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Since they began in April, weekly "Moral Monday" protests at the North Carolina General Assembly have swelled into a movement gaining national attention. Led by the state's charismatic NAACP president, the Reverend Doctor William Barber, progressives from across the state have come to denounce a flood of regressive legislation emanating from the Republican legislature—and in some cases, to perform acts of civil disobedience. Last Monday, in the largest Moral Monday yet, 1,400 protested and more than 80 were arrested inside the Legislative Building. In all, more than 400 have been arrested so far. Barber himself has been arrested twice at the General Assembly.
Moral Monday began as a way to call attention—both in the state and nationally— to what Barber calls a "mean-spirited quadruple attack" on the most vulnerable. This year, Republicans lawmakers have slashed unemployment benefits, raised taxes for poor and working families, rejected federal funds for Medicaid expansion, and put public schools on the chopping block along with progressive voting laws.
Long one of the South's more moderate states, North Carolina's rapidly diversifying population helped deliver it to Barack Obama in 2008. But two years later, fueled by the rise of the Tea Party and a spending spree by mega-conservative donor Art Pope (an ally of the Koch brothers), Republicans won majorities in the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction. Then, aided by new district maps that blunted the impact of minority votes, they won supermajorities and the governor's office in 2012 and moved quickly to enact a right-wing agenda.
Barber, an evangelical preacher who comes out of the social gospel tradition, spoke to the Prospect from the office of fellow activist and religious scholar the Reverend Doctor Nancy Petty, the openly gay pastor of Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. He describes how Moral Mondays emerged, what the protesters want, and how they intend to transform politics in one of the most hotly contested states in the nation.
How did the Moral Monday protests come about?
First of all, it's not a spontaneous action. Nancy and I and others have been working for seven years now building what we call the Historic Thousands on Jones Street People's Coalition, formed in 2006 with 16 organizations. We recognized that many of the same political forces that are against, say, gender rights, are often also against education equality, environmental justice, and policies that help the poor. And so we said that we needed in North Carolina—and we said this is when Democrats were in office—to have a new form of fusion politics if we were going to really address the South.
What do you want for North Carolina? What has your coalition been able to accomplish?
We've been pushing this moral agenda, this positive agenda rooted in constitutional values, even before the Republicans took over. We've talked about the need to have an anti-racism, anti-poverty, anti-war agenda. An anti-discrimination and pro-human rights agenda. And we were successful. That's why North Carolina got same-day registration and early voting and Sunday voting and opened up the most progressive [voting] laws in the South that actually produced Obama.
Now, we didn't tell people to vote for Obama—we produced a policy climate, a voting rights climate. That's how we got the Racial Justice Act of 2009 [which prohibits racial bias in seeking or imposing the death penalty] passed. It wasn't just Democrats—we had a broad coalition to push it. That's how we were able to push more money for public education. That's how we were able to fight when the same-sex marriage argument started.
How did Obama's victory in 2008 affect the state's political climate?
Immediately after that election, we saw an onslaught from ultra-conservatives. It started with LaRoque v. Holder, down in Kinston, where a case was filed against Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964. We beat them back. Then they attempted to do voter ID. We had enough power in our coalition made up people of faith, Latinos, blacks, whites, and labor—a full tapestry of citizens—and gave Governor Perdue the backbone and strength to veto. [Bev Perdue, a Democrat, was the only Southern governor to veto voter ID. She left office this year.] But what she couldn't veto was the redistricting plan.
In 2011, they got this guy named Tom Hofeller [national Republicans' redistricting guru] and brought him down here. He went in a back room with his computer and the only information he had was race—he didn't have economics, he didn't have wages, he didn't have gender—and he drew up a map. With Art Pope's assistance and money—and with this legislature taking about $165,000 of our tax dollars—this ultra-conservative demographer drew the most racist redistricting lines we've seen since the 19th century, effectively gerrymandering and rigging the election.
So we had 2012. In North Carolina, more Democrats [won votes for] United States congressional seats than Republicans. But more Republicans ended up winning because of gerrymandering. And then, because they gerrymandered the state house and state senate, they were able to pick up a supermajority.
When the dust cleared, they had the governorship (we had a weak candidate) and President Obama lost by a slim margin, even though this was the highest percentage of blacks voting in the history of North Carolina (70) and the second-highest number of North Carolinians using early voting (60) and even though 68 percent of North Carolinians in general turned out.
Since the GOP's takeover in 2012, what have lawmakers been doing to provoke such an outcry from citizens?
After the election, our coalition wrote a letter to the new governor, [Republican] Pat McCrory. We said, look, you have a chance to lead. We reminded him of the positive things Republicans had done in the past on rural economic development, pubic education and voting rights. That Lincoln Republicans—since you all claim to be the party of Lincoln—were for voting rights and for labor rights and educational equality. We said, you've got a tradition that's not extreme, that's not Tea Party, that's not radical and constitutionally abusive. We met with him in his office. He said he was going to focus on jobs. He was going to make even members of his own party mad. That's what he told us, face-to-face.
Well, instead, the first week in office, something happens that we deem immoral and extreme. In less than 20 minutes and without any allowing public presentations, even from doctors, the legislature voted to deny 500,000 poor people, disabled, black, and blind people Medicaid expansion.
The next week, they attacked the unemployed. In a state that has 1.6 million poor people (600,000 of these are children), the fifth highest rate of unemployment, and the 13th highest rate of poverty, they are taking away unemployment for 165,000 people.
Then they decided to take away Earned Income Tax Credit, which Ronald Reagan believed in as one of the best tools to eradicate poverty. This meant they raised taxes on 900,000 poor families who make less than $20,000 a year, so they could give 23 of the wealthiest families an estate tax credit. And the governor signed all this stuff. Then they announced other things they were going to do, like cut money to public education, get a voucher program and take public tax dollars and give them to private schools, cut teacher's assistance, and take away public financing for [judicial elections] and fix it so judges can take private donations.
And then, on Thursday before Good Friday, they rolled out their bill on voting rights, which included a voter ID package that we don't need because North Carolina has the best law already [to ensure electoral integrity]—signature attestation and a five-year felony if you lie. On the day we remember Jesus' Last Supper before the Crucifixion, they rolled out a bill to crucify voting rights. They announced they were going to roll back early voting and Sunday voting, even though people died and were beaten to secure these rights during the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965. One of the legislators said, "The blacks have six other days. They don't need a Sunday."
How would you describe the philosophy behind Moral Mondays?
