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Last Sunday night, May 20, 2018, I was resting in my chair after a long day. I typically read or write to relax, so I was multi-tasking when a "ding" sounded on my computer, informing me of a new email.
I ignored it.
After a few minutes, several additional "dings" indicated it was time to check my email.
As is my custom, I began to scan the first email quickly since it would take too long to read each email carefully.
I raced through the following email.
May 20, 2018, at 6:48 PM
Hello Mr. Burleson,
A student ( along with others, I am afraid- I don't have confirmation yet) was raped while Paige Patterson was president at SEBTS. I was a student at the time, working on my MDiv from 2002-2005.
I confirmed this week the attacker admitted to the awful act back in 2004-it's documented. He was expelled and told he could never attend any of the 6 SBC seminaries in the future.
The worst part. The student (victim) was counseled by Dr. Patterson and told she shouldn't go to the police....
There was more to the email, but I stopped reading. I shouldn't have, but I did. When "I have a friend" or "I don't have confirmation..." is written, I know after thirteen years of writing about the unbiblical, authoritarian, anti-women, approach by SBC leaders, there's not much I can do. Confirmation is needed.
However, the treatment this person's friend allegedly received from Dr. Paige Patterson is consistent with his belief system regarding women and the church (as I'll show you below). I stopped reading and fired off a short "Reply" which contained the following bullet points.
Dear _______,
I would suggest that your friend move QUICKLY. I would not be surprised if documents are being destroyed.
I would suggest that the young lady go to the police and file a report. Second, I would suggest she get an attorney and follow his or her counsel.
Third (if counsel allows), I would go public with the accusation.
If the young lady wishes to remain anonymous and NOT go through an attorney, I would go public ASAP.
You are her confirmation. She will be protected, and she could remain anonymous.
I typed quickly and sent the email.
My wife asked, "To whom are you writing?" I pulled up the email I had received. "Listen to this." I began reading to Rachelle the contents of the email. I read it out loud. This time, when I came to the place where I'd initially stopped reading, I continued and found myself reading out loud these words:
I know. Because the student was me.
My wife and I looked at each other simultaneously. Rachelle said, "Oh...my...word."
I immediately sent another email and apologized for not reading to the end and for missing that the writer was the rape victim. I gave my cell number and asked her to call.
Within a few minutes, the woman called. Over the course of the next few hours, in both conversations and several emails, my wife and I had our hearts broken by this courageous Christian mother and wife as she shared her story.
The recent controversy surrounding Paige Patterson's counsel to an abused woman to go back to her abusive husband and submit to him, trusting God rather reporting the abuse to authorities, had opened a deep wound in this woman's heart.
In 2003, she was an M.Div student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She told us that one night, she was sexually and brutally attacked. Screaming and fighting the attacker means its nonconsensual.
I was determined not to ask specifics of the attack, so it was only hours later after several follow-up emails that the full scope of the sexual assault was clear. When my wife finally understood what had actually happened, she struggled to comprehend President Paige Patterson's response to the assault.
The rape victim reported the assault to Dr. Alan Mosely (see Washington Post article). Dr. Mosely worked in an administration that required all matters like this to be directed to the President's Office. Why? Listen to Paige Patterson's own words from a message he preached in 2013:
- Patterson suggested women who have had "a problem in your home" should not bring their case to a judge because it could get in the way of that judge becoming a Christian.
- "Settle it within the church of God," he said. "And if you suffer for it, and if you were misused, and if you were abused, and if you're not represented properly, it's okay. You can trust it to the God who judges justly."
- He then prayed, "Lord, may we make up our minds that we won't take our troubles to the press, we won't take our troubles to the government, we won't take our troubles anywhere except to the people of God and beyond that to the Lord Jesus."
Within an hour of reporting the assault, Paige Patterson contacted the woman and asked her to "come to my office." If you've ever been in Paige Patterson's office, you know that there are a lot of trophy game, dead animals that are displayed. As the rape victim recounted to us her story, I had a visual in my mind of this 23-year-old walking into the den of death.
I asked her, "Did anybody go with you?
"No," she told my wife and me over the speakerphone, "I went by myself."
When the rape victim arrived, Paige Patterson introduced the traumatized woman to three men in the office, men Patterson introduced as "my proteges."
I am reserving details about that interrogation until I am able to speak with the other men in the room. What I can say is that this woman, after being traumatized to reveal every sordid detail of the assault to four men, was told by Dr. Paige Patterson not to go to legal authorities.
I believed her story immediately.
Dr. Patterson practices what he preaches. He keeps everything in the church.
The most succinct and graphic depiction of what the rape victim felt from that meeting is found in the Washington Post article by Sarah Pulliam:
"They shamed the crap out of me, asking me question after question. He (Dr. Patterson) didn't necessarily say it was my fault, but [the sense from him was] I let him into my home."This rape victim was placed on probation by the seminary for having a man in her apartment.
That's consistent with the bizarre theology of women held by Paige Patterson.
A woman divorcing a man is far worse than a woman enduring physical abuse. A single woman inviting a man into her apartment is a far worse sin than a single woman being raped by the man she invited over.
It is being reported to me that Dr. Patterson is telling others that he has no memory of this woman or any meeting with her. However, the official statement of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary issued this morning states:
"Evidence exists that Dr. Patterson has complied with reporting laws regarding assault and abuse.""What does that mean?" That's the question the rape victim asked me about three hours ago.
Punishment for the Perpetrator
According to the rape victim, campus security parked in front of her apartment until the perpetrator was apprehended. School administrators told the rape victim that the man who committed the assault was being expelled from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. They told the victim that the perpetrator would never be allowed to enter any of the other five Southern Baptist seminaries.
He was escorted off the campus by school security.
For the next few years, the rape victim suffered through much shame, depression, and difficult personal times. She eventually left the seminary in 2005.
Documentation exists at Southeastern Seminary that details the confession of the perpetrator and the punishment mandated by the school. There are a few people who would like to see the documentation that proves Dr. Patterson complied with reporting laws. According to the Washington Post, law enforcement has no record of a reported rape on the campus of Southeastern Seminary during this time.
There are reasons to believe that two others were raped at Southeastern during this same time period (see the rape victims first email at the top). The victim had been trying for over a week to get in touch with the two others girls that she suspects had also been sexually assaulted.
I've read on social media unconfirmed reports of more recent sexual assaults on seminary campuses. I've been told that the victims were also counseled not to involve law enforcement. "Let Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary handle it."
That's right. Southwestern. Of course, these are unconfirmed reports, and nobody should assume they are true unless a victim finds the strength to come forward. It's not easy when churchmen are telling you to be quiet and let God deal with it.
Time will tell if similar counsel has been given to other sexual assault victims. Truth and time are invariably bound:
"For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open" (Luke 8:17).Stained glass windows in the images of a living people should never be placed in houses of worship because clay feet stumble too frequently and easily.
Private Attempts to Have Paige Patterson Removed
The goal of this rape victim coming forward was not to sue anyone. She didn't even want law enforcement involved. Ironically, the perpetrator had sought her out over a decade after the assault and sought her forgiveness, which she granted. I explained to her that there is a difference between forgiveness of the perpetrator and accountability for the perpetrator. I told her if the perpetrator's name comes out in the media, don't feel bad. I truly admired her ability to forgive.
Here's what's interesting (ladies, don't be offended). This rape victim is not a fan of the MeToo movement. She is as biblically conservative as they come. She loves Jesus. She understands grace. She's married to a strong, loving man. Before she began making private contact with SBC officials, she sat down with her husband and revealed to him she'd been raped when in seminary. As you might imagine, that was difficult. But her husband's response of comfort, encouragement, and acceptance only confirmed to her how deep true love can be.
She'd been trying for several days to get documentation that the rape occurred. She'd been told by Kevin Ueckert, the Chairman of the Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, that documentation was needed. Before she ever contacted me on Sunday, she'd spoken with Kevin and also with Danny Akin, the current President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The rape victim was particularly concerned that I know that Danny Akin had been "kind, compassionate, and helpful to me." She expressed her gratefulness for his leadership.
She told me that school officials at SEBTS could not give her documentation that the rape had occurred. Having trouble reconciling Akin's kindness and good leadership with the institution's refusal to give the necessary documentation, I explained. "There is a fine balance that Dr. Akin is walking right now. He has only been contacted by you in the recent days. I know he is doing all he can, but because of legal implications for the institution, there are certain lines that he will be unable to cross. You will be able to get the documents, but it will involve a lawsuit."
I want every Southern Baptist to listen carefully to what this woman said next.
"Again, Wade, I don't want to sue. I don't want law enforcement involved. I should have gone to the authorities back when it happened, and it's my fault that I didn't."Your fault? I thought to myself. "Dr. Patterson told you not to go."
"I know. But I should have been stronger. I guess at 23, sitting in the office with those four men, which included the President of the school, a man I looked up to as my authority, I trusted their counsel. Looking back, I guess I didn't know any better."She regrets she didn't go to the police. They would have obtained physical evidence that the assault had occurred. For the first few years after the rape, she struggled with guilt, depression, and shame. She would eventually drop out of seminary.
