth, son of Colon Easters, of Milltown; Thomas H. Holland, son of K. H. Holland, of Adel; Ralph Knight, son of Walt Knight, of Ray City; William McMillen, son of B. [Burrell] McMillen of Enigma; John F. Moor, son of Frank Moor, of Adel; Charley Railey, son of John Railey, of Alapaha; William C. Zeigler, son of J. W. [Jesse] Zeigler, of Sparks; Thomas J. Sirmans, son of Mose Sirmans, of this city; Richard [Rufus] Davis, father unknown [Elisha E. Davis].
The dead from this accident bring Berrien county's total to about 45 fatalities from all causes during the war. Based upon population, this county has undoubtedly suffered greater loss in men dead than any other county in this state, because of so many of her boys on board the Otranto. The people here will take steps to preserve the memory of these boys by appropriate construction on the public square, it is said.
Atlanta Constitution, November 28, 1918 – Berrien County Paid Big Toll on the Otranto
Otranto Stories in Ray City History
Seeking Descendants of HMS Otranto Disaster Victims and Survivors
HMS Otranto Sank Ninety-four Years Ago
OTRANTO SUNK IN COLLISION
Oct 12, 1918 ~ 372 U.S. Soldiers Lost in Sinking of Otranto
October 13-15, 1918 ~ RECOVERING CORPSES FROM OTRANTO WRECK
The American Red Cross and the Otranto Rescue
J.M. DeLoach Jumped from the HMS OTRANTO
Ralph Knight ~ Otranto Disaster
Shellie Loyd Webb – Lost at Sea
Alvin Claude Bozeman and the Sinking of the HMS Otranto
Burial of the Otranto Victims
Islay Remembered Otranto Soldiers at Christmas Time
Hero of Otranto Rescue Shot Dead
Gideon Gaskins and the Oak View Hotel
April 9, 2016 at 12:44 am	(Gaskins Family, Historic Businesses)
Tags: Albert Padgett, Bank of Willacoochee, Berrien County GA, Brunswick & Western Railroad, Bryant Gaskins, Carter & Ford Grocers, Catherine Gaskins, David E. Gaskins, Elizabeth Clements, Gideon Gaskins, Gidian Gaskins, Henry Moore, Henry Paulk, Ida Gaskins, J. Bart Gaskins, James F. Schearer, Joe Vickers, John C. Clements, John G. Gaskins, John Gaskins, Lourene Clements, M. Corbitt, Mary J. Gaskins, Mary Patten, Mattie Mae Gaskins, Oak View Hotel, R. L. Ford, Ray's Mill GA, Thomas Gaskins, Thomas R. Cox, Willacoochee GA, William Gaskins, William L. Moore, William Thomas Gaskins
Gideon D. Gaskins
Gideon D. Gaskins was born September 15, 1859 and raised in the vicinity of Ray's Mill, GA. His father was William Gaskins and his mother was Elizabeth Clements. The Berrien County tax digests of 1884-1886 show the twenty-something young Gideon Gaskins in the 1144 Georgia Militia District, the Ray's Mill district, although he was not a land owner.
On October 17, 1886, Gideon D. Gaskins married Lourene "Lula" Clements in Berrien County, GA.
Marriage Certificate of Gideon D. Gaskins and Lula R. Clements, October 17, 1886, Berrien County, GA
Lula was born September 5, 1866, a daughter of John C. Clements and Mary Patten.
Some time before 1887, Gideon Gaskins moved his family to Willacoochee, GA where he worked as a merchant. The 1887 property tax digest show "Giddie" Gaskins owned property in the town of Willacoochee valued at $135, and $25 worth of household furnishings. His stock of merchandise was valued at $300. The 1890 property tax digests show Gaskins' town property in Willacoochee valued at $200, as well as $50 in household furnishings and $20 in livestock.
An 1898 society item from offered a tongue-in-cheek critique of the Willacoochee merchant's physique. Gaskin's fellow businessmen and neighbors were: Albert Padgett, merchant; William L. Moore, merchant; Joe Vickers, merchant; Henry Paulk, merchant. Gid Gaskins was apparently leaner and cleaner shaven than his colleagues.
1898 personal mention of Gid Gaskins, merchant of Willacoochee, GA
Tifton Gazette
Clever Joe Vickers is waxing fat, selling good goods and eating fish these days. The same would be true of our friends Padgett and Moore, but Gid Gaskins is not quite keeping up with the boys in the matter of flesh. Like Henry Paulk, however, he is better prepared to stand hot weather.
In the census of 1900, Gideon Gaskins gave his occupation as merchant and indicated he was working as a wage employee. By 1902, Willacoochee was a growing concern and Gideon was ready to run his own shop. He built a brick store in Willacoochee on the south side of the tracks of the Brunswick and Western Railroad. The Brunswick & Western Railroad ran 171 miles from Brunswick, GA to Albany, GA passing through Waynesville, Waycross, Waresboro, Pearson, Sniff, Kirkland, Pinebloom, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Enigma, Brookfield, Vanceville, Tifton and other towns. In the 1870s and 80s the Brunswick & Western had been the stomping grounds of the notorious outlaw Ben Furlong; in the 1900s Jack Alsea "Joe" Furlong, son of Ben Furlong, was residing at Willacoochee, GA in the household of his foster parents Benjamin B. Gray and Ellen Gray .
A Growing Town
Tifton's sister city Willacoochee is showing more evidence of thrift and interprise than any town along the Brunswick and Western.
The Bank of Willacoochee has just finished two handsome brick store rooms on either side of the bank building, and these are occupied by D. E. Gaskins and by Carter & Ford.
Mr. G. D. Gaskins is erecting a handsome brick store, 25×90 feet, as is also Mr. J. J. Vickers, the former on the south and the latter on the north side of the railroad, where his store was burned last Christmas.
Both these buildings will soon be completed and occupied. Messrs. M. Corbitt and J. F. Shearer have also put a handsome line of groceries in the post office building.
Several more improvements are contemplated.
Gideon D. Gaskins and Lula Clements had only one child, Mattie Mae Gaskins, born October 10, 1890. A 1904 news clipping from the Tifton Gazette suggests that Mattie Gaskins may have attended the Sparks Institute as a teen ager.
The 1910 census records show that Gideon's nephew, Thomas R. Cox, had come to live with the Gaskins in Willacoochee by that time. It was a banner year for Willacoochee in 1910. The opening of the line of the Georgia & Florida on October 1, 1908 had brought a second railroad to the town and by 1910 the town was experiencing a boom in construction. The Peoples Bank building went up, along with half a dozen still-existing brick and wood commercial buildings. and the Willacoochee Electric Plant. And in 1910, the Oak View Hotel was built in Willacoochee; Gideon Gaskins would be the proprietor.
The former Oak View Hotel, Willacoochee, GA, with its distinctive jerkinhead (clipped gable) roof line. The jerkinhead design roof was stronger, but more expensive than a conventional hip gable roof.
The former Oak View hotel still stands on the corner of McCranie Street and Gaskins Street in Willacoochee, GA. The hotel was built in a prime location, one block south of the tracks of the Brunswick & Western Railroad and two blocks east of the depot of the recently opened Georgia & Florida Railroad. After 1908, the route of the G&F was from Jacksonville, GA to Madison, FL and provided convenient transportation between Willacoochee and Ray City by way of Nashville, GA, a run of about 34 miles. The Gaskins were one of many south Georgia families that shared a Ray City – Willacoochee connection.
The costs of constructing the Oak View Hotel may have strained Gideon D. Gaskins' finances. In 1910 he received a judgment of bankruptcy, but later determined that he would be able to make good on all his debts.
Does Not Appear Bankrupt
Brunswick, Ga., April 23. – The case of G. D. Gaskins of Willacoochee, recently adjudged to be a bankrupt by the local refferee in bankruptcy, will come up for a hearing in this city on May 2.
The schedule of liabilities and assets of the bankrupt were recently filed in the court for this district, and they show that he has assets of about $7,450, while his liabilities are only about $2,982.11.
Some of the indebtedness has been paid off since the filing of the petition, and it is expected that when he comes to the hearing he will offer to pay dollar for dollar.