When we looked at the preponderance of this legislation that was passed and was being planned, we said, let's look at the deep values of our constitution. We read where it says that in North Carolina, all political power should only be used for the good of the whole. We saw that our constitution of 1868, passed by blacks and whites, guaranteed equal protection and it guaranteed public education, both as a constitutional value and a moral value. Then we looked at the federal constitution and saw that the deep values in that are the common good—promoting the general welfare. The first word, before you even get to freedom and liberty, is the establishment of justice.
Then we went to the Bible. We saw that every major faith says that love and justice should be at the center of public policy. Isaiah 10 says, "Woe unto those who make unjust laws that rob the right of the poor." And we said, wait a minute, when you look at these policies, it's not only bad policy, but it's immoral and extreme. And we said that we had to stand up as a coalition—not liberal vs. conservative (that's too small, too limited, too tired), or Republican vs. Democrat. We had to have a moral challenge because these policies they were passing, in rapid-fire, were constitutionally inconsistent, morally indefensible, and economically insane.
Who is coming out to the protests?
Seventeen of us went [and were arrested] the first day—seven preachers, a woman in a wheelchair, and some others. The next week it was 30 [arrested], the next week 49 [arrested]. People started coming by the hundreds and now thousands. We've had over 500,000 hits on our social media in the last three to four weeks. We did a 26-stop tour and every place we went was a mixed audience: black, white, Latino, young, old, gay, straight, labor, faith, people coming out everywhere, which is really the other side of the story. In the South, for the NAACP to be leading a moral movement and you see crowds that are 40 percent white and 30 percent young? That's what's really concerning them, and why they're calling us names.
When they see this diverse crowd coming together based on moral and constitutional values, it really pushes them into a kind of political hysteria. They threw a line out there about protesters being "outsiders" to get the media to write about that rather than the issues.
What do the protesters hope to accomplish with acts of civil disobedience, given the Republican supermajority in the legislature?
The protests are only one part of our four-part strategy. We have a voter registration and voter education strategy, a social media strategy, and we have a legal strategy, because many of these things, not just the voting rules, are going to be challenged in the courts using our state and federal constitutions.
The first goal of civil disobedience strategy is to wake folk up, to shine the brightest moral and constitutional light on what is happening. Right now in North Carolina, everybody knows, whether they like it or not, what's going on. People know it across the nation. So we accomplished that. Secondly, we always, in the civil rights community and the non-violent tradition, hold out the hope of repentance. That's part of what it means to be a person of faith: You believe that people can be moved in deep places and change. So you put a cross before them, you put yourself, your body. You're willing to sacrifice in hopes that somebody will say, "Wait a minute," and change their ways.
I can tell you that a Republican just voted against the draconian budget they passed. Last week, a Republican said that the vouchers are just wrong. We've had Republicans come to our meetings and say, "I'm a Republican, but this is just wrong and I'm not like this."
The final thing that civil disobedience does is it gives people a place to rally themselves, their energies and their spirits, from deep within. People need these events, these Moral Mondays. They're going back to work like never before. It's almost evangelistic and revivalist. Transformative.
Do you view the recent wave of aggressive energy coming from Southern conservatives as a sort of "Dixie's Last stand," or as evidence of a new shift rightward?
To have a moral and constitutional values approach, you have to have a deeply historical perspective. Remember 1868? That was the beginning of Reconstruction. In just four years, by 1872, we saw major changes in terms of voting rights, education, and so on. Then you had the rise of the Redeemers, who saw the world around them changing so rapidly, and whose goal was to "redeem" America from fusion politics of blacks and whites moving together away from this segregated, slavery past. The Klan was formed in that same time frame. In 1898, in North Carolina, they had the Wilmington Riots [in which white Democratic insurrectionists overthrew the local government and destroyed black businesses and properties], and they turned back progress and reinstituted white supremacy.
But the problem with the flow of justice is that it doesn't stop. In 1954 you have Brown v. Board of Education. You have Emmett Till killed in 1955. Then you have the beginning of the Second Reconstruction. You have preachers like King and others beginning to come up, saying, wait a minute, we've gotta go forward. In that Second Reconstruction you get all this change: Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. America moves forward a little bit further. Then what happens? By the end of '68, King is dead, Kennedy is dead, Malcolm is dead, Medgar is dead, Viola Liuzzo is dead. There's a depression on the soul of those trying to move the nation forward. Nixon runs for office and [political strategist] Kevin Phillips comes up with the Southern strategy. They begin to use code words for race, to denounce entitlements like Medicaid. They said, we've got to stop black and brown and white people from working together and get this Second Reconstruction shut down.
Then you get the election of President Obama. But it's not just the president. You get a break from the so-called "solid South." In Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina, electorates come out that don't look anything like the South has ever seen. And that's a signal that we are in the beginning of the Third Reconstruction.
So the pushback of the ultraconservatives is not because they are winning, but because of the changing demographics of the nation and the South and people working together. They know that a new and broad community and electorate are coming forth, a new form of fusion politics that they can't stop. They're trying to delay it. But they can't stop it. This is almost like a last ditch-effort to hold on to their nightmarish, homogeneous vision of the past, because they are afraid of this heterogeneous future that's being ushered in. They know that their time is limited. They know that a narrow-minded agenda is not going to work much longer, even down here in the South, which they've always thought they count on.
What's next for the Moral Monday movement?
Moral Mondays will continue. We just delivered a letter to the governor and the speaker saying, you've got the power to stop this. Just reconsider your attacks on Medicaid, voting rights, the unemployed, and the poor. If they don't, then we will probably escalate in some ways—I'm not going to say how—because what they're not going to do is live in peace while they hurt so many people and destroy so many lives. We're going to make sure that the contrast is so clear between meanness and immorality and extreme politics and the politics of love and justice and compassion, that when 2014 comes, the people will be able to make a decision.
Love and justice have never lost. Been crucified and beat up, but we're on the right side of history. When you push people down, they're going to spread out and come up. It would seem that these folk would learn that, but when you're blinded by extremism and power and greed, you can't see the callousness of your actions.
The worst kind of abuse is the abuse of power. But if the Biblical story is about anything, it's that Goliath only has a day. The Pharaoh only has a limited time. The non-violent and the people of deep faith always transform history. And we'll do it again, right here in North Carolina.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.