I said to her, "Some people are going to say, 'Why Paige Patterson?' Why is your focus on him? Why not the man who raped you."
She responded:
"Dr. Patterson doesn't believe he did anything wrong."This rape victim is brighter than many of our Southern Baptist pastors. In spite of her heartache and pain over the past fifteen years, she understands that you can't excise a tumor unless you know you have one; you can't get treatment unless you know you're sick.
Southern Baptists have got to come to the understanding that there is a systemic disease within our Convention. We have a warped, unbiblical, unChristian view of women. Many leaders wrongly teach that men are made in the image of God; women are made in the image of men.
Women submit; men rule - that's what would lead someone like Paige Patterson to keep "everything in the church" - including the rape of a woman - because men know best how to lead a woman.
The Washington Post
The rape victim really didn't want to reach out to me. She said she'd followed my blog for a while, but she didn't know me, and she did not want this issue to be made public.
"If they'd only given me the documentation that the rape had occurred and that I was told not to go the police, I wouldn't have contacted you."
She'd read a post I placed online Sunday night, May 20, 2018, entitled All Eyes on the Trustees of Southwestern Seminary. I suggested that many trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary received their positions due to friendship for, loyalty with, or employment under Paige Patterson.
The rape victim felt the trustees would not remove Dr. Patterson over his well-established inappropriate comments about women and abuse, and because SEBTS couldn't or wouldn't provide her any documentation over her rape, she felt the trustees might "overlook" what Dr. Patterson had said and done and not hold him accountable.
"I want you to write my story. You are a better writer than I am."I told her that I would, but on only one condition. Both she and her husband would have final approval, and if at any time they back out, all they had to do is let me know and I would not post it.
I also made a promise to keep her name confidential.
Over the course of the next several hours, well until after midnight, I worked on a story that I planned, with her and her husband's permission, to post on Monday. The victim sent me several emails with details of the events and people involved.
But around midnight, after reading what I'd written, and talking via phone a couple of times with a friend, I decided that this story was too big for my little blog. There were sources that needed to be checked, legal issues that needed to be resolved. I became convinced that the best people to write the story, check sources, and cross every legal hurdle were those who do this kind of thing all the time.
Back in 2005/2006 when loyal Patterson/Pressler trustees on the International Mission Board sought to remove me as a trustee and ruin my life and career for opposing Paige Patterson's attempts to fire Jerry Rankin and all the women in leadership at the IMB, I became acquainted with a reporter named Sarah Pulliam.
At the time, Sarah worked for Christianity Today and ran several articles on the imbroglio involving me at the International Mission Board.
Sarah now works on religious issues at the Washington Post. She's an evangelical. She understands Southern Baptists. She's an excellent reporter. It was well after midnight when I spoke to Sarah, and with the victim's permission, I put the two in contact with one another.
Sarah's story entitled Southern Baptist Leader Encouraged a Woman Not to Report Alleged Rape to Police came out at 3:00 pm Central Time, Tuesday afternoon, May 22, 2018.
The SWBTS Trustee Meeting, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas
The Washington Post knows how to do reporting. I had nothing to do with the article. I wasn't interviewed. My name wasn't in the article.
I did nothing except connect a reporter with a victim.
One of the advantages of writing a blog for 13 years and consistently pointing out problems in the Southern Baptist Convention is that people want to tell you their stories. I don't write gossip. I don't write lies. I don't write slander.
I tell the truth. And so does the Washington Post.
I've been told that when Paige Patterson spoke to the trustees last night in a full-court press to save his job, his home, his salary, etc... he presented a power point presentation to prove he's "under attack." The problems are never Paige's beliefs or Paige's actions or Paige's leadership. The problem is that evil Wade Burleson, the devil incarnate, and others.
I understand why Paige believes that to be so. He doesn't see that disagreement among Christians shouldn't mean we don't cooperate. You're either for him, or you're against him. You're for God, or with the devil.
Respectfully, SWBTS trustees, I've been telling you for over a decade there are huge problems at your institution and throughout the SBC. Your enrollment numbers stare you in the face every trustee meeting. In dysfunctional systems, the person who asks the questions about the problem becomes the problem to the ones being questioned.
Just ask Nathan Montgomery.
He was fired by Paige Patterson for recommending an article written by Ed Stetzer. Here it is (below).
After last night's board meeting, the trustees issued an official declaration that "The board has not found evidence of misconduct in Nathan Montgomery's employment file."
Why was that statement even necessary?
Because in Paige Patterson's world, the person against him has rotten character. The person who opposes his ideology is a bad person and must be taught a lesson. Teaching that lesson might even include making things up about the person he doesn't like. Things like, "That Nathan Montgomery has a long history of being problematic and indiscreet" - refusing to provide specifics to the reporter to whom President Patterson spoke. But it is on the record. And, Nathan Montgomery saw it.
Let's suppose that Nathan Montgomery's employee file is actually super-clean, maybe even "spotless." What do you do?
You issue an official statement attempting to cover the mistake of your President. He publicly said something that actually wasn't true.
In Paige Patterson's world, if you don't like the message, attack the messenger. Truth is unnecessary; an attack, though, is essential.
In the world I live, the truth is essential. Attacks are unnecessary.
An Obscene Graphic Mocking the Rape -
Within a few short hours after the Post story of the unreported rape went public, a Southern Baptist pastor who is an adherent to Paige Patterson's philosophies went on social media and did something alarming. He's been taught well by his mentor, Paige Patterson. This pastor posted an obscene and graphic picture/comment about a donkey and Wade Burleson (and a few other men I'll not name), stating that he had witnessed these men gang-raping a donkey. His point was that "anybody can say anything" without proof.
I'm not naming the pastor or displaying his obscene post. He called me this morning and apologized. But I told this pastor that I'm not the one he should be thinking of regarding an apology.
I told this Southern Baptist pastor that the husband of the rape victim saw his post on Twitter. To say the husband of the rape victim was upset is putting it mildly. You might ask the wall that met his hand. Remember, he just found out a few days ago his wife had been raped and no Southern Baptist ministers did anything to help her.
This Southern Baptist pastor said, "You mean the rape really happened?"
I was stunned. Kindly, but firmly, I said to him.
"Listen, you and others who have placed Paige Patterson on a pedestal for his involvement in the Conservative Resurgence and have been so blinded by your hero worship that you can't even consider Paige Patterson might have done something wrong."The Southern Baptist pastor confirmed that the purpose of his post was to impugn my character (and others), for planting the rape story - released just when trustees were determining the future of Paige Patterson - as a "way to get at Paige Patterson."
He wanted to speak to the couple. I explained why this was impossible. So, this afternoon, the Southern Baptist pastor (whom I shall not name), wrote out this apology:
I found his apology refreshing.
I promised I would help him if his church leaders came after his job.
Trustees, ask yourselves a question. In the closed-door meeting with Dr. Paige Patterson, watching his presentation and listening to him speak, was he taking responsibility for his failures, or was he pointing his finger at someone else?
Why do I ask? Because as long as you have a bunker mentality and think your leader is under assault, you are ignoring the fact that your city is burning to the ground and you're the ones with the keys to the fire trucks.
Every Single SWBTS Trustee Should Apologize Like The Pastor Above
This morning I woke up and read that in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, May 23, 2018, the trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary released the following:
The board passed a motion through a majority vote to appoint Dr. Patterson as President Emeritus with compensation, effective immediately, which he accepted. In addition, the board passed a motion to affirm the trustees' September 2017 offer for Dr. and Mrs. Patterson to live on campus as the first theologians-in-residence at the Baptist Heritage Center, scheduled to be completed in July 2018.I was stunned.
I truly thought Dr. Paige Patterson would be terminated. Paige Patterson should be terminated. He should never be allowed to live on school property. He should never be given the title President Emeritus. He should never be given a salary.
He should be fired.
For heaven's sake, when Dr. Russell Dilday was terminated as President of SWBTS in 1994, security changed the locks and escorted him off of the property.
Explain to me why we honor Paige Patterson with titles, a house, maids and chefs, stained glass windows, and a perpetual salary - and we changed the locks on Russel Dilday.
SWBTS trustees, we have a problem.
You seem to be star-gazing rather than number-crunching. Shame on you.
It was fourth and one in a game to save your seminary and you were sacked for a twenty-yard loss.
Is it over?
The Southern Baptist Convention has the final say.
A lot of people will be asking you questions in Dallas.
And in the name of a rape victim who is wondering about Southern Baptist pastors and their integrity, I plead with you not to allow Paige Patterson to step foot on that podium in Dallas.
In 2006, I was told by Paige Patterson's disciples at the IMB that I would never again preach in a Southern Baptist Church, never again speak on a Southern Baptist stage, and never again have an ounce of influence in Southern Baptist circles unless I resigned as a trustee.
What they didn't understand is that those things mean nothing to me. I do what I do for the Kingdom. God made me, Patterson missed me, and Christ motivates me.
I'll see you in Dallas.
To my new friends, a wonderful couple who shall remain unnamed, but who deserve an anonymous star on the wall of every seminary in the Southern Baptist Convention.
I hope you feel that you've been heard.
I admire your courage. I admire your grace. I admire you both. I hope to meet you soon.
What you've done is ensure that every daughter of Southern Baptists who steps foot on seminary property to earn a post-graduate degree will be protected as they should be by those entrusted to lead our Convention.