Despite earlier struggles, business was good in Willacoochee. By 1916 Gideon's nephew, Thomas R. Cox, had secured a position as bookkeeper for the Bank of Willacoochee. When Cox disappeared in May, 1916 there were allegations of malfeasance.
Gideon D. Gaskins died at his home in Willacoochee, GA on October 23, 1916.
Death of Gideon D. Gaskins reported in the Tifton Gazette
The Tifton Gazette
G. D. Gaskins, Willacoochee.
Willacoochee, Ga., October 24.-(Special.)- G .D. Gaskins, proprietor of the Oak View hotel and a well-known citizen of this county, died at his home here last night about 6 o'clock. He is survived by a wife, one daughter, Miss Mattie Mae Gaskins, of Willacoochee; four brothers, Bart, Tom and John Gaskins of Ray City, and Bryan Gaskins, of Sparks, and three sisters, Mrs. Ida Sirmans, and Mrs. Catherine Roberts of Nashville, and Mrs. Mary Cox of Ray City. The funeral was held at 3 o'clock this afternoon, followed by the interment here.
The grave of Gideon D. Gaskins lies in the Willacoochee City Cemetery.
Grave of Gideon D. Gaskins, Willacoochee City Cemetery, Willacoochee, GA. Image source: Barbara L. Kirkland
The information from the grave marker is somewhat problematic. First, the given name on the grave does not follow the expected spelling – "Gidian" instead of "Gideon." Second, the date of death on the grave -March 21, 1916 – does not match with obituaries published in local and state newspapers which clearly establish the date of death as October 23, 1916. It appears that the marker on the grave of Gideon D. Gaskins was placed well after the time of his death, perhaps after the time of his wife's death, and that the date of his passing or even the spelling of his name was not well known to those tending his grave.
After the death of Gideon D. Gaskins his widow, Lula Clements Gaskins, operated the Oak View Hotel for a few years, then returned to Ray City, GA with her daughter, Mattie Mae Gaskins. They lived in a house on Main Street, Ray City, until Lula's death in 1947.
Grave of Lula Clements Gaskins, Willacoochee City Cemetery, Willacoochee, GA. Image source: Barbara L. Kirkland
Hyman Hardeman Sirmans of Ray City, GA
March 18, 2012 at 12:05 am	(Sirmans Family, WWII)
Tags: Albert Studstill, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Berrien County GA, Billy Clements, Brocy Sirmans, Clyde Miller, Daniel Walker Sirmans, Edith Sirmans, Glen Lee, Herbert Allen, Hyman Hardeman Sirmans, J. Bart Gaskins, Jack Knight, Jackie Giddens, Joe Latham, John D. Luke, Lawson Fountain, Leland Kent, Lerine Sirmans, Liberty Ship, Lonnie Plair, Mamie Sirmans, Margaret Sirmans, Marjorie Garner, Marvin Harris, Merice Lancing Langford, Patricia Ann Sirmans, Ray City Baptist Church, Ray City GA, S.S. William G. Lee, Sam Barker, Thomas Patten, Victoria Sirmans, Walter J. Gaskins
Hyman Hardeman "Brocy" Sirmans (1919 – 1969) of Ray City, GA was a son of Mamie and Daniel W. Sirmans.
Hyman Hardeman "Brocy" Sirmans of Ray City, GA.
H. H. Sirmans was born on March 22, 1919 at Ray City just in time to be enumerated in the census of 1920. His father rented a farm on one of the settlement roads near Ray City. Next door was John and Anne Sirmans Matheny, and on the adjacent farm, George W. and Mary Fender.
1920 enumeration of the household of Daniel W. Sirmans.
http://www.archive.org/stream/georgiacensus00reel338#page/n372/mode/1up
Hyman H. Sirmans was enumerated in the Census of 1930 in his father's household at Ray City, GA. He was 11 years old, and attended school along with his sisters Lerine and Victoria. Edith and Margaret were too young to attend.
Hyman H Sirmans worked on a Liberty Ship during WWII. His service records give his physical description as 5′ 6″ tall, and 228 pounds.
He began his service at sea in 1940, and served as a Fireman/Watertender on the S. S. William G. Lee. The William G. Lee liberty ship was built in Savannah, Georgia by the Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation.
The WWII liberty ship S. S. William G. Lee, photographed after the war.
The Merchant Marine website provides the following:
"Liberty ship" was the name given to the EC2 type ship designed for "Emergency" construction by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II. Liberty ships were nicknamed "ugly ducklings" by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The first of the 2,711 Liberty ships was the SS Patrick Henry, launched on Sept. 27, 1941, and built to a standardized, mass produced design. (2,710 ships were completed, as one burned at the dock.) The 250,000 parts were pre-fabricated throughout the country in 250-ton sections and welded together in about 70 days. One Liberty ship, the SS Robert E. Peary was built in four and a half days. A Liberty cost under $2,000,000.
The Liberty was 441 feet long and 56 feet wide. Her three-cylinder, reciprocating steam engine, fed by two oil-burning boilers produced 2,500 hp and a speed of 11 knots. Her 5 holds could carry over 9,000 tons of cargo, plus airplanes, tanks, and locomotives lashed to its deck. A Liberty could carry 2,840 jeeps, 440 tanks, or 230 million rounds of rifle ammunition.
As a Fireman/Watertender on the S.S. William G. Lee, H. H. Sirmans would have been responsible for tending to the fires and boilers in the steam ship's engine room. His duties would have included tending the boilers to maintain steam at specified pressure, and regulating the amount of water in the boiler, observing gauges, and cleaning equipment and work area. He may have also done maintenance and repair work in the fireroom and engine room, and monitored operation of evaporators and condensers used to convert salt water to fresh water.
The William G. Lee was launched in July, 1944 and made numerous Atlantic crossings during WWII. According to the ConvoyWeb database for Merchant Ships during WW2, the William G. Lee departed from NYC on July 25, 1944 with Convoy HX.301, and arrived at Liverpool, England on August 8, 1944. She departed Methil, Scotland with Convoy FS.1541 on August 11,1944 for Southend, England, arriving on August 13, 1944. She departed Southend, England with Convoy FN.1455 on August 20, 1944, for Methil,Scotland. Two days later she departed Methil Scotland with Convoy EN.425 on August 22, 1944 bound for Loch Ewe, Scotland, arriving August 24. She joined Convoy ON.250 departing from Liverpool and arrived NYC on September 7, 1944. She departed from NYC on October 5, 1944 with Convoy HX.312, and arrived at Liverpool, England on October 21, 1944. She joined Convoy ON.267 departing Southend on November 18, 1944, and arrived NYC on December 5, 1944. She departed Boston, MA with Convoy BX.138 on December 21, 1944, arriving off Halifax on December 23. She joined Convoy HX.328 departing from NYC on Christmas Eve, 1944, arriving at Liverpool England on January 8, 1945. On January 10, 1945, she made the run from Southend with Convoy FN.1598, bound for Methil, Scotland. Nine days later, she made the return run with Convoy FS.1702. She departed Southend with Convoy ON.280 on January 22 1945, arrived NYC on 9 February 9, 1945. She joined Convoy HX.341 and departed NYC on February 28, 1945, arriving at Liverpool England on March 15, 1945. On 27 March 1945 she departed Southend with Convoy ON.293, and arrived NYC on April 15, 1945. She departed from NYC on May 3, 1945 with Convoy HX.354 and arrived Liverpool on 18 May 1945.
H. H. Sirmans married Marjorie E Garner in 1944 in Baker County, FL 1944 21268
1969 Obituary of Hyman Hardeman Sirmans, Ray City, Berrien County, GA.
LAKELAND, Ga. – H. H. (Brocy) Sirmans, 49, of Ray City, died at his home early today of an apparent heart attack.
He was born and lived all his life in Berrien County. He was a member of Ray City Baptist Church, the National Farmers Organization and the Farm Bureau.
Survivors are his wife the former Marjorie Garner; a daughter, Patricia Ann Sirmans of Valdosta; mother, Mrs. Mamie Sirmans of Ray City; four sisters, Mrs. Lerine Harris and Mrs. Margaret Stalvey and Mrs. Edith Peters of Ray City and Mrs. Victoria Bradly of Savannah.
Funeral services are to be held at 3 p. m. Wednesday at Ray City Baptist Church with burial at Beaver Dam Cemetery. The body is to be taken to the residence late today.