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San Diego, port and city, seat (1850) of San Diego county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Pacific Ocean at San Diego Bay, just north of the international border with Mexico and some 120 miles (195 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The city consists of two portions of unequal size: the much larger part extends north and east of San Diego Bay, and the smaller one stretches southeastward from the bay to the Mexican border. The city site is characterized by varied topography of broad mesas, canyons, and wide valleys. The landscape becomes hillier to the north (notably in the La Jolla section) and eastward toward a line of mountains along the edge of the main built-up area. The region has a mild, sunny climate year-round; the little precipitation it receives comes mainly during the winter.
Nearly landlocked San Diego Bay, one of the world's finest natural deepwater harbours, encompasses 22 square miles (57 square km). It is sheltered by two overlapping peninsulas—Point Loma to the north and west and Silver Strand to the south and west—and is connected to the Pacific in the northwest by a narrow channel between them. The bay is the focus of international shipping and one of the country's most extensive complexes of military bases.
San Diego, the state's second largest city, is at the heart of a metropolitan area that comprises all of San Diego county. Surrounding communities include Escondido (north), La Mesa and El Cajon (east), National City and Chula Vista (between the northern and southern portions of the city), Imperial Beach (southwest), and Coronado (west; at the northern end of Silver Strand). More than a dozen Indian reservations are scattered throughout the county, and Tijuana, Mexico, lies just south of the border. Inc. 1850. Area, 372 square miles (963 square km). Pop. (2000) 1,223,400; San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos Metro Area, 2,813,833; (2010) 1,307,402; San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos Metro Area, 3,095,313.
Diegueño, Luiseño, Cahuilla, and Cupeño peoples were among the inhabitants of the region when Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Sighted in 1542 and named San Miguel by Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the area was renamed for the Spanish monk San Diego de Alcalá de Henares in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno. Gaspar de Portolá founded a presidio (military post) there on July 16, 1769, and, on the same day, Father Junípero Serra dedicated the first of the California missions (restored 1931). Settlement was confined inside the presidio walls until the 1820s, when residents began to build the area known as Old Town. Control of the mission was assumed by Mexico in 1834, and the site was redesignated a pueblo (town). After the United States acquired California in 1846, the community was incorporated (1850), but it lost its charter two years later. The new city of San Diego was laid out 3 miles (5 km) south of Old Town by businessman Alonzo E. Horton in 1867, and its growth was ensured by the promotion of its salubrious climate and the arrival of the Santa Fe Railway in 1885.
Growth was rapid after 1900, the population jumping from fewer than 20,000 that year to more than 200,000 by 1940. The city's traditional economic base of agriculture (citrus) and fishing was expanded to include manufacturing (notably aircraft) and, after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, shipping. The Panama-California Exposition (1915–16) celebrated the enormous economic boon the new waterway gave the city.
Also of great importance was the increasing military presence, especially of the U.S. Navy. Major installations established there included Naval Base Point Loma (1898; originally a U.S. Army fort), the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (1911), Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (originally the Army's Camp Kearney) and Naval Air Station North Island (both 1917), Naval Base San Diego (1919), and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (1943); in addition, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (1942) was set up a short distance northwest, near Oceanside.
World War II ushered in even more rapid growth, which only increased after the war. San Diego's land area and population each nearly quadrupled between 1950 and 2000. Industry expanded to include electronics, aerospace technology, and shipbuilding. In addition, the area's equable climate, which had been a significant factor in attracting manufacturing and the military, drew growing numbers of retirees and tourists.
The contemporary city
San Diego has a culturally diverse population. People of European ancestry, once the great majority of the population, still constitute more than half of the total. A growing one-fourth are now Hispanic, and more than one-eighth are of Asian descent. Despite the large number of retirees, the population is relatively young, about half of the residents being under age 35. The city has one of the country's highest percentages of college graduates. There is also a significant presence of Mexican labourers who commute to jobs (typically as farmworkers or domestics) in the San Diego region from their homes south of the border.
The city's economy, long dominated by the military, is now more diversified. Defense industries such as aerospace are still important, but tourism and nondefense manufacturing also play major roles. High-technology industries, particularly biotechnology and telecommunications, grew rapidly at the end of the 20th century. Software, financial and business services, environmental technology, shipbuilding and repair, and the manufacture of electronics, computer equipment, medical products, pharmaceuticals, and sporting goods are all important economic factors. The city remains the main commercial outlet for the farm produce of southern California. San Diego also is one of the leading agricultural counties in the United States in the value of production. Citrus, avocados, cut flowers, nursery plants, eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, and livestock are the major products.
San Diego's location on the Pacific Ocean near the border with Mexico is advantageous for international trade, particularly with Latin America and the Pacific Rim. The Port of San Diego serves as a berth for cruise ships, and a variety of cargo passes through its docks, including lumber, automobiles, cement, sand, soda ash, newsprint, fertilizer, and food products. The city has an international airport, and its mass transit system includes trolley service to the Mexican border.
The University of California, San Diego (1912), in La Jolla, includes the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1903), and San Diego State University (1897) is part of the California State University system. Other institutions of higher education include the University of San Diego (1949) and several community colleges. Other cultural amenities include a symphony orchestra and opera, ballet, and theatre companies. The city is also home to the Padres professional baseball team.
The 1,200-acre (485-hectare) Balboa Park, near downtown, contains the world-renowned San Diego Zoo; a variety of arts and cultural organizations, such as the Globe Theatres and the Japanese Friendship Garden; and more than a dozen museums, including those devoted to natural history, fine art, photography, aerospace, folk art, anthropology, and local history. Mission Bay Park, just north of Point Loma, encompasses 4,600 acres (1,860 hectares) of land and water, with beaches, marinas, water-recreation activities, and wildlife preserves. Mission Bay is also the site of SeaWorld, an aquatic theme park famous for its shows featuring killer whales. San Diego Wild Animal Park, near Escondido, showcases groups of exotic animals roaming throughout 1,800 acres (730 hectares) of habitat similar to their native Africa and Asia. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, on the 19th-century settlement site, displays artifacts and restored buildings, and the nearby Serra Museum stands on the location of the original presidio. Cabrillo National Monument, established in 1913, preserves Old Point Loma Lighthouse (built in 1855).