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subset: commoncrawl


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one mission Brazil for Ben. He was overwhelmed by your generosity and was asked by his organizers how he raised the money so quick.... his responce was all mums great blog follows! also thank you to our local friends who also gave very generously xx he ended up with almost $300 over his $900 goal so thankyou!!
Well our youngest daughter Madaleine finished her last yr 12 exam and had their High school formal earlier this week. Her future plans are all coming together now which as parents is so exciting to see! Our time with family was such a cherished blessing together. I made a card like her dress which has been my little tradition for all our kids and is a twist on the corner folding I have done in the past so I hope you will enjoy my video tutorial below. By the way Madaleine made this dress with the sari fabric her sister bought back from India for her, I think she did a top job! I crochet her hair piece and it all came together really nicely. Ben leaves for Brazil in a week and next is Beth's Uni graduation! .... here are a few snap shots of the Madaleine's big night ...... enjoy!
Blessings to you
and a last thought
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
For in him you have been enriched in every way--
in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--
1 Corinthians 1:4-5


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By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Rather than deter violence, placing more police officers in schools has led to more students becoming entangled in the criminal justice system for such minor infractions as disorderly conduct, an in-depth study of the issue has concluded.
Despite that finding by the Justice Policy Institute, a nonprofit group that seeks ways to decrease incarceration, National Rifle Association (NRA) officials continue to argue that the best way to prevent tragedies such as the killing of 26 people in Newtown, Conn. is to arm teachers and place more police officers in schools.
In an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA said, "If it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children then call me crazy." He added, "I think the American people think it's crazy not to do it. It's the one thing that would keep people safe."
After LaPierre made that suggestion Friday at a news conference in which he would not take questions from reporters, Rep. Chris Murphy [D-Conn.] called it "the most revolting tone deaf statement I've ever seen."
After the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, President Obama said he will push for gun legislation early next year. Many elected officials are supporting the move.
"I have found the statements by the NRA over the last couple of days to be really disheartening, because the statements seem not to reflect any understanding about the slaughter of children," said Senator Joe Liberman [I-Conn.]. "But it's obviously also true that the easy availability of guns, including military style assault weapons, is a contributing factor, and you can't keep that off the table."
The Justice Policy Institute published a report in November of last year titled, "Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools."
It stated, "Fueled by increasingly punitive approaches to student behavior such as 'zero tolerance policies,' the past 20 years have seen an expansion in the presence of law enforcement, including school resource officers (SROs), in schools. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of school resource officers increased 38 percent between 1997 and 2007. Some cities, like New York City, employ more officers in schools than many small cities' entire police force."
The expansion of police has had an adverse impact on many students.
"With this rapid increase in the presence of law enforcement, including SROs, in schools, districts from around the country have found that youth are being referred to the justice system at increased rates and for minor offenses like disorderly conduct. This is causing lasting harm to youth, as arrests and referrals to the juvenile justice system disrupt the educational process and can lead to suspension, expulsion, or other alienation from school," the report stated. "All of these negative effects set youth on a track to drop out of school and put them at greater risk of becoming involved in the justice system later on, all at tremendous costs for taxpayers as well as the youth themselves and their communities."
The push to add more police at school began at the federal level with the concept of zero tolerance. The Gun Free Schools Act of 1994, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, required any jurisdiction receiving money through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to adopt a policy that suspends a student for at least a year for bringing a firearm to school.
By the time 15 people were killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Col. In 1999, President Clinton had already called for more police officers in the schools.
Clinton was reacting to some highly-publicized acts of violence rather than facts.
According to a 1996 study by the Centers for Disease Control, between 1992 and 1994, a youth had less than one in a million chance of suffering a violent death at school, including as a victim of homicide or committing suicide.
In addition, the National School Safety Center found that there was a 27.3 percent drop in the number of school-related homicides and suicides between 1992 (55) and 1998 (40) – the same period in which Clinton was calling for more police officers in schools.
Increased presence of police in schools has contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline, according to the Justice Policy Institute study.
"No data exists showing that SROs arrest youth of color more often than white students, but other data shows that youth of color are disproportionately arrested compared to white youth," the report stated. "In school, youth of color are far more likely to be subjected to harsh punishments in school than whites. A study from the Applied Research Center shows that African American students are disciplined more often and more harshly than white students. Related to suspensions, a 1998 study from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights shows that African American and Hispanic students are suspended from schools at disproportionate rates compared to white students."
In South Carolina, for example, Black students make up 42 percent of the enrollment, but 75 percent of disorderly conduct charges, of which 90 percent are referred to law enforcement agencies. Blacks make up 19 percent of the students in Pinellas County, Fla. but 54 percent of the student arrests.
Communities should improve the learning environment rather than placing so much emphasis on adding police officers, according to some experts.
"Educating all youth and keeping them in school benefits communities in a variety of ways. Youth that are in schools are engaged during the day, preventing them from engaging in illegal behaviors. High school graduation increases social bonds and community ties which promote responsibility in young adults. In addition, keeping students in school saves communities millions in the long run."
Some past supporters of NRA are now calling for a ban on assault weapons.
The Violence Policy Center produced a list of 33 mass shootings involving high-capacity ammunition magazines, including Sandy Hook Elementary School (Bushmaster assault rifle); Century Movie Theater in Aurora, Col. (Smith & Wesson M&P assault rifle); and Virginia Tech University (Glock 19 pistol).
The Violence Policy Center noted that the NRA's corporate partners include many gun manufacturers, including the Freedom Group, the gun industry conglomerate of which Bushmaster, the manufacturer of the AR-15 assault rifle used in the Newtown, Conn. school mass shooting, is part of as well as Smith & Wesson, the manufacturer of another model of AR-15 assault rifle that was used in the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater mass shooting.
Supporters of tougher gun laws say they are not suggesting that school safety should be de-emphasized.
The Justice Policy Institute report concluded, "School safety should be a priority: it is not only important for protecting the physical safety of students, teachers, and staff, but also for maintaining a productive learning environment. However, law enforcement in schools is not the best nor most cost-effective way to achieve those goals. SROs and law enforcement in schools are not needed to keep kids safe, especially when youth pay the price of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system and suffer a lifetime of negative effects as a result."


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Nichols Named "Outstanding Teacher"
Mary Anne Nichols, M.L.S. '93, associate lecturer and graduate coordinator in the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University, is the 2012 winner of the Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Communication and Information (CCI).
Nichols, from Fairlawn, Ohio, graduated with her Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Akron in 1991 and her Master of Library Science from Kent State University in 1993. This is her seventh year teaching and advising students full time, particularly in the area of young adult librarianship. Previously, she taught as an adjunct instructor for SLIS and worked as a librarian. She was promoted to associate lecturer earlier this year.
[Mary Anne Nichols] In addition to teaching, Nichols is co-editor of the series "Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young Adult Librarians." She is involved in numerous regional and national professional organizations, including Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA); YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Popular Paperbacks Selection Committee Member (2012-2013); YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Selection Committee Member (2011-2012); and YALSA Margaret A. Edwards Committee Member (2008-2010).
Nichols also serves on the advisory board for the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children and advises the school's chapter of Beta Phi Mu, the Library and Information Science Honor Society. She was a founding member of the SLIS Alumni and Friends Council.
At its annual retreat in August, the college honors faculty or staff members, based on nominations received from students and colleagues. The awards include Distinguished Scholar Award, Distinguished Teaching Award, Distinguished Service Award, Distinguished Advisor Award and Outstanding Teaching Award. The awards are sponsored by the members of the College Advisory Council.
According to the college's website, "The CCI … Outstanding Teacher should possess comprehensive knowledge of their field(s), organize and present subject matter effectively, stimulate thinking, arouse interest and demonstrate resourcefulness in teaching." This is the second year for the awards, and the second time a SLIS faculty member has received the Outstanding Teaching Award. (In 2011 the winner was SLIS adjunct instructor Miriam Kahn, Ph.D.)
"This came as a huge surprise to me," said Nichols. "I am honored to be awarded this and grateful to work with such incredible colleagues in SLIS and in CCI."
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University has the only American Library Association-accredited Master of Library and Information Science degree program in Ohio, offering courses in Kent, Columbus (State Library of Ohio) and through a fully online option. SLIS also offers a Master of Science in Information Architecture and Knowledge Management and participates in an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in the College of Communication and Information. The school is recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation's top 20 LIS graduate programs, with a youth librarianship program that is ranked 13th. It is one of the largest library schools in the country, with more than 650 students enrolled. For more information, visit www.kent.edu/slis.