Music Funeral Home of Lakeland is in charge of arrangements.
Active pallbearers are to be Jackie Giddens, Murice Lankford, Marvin Harris, J. Bart Gaskins, Clyde Miller, Albert Studstill, James Swindle and Lonnie Plair.
Honorary pallbearers are to be Walter J. Gaskins, Billy Clements, Glen Lee, John David Luke, Lawson Fountain, Sam Barker, Joe Latham, Jack Knight, Herbert Allen, Thomas Patten and Leland Kent.


A repository of recipes and memories
Time for tea (in Myanmar)
Burmese tea, how the locals drink it – very strong, and served with sweetened, condensed milk. It reminded me of Indian Masala tea, but without the addition of spices. As in Laos, it was served with complementary green tea.
One of the curiosities of traveling through South-East Asia is that if you enter Thailand over land (as we did, by boat), you are issued with a 15-day tourist visa. If you fly in, you automatically qualify for a 30-day visa, but if you organise a visa over the Internet before you enter the country, you can easily obtain a 60- or 90-day visa.
We didn't find out about the 60- or 90-day visas until it was too late, so we were stuck with 15-days. It is possible to arrange extensions (for a fee) by going to the Immigration Department in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, but in our haste to escape to Pai, we didn't think about organising this before we left. When in Pai, we had to make up our minds whether to a) go back to Chiang Mai before the visas ran out, b) wait until we got to Bangkok, and hope that we could organise an extension before they ran out, c) gulp, and pay the fine for overstaying at the airport when we left, or d) make a trip to the northern town of Mae Sai, where we could go over the border into Myanmar (Burma), renewing our Thai visas for another 15 days when we returned.
Clearly, we chose option d. Many tourists get sucked into the lifestyle in Pai and end up staying far longer than they had intended, so such "visa runs" are common. It was easy to book tickets on a mini-bus for the 7 hour trip to Mae Sai. The bus left at 5.30am so that it could do a round trip, returning passengers to their safe little haven (Pai) in the same day.
The trip seemed to pass blessedly quickly, despite being crammed in like sardines and only making two stops. (I think my absorption in my current read, the "Talented Mr Ripley" trilogy had something to do with this). At the border, our fellow travelers headed over straight away as they had about 45 minutes to get to Myanmar and back to the bus. Colin and I had elected to stay overnight in Mae Sai, so we found our hostel, settled in, and then headed to the border.
Heading over the bridge, towards the Myanmar border.
The border crossing is very busy, as it is a major trading point between the two countries. Many Thai people (like this woman and her son) visit the town of Tachileik to shop for bargains at the Chinese market. Thai shopkeepers purchase goods in Tachileik because they can more than double their money back over the border. We bought a small bag of cashews in Myanmar for 30 Baht, and later that day, saw a similar size bag in Thailand for 120 Baht.
Just over the border, is Tachileik, "City of the Golden Triangle".
The Golden Triangle refers to the three-country border where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, historically known for its thriving trade in opium. The opium trade is much more heavily policed now, especially in Thailand, but where there is a will, there is a way, and this activity still goes on (although is more centred on methamphetamine now). The border between Thailand and Myanmar doesn't exactly pose much of an obstacle for smugglers, as the photo below shows. The poverty of the hill-tribes in both Myanmar and Thailand, the corruption of authorities, and general lawlessness of this border area also support the drug trade.
The river Mae Nam Sai, which forms the border – Burma to the left; Thailand to the right.
Crossing into Myanmar involved a stop at Passport Control, where our passports were removed, and we were issued with a permit that allowed us to visit Myanmar for 14 days. In reality, this permit doesn't allow you to travel very far into Myanmar without applying for difficult-to-obtain further permits. For most travelers to Myanmar, applying for a visa prior to flying into one of the two main cities is the safest and most convenient way to travel.
Tachileik is described as "a seedy frontier smuggling and gambling town" in Lonely Planet, and it really is just that. As we entered the town, I hung back to take a couple of photographs, while Colin was approached by three men vying with each other to ask, "you want woman? I can take you to woman?". When Colin laughed and said he was with his wife, I received embarrassed smiles, although I only discovered the reason for it later. Seconds later, an older man struck up a conversation with us, wanting to know if we wanted to gamble or buy alcohol. We declined his offer, but he seemed like such a nice grandfatherly-type, that I asked him where we could buy a cup of the famous Burmese tea.
Danny took us to a tea-shop nearby which he said he frequented every morning. He then entertained us with all manner of interesting stories. Danny is a retired marine engineer, who claimed to have invented the hybrid engine, and romantically, had sacrificed marriage and a family for his first love, philosophy. He spent several years working illegally in America, which is where he developed his excellent grasp of English. On attempting to illegally enter the US a second time, he was arrested on the beach where his boat landed, jailed, and sent back to Myanmar.
With Danny – a colourful character indeed! His teeth were pretty colourful too, stained a red-brown from the betel leaves chewed by many people in Myanmar (the leaves are a mild stimulant).
After tea, I agreed to buy a couple of cans of Myanmar beer at a duty free shop (itself the weirdest mix of typical duty-free-glitz set in a background of a dirty, decaying building). Danny then suggested that I might like to sample some local perfume, which he said was "made without alcohol". He took me to a shop and I actually did purchase a small bottle because it smelt lovely, and cost only 27 Baht, just over $1 NZ. While there, I asked the proprietor if she could give me my change in Myanmar Kyat, as I have saved a small amount of local money from every country we have visited. The Baht is actually the currency of choice in Tachileik, but I was given a 50,000 Kyat note as a souvenir (equivalent to about 2 Thai Baht, or less than 10 cents NZ).
After we left Danny with a generous tip, we decided to spend some time looking around the market. Colin's "same, same, but different" Prada sunglasses that he had bought for a few dollars in Vang Vieng had collapsed while crossing the border, so he was ripe to be pounced upon by two young men at a sunglasses stall. While Colin modeled glasses and joked with them, two other men tried to sell me cartons of cigarettes, and then (with a twinkle), Viagra. This caused a lot of laughter and jokes, with the men highly amused when I pretended to misunderstand, and then to be shy. They had both "Indian" Viagra, as well as "genuine" Viagra, and even a potion that they claimed was "Lady Viagra", which depicted a scantily clad vamp on the box. Colin soon got in on the action, and his animated portrayal of why he didn't need Viagra caused raucous outbursts (if you know Colin, you get the picture!).
Colin with his new sunglasses. The two young guys ran the sunglasses stall, but the man on the left was just a random who got in on the fun. The cigarette and Viagra sellers declined to be in the picture, claiming (I think) that it was illegal for their wares to be photographed.
After this, the man in the left of the picture showed us around the market. A bit like Danny, he just somehow became our guide. He too was full of interesting stories, and had a beautiful smile and gentle manner. He was also clearly poor, and we knew he would probably ask us for money at some point. We spent a pleasant hour with him, wandering through the markets in the sun, sampling little potato samosa from a stall (very delicious), and chatting to stall owners. It was handy having a local guide so we could find out more about the more unusual items for sale, such as dried tiger intestine and deer heart (both used for medicine).
Around 4pm we decided we should head back to Thailand in plenty of time before the border closed (taking into account also, that Myanmar is half an hour ahead of Thailand). We said goodbye to our guide after giving him some money, which he claimed he needed to bribe an official so he could get into Thailand to work. In the market we had encountered quite a few beggars, and there were many more as we walked back towards the border – lots of elderly men and women, people with serious physical disabilities, women with young babies, and lots and lots of kids. We were soon completely cleaned out of coins and small notes, and it was hard saying no to the final few we passed. Myanmar has one of the least developed economies in the world, and there were far more beggars here than anywhere else we have visited.
At the border, our passports were returned, then we had to pass through Thai immigration again.
Back in the Thai town of Mae Sai, which was obviously more affluent than Tachileik.