Opportunities for outdoor recreational activities abound in the region's warm, sunny climate and varied landscape. Beaches and resorts line the coast and include Torrey Pines State Reserve (north) and Border Field State Park and Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (south). Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach, two districts in the city near Mission Bay, preserve a charming laid-back, beach-community atmosphere. Inland, Cleveland National Forest (headquartered in San Diego) extends north-south through the county. Farther east are Cuyamaca Rancho and the vast Anza-Borrego Desert state parks. Mexican border attractions are easily reached from the city.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
CaliforniaSan Francisco, and San Diego metropolitan areas. Despite its urbanization and the loss of land to industry, California still leads the country in agricultural production. About one-half of the state's land is federally owned. National parks located throughout the state are devoted to the preservation of nature and…
California: California since c. 1900The population of San Diego's metropolitan area rose past two million and included the highest proportion of college graduates of any of the 10 most populous North American cities. There was also rapid growth in new suburban areas near San Jose, Sacramento, and Riverside. For a century San…
SeaWorldThe first SeaWorld opened in San Diego in 1964. Its aquariums hold nearly 435 species of fish, including nearly a dozen species of sharks, and its facilities house various exotic birds. The park in Orlando features a large coral reef aquarium. Covering 250 acres (101 hectares), SeaWorld San Antonio is…
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, city, seat of Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. It is the second most populous city and metropolitan area (after New York City) in the United States. The city sprawls across a broad coastal plain situated between mountains and the Pacific Ocean; the much larger Los Angeles…
Escondido, city, San Diego county, southern California, U.S. It is situated about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of San Diego and 18 miles (29 km) inland. The area was the site of Spanish exploration, and in 1843 it became part of the Rancho Rincón del Diablo land grant made to…
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subset: commoncrawl


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Body of Russian Politician Discovered in Barrel of Cement
(MOSCOW) -- The badly-beaten body of a Russian politician was found in a barrel full of cement, in what investigators said they believe was a murder ordered over an $80 million debt.
Mikhail Pakhomov was a city council member in Lipetsk, a city about five hours south of Moscow. He had been missing since February 12, when authorities believe he was kidnapped.
"The nature of the injuries permits the conclusion that he was murdered," Russia's investigative committee told the Interfax news agency on Monday.
The barrel was reportedly discovered in a garage on Sunday night. Police did not say who owned the property.
According to RIA Novosti, authorities have detained eight people suspected of being involved.
The alleged mastermind is reportedly Yevgeny Kharitonov, a former Moscow regional official, to whom Pakhomov is believed to have owed money. The Moscow Times reports Kharitonov was arrested as he boarded a domestic flight at a Moscow airport.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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Acute neck pain in a 76 year old male
@1.110, @9.46 CT scans (axial and sagittal view) demonstrate speudo tumoral calcific deposits focused in an enlarged zygapophyseal joint without any soft tissus mass.
Cervical facet joint chondrocalcinosis
Chondrocalcinosis is a descriptive term, referring to deposition of the pyrophosphate crystal (CPPD). The idiopathic form is the most common form of the process; the prevalence of this condition increases with age . CPPD crystal deposition can be seen in several spinal structures, including intervertebral discs, joint capsules, synovium, articular cartilage, bursae, and ligaments.
Most patients with calcification of the articular cartilage and intervertebral discs are asymptomatic, althoughthese features can also be responsible for acute cervical speudogout pain. Fibrocartilaginous deposits are thick and irregular and have a shaggy, poorly defined border. CPPD deposition in joint results in erosive and destructive changes.
Differential diagnoses below can be considered:
Pyrophosphate crystals deposition are most likely to be seen in the tendons.
Rheumatoid arthritis can lead to facet joint destruction some time associated with
CPPD deposits.
Scleroderma although soft-tissue calcifications are well known to occur
as a late manifestation, symptomatic paraspinal calcinosis is very rare.
Pseudogout attack of the lumbar facet joint: a case report.
Fujishiro T, Nabeshima Y, Yasui S, Fujita I, Yoshiya S, Fujii H.
Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2002 Sep 1;27(17):E396-8.
Cervical spine and crystal-associated diseases: imaging findings.Feydy A, Lioté F, Carlier R, Chevrot A, Drapé JL. Eur Radiol. 2006 Feb;16(2):459-68.
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Rheumatologists may one day be able to test in advance which patients with rheumatoid arthritis will benefit from expensive biological response modifier TNF-antagonist drugs - or biologics - and which will not. This is because a new study has indicated that RA patients with the most elevated type 1 interferon levels tend to be those who responded most favorably to TNF-antagonist drugs.
Mary K. Crow, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Joseph P. Routh Chair in Rheumatic Diseases in Medicine, led this initial study for HSS, in conjunction with University of Southern California. A 35-patient sample was divided into three groups: RA patients who received a TNF-antagonist drug, RA patients who got no drug, and healthy volunteers.
Using the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints, the patients were treated, then evaluated to determine whether they had a moderate, good, or no response to the drug. Comparing the 3 groups, higher levels of type 1 interferon prior to treatment were found in the blood of patients who benefited most. Lower levels were associated with lower response.
Patients who had an increased IFN-beta/alpha ratio - meaning they had more IFN-beta - were also more likely to respond to TNF-antagonist therapy. Another indication of good response was significantly higher baseline levels of IL-1 receptor antagonist in plasma samples when compared with nonresponsive or moderate responders. If wider studies prove consistent with these promising early findings, the results could represent a new tool for improved management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Knowing whether a TNF-antagonist biologic will help a patient's rheumatoid arthritis can save time, money, and patients investing emotionally in the possibility of relief. "Treatment with these drugs is very expensive; the drugs can cost $16,000 or so per year," says Dr. Crow. "If you are going to use them, you would like to know that they are likely to work in your patient."
Dr. Crow adds, "For those who demonstrate low levels of blood interferon activity, that information might be useful to guide patients to alternative treatments that might be more likely to work for them."
Posted: 11/1/2010


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TMC wrote:migya wrote:The fact here is that KG wants to go to a team that has enough talent left to contend for a championship and though our team has performed horribly, there is talented young players that are promising
Come on, we can't even get to the playoffs with our talent pool...
Because the coach is a disgrace and the organisation is as well! Not many players would want to play in the sort of environment that the Warriros players went through this season - Coach losing their respect, expectations not met, PG setting an example of not giving a rat's asre about the coach, awful starting SF having the nerve to say negative things about the team to the media!
A better coach, better atmosphere and motivation would have gotten this current group of players easily to the playoffs! Just playing Diogu more would have done it!


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Benjamin Hamlett / 1/14/2019 - 5/9/2019
In this course students will learn about lean manufacturing from concepts to practice and implementation. Some topics to cover include setup reduction, value stream mapping, 5S, and introduction to Six Sigma. Students will discover Lean Manufacturing through lectures, readings, and projects.