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This video from England is called Magpie Building nest at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, March 2013.
From the BBC:
16 August 2014 Last updated at 00:35 GMT
Magpies 'don't steal shiny objects'
By Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst
Magpies do not steal trinkets and are positively scared of shiny objects, according to new research.
The study appears to redeem the myth of the "thieving magpie", which pervades European folklore.
It is widely believed that magpies have a compulsive urge to steal sparkly things for their nests.
But Exeter University scientists show that the birds are actually nervous of such objects, presumably because they are novel and may prove dangerous.
The study involved a pile of shiny items (metal screws, small foil rings, and a small rectangular piece of aluminium foil), and a pile of the same objects covered with matt blue paint.
Researchers placed mounds of edible nuts just 30cm away from each of the collected objects. In 64 tests during feeding, magpies picked up a shiny object only twice – and discarded it immediately.
The birds essentially ignored or avoided both shiny and blue objects, and often fed less when they were present.
Lead author Dr Toni Shephard said: "We did not find evidence of an unconditional attraction to shiny objects in magpies. Instead, all objects prompted responses indicating neophobia – fear of new things.
"We suggest that humans notice when magpies occasionally pick up shiny objects because they believe the birds find them attractive, while it goes unnoticed when magpies interact with less eye-catching items. It seems likely that the folklore surrounding them is a result of cultural generalisation and anecdotes rather than evidence."
Righting old wrongs
The scientists – psychologists from the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour (CRAB) – undertook the study after an internet search uncovered just two published accounts of magpies actually stealing shiny things: a missing engagement ring found in a nest in 2008, and a magpie in Rochdale stealing keys, coins, and a spanner from an automotive garage a year earlier.
Dr Shephard told BBC News: "Some birds do use eye-catching objects in the nest after mating occurs, like black kites, to warn off potential predators. But we had already looked inside a dozen magpie nests and not seen any shiny objects. So, I was not expecting magpies to use objects for this purpose."
The test may challenge the Collins English Dictionary definition of the magpie as "a person who hoards small objects".
It may prompt calls for a belated revision of the libretto of Rossini's opera La Gazza Ladra (The thieving magpie), which features a servant girl sentenced to death for a series of silver thefts actually committed by a magpie.
This music video is called Rossini – Ouverture La Gazza Ladra – Gustavo Dudamel – HD.
It may upset, too, the publishers of The Tintin comic The Castafiore Emerald, in which a prized gem is stolen by a magpie.
This video is called The Castafiore Emerald.
But the research is not conclusive – yet. Due to the nature of the test with fixed feeding stations, the scientists could only assess "married" magpies that inhabit a set territory. Single magpies without a steady partner are less predictable in their feeding habits.
So maybe, just maybe, it is bachelor birds wanting to woo potential mates with silver rings that have sullied the birds' name.


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The Best Cleansers for Dry Skin
- by Alexis Pring
- 13 November, 2019
- 0 min read
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Argentines flood the streets in antigovernment protests
In the largest antigovernment demonstration in years, Argentines protested the crime, corruption, and inflation they attribute to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration.
| BUENOS AIRES, Argentina
Angry over inflation, crime and corruption, hundreds of thousands of Argentines of all ages flooded the capital's streets for nearly four hours to protest against President Cristina Fernandez in Argentina's biggest anti-government demonstration in years.
In a Thursday night march organized on social media, demonstrators filled the Plaza de Mayo in front of the pink presidential palace and also crowded around the city's iconic obelisk chanting: "We're not afraid."
Protesters stayed peaceful, and the outpouring had the air of a family affair. Toddlers in strollers and grandparents in wheelchairs joined in the masses that marched through downtown Buenos Aires until nearly midnight.
People banged on pots, whistled and waved the Argentine flag. They held banners that read: "Stop the wave of Argentines killed by crime, enough with corruption and say no to the constitutional reform."
RELATED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz!
Fernandez's critics are angry over the country's high inflation, violent crime and high-profile corruption, and many worry that the president will try to hold onto power by ending constitutional term limits.
"I came to protest everything that I don't like about this government and I don't like a single thing starting with (the president's) arrogance," said Marta Morosini, a 74-year-old retiree. "They're killing policemen like dogs, and the president doesn't even open her mouth. This government is just a bunch of hooligans and corrupters."
A spokesman for Buenos Aires' Justice and Security Ministry estimated the demonstrators in the capital at 700,000 people. Other demonstrations were held on plazas across Argentina, including in major cities such as Cordoba, Mendoza and La Plata, while protesters massed outside Argentine embassies and consulates from Chile to Australia.
In Rome, about 50 protesters, all Argentine expats, held a noisy protest outside the consulate on Via Veneto, one of the city's landmark streets. Among the slogans being shouted was "Cristina, go away."
About 200 demonstrators braved rain in Madrid to bang pots outside the Argentine consulate.
"In Argentina, there's no separation of power and it cannot be considered a democracy," said Marcelo Gimenez, a 40-year-old from Buenos Aires who has been living in Spain for two years. "Cristina is not respecting the constitution. The presidency is not a blank check and she must govern for those who are for her and against her."
The protests hold deep symbolism for Argentines, who recall the country's economic debacle of a decade ago. The "throw them all out" chants of that era's pot-banging marches forced presidents from office and left Argentina practically ungovernable until Fernandez's late husband, Nestor Kirchner, assumed the presidency in 2003.
"We came here because we don't want Cristina," said Shirley Brener, a 12-year-old student who protested in Buenos Aires with her mother, Monica, a 48-year-old school director.
The president's supporters paid little attention to two earlier protests this year, but when it became clear the latest effort could turn out big numbers, her loyalists spoke out in her defense. They dismissed the protesters as being part of the wealthy elite or beholden to discredited opposition parties.
Fernandez didn't directly refer to the protest in a speech Thursday, but she defended her and her late husband's policies, saying they helped rescue Argentina from its worst economic crisis a decade ago and buoyed it during the 2009 world financial downturn.
"During boom times it's easy to run a country but try running it when it's crumbling down," Fernandez said while urging Argentines to support her and pledging never to give up as her late husband taught her.
"Never let go, not even in the worst moments," she said. "Because it's in the worst moments when the true colors of a leader of a country come out."
Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a member of the opposition and a fervent Fernandez critic, praised the big protest via Twitter. "People are being heard nationwide joined by a single flag," he said.
Polls suggest neither side has a firm grip on Argentines' sympathies.
Fernandez easily won re-election just a year ago with 54 percent of the vote but saw her approval rating fall to 31 percent in a nationwide survey in September by the firm Management & Fit. The poll of 2,259 people, which had an error margin of about two percentage points, also said 65 percent of respondents disapproved of her opponents' performance.
RELATED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz!
Crime is the biggest concern for many of her critics.
Newspapers and television programs provide a daily diet of stories about increasingly bold home invasion robberies, in which armed bands tie up families until victims hand over the cash that many Argentines have kept at home since the government froze savings accounts and devalued the currency in 2002. The vast majority of the crimes are never solved, while the death toll is rising.
Inflation also upsets many. The government's much-criticized index puts inflation at about 10 percent annually, but private economists say prices are rising about three times faster than that. Real estate transactions have slowed to a standstill because of the difficulty in estimating future values, and unions that won 25 percent pay hikes only a few months ago are threatening to strike again unless the government comes up with more.
The phrase "Cristina or nothing" was stenciled on buildings surrounding the Plaza de Mayo.
Demonstrators held up signs accusing the president of arrogance. While some featured a lengthy list of demands, others simply said "basta" — enough.