After wandering through the stalls on the Thai side of the border for a while, we took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel and went in search of dinner. Bed wasn't too far away, as we were tired from an early start to the day, and several hours walking around in the hot sun (Pai had been much cooler). Unfortunately, we had a very broken nights sleep due to a loud karaoke bar across the street…
The next day we ate something disgusting that resembled breakfast, then caught a local bus for the 90-minute trip to Chiang Rai. On route, the bus was stopped twice by armed Thai police, who first searched passengers for illegal items, then the second time, examined their identity cards. At the second checkpoint, a young Burmese man was removed from the bus. Colin and I weren't searched or questioned at either point, which felt unfair. In fact, the only attention we got was when a woman police officer wanted to have a look at Colin's tattoos, which she said were "beautiful". A bit surreal, given that her Glock was only inches away from us!
As many of you know, Colin and I have seriously considered extending our trip by another month or so. If we had, we would have gone to Myanmar. We've stuck to our original three-months for several reasons, the main one being that the monsoon will be in full force in Myanmar in June, July and August. But I'm happy that I got to go to Myanmar after all, even if it was only for a few hours. It definitely whetted our appetites…
Stir-fried vegetables, a small plate of barbequed pork, rice, and Chang (with ice). Simple, tasty, and swiftly consumed.
Filed under: Eat, Travel
border crossing, Burma, City of the Golden Triangle, markets, Myanmar, Tachileik, tea
HI, KNOCK KNOCK, ANYONE HOME
chezmaree
Still here! Just been busy in Bali, and Internet is a bit iffy. Will aim to get a post up today on Bangkok.
HI, WHAT A CRAZY, BUT NEAT ADVENTURE ACROSS THE BORDER. BRO, WHAT IF SHE HAD NOT LIKED YOUR TATTS.
Hi, I'm Chez. Welcome to my place, chez moi, a space for sharing my writing and photographs about eating, cooking, travelling and creating home. Click on the photo for more info.
Chez Moi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.


Coach focuses on teamwork
Seth Millhoan
Women's basketball Coach Nancy Winstel's office is small, but somehow spacious. She makes the most of the room that the university gave her.
It's what she's been doing her whole life. She is at her best when she gives what she can and makes the most of her opportunities.
The Campbell County native sat down with The Northerner for an interview last week and she had some very pointed things to say. She wants people to know about her greatest achievement: creating teamwork.
"You're not going to see prima donnas on the floor who don't pass the ball," she said. "The thing I like most about our team is the chemistry we have. Every player wants to be here."
An important aspect of a great team is to have good chemistry. A rare commodity in sports today is having players that get along and have friendships away from the court.
Having players that get along and have friendships away from the playing surface is a rare commodity in sports today. Winstel has found that out. Although, she is not too shy to give her players the tough love they need to be aggressive and motivated.
"I always tell my players that just because we had a (disagreement) in the locker room, doesn't mean that I don't care about you."
A want of a player is the chance to play for a nice, caring coach. However, the thing that they want above everything else is to win and be successful.
"I tell my players, most of who are from the Greater Cincinnati area, that playing college basketball is special. Getting to play in your own backyard is extra special."
Coach Winstel was born in northern Kentucky and raised in both Newport, KY and Fort Thomas, KY. Aside from a three-year coaching stint at Midway College, she has spent her entire life in Northern Kentucky. She's not about to leave, either.
"I've had opportunities to leave and I have chosen not to. This is my home. To have the opportunity to coach at a college that you went to is very special," Winstel said.
NKU has a special place in Winstel's heart. She chose to attend college at NKU, and it came with a price. She feels as if she owes the university her service for being the school that she could afford to attend and was close to home.
"If it wasn't for NKU, I probably would have never gone to college," she said. "If I was going to college, I was going to have to pay for it myself. When I got out of high school, NKU was just beginning."
Winstel decided to enroll as a part time student to get a feel for things. She knew NKU was where she would be for a very long time.
After graduating with a degree in physical education from NKU, Winstel earned her master's degree from Indiana University. Her head coaching career began at Midway College before she returned to coach at NKU in 1981.
"There are days when I drive in to work and I scan the (area) and I think to myself, 'Wow.' I work here. I do this. I feel very blessed to do what I do, where I want to do it," Winstel said.
NKU means a lot to Winstel. She has been at the university for 29 years. She has earned the right to speak her mind about a multitude of subjects, including school spirit.
"To me, I don't understand why NKU's students' number one school is (University of Kentucky). Their number one team should be Northern Kentucky. Is it because we're Division II? That's where they go to school, you know? I like UK, but I don't bleed blue. I bleed black and gold."
Winstel is very adamant when talking about her beloved university. It doesn't matter to her that the teams are Division II.
"I think that what a lot of people don't realize is that there are Division II schools that could beat a lot of Division I schools."
Winstel also challenges the student body to come watch the team as they march through the season.
"If you love the game, if you're from Kentucky and you truly love the game of basketball, and you come to one of our games, and you don't get excited, then you don't truly love the game," Winstel said.
"It's not just the women either. Come and watch the men. You'll get excited."
It's obvious that Winstel's ability to coach women's basketball at NKU has brought her to this point.
She won't stop until the entire university is united as one team.
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Four highly acclaimed scholars and researchers join engineering faculty
Image: Wikimedia Commons
A $100 million fund at The Texas A&M University System known as the Chancellor's Research Initiative (CRI) is credited for successfully attracting four world renowned scholars and researchers to elevate the engineering research portfolio:
* Christodoulos A. Floudas, professor of engineering and applied science, Princeton University.
* E.N. Pistikopoulos, professor of chemical engineering, Imperial College of London.
* Alan Needleman, professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Engineering, University of North Texas.
* Peter M. Rentzepis, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, University of California at Irvine.
"These are superstars in the academic community in engineering research, respected by their peers as members of the prestigious national academies, and the caliber of scholar that every university aggressively courts," said Chancellor John Sharp. "The CRI seeks to find outstanding researchers who can not only produce amazing work, but also bring in some much needed funding to support that work."
Leveraging vast experience in developing and implementing large, multi-investigator, federally funded programs, each brings strength in key areas: Floudas and Pistikopoulos in process control and optimization, Needleman in computational materials, and Rentzepis in ultrafast spectroscopy and X-ray lasers.
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For Professors:
Prophets of the Posthuman
American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood
by Christina Bieber Lake
264 pages, 6.00 x 9.00
Paperback | 9780268022365 | August 2014
eBook (PDF) | 9780268075866 | August 2014
eBook (EPUB) | 9780268158699 | August 2014
Prophets of the Posthuman provides a fresh and original reading of fictional narratives that raise the question of what it means to be human in the face of rapidly developing bioenhancement technologies. Christina Bieber Lake argues that works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Marilynne Robinson, Raymond Carver, James Tiptree, Jr., and Margaret Atwood must be reevaluated in light of their contributions to larger ethical questions. Drawing on a wide range of sources in philosophical and theological ethics, Lake claims that these writers share a commitment to maintaining a category of personhood more meaningful than that allowed by utilitarian ethics. Prophets of the Posthuman insists that because technology can never ask whether we should do something that we have the power to do, literature must step into that role.
Each of the chapters of this interdisciplinary study sets up a typical ethical scenario regarding human enhancement technology and then illustrates how a work of fiction uniquely speaks to that scenario, exposing a realm of human motivations that might otherwise be overlooked or simplified. Through the vision of the writers she discusses, Lake uncovers a deep critique of the ascendancy of personal autonomy as America's most cherished value. This ascendancy, coupled with technology's glamorous promises of happiness, helps to shape a utilitarian view of persons that makes responsible ethical behavior toward one another almost impossible. Prophets of the Posthuman charts the essential role that literature must play in the continuing conversation of what it means to be human in a posthuman world.
Christina Bieber Lake is the Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College. She is the author of a number of books, including Prophets of the Posthuman: American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood (University of Notre Dame Press, 2013), winner of the Aldersgate Prize and the Catholic Press Association Book Award for Faith and Science.