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About us
Urban Living is a real estate agency that offers properties for rent or sale in New York. Specialized in furnished rental, Urban Living addresses international customers looking for furnished apartments for business or personal, short or long term stays in New York.
Our multilingual consultants help you to find the apartment rental in New York that best suits your needs.


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Wylie's new 1,250-gal LT-1250 NTS nurse trailer features an elliptical polyethylene leg tank with a side-mounted fill well for easy access.
A variety of options is available for a variety of applications. Options include either a 15-gal. or new 30-gal. mix-n-fill system, a quick-fill valve and coupling. Other available features include walkway fenders with a handrail for safe access to the fill well, lights and a 2 5/ 16-in. ball hitch. Either Honda or Briggs & Stratton engines coupled to polyethylene or cast-iron pumps can power the trailer. Suggested list price starts at $4,440. Contact Wylie Mfg. Co., Dept. FIN, Box 100, Petersburg, TX 79250, 800/722-4001 or circle 193.


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Guilt-free fish fry
Spring is approaching and Lent is under way, a season when many people undertake modest symbolic sacrifices such as eating fish on Fridays. Crunchy, golden-brown, delicious, sizzling fried fish: What kind of a penance is that?
Whether it's a Lenten observance or simply because you like fish at any time of year, fish is healthy food, high in protein and relatively low in calories; even fatty fish like tuna and salmon are rich in the omega-3 fatty acids that - like red wine - seem to be beneficial to heart health.
Your golden-brown fried fish, unfortunately, sacrifices some of those healthful benefits on the altar of sheer self-indulgent deliciousness. But it's possible to get much of the flavor of fried fish - at a fraction of the nutritional cost in fat and calories - by dropping the breading and deep fat.
Try sautéeing your fish lightly dredged in seasoned flour ("meuniere" or "miller's style," as the French call it), in a small amount of oil on a nonstick skillet or griddle.
The result - perfectly cooked fish attractively sealed within a very thin layer of crunch - is arguably more refined than traditional fish'n'chips, versatile on the bill of fare whether served alone or used in a recipe, and ridiculously easy to cook.
It's worth the effort and additional expense to secure quality, fresh fish, but in today's marketplace it's no longer necessary to live on the seacoast to get it, assuming you're willing to pay for quality. We're some 700 miles from the nearest salt water, but our inland city boasts a half-dozen quality fish markets that get their product by air express; and the chances are yours does, too. I gladly pay extra for quality, and I recommend you do the same.
The sautéeing process is almost too simple to be called a recipe, but here's the step-by-step procedure. If you haven't had fresh fish at home for a while, this might be the time to give it a try.
INGREDIENTS: (Serves two)
10 to 16 ounces (300 to 480g) fresh, firm-fleshed fish in boneless fillets
4 tablespoons (60g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A few dashes of cayenne pepper
1 or 2 cloves garlic
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1. Rinse and dry the fish and double-check to make sure the fish merchant removed all the scales. It's okay to leave the skin on.
2. Put the flour on a large plate and season it with the salt, black pepper and cayenne.
3. Peel the garlic cloves and smash them gently with the side of a chef's knife to release some of their juices.
4. Put the garlic and the olive oil or butter in a nonstick skillet large enough to hold the fish, and put it over medium-high heat until the fat is very hot and the garlic starts to sizzle.
5. Shortly before cooking, put the fish on the seasoned flour and turn it once or twice to cover all sides with flour. Pick it up and tap it gently on the plate so the excess will fall off. All you need is a thin, dusty coating.
6. Put the flour-dusted fish in the sizzling oil and let it cook on one side for 2 or 3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure the fish doesn't stick. Gently turn the fish, taking care that it doesn't break up, and continue cooking on the other side for another three minutes or so. If the fillets are unusually thick - an inch or more at the thickest point - you may need to go as long as a total of 10 minutes, but don't overcook. If the fish is good and fresh, it's better to leave it just warm in the center (you like sushi, don't you?) than overcooked and dry.
7. This completes the simple process, and the fish is delicious served just as is. There's a wealth of variations, though: Add a dab of additional butter, a squirt of lemon and a bit of minced parsley at the end for a classic meuniere presentation. Or sauté it with slices of ginger in addition to the garlic and deglaze with soy sauce and just a dash of sugar at the end for a teriyaki-style dish served with rice. I've sautéed fish in bite-size cubes and plated them atop pasta in a wasabi cream, or over a spicy Cajun gumbo: The possibilities are endless.
MATCHING WINE: Crisp, dry whites with significant acidity are recommended with the basic fish dish, although some of the accompaniments I've suggested could change the equation. Do it with tuna and Japanese flavors, and a Pinot Noir becomes appealing. But Loire Valley whites - Sauvignon Blanc or dry Chenin Blanc - or a very good Chablis would be awfully hard to beat.
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"Whoa, that's a long drop…I better not lose it here! Come out of the turn, down and hope the landing is good, watch out for the trees...made it, still on… whoa—I didn't see that jump! Man, I love snowmobiling!"
Snowmobiling is a great sport into which to really throw yourself if you have the space to do it and the money to buy a machine. Sadly, I only have one of the two. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to give it a go here in Japan; just be careful, because it can become an addiction. With a big, powerful engine beneath you, get the adrenaline rush of a motor sport as you go flat out over a sheet of snow, and the refreshment of a cold breeze blasting past your face.
In fact, if you had asked me a few years ago what I thought of snowmobiling, I would have said, "I hate those noisy things." I would often be somewhere deep in Hokkaido's backcountry enjoying the peace and quiet, when I would hear them. First the sound in the distance, and then suddenly they would fly by you. But, I must admit, the more I watched those people, the more I wanted to give it a go.
Four years ago, I got that chance. A local Sapporo snowmobile company asked if I wanted to be a guide, and I jumped at the chance. I found operating a snowmobile fairly straightforward, and people with a bit of common sense can pick it up right away.
Powder: Taking it up a notch
I started out riding groomed roads and trails like most beginners, but it only took a couple of runs before I was going full blast, laughing with the icy wind blowing past my face. However, the first time riding in deep powder was a different story. I found it similar to the first time snowboarding or skiing in powder, but more difficult, and potentially more dangerous if the heavy machine flips over on you.
I would describe snowmobiling in powder like riding on water, yet more unstable. You are constantly shifting your weight from side to side, at times standing up and moving your whole body to one side of the machine or the other to keep your balance. You can literally ride for hours without sitting down. It is hard work but good exercise.