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World leaders weigh stimulus vs. austerity at G-20
LOS CABOS, Mexico – With major European economies shaking, leaders concluding an annual Group of 20 meeting sought Tuesday to reassure the world that they would find a way to put out the debt-fueled economic wildfire that has threatened banks, wiped out jobs and toppled governments across the continent.
But the presidents and prime ministers gathered in this seaside resort seemed content to delay any major decisions for a while longer, releasing only a general statement that stopped short of committing any nations to greater spending unless conditions worsen and urging fiscal responsibility.
To ease the immediate market turmoil in Europe, Italian Premier Mario Monti proposed using the continent's bailout funds to buy the government bonds of financially weak states like Spain and Italy. That would lower their borrowing costs, easing the risk they would need bailouts to finance its debt.
Monti told reporters at a briefing that using the current bailout fund's €440 billion ($555 billion) "was one of the topics of conversation," but indicated that no decisions had been taken. He will meet the leaders of Germany, France and Spain in Rome on Friday to come up with a plan to present next week at a European summit in Brussels.
But while such a deal would help stabilize debt markets in Europe in the short term, the continent's fundamental problems of low economic growth and high debt would take time to solve — and leaders remained divided over the best way to fix them.
For months, governments and economists have weighed two different paths to ease the financial crisis: spending more to try to stimulate growth or slashing budgets.
The battle lines in the stimulus-versus-austerity debate were clearly drawn among the 24 heads of state gathered in a heavily guarded convention hall lined by a moat. The conservative leaders of the United Kingdom, South Korea and Germany came out decisively for austerity, warning that budget cuts were crucial to restoring fiscal order and worldwide confidence.
"The countries in crisis will have to find measures that might be painful and politically unpopular in the short term, but nonetheless they must pursue this path," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday.
On the other side were left-leaning governments such as those in Argentina, Brazil and France that have denounced the German-imposed austerity plan for struggling countries such as Spain and Greece and pushed for more stimulus spending.
President Barack Obama said European leaders "grasp the seriousness" of their debt crisis and are moving with a "heightened sense of urgency" to find a solution.
After the summit, Obama said the economic problems in Europe won't be solved by the G-20 or the United States, but by European nations. He said he was confident they could do that, but acknowledged the difficulty of getting all the separate legislatures to agree.
That the leaders adopted only some general policies is typical of G-20 declarations, said Jacob Kirkegaard, a research fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.
"On the big issue of the hour, of weeks and months, the G-20 communique is not going to make a big difference," Kirkegaard said. "The communique will repeat the mantra about strong, balanced, global growth. With each member state free to do whatever they want, that's the way to paper over those differences."
Indeed, the statement's reassuring words failed to sooth troubled world stock markets, which remained mixed and nervous Tuesday.
Germany must shoulder a large share of the contributions to bail out economically weaker European countries that overspent for years. In exchange, Germany has been insisting on steep cutbacks from aid recipients such as Greece.
Those cutbacks have led to dramatic economic hardship for voters in Greece and other countries. A growing number of European countries have been advocating spending and growth, not austerity, and the G-20 statement made limited mention of such a possibility.
"We are united in our resolve to promote growth and jobs," the document said. "Strong sustainable and balanced growth remains the top priority of the G20, as it leads to higher job creation and increases the welfare of people across the world."
The statement threw support specifically behind greater government spending in countries that can afford it, if conditions get significantly worse. Countries with "sufficient fiscal space stand ready to coordinate and implement discretionary fiscal actions to support domestic demand."
The plan also hinted at flexibility by asking that governments "take into account evolving economic conditions," which could open the way for more latitude in troubled countries such as Greece.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande noted that the summit's final declaration also pledges to avoid new protectionist measures until the end of 2014 and that China has agreed to let currency fluctuate more freely, according to market forces.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated Tuesday that Greece has to uphold its side of the bargain.
"It's obvious that the reforms that were agreed in the past are the right steps and that they therefore must be implemented," she said, though she avoided directly answering the issue of giving Greece more time.
Merkel said the G-20 leaders had a "very balanced" discussion on growth, though she stressed once again that growth "is not just about money."
"We need the right mix of budget consolidation ... and at the same time efforts for growth," she said.
The statement said the Obama administration pledged to prevent sharp tax increases and government spending cuts from kicking in at the end of the year, as scheduled under current law, to avoid sending the U.S. into another recession.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the U.S. was "encouraged" by European leaders' plans to confront the continent's economic crisis.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Geither said Europe will now focus on helping Greece stay afloat, designing a more integrated financial system and improving economic growth.
"And all of us, of course, have a huge interest, a huge stake in the success of their efforts," he said.
Repeatedly, the G-20 plan stresses shoring up banking systems. It calls for a "more integrated financial architecture, encompassing banking supervision, resolution and recapitalization, and deposit insurance."
The cost of bailing out Spain's €1.1 trillion ($1.39 trillion) economy would likely outstrip current global ability, even after the International Monetary Fund announced late Monday that a round of contributions had increased its lending capacity to $456 billion. The countries making the biggest IMF contributions will be Japan, at $60 billion; Germany, at $54.7 billion; and China, at $43 billion. The United States is notably not contributing in the latest round.
Associated Press writers Michael Weissenstein in Los Cabos, Mexico; Christopher S. Rugaber and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Sarah DiLorenzo in Brussels; and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.


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2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon, XL and Denali First Drive
Still King of a Smaller Hill
When you have a commanding combined 70-percent market share of a certain segment, it would make sense to continue investing in that niche and solidify your leadership. Although full-size SUVs are not exactly the same mega-volume models as they were 10-15 years ago, they're still an important profit center for General Motors, and with smaller crossovers filling the budget-conscious end of the SUV spectrum, the new GM full-size models, the 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL have taken a decided step upscale, burnishing their "do anything" credentials, while ceding the less-profitable, but higher-volume segments to other models, like the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain.
With the introduction of all-new 1/2-ton trucks for the 2014 model year, the model cadence of the full-size SUVs was expected to follow shortly thereafter, and true to form, these new SUVs are starting to roll into dealerships as this is written. Like the pickups, the SUVs don't completely obliterate the established convention for these models, retaining naturally aspirated V-8 power, body-on-frame chassis, and a solid rear axle. But as has been the case with each successive generation of the GM full-size SUVs starting with the GMT400 models, the K2XX models differentiate themselves from the pickups just a bit more.
No Shared Sheetmetal
In the early days of the GM full-size SUVs, many panels and exterior pieces were essentially interchangeable with the pickups, including hoods, grilles, and front fenders. On the last-generation GMT900 models, only the front doors interchanged with the trucks, with the SUVs already having distinctive front clips. On the 2015 models, that percentage of shared exterior sheetmetal goes to zero. The SUVs finally get bespoke styling from bumper to bumper. All the K2XX SUVs, share a pronounced beltline that runs from front to rear and gives the SUVs an angular, sharp profile that at first glance appears less aerodynamic than its predecessors, but is in fact sleeker. One exterior item that contributes to these models' remarkable efficiency for their size is a perilously-low front air dam, even on 4x4 models. GM reps said it's easily removable with a screwdriver. If the farthest you ever venture off-road is a gravel driveway, there's probably no need to remove it, but if your definition of off-roading ever includes low-range, you might want to consider breaking out your toolbox.
Truck Capability, Car Comfort
As with the exterior, the interiors of the new SUVs continue to move away from the pickups. Whereas the new Silverado and Sierra have deliberately upright, boxy dashboards, the dashboard and console on the new SUVs is more curved and sloping, giving a very carlike feel from the driver's or front passenger's seat. Adding to the upscale feel is a power tilt-and-telescope steering wheel on LT and LTZ models of the Tahoe and Suburban, and available push-button start. Seats on the higher-level trims feature heating and cooling, and a large 8-inch MyLink (IntelliLink on GMC models) touchscreen. To keep the back-seat passengers young and old from getting too grouchy, second-row video, either from a flip-down video screen or available headrest-mounted screens let passengers fine-tune their entertainment options. Three-row long-wheelbase models (Suburban and Yukon XL) even have a third-row video monitor.
Coming in the second half of calendar 2014 is available OnStar 4G, making the entire vehicle a rolling WiFi hotspot, allowing for non-stop fun and games on computers, tablets or other devices. But the interior experience of these vehicles can't be fully told without mentioning the remarkable refinement and noise isolation. Like the trucks, the new SUVs get a new inset door frame design, which allows for tighter sealing of the doors. On the Denali models equipped with the 6.2-liter engine, the vehicles also include Bose active noise cancellation. But fear not, the legendary small-block V-8 growl is still audible when you put the hammer down.
Engines: A Twist on Tradition
Although the 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8 engines share their displacement with their predecessors, almost nothing else carries over from their predecessors, aside from traditional 4.4-inch bore spacing. The big news with these engines is direct fuel injection, which helps deliver both more power and more fuel efficiency. Horsepower is up 35 from last year's port-injected 5.3, and torque is up 43 lb-ft. Two-wheel-drive models of the 5.3 are rated at 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. The highway rating on 4x4 models drops 1 mpg to 22. 6.2-liter models get 15/21 ratings for 2WD and 14/21 for the 4x4. Economy ratings have not yet been released for the 2015 Ford Expedition with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, but are expected to mirror those of the 2014 F-150. GM is confident the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 engine will have an edge in both EPA and real-world economy over the refreshed Expedition and Navigator.
On the road, both V-8s deliver ample, confident power, although the advantage of the 6.2 over the 5.3 is immediately apparent, especially in higher elevations. The 5.3 doesn't feel so much underpowered compared with the 6.2, but has to work a little harder and rev a little higher to deliver the goods. Right now, the 6.2 is exclusive to the Denali trim level on the Yukon and will be the standard engine in the upcoming 2015 Escalade. When asked if there could be a future High Country trim level on the Tahoe and Suburban offering the 6.2, Chevy and GM reps simply said, "We're looking at many potential possibilities." In a less-official setting, one representative reminded us that the 6.2-liter engine was offered as a stand-alone option on the last-generation Tahoe and Suburban, and had a very low take rate.
Still Relevant?
A few of the guests at the event quietly used the term "dinosaur" when they thought they were out of earshot of GM reps. While it's easy to dismiss these vehicles as outdated and irrelevant in today's efficiency-minded market, on closer examination, they sacrifice little in terms of economy to the smaller models in the lineup, while offering a substantial extra measure of utility. The 5.3-liter Tahoe only sacrifices 1 mpg city and highway to the Traverse crossover, and the 2WD Tahoe even matches the much-smaller Equinox V-6 AWD model for fuel economy. While the Traverse and Equinox will serve many families' needs fine, the overall utility threshold for both models is substantially lower than either the Tahoe or Suburban. Of course, their starting prices are also substantially lower as well. The starting price on the 2015 Tahoe is $45,595. Higher-trim levels of both the Suburban and Yukon XL can go well into the $70,000 realm with options, even approaching or surpassing the $80,000 mark with all the boxes checked. Although we've never really thought of the Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon as "1-percent" vehicles, they're now solidly "10-percenters."
Proven Formula, Further Refined
There were plenty of questions from other journalists at the launch event about why GM decided to stick with a solid rear axle, and V-8 powertrains, when many of their competitors have gone to independent rear suspension and turbocharged V-6 engines. From our perspective, the competition has been chasing GM's dominance of the segment for over a decade with "unique" features such as IRS and alternative powertrains. Nobody has been able to substantially challenge GM's dominance of the segment, and buyers of these models tend to be some of the most loyal, and fundamentally want the same attributes as they always have, but better and more refined with each generation. The K2XX SUVs have accomplished that mission successfully, and will likely continue to be the dominant player in the segment.
|2015 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban, GMC Yukon/Yukon XL
|$45,595-$66,000 (est)
|Front-engine, RWD/4WD), 5-8-pass, 4-door, SUV
|5.3L/355-hp/383-lb-ft OHV 16-valve V-8
6.2L/420-hp/460-lb-ft OHV 16-valve V-8
|6-speed automatic
|5466-6009 lb (mfr)
|116.0-130.0 in
|204.0-224.3 x 80.5 x 74.4 in
|6.0-7.5 sec (TT est)
|14-16/20-23 mpg (est)
|211-241/135-169 kW-hrs/100 miles (est)
|1.05-1.20 lb/mile (est)
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3 million feet of boom deployed in Gulf to keep spilled oil from shore, but does it help?
GRAND ISLE, La. – GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) — Globs of sticky brownish ooze soil miles of sensitive shoreline and marsh from Alabama to Louisiana. Pelican rookeries are awash in oil. Oyster beds and shrimp nurseries face certain death. All the while, long, slender barriers intended to protect the shoreline float twisted, tangled or sometimes just broken apart, unable to stop the creeping crude.
Since last month's rig explosion and spill of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico — now the largest spill in U.S. history, surpassing the Exxon Valdez — more than 3 million feet of so-called boom has been deployed along the coast. But it's not a fail-safe method of keeping the oil from washing ashore. It's not always sturdy enough and high winds and waves can send the slime cascading over the barriers.
The key line of defense is sometimes defenseless itself against the elements.
"Even if it's working properly, the best it will do is move the problem somewhere else," said Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response Division.
"It might be moving it somewhere that's not boomed or it might be moving it 100 yards away where there's a failure in the boom," Helton said. "The use of booms is just one tool but all the boom does is deflect oil, and that's if it functions properly."
BP says it has spent more than $800 million on cleanup and containment efforts since its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and sank 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Since then, an estimated 19 million gallons or more of crude has spewed into the sea.
While BP couldn't immediately provide a figure for how much money has been spent purchasing and deploying the booms, industry estimates put costs around $20 a foot for the basic product — totaling at least $60 million just to buy it, not to mention the cost to hire people to deploy it.
Experts say while the boom isn't perfect, it provides one necessary line of defense. It also offers a psychological boost to those who feel helpless.
Because the oil spill is so widespread, manpower needed to maintain the boom and regularly collect oil from its constraints is stretched thin, Helton said. And as the barriers break apart, he said, response time to repair them must be quick because once the oil seeps past, it's a losing battle.
The spill's impact on shorelines now stretches across 150 miles, from Dauphin Island, Ala., to Grand Isle, La., and has begun to creep inland into sensitive marshland.
"Normally, a spill would affect a smaller geographic area so you'd have more people per linear mile of boom to maintain it, but here the pressure was on to get the boom deployed," Helton said. "It's a difficult situation and people have very high expectations.
"There's no silver bullet," he added.
Regardless of the setbacks, BP spokesman John Curry said the booms are still proving to be an effective tool.
"Booms, by and large, do work. They're not fail-safe, but they're our best protection to contain the oil and protect the coast," Curry said.
Stephen Reilly, CEO of Slickbar Products Corp., one of the world's largest manufacturers of oil spill equipment, including boom, acknowledged the product has limitations based on wind, waves and currents.
He said Slickbar has so far provided several hundred thousand feet of boom to the Gulf oil spill effort, and calls it "absolutely worth it."
"You have to put something in there," Reilly said. "You have to at least make an attempt to deflect it away from these sensitive areas ... The key is to at least try to contain it."
Inexperience may also be taking a toll on the effectiveness of the booms, said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences.
Hundreds of people, including fishermen and shrimpers who have never deployed boom, have mobilized to help.
"People are frustrated and they want to do something so they say, 'I'll go out and lay the boom.' But if you don't know what you're doing, you're not going to do it right," Overton said. "I'm certain there's a significant percentage of boom deployment that is basically a wasted effort. I've seen shrimp boats just pulling boom and it's not doing anything."
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said neither BP nor the federal government is listening to the locals, who know these waters, about where to lay the booms.
"We're still deploying boom in areas that in many cases don't make sense to us, but that's where they want it," Newell said. "They're not asking us for input. Someone else is commanding this ship and they're not taking input from the local commercial fishing industry that knows these waters better than anybody.
"We don't have a command post that's totally unified where they're actually listening to the locals," he added.
But even beyond the environmental effort to contain the oil, effective or not, the booming serves another crucial purpose, providing a psychological boost to those who feel helpless, Overton said.
"It's an ecological incident but this is also a sociological disaster," he said. "It's helping people think they're helping the environment, and there's a lot of good to that. I'm talking about getting to their psyche. They don't know what the future will bring.
"Booming is not just about protecting the environment," he added. "It's also to help the people and that should not be considered trivial or a waste of time."
Associated Press writers Matthew Brown, Jason Dearen and Greg Bluestein and Video Journalist Jason Bronis in Louisiana, and Holbrook Mohr in Mississippi contributed to this report.