"Christina Bieber Lake's Prophets of the Posthuman is an insightful and well-written monograph that brings the work of nine American fiction writers to bear on ethical questions concerning biotechnology. . . Lake's text is brimming with insightful readings of fiction in dialogue with thoughtful ethical reflections." ~Modern Theology
"Bieber Lake's treatment of each prophetic work of fiction shows an expansive awareness of the greater bioethical conversation, with a deft perception of the many implications involving the posthuman condition." ~Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
"This is an engaging, timely book: a study of American fiction twinned with an ethical critique of biotechnology. Bieber Lake writes on several important works of narrative fiction, and in each case thoughtfully and incisively raises questions about the technological changing of the human body. The book is highly readable, and Bieber Lake wears her considerable knowledge very lightly." ~Kevin Hart, Edwin B Kyle Professor of Christian Studies, University of Virginia
"Christina Bieber Lake masterfully integrates fiction and theology in Prophets of the Posthuman: American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood. She asks pressing questions about what it means to be human in an ever braver, newer world." ~The Christian Century
"On the whole, Lake's argument is key in helping fiction writers, literary scholars, and others engaged in the humanities and arts to make the case for the relevance of fictional narrative to philosophical speculation and scientific pursuit." ~Flannery O'Connor Review
"The book skillfully interweaves the futuristic predictions of biotechnology advocates, such as Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Lee Silver, Simon Young, Ray Kurzweil, and Rodney Brooks, with selected narratives from nine of our most perceptive fiction writers. . . . All librarians will find its extensive bibliography a helpful guide to insightful books on bioethics and to some great, ethically engaging fiction." ~Catholic Library World
"Prophets of the Posthuman ought to be heeded as a humane and Christian counter-witness to the powerful forces of consumerism and scientific positivism that threaten to dominate the cultural landscape, especially where matters of healthcare are concerned. To my mind, this book is best suited to ethics classes and to general readers concerned about the implications of biotechnology." ~John Sykes, Wingate University
"As we attempt to make sense of the technologically accelerated—and 'enhanced'—world in which we find ourselves, Christina Bieber Lake provides incisive analysis of contemporary encroachments upon our common humanity. She demonstrates how centrally significant the inexorable march of science to know and do whatever it can will be to our individual and collective sense of self." ~Avis Hewitt, Grand Valley State University
"In Prophets of the Posthuman Christina Bieber Lake unfolds in detail her belief that 'fiction is the art of love for persons.' Her aim is, in part, to help scholarly students of literature once again focus attention on the question of how we should live. But she also wants to help us all read in such a way that we see others as persons to be loved rather than as collections of attributes to be reshaped and enhanced. Wide-ranging and discerning, this is a book full of insight." ~Gilbert Meilaender, Duesenberg Professor in Christian Ethics, Valparaiso University
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Aldersgate Prize
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District Five honored professional development
In: Education
Lexington-Richland School District Five has been honored by the University of South Carolina's (USC) College of Education for its work with the Professional Development Schools (PDS) Network.
During a May 7 awards ceremony, Oak Pointe Elementary School received the Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award. The award is given to a school whose work creates and sustains genuine collaborative relationships between P-12 schools and higher education.
"I am so proud to be a part of a faculty that values life-long learning and collaborating to promote the teaching profession," said Kristie Smith, Oak Pointe Elementary School principal. "It is amazing that others recognize our hard work and dedication to our PDS partnership and the future of our profession."
Professional Development Schools in School District Five include: Irmo Middle School, Oak Pointe Elementary School, Irmo Elementary School and Dutch Fork High School. Irmo High School International School for the Arts has been selected to join the network in the 2019-2020 school year.
Two School District Five teachers were two of the six finalists statewide for the Coaching Teacher Award of Excellence: Amy Collins (Oak Pointe Elementary) and Elizabeth Crocker (Irmo Middle). Collins received the award.
"I am truly honored to receive the Coaching Teacher Award of Excellence from USC," Collins said. "Opening the door of my classroom to interns allows me to help create a positive change by doing what I love to do. I am appreciative of the partnership with USC and the opportunities to strengthen my practices as I continue learning."
"Amy Collins has dedicated her career not only to serving her students but to pre-service teachers," Smith said. "Her passion shines through all of her endeavors."
USC has a history of sustaining strong PDS partnerships since 1990 when the College of Education became a national leader in starting the Professional Development Schools movement. The mission of the PDS Network is to establish and maintain "sandboxes" for research and innovation where University and Public School Partners collaboratively investigate student learning, professional development, clinical preparation, and induction to institutionalize best practices across teacher learning contexts.
"The Exemplary Professional Development School award bestowed upon Oak Point Elementary School exemplifies the important and impactful work being done in School District Five of Lexington and Richland," said Tamara Turner, Coordinator of Teacher Evaluation. "Amy Collins, receiving the Coaching Teacher of the Year award is a testament to the critical role she plays in influencing future teachers. Her work and the work of Oak Point Elementary School will have a long-lasting impact on the lives of future teachers and students."
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"Right and Rationalization," by Rev. Dr. Christopher P. Momany
Home > Education > "Right and Rationalization," by Rev. Dr. Christopher P. Momany
Recent years have witnessed much understandable examination of the slavery-laced legacies at several American colleges and universities. There are many reasons for this attention, and a number of these institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the land. It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of bondage in early southern higher education. It is quite another thing to confront this reality among the Ivy League. Internal research studies (not all of them embraced by professional historians), student movements, and layers of scholarship invite us to look in the mirror. The evidence is damning, but it might also lead to redemption on the far side of injustice.
The various explorations document the unconscionable entanglement of economic power (often gained at the expense of those in bondage) and previously venerated figures in American higher education. For instance, there were enslaved people on campus who answered to the capricious behavior of revered academicians. An even greater number of people lived in bondage to create the wealth that endowed chairs, built buildings, and bolstered operating funds. However, if we look closer, we will find that this tainted legacy was more than simply an unexamined practice. Some early American teachers of ethics actually employed well-established theories to justify abusive systems.
In the history of modern ethics, 1785 is a watershed year. William Paley published The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, and Immanuel Kant released his Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals. Paley's theory expressed an early form of utilitarianism, and personally, he arrived at moderately antislavery conclusions. Kant's theory became known later as deontology, an approach that stressed the universal value of all people – even though Kant retained strangely racist views. In America, these two competing schools of thought were inverted among the slavery debate. Paley's form of utilitarianism was embraced by apologists for slavery who insisted they were protecting some greater "benevolence" (a key term for pious powerbrokers). Kant's categorical imperative drove an abolitionist commitment to equality (and not only in Transcendentalist Boston).
Yale University offers one example worth contemplating. Ezra Stiles brought William Paley's theological utilitarianism to Yale by 1791, and even though later New Haven thinkers sought distance from aspects of Paley's ethic, they never managed much of a separation. In the early and middle nineteenth century, Nathaniel William Taylor (Professor of Didactic Theology) made Yale synonymous with a liberalized analysis of the will. One might assume that a stress on agency would lead to antislavery commitments, but such was not the case.
This was perhaps demonstrated most forcefully when Nathaniel William Taylor presided over the "Rhetorical Society" of Yale's divinity school. In 1842 and during subsequent years, students debated the question: "Does the greatest good of the greatest number justify the further continuance of slavery at the South?" At first the students were reticent about affirming this notion. Yet it is clear that their advisor, Taylor, supported the rationalization. By 1848, Taylor's utilitarian "logic" prevailed, and the students voted to sustain him in asserting that slavery was some kind of regrettable but acceptable evil.
Utilitarian language became rationale for leaving slavery in place. Theorists conceded that someone had to pay the price for American prosperity. Of course, privileged intellectuals were seldom made to bear the burden. Moreover, Nathaniel William Taylor's moral flexibility was not that unusual.
Even at a place like the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, often considered an entirely admirable abolitionist colony, the contrast in moral theories between followers of utilitarianism and followers of Kant demonstrates a distinction in fortitude regarding slavery. Late in the 1840s a controversy erupted between Oberlin President Asa Mahan and Professor Charles G. Finney. Mahan embraced a Kant-inspired deontological ethic. Finney, while generally progressive regarding slavery, wavered because of his more utilitarian reasoning.
Oberlin President Asa Mahan
When fulminating against "rightarianism" (Kant's deontology) Finney even suggested that there may be circumstances in which slavery is justified! He wrote: "All holding men [sic] in bondage for selfish motives is wrong in itself, but holding men [sic] in bondage in obedience to the law of benevolence is not wrong but right." Mahan, on the other hand, maintained a remarkable, even courageous, consistency. He insisted that "if, on the ground of accidental circumstances and relations, we consent to a sacrifice of the rights and interests of a solitary individual . . . humanity is thereby degraded in ourselves."