One thing easy to do in powder is to get stuck. It will happen a lot the first few times out (it still happens to me more times than I would like to admit). And the worst thing about getting stuck is getting unstuck. The machines are not light and, if the powder is deep, as it is often here in Hokkaido, it can take a lot of time and sweat to get out. Like most things, though, once you have some experience under your belt, you can really start having fun.
High Marking
One of my favorite things to do is called "high marking." You find a steep slope with a good angle and try putting the highest mark on it in the snow with your machine. You must be careful, but it gets the blood pumping and is a lot of fun.
If you are not quite ready for high marking, simply traversing any slope is a good way to get some skills and have a good time. If you try traversing a slope with the machine parallel to the angle of the slope, it is just going to flip over. So the trick is to get your body on the top of the snowmobile as you start to climb and pull the machine up toward you to make the snowmobile hit a right angle to the slope.
This means you will only have one front ski and about four inches of your caterpillar track making contact with the snow and the rest of the machine hanging in the air. This takes a bit of strength and a lot of technique but is a lot of fun once you master it.
Of course I love ripping through the backcountry without doing any technical riding as well, just charging ahead with the soft snow flying all over you. If you have to brush off yourself when you finish, you know it's a good ride.
Kiroro Snow World & Snowmobile Land
If you are in Sapporo this winter and want to hit the snowmobile trails, head out to Kiroro Snow World. I suggest going out for a full day since, in addition to the great snowmobiling operation, it's one of the best ski resorts in the Sapporo area, and there is a school with English speaking instructors.
I went there with two friends who had never ridden snowmobiles before. They took the license class (mandatory for anyone without a license) and received excellent instruction. The class covers all the dos and don'ts, giving newbies some confidence before they head out on the machines with instructors who assist you until they feel you are trail ready.
Kiroro has several courses from which to choose for all levels. My friends started on the beginner "Rinkan" course, a short ride on a forest road leading to an oval course where they could get after it. After that, they tried the longer "Shinrin" course.
I was looking for something a bit more challenging and was happy to see they had something for experienced riders called the Amemasu Tour. This is a tailor-made tour based on what you want to do and the conditions, but you need to have done a tour with them before or have a Japanese snowmobile license. The instructors kept a watchful eye on me, though they gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and go full out. I had a great time and the scenic Kiroro has it all: open space, beautiful forests and lots of powder.
Info: From downtown Sapporo to Kiroro, it is about 80 minutes by bus or car. You can also take and express train to Otaru (35 minutes) and then it' i about 30 minutes by bus. From New Chitose Airport it takes about 70 minutes by train to Otaru and then from there by bus.
Web: www.kiroro.co.jp
RSS Snowmobile Adventures at Niseko Village
The Hilton's Niseko Village runs another great snowmobiling operation which I think is geared to people who want to have fun without getting too adventurous. They have one tour which runs for two hours. You are not required to get a Japanese snowmobile license, but don't worry; the guides will give you good instructions and a well-informed safety talk which is the first part of your two hours.
Next, you head out to the golf course which in winter is the snowmobiling course, for a training run. Being a golf course, it's pretty flat but does have a lot of shaped turns and hairpins to challenge the first timer. It's a long course, so how fast you get through it depends on how fast you are on the machine. Having had a lot of experience, I flew through it, as it was not very technical,l but I still had a lot fun going flat out.
Most people who still have some time after this are allowed to head out to the "free area" where you can do what you want with the guide keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything foolish. I think this is great, as most other places force you to follow a guide the whole time.
On most tours it is important for novices to follow the guides for safety reasons, but if the terrain is safe, it is nice to let the new riders loose and have some fun on their own. And if that is notenough, they had a snowmobiling adventure park with small kickers and a kind of half pipe to play on.
Although I would not recommend RSS to someone with a lot of experience or someone looking for a full backcountry adventure, I would recommend them to everyone else. If you are in the village and want a break from the slopes, head over to Niseko Village and give it a go.
Web: www.niseko-village.com
Hanging Around in Niseko
If you are spending some time in Niseko this winter and want to try something new with the kids, take them into the trees. No, not tree skiing, but actually get up into the trees... Niseko Village has a fun, challenging activity called tree trekking. Kids seeking adventures will absolutely love it.
It is pretty much what the name suggests, a trekking course in the trees with hanging bridges and ropes of all shapes and sizes. You finish the course flying through the air on a flying fox, or zip line, that delivers you safely to the ground.
But this is not just for the kids. Adults can enjoy the thrill as well. The Niseko Village guides are well trained and everyone doing tree trekking wears a harness and is attached to a safety line at all times. They go out of their way to make sure you feel safe without restricting your enjoyment in the trees.


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GTA 5 reveal analysis: fancy a threesome?
Grand Theft Auto 5 saw its full reveal last night, VG247's Dave Cook gives you the facts and discusses how Rockstar's changes could make this the best instalment yet.
Rockstar really does know how to manage expectations. The original Grand Theft Auto 5 reveal trailer landed November 2nd last year and since then information has been doled out sparingly, like a cruel master teasing a starving dog until it learns to behave itself.
But last night the data floodgates opened and the internet was drowned in a sea of GTA 5 goodness. Game Informer made Rockstar North's sprawling crime epic its December cover spread and with it, an 18-page feature that blew the doors clean off.
Before I get into the finer details, let's just have one more long, lingering look at the Game Informer cover shall we?
It was long rumoured that GTA 5 would star three protagonists and last night's reveal confirmed it. But who are these men, these criminals, and why have they decided to raise hell on the streets of Los Santos?
Three's company
From left to right their names are Trevor, Franklin and Michael and in the spirit of GTA 5's focus on money and financial aspirations, they each represent different tiers of the social class ladder.
Trevor is a poor redneck who lives his life as a career criminal and "Revels in chaos", Rockstar's Dan Houser told Game Informer. He's a dependent drug user who is known for violent outbursts at the drop of a hat, and is also an old accomplice of Michael's during his bank robber days.
Houser called him an anarchistic character who does what he wants on the wrong side of the law, "If Michael was meant to be the idea of some version of criminal control – or some sort of bourgeois criminal who tries to go straight and gets sucked back in – what about the guy who didn't want to do that?"
"Rockstar has confirmed that players will be able to switch between any of the characters on the fly almost all of the time, and that these three unique perspectives on the topic of money will make Los Santos the most believable and engaging stage yet."