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Home Ownership
Within Reach in The Adirondacks
Homeownership in the Adirondacks is being priced out of reach for local working families. ACHT was created to keep a selection of Adirondack Park homes affordable for them to purchase.
Through an initiative by Senator Betty Little, the State budgeted $1 Million to be used by an "Adirondack Community Housing Trust" to reduce the cost of home purchases for families making up to 120% of area median income. Resale limitations on the property require that future sales of these homes be controlled by ACHT so that they will be passed on to other income-qualified families at affordable prices.


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Salomon, Haym
Salomon, Haym hīm [key], 1740–85, American Revolutionary financier, b. Lissa (now Leszno), Poland. A Jewish emigrant from Poland, he was imprisoned (1778) by the British in New York City for aiding the Revolutionaries and was condemned to death, but he escaped to Philadelphia. There he started a successful brokerage business. He aided Robert Morris in obtaining loans from France and pledged his own fortune to the new government to maintain its credit. Salomon was never recompensed and he died impoverished.
See biographies by C. E. Russell (1930) and H. M. Fast (1941).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies


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"The curatorial faculty of The University Museum today reached the unanimous conclusion that they would purchase no more art objects or antiquities for the Museum unless the objects are accompanied by a pedigree—that is information about the different owners of the objects, place of origin, legality of export, and other data useful in each individual case."
-April 1, 1970, Board of Managers of The University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology was the first institution to take a public stand on what was, and continues to be a highly controversial subject. On April 1, 1970, the Penn Museum issued what came to be known as the Pennsylvania Declaration, stating that no object would be purchased unless accompanied by a pedigree, including "information about the different owners, place of origin, legality of export, etc." Later that year, the United Nations issued the UNESCO Convention (see below) on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Since then, supporting resolutions have been passed by the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society for American Archaeology, and the American Anthropological Association.
In 1978, the Museum adopted a more stringent acquisitions policy, stating that all undocumented archaeological objects made available by gift, bequest, or exchange would be refused if acquired after 1970, and that the Museum reserved the right to refuse to loan objects to museums suspected of having knowingly violated the UNESCO Convention.
The modern discipline of archaeology has existed for little more than a hundred years. As ethical and national views of archaeology and its rights and responsibilities shift, the role of archaeologists continues to change. Our archaeologists continue to make exciting discoveries about the civilizations of the past. In the 21st century, however, archaeologists bring back from the field the knowledge they have gained: the objects, with rare exception, remain in their country of origin.
-adapted from Elin C. Danien's Guide to the Mesoamerican Galleries, published by the Penn Museum in 2002.
Read more about the Pennsylvania Declaration in the Expedition article by Senior Archivist Alessandro Pezzati, "The Pennsylvania Declaration."
The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, meeting in Paris from October 12th to November 14th, 1970, at its sixteenth session,
RECALLING the importance of the provisions contained in the Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Co-operation, adopted by the General Conference at its fourteenth session,
CONSIDERING that the interchange of cultural property among nations for scientific, cultural and educational purposes increases the knowledge of the civilization of Man, enriches the cultural life of all peoples and inspires mutual respect and appreciation among nations,
CONSIDERING that cultural property constitutes one of the basic elements of civilization and national culture, and that its true value can be appreciated only in relation to the fullest possible information regarding its origin, history and traditional setting,
CONSIDERING that it is incumbent upon every State to protect the cultural property existing within its territory against the dangers of theft, clandestine excavation, and illicit export,
CONSIDERING that, to avert these dangers, it is essential for every State to become increasingly alive to the moral obligations to respect its own cultural heritage and that of all nations,
CONSIDERING that, as cultural institutions, museums, libraries and archives should ensure that their collections are built up in accordance with universally recognized moral principles, CONSIDERING that the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property is an obstacle to that understanding between nations which it is part of Unesco's mission to promote by recommending to interested States, international conventions to this end,
CONSIDERING that the protection of cultural heritage can be effective only if organized both nationally and internationally among States working in close co-operation,
CONSIDERING that the Unesco General Conference adopted a Recommendation to this effect in 1964,
HAVING before it further proposals on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, a question which is on the agenda for the session as item 19,
HAVING decided, at its fifteenth session, that this question should be made the subject of an international convention, ADOPT this Convention on the fourteenth day of November 1970.