I do not claim that the link between moral theory and attitudes toward slavery was simple and devoid of nuance. People rarely embrace a theory and then live its demands without qualification. Yet perhaps people do tend to theorize in ways that are consistent with their instincts. Those benefitting from bondage found a lofty (and handy) intellectual justification in utilitarianism. Those inspired by Kant and the universalizing of moral commitment found support for egalitarian impulses. Until we understand the way modern moral theory either confronted or rationalized human bondage, we will not understand the full story among our colleges and universities.
Rev. Dr. Chris Momany is the chaplain and a member of the Department of Philosophy/Religion at Adrian College. He is a graduate of Adrian College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Drew University. His writing appears in both academic and more accessible publications. Dr. Momany's current research explores the relationship between antebellum moral philosophy and the antislavery movement.
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Malala Warns 'Ideology Of Hatred' Will Prompt More Attacks
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai warned on December 15 that politicians risk encouraging more extremist attacks when they criticize all Muslims.
Speaking after a commemoration in England of the Taliban's killing of 134 schoolchildren a year ago, Malala condemned U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to bar Muslims from the United States.
"That's really tragic that you hear these comments which are full of hatred, full of this ideology of being discriminative toward others," she told AFP.
"I can just highlight one thing," she said in an interview on Channel 4 News in Birmingham, England, speaking of Trump's proposal. "The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create."
"So it's important that whatever politicians say, whatever the media say, they should be really, really careful about it.
"If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it because it cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalize more terrorists."
"If we want to end terrorism, we need to bring quality education so we defeat the mindset of terrorism mentality and of hatred," she said.
Malala, 18, underwent extensive surgery and recovery in England after being shot by Taliban gunmen as she rode a school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley in 2012.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her heroism and for speaking out afterward for the education of girls worldwide.
Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, also spoke out against blaming all Muslims after an extremist attack like the one in San Bernardino, California, earlier this month that killed 14 people and prompted Trump's proposal to bar Muslim immigrants from the United States.
"It will be very unfair, very unjust that we associate 1.6 billion with a few terrorist organizations," he said, citing an estimate of the number of Muslims worldwide.
With reporting by AFP, BT.com, BBC News, and Mirror.co.uk


Will I Lose the Farm? – Farms in Family Law Property Matters
Family farms present a difficulty in family law property settlements. Often, farmers are asset rich, but cash poor. It may not be viable for the farm to remain intact in the course of dividing matrimonial property. The farm itself may need to be sold and its value realised. However, in so doing, one or both parties will be deprived of their livelihood.
Each family law property matter (whether or not it includes a family farm) broadly involves a four step process:
identify the assets and liabilities of the relationship;
identify the financial and non-financial contributions of the parties;
The Court then assesses a range of additional factors (called "future needs" factors) under section 75(2) of the Family Law Act 1975. These factors take into account the needs of each party, both now and in the future.
consider whether the proposed division is fair to both parties in all the circumstances.
Since the 1985 decision of Lee Steere, there are no separate rules relating to farms. However, the characteristics particular to farming cases are:
a) dealing with initial contributions compared with other contributions during the marriage;
b) dealing with significant needs at the end of the marriage;
c) the small size of the net property; and
d) while it is desirable to mould orders around one party keeping the farm, that is only possible where such orders do not intrude upon the legitimate rights of the other party.
Step 1: Is the Farm in the Asset Pool?
If a farm is owned in the names of the parties in their own right, then it will be included in the asset pool.
Where the farm is held by a company or a trust, and one of the parties has a controlling position in that entity, then the farm is likely to fall into the asset pool. However, some trust structures prevent the trust assets from being considered a part of the asset pool. The test that the court uses is whether one of the parties has actual or de facto control of the trust. If one of the parties has control, then it is matrimonial property and will very likely be included in the asset pool.
If the trust is designed for the specific purpose of defeating Family Court Orders, then the court is likely to deem that trust a sham and draw assets of that trust into the matrimonial pool for division between the parties.
An expectation of an inheritance at some point in the future is not property, and the Court will not take any testamentary promise into account. A father's promise to gift the family farm to his son upon the father's death does not increase the size of the property pool available for division.
Step 1: Value of the Assets
Once the property pool has been identified, the assets must be attributed values.
Farms have particular types of assets, in addition to the farmland itself, that add value to the pool. For example:
a) crops in ground and crops harvested;
b) plant and equipment;
c) water rights; and
d) electricity sold back to the grid.
The collective values of these operational assets can be significant, and therefore it is important for any valuations to be clearly itemised.
Step 2: Contributions to the Farm
Traditionally, family farms are passed down from generation to generation. If one spouse has inherited the farm, then the Court will consider the farm to be a financial contribution of that party. This will likely increase the percentage of the asset pool to which that spouse is entitled, but the significance of that initial contribution will decrease over time.
One or both spouses will very likely have performed labour on the farm, for little or no wages. The Court will take these non-financial contributions into account when calculating each spouse's entitlements.
Step 3: Future Earning Capacity
One of the factors that the Court will consider is the effect of the property division on a party's earning capacity. If the property settlement calls for the farm to be sold, for example, then one or both parties will be deprived of their earning capacity. If the property division calls for the party retaining the farm to borrow additional funds, that will increase their debt, but will not per se affect their earning capacity.
Where possible, the Court will prefer settlement options that keep the farm intact. However, those arrangements must also do justice to the spouse who is not living on the farm. One such option may be for one spouse to retain the farm and pay a lump sum to the other spouse. Indeed that is a very common scenario in settling farming matters, and in the Court's determination of these types of matters at trial.
However, there is a limit to this line of thinking that the farm must be preserved intact. The court in Lee Steere rejected the notion of preserving the farm at the wife's expense. In that case, the husband was given the opportunity to keep the farm and had an arrangement for delayed payment (with interest) to the wife. In such arrangements, the court must be satisfied of the wife's immediate financial security if they are to make orders for delayed payment such as that ordered in Lee Steere
While the Court does not have to preserve a family farm, it prefers to do so where possible. However, the Court's priority at all times is to ensure that the division of property is just and equitable to both spouses.
The Court will not force a sale unless it is unavoidable in order to do justice to both parties, based upon:
a) the contributions of each party;
b) the future needs factors of each party; and
c) any prejudice to the party waiting on funds.
This is general information only, and does not constitute specific legal advice. If you would like further information in relation to this matter or other legal matters please contact our office on Freecall 1800 609 945 or email us now.


In an unusual winter — Where and why birds…
In an unusual winter — Where and why birds traveled
PUBLISHED: March 23, 2012 at 10:50 a.m. | UPDATED: May 8, 2019 at 2:37 a.m.
When bird watchers joined this year's Great Backyard Bird Count, they recorded the most unusual winter for birds in the count's 15-year history. With 17.4 million bird observations on 104,000 checklists, this was the most detailed four-day snapshot ever recorded for birdlife in the U.S. and Canada. Participants reported 623 species, during Feb. 17-20, including an influx of Snowy Owls from the arctic, early-migrating Sandhill Cranes, and Belted Kingfishers in northern areas that might normally be frozen over.
"The maps on the GBBC website this year are absolutely stunning," said John Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Every bird species has a captivating story to tell, and we're certainly seeing many of them in larger numbers farther north than usual, no doubt because of this winter's record-breaking mild conditions."
Ironically, a few arctic species also moved farther south than usual as well. Participants recorded Snowy Owl sightings in record-breaking numbers throughout the Great Plains and Pacific Northwest of the United States. Canadian bird watchers saw four times the number of Snowy Owls they reported to the count last year. Experts believe that Snowy Owls move south from their usual arctic habitats in years when prey, such as lemmings, are scarce.
Warmer weather and lack of snow and ice in some regions set the stage for other spectacles, including more than two million Snow Geese reported on two counts at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri. In Ruskin, Florida, participants reported more than one million Tree Swallows, vaulting this species to the GBBC top-ten list of the most numerous birds for the first time ever.
Some northern locations recorded high numbers of waterbirds such as Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and American Coots, that either never left or came back early to lakes, rivers, and ponds that remained unfrozen.
"Citizen scientists are helping us document changes to birds, starting in our own backyards, which is also where the solution begins," said Audubon chief scientist Gary Langham. "My preschool-age daughter came out with me to count birds in the yard and around the neighborhood–we're still talking about the experience weeks later."