Keeping in line with the theme of money and the pursuit of wealth, Franklin is a repo man and hustler on the side, and in a weird bit of role-reversal, also sells cars to the poor at a price they can afford. He's the youngest member of the group, and the smartest.
Finally, GTA 5's most prominent character is 43-year-old Michael, who has moved to Los Santos under witness relocation to escape his old life as an East Coast bank robber. He hates his money-hungry wife and is completely disconnected from his two kids.
His dream of a better life in San Andreas has quickly fallen to tatters as his money runs dry, prompting him to turn to crime once more. Rumour has it his plot arc and reasons for his return to crime will echo Vince Gilligan's series Breaking Bad, in which cancer-stricken chemistry teacher Walter White turns to the drug trade to make money for his family.
Rockstar has confirmed that players will be able to switch between any of the characters on the fly almost all of the time, and that these three unique perspectives on the topic of money will make Los Santos the most believable and engaging stage yet.
The decision, Houser as revealed, comes from Niko's moral turmoil in GTA 4, which saw him complaining about his past life of violence and wanting to remove himself from the criminal equation, but then mowing down a street full of innocent pedestrians. It made no sense.
So by spreading the narrative across three very different people who all view the world in a different light, the notion of moral indifference across the cast becomes a more believable reality. It also serves to break up the monotony tied to previous GTA titles.
For example, say you just finished a key story mission in GTA 4. You would typically take on four or five mundane side-missions or fetch quests to unlock the next one. In GTA 5 you can break that up by switching character and tackling each of their key missions if you get bored.
When you do switch character the camera zooms up above Los Santos like some glorious Google Map and zooms back in on the next character. It sounds like it's smart design, and as Game Informer pointed out, gives you a quick contrast between Michael's Beverly Hills mansion and Trevor's beaten up shack in Blaine County.
Characters are just one part of the dense cocktail that make up a solid Grand Theft Auto experience. In each instalment the game world itself has proven to be just as identifiable and as engrossing as the characters tearing around it. Los Santos is a world like no other.
Rockstar's biggest open world yet.
Los Santos is bigger than Red Dead Redemption's frontier, GTA 4's Liberty City and the old San Andreas combined. Just try to imagine what that looks like and then ask yourself how your social life is going to suffer as a result. It's going to be big, so you better be ready.
The return to San Andreas was a no-brainer for Rockstar North, Houser explained. Part of the decision came from the unexplored traits of California, from the rampant porn trade, the false glamour of Hollywood and of course, the sense of decay that comes with homeless people on every corner.
Just like its real-life equivalent, Los Santos is a complicated place with a clear class divide. Money talks in GTA 5's world and if you haven't got it, well then a life of crime, drug abuse and poverty are your potential reward.
"Many gamers were hoping that GTA 5 would focus all three cities from GTA; San Andreas, but that was an unrealistic goal according to Houser. He told Game Informer that the team opted for one city in order to focus their efforts in making it the best hub they had created."
The inner cities are surrounded by peaceful suburbs that come with a hefty price tags, while the neighbouring countryside of Blaine County and other areas devolve into wastelands full of redneck values, dilapidation and a lawless nature.
Many gamers were hoping that GTA 5 would focus all three cities from GTA; San Andreas, but that was an unrealistic goal according to Houser. He told Game Informer that the team opted for one city in order to focus their efforts in making it the best hub they had created.
So in many ways it marries the lessons Rockstar North learned from GTA 4's Liberty City setting, and the efforts of Rockstar San Diego when making Red Dead Redemption's open frontier. The resulting play-space is massive, rich in detail and feels natural.
Travelling around such a vast region is important, so you'll be pleased to learn that GTA 5 doesn't cut back on transport, with a variety of motor and pedal bikes, cars, boats, trucks, off-road vehicles and planes on offer.
In a neat twist, Trevor is the only licensed pilot in the group, so only he can fly aircraft. Rockstar revealed that planes will be available from the start of the game, so you won't need to glitch or jump your way into any military bases this time.
There is a military base of course, as well as the entire Mt. Chiliad range, Salton Sea region and all of the neighbouring countryside to explore. You can fly, drive, surf on the waves and even perform deep sea dives, although there's no world on collectible pearls yet. We're sure at least one person will be gutted by this fact.
Men on a mission
Perhaps one of the common criticisms of GTA games – as big and ambitious as they may be – is that with so many layers of mechanics and scripts running throughout every second of gameplay, certain mechanics feel limp compared to other titles.
Facets of the GTA make-up such as shooting and driving have varied in quality throughout the series, but in GTA 5 Rockstar North has taken real steps to make each individual mechanic as accomplished as a game dedicated solely to each function.
For example, shooting is said to have evolved beyond any Rockstar open world game to date, and actually stands beside dedicated shooters out there today. Houser stated, "We feel like we've evolved it on from where we had it in any previous game a long way."
"GTA 5′s plot is wrapped around a series of heists carried out by the game's three protagonists, and these missions riff on the popularity of GTA 4′s 'Three Leaf Clover' missions, which saw Niko planning a bank job, recruiting a crew and raising hell."
Driving has also improved beyond GTA 4's slack mechanics, giving you the option of pulling off wild hairpins and drifts. It's a big step up from Niko's shopping trolley turns and resistant manoeuvres, and in the end backs up GTA 5's attempt to bring the series back into the fun zone.
Houser even went as far as placing GTA 5's driving mechanics alongside racing games, and that fans of racing sims will find a lot to love about the way Rockstar's cars handle on the road. So if you fancy yourself as a bit of a Steve McQueen from Bullitt then you'll get a kick out of GTA 5.
Fisticuffs have also improved, and no we're not talking Street Fighter levels of finesse here, but few could honestly say that GTA 4's melee combat was worthy of praise. Although Rockstar North understands that most players will opt for guns over their bare fists, it's something they wanted to improve upon regardless.
Why go to all of this effort? It's because GTA 5's plot is wrapped around a series of heists carried out by the game's three protagonists, and these missions riff on the popularity of GTA 4's 'Three Leaf Clover' missions, which saw Niko planning a bank job, recruiting a crew and raising hell.
It was a superb mission because there was such a great build-up to the heist itself, and this vibe will run throughout GTA 5. Heists ad other key missions will see all three characters present, and based on gameplay screens revealed by Rockstar, will involve some pretty mad stunts.
"Giving players three points of view during missions and in the open world is intriguing and if Rockstar pulls it off with fluidity and style it could set a precedent for the series. "
One heist sees the crew rappelling down the side of an IAA – GTA's spin on the CIA – office block and breaking in through the windows in order to save an informant who is being interrogated inside. But first they have to prepare for the hit. The team begin by collecting a chopper provided by the FIB, and then perch it above the rooftop of the IAA building.