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Everyone Says I Love You
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|Woody sings! Granted, he doesn't sing very well, but who else could twist a story of love among the neurotic rich with lavish production numbers from the golden age of movie musicals? The excellent cast (who weren't told that they were in a musical until after they signed) prove that as singers, they're pretty good actors. The plot centers around the wandering love lives of Steffi (Hawn), her husband Bob (Alda), her ex-husband Joe (Allen) and their assorted children; especially the preppy Skylar (Barrymore) and her fiance Holden (Norton). Some of the musical productions are shaky (Allen's duet with Julia Roberts is straight out of Tin Ear Alley), but the feeling behind them is genuine; Besides, where else are you going to hear Groucho's "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" sung in French or a chorus of pregnant women sing "Makin' Whoopee"?
|Directed by:
|Woody Allen
|Robert Greenhut, Jean Doumanian, J.E. Beaucaire, Sweetland Films AB, Miramax Films
|Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Gaby Hoffman, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne, Lukas Haas, David Ogden Stiers


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There are a lot of great features in the upcoming Windows Server 2012 R2 release, but with the VMworld 2013 conference coming up next week it seemed appropriate to look at the Microsoft next-gen Hyper-V offering debuting in R2.
The list of new or updated features for the updated Hyper-V is substantial, proving once again that Microsoft is not showing signs of slowing down in its battle against well-entrenched virtualization competitors EMC VMware and Citrix Systems.
[ Want to see the new features in a supercool slideshow? Check out Paul Ferrill's 10 great new features in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V. | Get a no-nonsense digest of the day's key tech news each morning with InfoWorld's new Tech Brief newsletter. Subscribe today! ]
Here are the key new features coming to Hyper-V:
- Shared virtual hard disk: This allows the clustering of virtual machines using shared virtual hard disk (VHDX) files. VHDX was introduced in Windows Server 2012 as a new file format, but you couldn't cluster VMs using a shared virtual hard disk until now.
- Storage quality of service (QoS): Storage QoS allows you to manage throughput of virtual hard disks that are accessed by VMs. This allows you to place a maximum and minimum load (in I/O operations per second) for each virtual disk so that one disk doesn't affect another on the same host.
- Virtual machine generation: One of the more interesting new features is the ability to choose the VM generation: Gen 1 or Gen 2. Gen 1 is the same as what you've known in previous Hyper-V versions. Gen 2 brings with it the ability to have secure boot, to boot from a SCSI virtual hard disk or DVD, and to PXE-boot using a standard network adapter, as well as UEFI firmware support. But before you leap for joy at the cool, new features, you should know there are limitations with the OSes supported for Gen 2: It supports only guest OSes running Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, 64-bit Windows 8, or 64-bit Windows 8.1. And you have to decide on the generation you want for your VM when you create it -- you can't change it later.
- Enhanced session mode: This provides for the redirection of local resources in a VM connection session, thus giving admins more functionality when connecting to a VM through Remote Desktop Connection (such as to displays, audio, printers, the Clipboard, drives, USB devices, and supported Plug and Play devices) through the VM connection.
- Automatic virtual machine activation: This capability allows you to install VMs on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Data Center server without having to worry about managing product keys. The VMs are activated and will work even if migrated to other virtualization servers. This is great for service providers because they don't have to give tenants a product key or access their VMs to put one in and activate it. It's all transparent to the tenant, though the data center admins can manage and track VM license usage.


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You know that greeting center at your local park, with the lame green placards and the sad row of vending machines? Well the Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the 100 Acres Art & Nature Park is the beastmode version.
Deadly Mississippi Tornado Kills More Than 2 Dozen | Extreme Earth
The pavilion, described as a meditation on the convergence of building, land, and art, is actually designed to exist within the elements, not keep them out. Its water comes from an on-site well, and its heating and cooling are provided by a geothermal system. Floods pass under and around its foundation, and its roof lets rain and sun into the structure. Which will seem like a great idea until Mrs. Reynolds' third grade field trip gets caught in a storm while waiting for their bus. [Arch Daily]


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The new 10.9.3 update to Mavericks offers improved support for 4K displays. Before the update, Retina MacBook Pros and the new Mac Pro were able to drive 4K displays, but using any resolutions below the monitor's native resolution would result in soft, slightly blurry-looking screen elements and jaggy text. The new resolution options and system optimizations in 10.9.3 make scaled resolutions look much, much better.
The old way
Previously, when you connected a late 2013 Mac Pro to a 4K display (like the Sharp PN-K321 that we have in the lab) via Mini DisplayPort, you'd see two options in the Display system preferences: Best for Display, and Scaled.
Best for display is the 4K display's native resolution, 3840 by 2160 pixels. Everything looks sharp, but text, icons, and other screen elements appear very small.
Clicking the Scaled button brings up a drop-down menu with the following options in 10.9.2:
- 3860 x 2160
- 2560 x 1440
- 1920 x 1080
- 1680 x 1050
That first selection is the same native resolution as Best for Display. Icons are very small, but text and all elements look sharp.
The next selection is 2560 x 1440, the same as the 27-inch Thunderbolt Display. Icons and screen elements are larger, but soft.
The third choice is 1920 x 1080 (half of native resolution). Icons and screen elements are larger still, but not as sharp as native or 2560 x 1440. Text appears jaggy.
The last choice is 1680 x 1050 pixels. This mode doesn't fill screen, icons are still large, but elements are soft and the text jaggy.
With a 4K display connected via HDMI, you had the above resolution settings and three (suboptimal) choices for refresh rates: 30Hz, 25Hz and 24Hz. The refresh rate over DisplayPort is 60Hz and you can really see the difference just watching the cursor move across the screen at slower refresh rates.
The new way
The Display system preferences choices in 10.9.3 have changed. The initial choice remain the same, Best for Display or Scaled, but clicking the scaled button now reveals five icons representing the different resolutions ranging from Larger Text to More Space.
The More Space selection is the same native resolution used in Best for Display. Everything looks sharp, but screen elements are tiny.
The next option is 3008 by 1692, which is new to Mavericks. This mode has a slightly stretched appearance. All of the screen elements are a bit larger, but now menus and icons look very sharp and text is much cleaner.
The next choice is 2560 by 1440. Again screen elements are larger, but now menus, icons and text are all cleaner and easier to read.
The next scaled resolution is 1920 by 1080—half of the native resolution. In this mode icons are larger still, but still just as sharp and clean as native resolution.
The final choice is also a new resolution for Mavericks, 1504 by 846. Screen elements are similar in size to the 1920 by 1080 mode, but appears to be slightly stretched. Menus, icons and text still look very good.
The HDMI refresh rate options in 10.9.2 are gone in 10.9.3 when connected to a Mac Pro. The refresh rate is automatically set to 30Hz (the previous default), but 24Hz and 25Hz are no longer options. Again, you can notice the effect of this lower refresh rate when moving the cursor and windows around onscreen.
Retina MacBook Pros continue to support 4K displays, but only over HDMI and at the lower refresh rates.


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Did you spend all of Christmas break bitching about how there's never anything to do in Rhode Island? Well, that's probably because your nerdy tour guide during freshman orientation raved about the Athenaeum like it was Club Hell and you spent most of your free time playing video games in your dorm instead of video poker at Twin River. Why don't you do yourself a favor and make a belated New Year's resolution to actually enjoy the quirky city you'll call home for the next four, five, six years? To help, we've put together an A-Z survival guide complete with everything you need to know (and plenty you don't) about Lil Rhody.
Where your parents should take you to dinner when they visit. Be sure to wear a suit, preferably shiny or pinstriped. Sweatsuits are also acceptable, but they must be velour, not the kind you wear to track and field meets. And for God's sake, make sure your cheapass father knows that even though the sign says "Free Valet Parking," he still has to tip.
See also:AS220 | A hipster's wet dream. Leading reason Providence has one of the best art scenes in the country. Also a great place to see guys with bangs play loud music.
AMTRAK | Around junior year, you'll realize Providence is a fantastic place and never want to leave. Until then, you'll probably think your only true friends are stuck at community colleges back home. So here's some advice: When buying train tickets, always say your destination is two stops before your actual destination (i.e., if you're going to New Haven, buy tickets to New London). Then play the stupid college kid act and the conductor will usually let you slide. And you'll have extra beer money.
The happiest students in the world who will protest anything as long as there's a pretty sign and an ounce of pot involved.
See also:BLACKSTONE BOULEVARD | The street is made of marble and the fire hydrants spray champagne. You'll always know when a person lives here because they'll tell you. Twice.
BENEFIT STREET | The most historic mile in history is located on the historic East Side. There's a 76 percent chance you'll throw up here by the time you graduate.
BURNSIDE PARK | Separates Brown and RISD students from the ice skating rink. Even the pigeons shoot heroin here!
Definitely an upgrade over the Ellio's your roommate has in the freezer.
The sole reason the "Freshman 15" becomes the "Freshman 50" in Rhode Island.
See also:DOWNCITY | What locals call downtown Providence. No, those underdressed girls you see probably aren't hookers (we outlawed that shit two years ago). They're probably heading to one of the many clubs in the area to drink, dance, and scream in horror when someone inevitably gets stabbed.
DANCING COP | Cornered the make-an-ass-out-of-yourself-in-public market by arresting all the mimes.
Think Beacon Hill meets Dupont Circle. Living here allows you to tell law and med schools that you know all about the inner city without the hassle of ever actually having to see the inner city.
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Because Matt Lauer hosts Today nearly every morning of every year, it's sometimes hard to remember that he usually looks pretty sharp in his Ermenegildo Zegna suits, or other Italian brands he tends to prefer, while keeping us updated on the world's news when our eyes are still a bit bleary.
Now that it's Olympics Time, the hosts of NBC's morning juggernaut are all in London, and we've been enjoying Lauer's specific take on dressing well in Europe. If you've been watching outdoor sports like beach volleyball or crew, you'll know the weather has actually been pretty grey. Today tries to film outside. And, yet, Lauer has stuck to an excellent palette of neutral, stone-colored suits in summer weights — nice, cotton ones that make him look tan. It's been a bit cold over there, too, which means he's (fortunately) not sweating through his tailoring. And we approve of the decision not to wear a tie, as that would be too formal for such athletic proceedings. Plus, he's probably too tired at this point to knot one well, anyway.
An example of what we mean (with some especially nice lapels) is above. And, too, on your television every morning from here until what seems like eternity.