To find out more about these and other trends from the 2012 count, visit birdcount.org. To report bird sightings all year, visit ebird.org.
The GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada. The event is sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited.


Home » YOUR OPINION: President Barack Obama's Cuba Visit Exposes Liberal Hypocrisies
YOUR OPINION: President Barack Obama's Cuba Visit Exposes Liberal Hypocrisies
By Matt Shay // March 23, 2016
YOUR OPINION: This week, I joined many fellow sensible Americans who voiced their disgust over President Barack Obama's appeasement of Cuba. Our President's penchant for supporting brutal regimes (Cuba, Iran) over traditional allies (Israel) was highlighted this week by his visit with Raul Castro in Cuba. (Whitehouse.gov image)
This week, I joined many fellow sensible Americans who voiced their disgust over President Barack Obama's appeasement of Cuba. Our President's penchant for supporting brutal regimes (Cuba, Iran) over traditional allies (Israel) was highlighted this week by his visit with Raul Castro in Cuba.
The very liberals who once espoused standing up for human rights at all costs now applaud the site of our commander in chief capitulating to a family that has murdered and imprisoned non-conformists and freedom-seeking individuals who were bold enough to vocalize their preference for personal liberty to compliance totalitarian regime.
As a lifelong conservative, I could take the familiar yet unsophisticated approach to the remainder of this piece by contrasting President Obama's conduct in Cuba to President Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," speech in Berlin, but I would rather provoke serious thought among independents by offering JFK, another Democrat with a rapid rise to power and the U.S. Presidency in the midst of volatile international conflicts:
President John F. Kennedy
"The first thing we have to do is let the Cuban people know our determination that they will someday again be free. We did not make clear to the Cubans our devotion to freedom during the brutal regime of the Batista dictatorship-and we are not making our position any clearer under the Castro dictatorship.
"Secondly, we must end the harassment, which this government has carried on, of liberty-loving anti-Castro forces in Cuba and other lands. Third, we must let Mr. Castro know that we do not intend to be pushed around any longer and in particular do not intend to be pushed out of our naval base at Guantanamo."
Today, Kennedy's policy regarding Castro's oppressive policies and human rights violations parallel the words of leading conservatives including U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.
Advocates of Obama's Castro appeasement defend their stance in two common ways:
1. Citing the age of the policy, as if a statute of limitations on tyranny exists.
2. They point to polls showing that the majority of Americans don't support sanctions against Cuba.
Nikita Khrushchev
I would love to see a follow-up poll, where that same sample is asked: Do you know what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis?; Who was Nikita Khrushchev?; and Where does Cuba rank for human rights violations?
I'm willing to bet the vast majority of those surveyed wouldn't answer at least two of those questions correctly.
They certainly wouldn't be able give you an accurate answer on human rights violations. Why? Because last year, shortly after President Obama announced his new policy with Cuba, Reuters revealed that the U.S. State Department watered-down human trafficking estimates for Cuba so it could upgrade Cuba's standing among the top violators of human rights.
Trafficking experts were repeatedly overruled and pressured by senior State Department officials into inflating assessments of 14 strategically important countries in this year's Trafficking in Persons report. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry failed to explain why Cuba wasn't included among the leading nations for human trafficking. (Source Reuters)
One of the most remarkable double standards employed by Obama's supporters on this issue is in the area of free trade versus human rights. Proponents of the new policy parrot President Obama's talking points regarding cruise and airline tourism economic benefits.
I can't help but recall the litany of lectures and reading assignments from my unabashed liberal college professors who frequently criticized capitalism and its alleged exploitations of the lower class.
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Author Kevin Bales portrayed global free trade as a new form of slavery in his book, "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy."
Ironically, Bales' work was widely praised among the same left-wing liberals who now conveniently turn a blind eye to Cuba's human rights violations, all in the name of partisan politics and improving the sinking legacy of their party's current leader.
They have sold their souls in the name of political expediency.
– Matt Shay, Merritt Island, Florida


Policies & key documents
Search Search For Staff Staff A-Z Leeds.ac.uk Search
Government funding for 2016/17
HEFCE to allocate £3.7 billion to 344 universities and colleges for 2016-17.
HEFCE is publicly announcing the funding for 131 higher education institutions and 213 further education colleges for the academic year 2016-17
This announcement follows receipt of its grant letter from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 4 March, and the meeting of the HEFCE Board on 9 March.
The funding for the 2016-17 academic year will be £3,674 million, allocated for the following main areas of activity:
£1,578 million for recurrent research
£1,360 million for recurrent teaching
£160 million for knowledge exchange
£98 million for national facilities and initiatives
£478 million for capital funding.
The key points to note this year include:
An increase of £20 million for mainstream quality-related research (QR) and its London weighting, to a total of £1,070 million
Maintaining in real terms the total teaching grant budgets for our main high-cost subject allocations
Introducing a new fund for geographically focused national collaborative outreach activity that will target those places where students have the educational attainment or potential to succeed in higher education, but where there is evidence that entry rates are below expectations
Doubling the funding to improve provision for disabled students to £40 million. The increase is to support institutions to meet the rapid rise in the number of students reporting mental health problems and to transition towards an inclusive social model of support for disabled students
The overall amount of funding for teaching continues to decline, predominantly as a result of the continuing phasing-out of funding for students who enrolled under the previous lower fees model.
The recurrent grants are described in detail in 'Recurrent grants for 2016-17'.
Professor Madeleine Atkins, HEFCE Chief Executive, said: "This year's grant announcement will allow universities and colleges to continue to deliver world-class teaching, research and other activities. We are increasing funding for research to ensure that institutions can carry out ground-breaking work of the highest quality which will contribute to economic growth, health and social well-being.
"We recognise that we need to make the greatest possible impact with government funding on increasing the number of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education. Our new, highly targeted National Collaborative Outreach Programme aims to achieve that goal. By protecting teaching funding to universities for STEM subjects, we recognise the higher costs of these subjects and the important role they play in the economy."
Read the grant letter.
Posted in: Higher education news
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In the loop with Launch Group
By 45th Space Wing, Public Affairs / Published September 30, 2015
Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander, visited and met with several members of the 45th Launch Group at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Sept. 24, 2015, as part of his immersion here. The wing commander was introduced to the facilities they use in daily operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Matthew Jurgens/Released)
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander, visited and met with several members of the 45th Launch Group at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Sept. 24, 2015, as part of his immersion here. The wing commander was introduced to the facilities they use in daily operations.


Tech Services & Software
TI extends speed of Extensa to 100 MHz
Texas Instruments has revved up its Extensa line of value-priced notebooks with the new 100-MHz Mobile Pentium processor in place of the current 75-MHz version.
Brooke Crothers
April 15, 1996 5:00 p.m. PT
Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Texas Instruments has revved up its Extensa line of value-priced notebooks with the new 100-MHz Mobile Pentium processor in place of the 75-MHz version used in current models.
Available now with an estimated street price of $2,299, the new 5.9-pound models feature:
--810MB removable hard disk drives
--PCI-bus architecture
--8MB of EDO (extended data out) RAM, expandable to 40MB
--10.4-inch dual-scan LCD screens
--Windows 95 keyboards with touchpad pointing device
--Duracell NiMH batteries
--16-bit sound.
Each Extensa 510 is preloaded with a "dual-installation" option of Windows 95 or Windows for Workgroups. The Extensa 515, which is the model that will appear for sale in retail stores, will also come bundled with Lotus Development's Organizer PIM, Intuit's Quicken personal finance software, Microsoft Works low-end productivity suite, the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, and the Microsoft Entertainment Pack.
TI has also upgraded its higher-end Extensa CD and CDT lines--which offer integrated CD-ROM drives and active-matrix LCD screens, respectively--with the 100-MHz Mobile Pentium processor. Prices for the new CD and CDT models range from $2,999 to $3,999.
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Articles Featured Interviews
EXCLUSIVE - Matty Virtue: Trent Alexander-Arnold Motivates me
April 18, 2018 George Haberman 0 Comment Champions League, Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool FC, Matty Virtue, Melwood, Premier League, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Not a lot of professional footballers get the chance to play for their boyhood club, so when the opportunity surfaced to sign for Liverpool, it was an easy decision for Matty Virtue to make.