Once there, Michael leaps out and begins his walk down the structure while Franklin provides sniper cover from afar. The player remains in full control the entire time, and upon finding the right window, must smash their way inside to grab the target.
As Michael dangles there with his gun out, using the target as a human shield, a pack of IAA operatives have drawn their guns on him. At this point the player can remain as Michael or switch to Franklin to snipe the attackers. It's fluid and it gives a different perspective on the action.
With the operatives dispatched, Trevor arrives to extract the group. Once in the air players can control the chopper at Trevor, unload at their pursuers with an assault rifle as Michael or snipe pursuing craft as Franklin. It's entirely up to you.
Giving players three points of view during missions and in the open world is intriguing and if Rockstar pulls it off with fluidity and style it could set a precedent for the series. If anything it gives rise to more content, plot detail and character than ever before.
We're waiting.
GTA 5 isn't out until Spring 2013 so there's a lot of waiting around to be had until then. It's almost unbearable for some gamers, and who can blame them, given the immense hype surrounding Rockstar North's potential opus?
But just like gamers waiting around killing time, there will be plenty of things to do during your downtime in Los Santos. You can take in some yoga, buy yourself a new outfit, drink in some entertainment, or play a full round of golf. The options are staggering.
Many gamers will be pleased to learn that dating has been removed from the mix, as it was something Rockstar North felt went against the nature of GTA 5's ensemble cast. No matter which way you slice it, it's clear that Rockstar isn't cutting back on content, and looks set to deliver a staggering array of content.
With so much to do and see, you can bet that GTA 5 information will come thick and fast following Game Informer's reveal, and as always VG247 will be on hand to report it as it happens. There's just the little matter of the game's second trailer to get through first. Look out for it on November 14th.
- This article was written in-part with the help of information gathered in Game Informer's December issue, bought digitally by Dave personally for £2.99 via the magazine's iPad app.


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Posted by Rick Foss on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 12:10 AM
"Is it a blip or a trend?" That is a FAQ among our Contextual Learning team. With great regularity, one of us will note something relative to internship sites, interns, supervisors, congregational profiles, pastors' bios, financial situations, an experimental mission, a cluster of comments or questions, or some other phenomenon—and soon we are pondering the question: "Is this a blip on the radar screen, or an early sign of a significant trend?"Many of you are squarely midway through your internship year. If you are typical, some early ministry attempts went well, while others left a bit to be desired. You are developing some deepening relationships, but are oddly unable to connect with some folks. You are starting to feel confident that God has indeed called you into this public servant leadership role, but now and then it feels like you are a three-year-old posing in front of a mirror decked out in your mom or dad's clothes. You are getting feedback (ah, yes, "feedback"), and while most of it is reassuring, there is that occasional unnerving response.On the one hand, ministry is very simple: we proclaim Jesus Christ. On the other hand, ministry is exceedingly complex: we are called to actually live out the gospel in community as we proclaim Jesus Christ. As you are discerning your call and living into the unique shape of God's grace through you, you are processing all sorts of things. How do you know what is important and what is tangential? How do you separate wheat from chaff? How do you keep focus without getting tunnel-vision? How do you discern what God is up to in the midst of all the distractions of the world? How do you keep the fussing baby from distracting you from the gospel you are preaching—both literally during the sermon and figuratively during the week? I don't have any answer to offer you. But I commend a question to you as you live into discernment of ministry and call: "So...is this a blip (chaff to let blow away) or a trend (wheat with which to nourish lives of faith)?"
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My Blog List
About Me
- Gabby Faye
Blog Archive
- ▼ 2011 (12)
Search for your past
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Finding Lost Great-Grandparents
9:51 AM | Posted by Gabby Faye | Edit Post
Anna and Greeley moved from Alvordton to Hicksville (both in Ohio) next door to their older daughter.
I loose track of them there. Minnie and her husband died. In the early 60s, Clair died and I went to his military funeral. I was sure the cemetery wasn't far from the house.
My friend, Theresa, mentioned in a geneology - scrapbooking chat one night that she lived quite close to Hicksville, Ohio and would check the cemetery there for me.
She sent me photos of the headstones.
|Anna Scarlett 1859 - 1931
|Horace G. Scarlett 1852 - 1933
|The Garver Scarlett Plot
Labels: ancestry, genealogy, Heritage, scrapbooking
Location: Michigan, USA
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Bright reds and oranges as the trees change on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Credit: NPS
Full Bio
Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.


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Does Batman Need Copyright Protection?
from the maybe-not deptWith the release of the latest Batman movie, Jeffrey Tucker makes an interesting point: does the movie really even need any copyright protection to make money? It's almost guaranteed that the film will be both widely available in unauthorized forms online... and will make an absolute ton of money:
We all know that in a matter of weeks or even days, there will be streamed copies online. There could be hundreds and thousands of them. At first, the quality will be terrible. Later, the quality will improve. By this time next year, you will be able to download an HD copy of your own without too much trouble. And this is despite the millions and billions of dollars, and the gigantic apparatus of the state, plus all the warnings and jails, dedicated to preventing this inevitable thing.It's possible that without IP certain aspects of the marketing and monetization plan would be different, but it seems likely that the movie would still bring in a ton of money. As we've seen over and over again, people pay for what they like (and to support creators they like), if offered in a reasonable and convenient package. And yet, there's this myth that goes around that without aggressive IP laws and aggressive IP enforcement, it's impossible for content creators to make money. That just doesn't seem to be supported by reality. As some copyright holders have noted -- often derisively -- paying today has already become somewhat voluntary. Whether or not we agree with this or think it's a good or bad thing, it's basically a fact. And, it's also a fact that an awful lot of people are handing over cash to watch this movie via official channels.
And yet: what does it matter? "Dark Knight Rises" will still make a zillion dollars. I like millions of others will shell out to see it in the theater of course. Like everyone else, I want to consume it sooner rather than later. Sure, I could save $11 bucks by waiting but there's a time-preference issue. The movie makers are going to make a mint with clever management, clever marketing, and a high-quality product. In other words, they will make money the old-fashioned way: getting people something they want in a form in which they want to consume it.
I can easily imagine that not much would be different about this scenario if there were no IP — except that a major element of fear and force would be purged from the system and consumers would no longer be treated as the thieving enemy.