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Statement by H.E. Ambassador Edi Yusup on Behalf of the Group of 77 and China in the 62nd Session Working Party on The Strategic Framework And The Programme Budget , Geneva, 3-5 September 2012
Statement by
H.E. Ambassador Edi Yusup
Chargè d'Affaires Ad Interim/Deputy Permanent Representative of
the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations, World Trade Organization
and Other International Organizations in Geneva
on Behalf of the Group of 77 and China
in the 62nd Session Working Party
on The Strategic Framework And The Programme Budget
Geneva, 3-5 September 2012
Madame Chairperson, Mrs. Jolaade Adekola Orimoloye,
Officer-In-Charge of UNCTAD, Mr. Heiner Flassbeck,
Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD, His Excellency Mr. Petko Draganov,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me at the outset to congratulate you on your election. Rest assured of the steadfast and full support of the Group of 77 and China for the completion – and I emphasize – completion – of the work before us. It is unfortunate that the intergovernmental machinery since Doha has not yet been able to define the parameters of critical future work.
The G77 and China is committed to achieving the level of comfort needed by everyone with regard to the matters being discussed, and arriving swiftly to a judicious and positive conclusion.
Madame Chairperson, this 62nd session of the Working Party is an opportunity for us to examine a critical pillar of UNCTAD's work and to take necessary steps with a view to enhance the effectiveness of the technical cooperation provided by UNCTAD. This is an area of considerable importance for the Group, as it is through this pillar where we most directly see the application of the results of the analytical and consensus-building pillars of UNCTAD.
We therefore appreciate the efforts of the Secretariat for preparing the useful materials which inform our deliberations at this session.
As the principal beneficiaries of the technical assistance activities of UNCTAD, we once again underscore the importance of UNCTAD's technical cooperation, and its high quality. This 62d session of the Working Party will be an opportunity for a proactive debate among all stakeholders and allow donors and beneficiaries to review activities with a view of enhancing the delivery of technical cooperation, a critical pilar of UNCTAD's work.
We would like to thank our development partners for sustaining their support to the technical cooperation programmes of UNCTAD. It is important, also, to note the significant increase in 2011 of contributions to trust funds, due largely to an increase in contributions from developing countries. Developing countries' contributions now account for about 34 per cent of total contributions to trust funds. Indeed we understand that contributions from developing countries to UNCTAD trust funds are now greater than contributions from developed countries. In this regard, the Group would like to reiterate the importance attached to sustainability of the support lent by development partners.
A major part of developing countries' contributions are for self-sustained activities in their own countries. This is a strong indication of the importance developing countries attach to UNCTAD's programs. However, many developing countries are not in a position to finance technical cooperation and need to rely on the support of their development partners. We repeat, the sustained support from our developed partners is crucial for the continuation of important projects to which developing countries attach great value.
Madame Chair,
Regardless of the origin of resources for development, but particularly given that the resource burden has shifted towards developing countries, UNCTAD's work must focus on areas of core concern to developing countries, rather than on to issues that, while important, are not always central to our needs and priorities.
This includes strengthening the capacity of developing countries to overcome the adverse effects of the global economic and financial crisis through, among others, examining how the global trading system can be strengthened by enhancing the complementarity of the various pillars of global economic governance. We also look to UNCTAD strengthening the ability of developing countries to complement traditional North-South economic relations with enhancing South-South cooperation.
The Group of 77 and China notes with interest the efforts of UNCTAD, in its capacity as coordinator of the UN inter-agency Cluster on trade and productive capacity to ensure effective interface between the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the country level operations related to trade and productive capacity in support of LDCs.
The EIF is a key mechanism for the provision of trade-related assistance to LDCs. UNCTAD must strengthen its contribution to the EIF in accordance with national needs and demands with a view to ensure that trade-related issues are fully integrated into the national policies, strategies, plans and development programmes. In view of this, development partners are invited to lend all necessary support to UNCTAD to enable adequate response to the increasing demands of LDCs.
The Group appreciates the efforts made by the secretariat to simplify the financial structure of UNCTAD technical cooperation. It supports action taken towards the establishment of thematic clusters centred around agreed priorities, but ensuring that no specific technical assistance corresponding to the needs of beneficiaries are lost.
The Group of 77 and China commends the secretariat for its pro-activeness in inter-agency processes related to enhancing system wide coherence in the UN, including through the UN inter-agency cluster on trade and productive capacity, which is a unique experience of cooperation between agencies on programing issues at the country level. The results obtained by UNCTAD with limited resources and no field presence, are commendable.
The Group of 77 and China notes with particular interest the information regarding new funding mechanisms, and that UNCTAD in 2011 successfully accessed funds from the One UN Pilots Funds and from other Delivering as One Initiatives such as the Multi-donors trust funds funding joint programmes at the country level. We hope that such commendable and innovative approaches will continue.
Madame Chair,
I wish to turn now to the other area of consideration at this session – evaluation. Evaluations allow us to reflect on how well a programme is working, and in the process, identify good practices that can be emulated, and weaknesses that should be addressed so that better results for all concerned can be attained.
We welcome the fuller reporting on UNCTAD's evaluation activities, which gives us a better picture of how UNCTAD's technical cooperation activities in particular are working. We have noted that in general, beneficiaries of evaluated projects reported positively on the project's activities, and outcomes were considered encouraging and catalytic. In such cases, when the evaluator recommended that a project be strengthened with additional resources, we strongly support such recommendations, and urge our development partners to do the same. In this way, we are truly managing on the basis of results.
On item 4b, we have been presented with a very useful report on the in-depth evaluation of UNCTAD's programme on science and technology for development, for which we express our sincere appreciation to the evaluation team, which conducted its work purposefully, objectively, and constructively. We should all strive to do the same in our consideration of their report.
It has been a year since we last met to consider this report. With the benefit of having an additional 12 months to reflect on work and developments in this area, let us now make the most of this opportunity, and ensure that the efforts of the evaluation team have not been in vain. We will have specific comments on the report and its recommendations during consideration of item 4b.
On item 4c, we wish to reiterate the importance of UNCTAD's technical cooperation activities to support the development of the Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries, and other Structurally Weak, Vulnerable and Small Economies. Particularly in light of the outcomes of the Doha Conference, UNCTAD must ensure that it strengthens its special focus on the needs of the LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and other SWVSEs across all areas of its mandate.
Thank you Madame Chair.


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Judging Criteria 48 Hour Film Project
In each of our cities, a panel of judges decides the local awards. Past judges have included film critics, producers, actors, and other industry professionals - including Dave Costabile, Shekhar Kapur and Nathalie Boltt.
Considerations For Best Film
- Artistic Merit (story, creativity, entertainment, etc.) - 45%
- Technical Merit - 30%
- Adherence to the Assignment - 25%
Audience Award
All films, on-time and late, are eligible for the Audience Award, which is determined by audience ballot at the premiere screenings in each city.
Grand Prize Winner 48 Hour Film Project
An international panel of judges will select the Best Film of 2023 from among the best film of each city. The winner will be announced at our Awards Ceremony at Filmapalooza 2024 and they will receive:
- The Grand Prize Trophy
- $5000 USD Cash Prize
- A Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner
Cannes Film Festival
Each year we take a selection of our Top Films to the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner where we have a special screening. Filmmakers are able to enter the Marche du Film, network with film professionals from around the world, and, quite often, score a red-carpet ticket to a world premiere.
Local Prizes 48 Hour Film Project
The winner of Best Film of 2023 in each city receives:
- Filmapalooza Screening: The City Winner will be screened at Filmapalooza 2024, the official 48HFP Awards Weekend.
- A Trophy which will be presented at Filmapalooza.
- There may be additional prizes in some cities.
Other Awards
Other awards may include:
- Best Acting
- Best Cinematography
- Best Directing
- Best Editing
- Best Musical Score
- Best Sound Design
- Best Special Effects
- Best Use of Character
- Best Use of Prop
- Best Use of Line
- Best Writing