"Well I was born in Epsom and I joined the Chelsea academy when I was 9. A few years after that my dad got a job up in Liverpool, so my family relocated up north," Virtue told Anfield Edition.
"I trialled at both Liverpool and Everton, and obviously ended up choosing Liverpool."
"I've been a Liverpool fan since I was really young; my mum is from Liverpool and that's where it stemmed from really, and so to get the chance to play for the team you support, well you can't beat that really."
Virtue has been involved in plenty of first-team training sessions at Melwood and is eager to learn from the world-class talent around him.
"It's unbelievable to be in and around top-class players on a regular basis. They help you mature, they treat you as one of their own and obviously you learn loads from them."
"I'm a midfielder, so I'm always watching the likes of Gini Wijnaldum, Emre Can and Jordan Henderson closely."
"Ultimately, they're the players whose shirt I'm trying to take, so you have to try and absorb as much as you possibly can from their game and add it to your own. "
Matty played in the same youth teams as academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold and wants to follow in his footsteps by making the transition to the senior squad.
"Last season Trent played loads of games for us at U23 level."
"Obviously he's a really talented player and a great lad, and he's shown all of us that if you get an opportunity and take it, the boss is going to stick with you."
"Watching Trent play in the big games like the Champions League ties motivates me, even more, to make that move up."
When I asked what Jürgen Klopp was like, there was no surprise that Matty was full of admiration for the Liverpool manager.
"He [Klopp] is a great coach and he's an excellent man manager; he knows all the names and positions of us young lads for when we come up and train with the first team."
"It's massive that the boss knows who you are and what you're like as a player before you've even joined in with a senior training session."
When asked about his career highlight to date, there was one particular game that stood out to Virtue.
"I scored a hat-trick for the U23's against Burnley last season, which is something I'll always remember for the rest of my life."
"I wouldn't say I'm a goalscoring midfielder, but more of an all-rounder, so to score three in one game was something really special."
To finish the interview, Matty discussed what he aims to achieve in his career as a footballer.
"I want to play week in week out in for Liverpool in the Premier League."
"That's always been the goal ever since I was a lad and I'm going to do the most I possibly can to accomplish that."
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City closes Southwest Industrial Park TIF district
The so-called "donor TIF" contributed greatly to helping redevelopment projects in other parts of the city, including the Oshkosh Riverwalk.
City closes Southwest Industrial Park TIF district The so-called "donor TIF" contributed greatly to helping redevelopment projects in other parts of the city, including the Oshkosh Riverwalk. Check out this story on thenorthwestern.com: http://oshko.sh/2vQAPIJ
Nate Beck, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Published 6:06 p.m. CT Aug. 9, 2017
The Oshkosh Common Council unanimously voted Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, to close the city's Southwest Industrial Park tax incremental financing district. The industrial park was formed in 1989 and lent revenue to other development areas around the city.(Photo: Joe Sienkiewicz/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo
OSHKOSH - City officials said a mournful goodbye this week to its star taxing district, which has helped bring thousands of jobs to Oshkosh while propping up development downtown.
The Oshkosh Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to close the Southwest Industrial Park Tax Increment Financing District. The 600-acre swath of land west of Washburn Street, between 20th and Waukau avenues, welcomed more than 120 companies and some 4,000 employees during its 28-year history.
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In the late '90s, the city began using robust tax revenue from the district to help downtown deindustrialize, manage environmental contamination and encourage development. No other development district in Oshkosh has performed as well.
"This makes me sad; I feel like we should have a proper burial," Councilor Deb Allison-Aasby said during the meeting. "This is a TIF that has done a lot for this community."
The district was carved out in 1989 to ready roadwork and utilities for a planned industrial park on the southwest edge of Oshkosh. Taxes on new development that cropped up in the years since repaid the cost of the project.
And then some.
During its life, the Southwest Industrial Park TIF funneled some $40 million to five TIF districts in downtown Oshkosh, said Oshkosh Finance Director Trena Larson.
By 2010, the Southwest Industrial Park could have paid off the rest of its debt and closed. But city officials opted to keep it open until the end of its life in 2016, then reviving it for an extra year to fund neighborhood improvements.
Closing out the district will leave a surplus of about $120,000, which will be returned to taxing entities, such as the city, Oshkosh Area School District, Fox Valley Technical College and Winnebago County, Larson said. The district's $144 million in property value generates $3.6 million in tax revenue each year — money that now will be divided among those taxing entities.
But keeping the district open for years longer allowed money to keep flowing to central city development districts that couldn't generate enough tax revenue to support themselves alone.
For example, the city pulled revenue from the Southwest Industrial Park TIF to support projects such as the Riverwalk, which improves life downtown, but doesn't pay for itself, said Darryn Burich, the city's planning services director. It's costly, too, to manage environmental contamination and symptoms of a deindustrialized Marion Road. And development there hasn't paid off, either.
Southwest Industrial Park was generating enough tax revenue to support itself and other projects in the city's core.
With that revenue gone, city staff will need to find money elsewhere to support downtown development districts, Burich said.
"There's no other TIF that comes close," he said.
TIF districts supported by Southwest Industrial Park
Marion Road Redevelopment, TID Nos. 13, 21: This district was created to industrialize a dilapidated stretch of Marion Road, Perl Avenue and Jackson Street.
100 Block North Main, TID No. 16: In 2007, developers Ben Ganther and Robert Niebauer defaulted on the six-story complex at 100 North Main Street. The city used revenue from the Southwest Industrial Park to help cover debt on the city's $2.2 million investment in the project.
Southshore, TID No. 20: Work in this redevelopment area along the Fox River include improvements to Oshkosh's patchwork Riverwalk
Oshkosh Corp. TID No. 24: The Southwest Industrial Park contributed $1 million to a Oshkosh Corp. metal coating plant.
Healthy Neighborhood Initiative: Oshkosh extended the Southwest Industrial Park TIF in 2017 to fund its neighborhood initiative. About $3 million in tax revenue supported programs like blight removal and housing rehabilitation.
Source: City of Oshkosh
Read or Share this story: http://oshko.sh/2vQAPIJ


Health: Blooming Tea, Kombucha and More
By Taylor Shook and Ana Piper
Soaring in popularity today are a growing range of teas, including matcha and kombucha, that have health benefits continually being revealed by science.
Matcha is made of young green tea leaves that are ground into a fine powder and then whisked with hot water to make a foamy tea, or mixed with milk for a bright green latte. Among its benefits, matcha contains an antioxidant believed to fight cancer and heart disease, according to a study from the American Society of Nutrition.
Watching the blossoming effect of blooming tea may be the perfect remedy for a frigid winter day. Jasmine blooming tea has various positive effects, including tea's usual boost to the immune system, as well as anti-inflammatory effects found in two Chinese studies done on blooming tea.
Chamomile is one of the oldest and best-documented medicinal plants in the world. Its many healing applications include improving cardiovascular conditions, stimulating immune systems and protecting against cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Kombucha is a bubbly, fermented, tea-based drink originating from Japan and China. A study published in Food Microbiology found a notable amount of probiotic bacteria in kombucha, which has a slight alcoholic content. Probiotics promote gut health including improved digestion, reduced inflammation and weight loss.


General Assembly Raises $9.8 Million Series B From Tony Hsieh And Expands To Vegas
Alyson Shontell
General Assembly employees in their temporary office
Photo: General Assembly
General Assembly, a startup school founded by Brad Hargreaves, Jake Schwartz, Adam Pritzker and Matt Brimer early last year, has raised a $9.8 million Series B round of financing.Investors include Zappos' Tony Hsieh, who invested through Vegas TechFund, John Fisher, Mousse Partners, and previous investors Maveron, Bezos Expeditions and Tom Vander Ark.
Part of the money will be put towards opening new General Assembly campuses. The school will offer classes in Las Vegas in 2013. GA will also use its Series B to increase its offline and online course offerings.
Since its last round of financing in 2011, 22,000 people have taken General Assembly courses. It's also expanded to thirteen locations and multiple continents, including Europe and Australia. It has raised more than $14 million to date.
For Brad Hargreaves thoughts on fundraising, check out our interview below:
general assembly sai-us