text:
Oscars 2019: 5 Ways the Golden Globes Shook Up Our Predictions

Coutesy of 20th Century Fox

What do the Golden Globes tell us about the Oscars? Well, nothing and potentially everything. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a notoriously unpredictable bunch with little-to-no overlap with the Academy. But Sunday's ceremony did offer its winners quite a platform to get some last-minute face time with Oscar voters ahead of nominations voting opening on Monday.

This means that the series of upsets that took place at the Globes could shake the standings of the 91st Annual Academy Awards at a very crucial time. Here are five things I'll be keeping in mind as I reevaluate my Oscar predictions:

1. Bohemian Rhapsody is a serious Oscar contender. The embattled Queen biopic -- which Rotten Tomatoes shadily pointed out clocks a 62 percent freshness rating -- went from being a critical punching bag to a prospective Best Picture nominee after winning two of the Globe's top honors: Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Actor in a Drama, for Rami Malek's buzzy turn as Freddie Mercury. Anticipated winners A Star Is Born and Bradley Cooper may be feeling the sting of the losses, but their nomination prospects are hardly in jeopardy. Their status as the obvious front-runners, however, feels more uncertain. Which brings us to...

2. Glenn Close is the official Best Actress front-runner. If Close's inclusion in the Best Actress race ever seemed in doubt, her Best Actress in a Drama win over Lady Gaga and barnburner of an acceptance speech sealed the deal that she's this year's one to beat. Not that Gaga, who won Best Original Song, or Olivia Colman, who won Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, lost much momentum. The Best Actress field is always crowded, and now we have a real race. Things don't look as hopeful for...

3. Mary Poppins Returns' odds aren't so practically perfect. Early reactions to Disney's Poppins sequel (mine included) foresaw the musical following in the original's Oscar footsteps – if not in as many wins (five, with eight more nominations), at least in a few select nods like Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Original Song. But following a mixed critical reception and soft box office, Mary Poppins Returns left the Globes empty-handed. (It doesn't help that it was passed over at the Producers Guild Awards.) Emily Blunt could still find herself in the Best Actress race, but just as easily the groundswell of support for Roma could push Yalitza Aparicio past her.

4. Regina King shouldn't worry about that SAG snub. While a number of Oscar players will be leaving the Globes unnerved, someone who should be feeling pleasantly reassured is Beale Street's King, who won Best Supporting Actress after being egregiously overlooked by the Screen Actors Guild. With the criminally under-awarded Amy Adams losing out in both her categories, King is once again the Best Supporting Actress front-runner, with the Vice actress and Colman's The Favourite "b**ches" Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in pursuit. (First Man's only Globes love was a Best Original Score win, so Claire Foy's nomination remains in limbo.)

5. Green Book isn't showing any signs of stalling. When director Peter Farley's latest won TIFF's People's Choice Award, it appeared to be a bellwether for Best Picture nominations. Despite its lead actor dropping the N-word, despite the family of one of the film's subjects publicly rejecting it as a "symphony of lies" (and forcing Mahershala Ali to issue an apology), despite it not being a musical or even a comedy, really, Green Book won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Screenplay. Now, if a new round of criticism over these Globes wins doesn't have any significant effect, not only will Green Book maintain its Best Picture placement, but Farley might just land in Best Director. Crazier things have happened. (See: Academy Award Nominee Bohemian Rhapsody.)

2019 Golden Globes: 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' 'Green Book' Pull Off Surprise Best Picture Wins

Glenn Close Gets Standing Ovation After Winning Best Actress in Major Golden Globe Upset

9 Fun Moments You Didn't See on TV at the 2019 Golden Globes

Related Gallery


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Rebecca Hubbard

Agrifood 12-10-2018

When will Denmark stop overfishing and start enforcing the rules?

Denmark has become the worst perpetrator of Baltic overfishing over the last years, putting in serious danger entire species, such as the Baltic’s iconic cod, warns Rebecca Hubbard.
Agrifood 08-06-2018

EU opportunity to make fish discarding history

On World Ocean Day (8 June), it is important to bring back to the forefront the debate of overfishing which is undermining the health of our oceans. Five years after the reform on the EU Common Fisheries Policy nothing much has changed, and discarding at sea is still common practice, writes Rebecca Hubbard.

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-49
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for November/December 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-99
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.3-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: https://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
ISSN 2330-717X

Canadian Legend Chapter IV: Goodbye Canada, Hello Harperland – OpEd

The defeated ogre, licking his wounds, finds little comfort from his hawkish “best friend”, despite his love for Israeli birds for whom he helped raise more than ten million Canadian dollars to build a bird sanctuary in the Promised Land. This was in preference to Canadian birds, who along with almost all other Canadians, had their funding slashed.

He did this with the help of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an innocuous sounding organization, one which operates worldwide, but one which was founded to ‘disappear’ Palestinians and their homes, building bland pine forests (though not indigenous, they grow quickly and help us forget), where villagers once grew olives and tended sheep.

His JNF friends decided to honour him by naming the park, the Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre. Harperland is near the Golan Heights, on land confiscated from 30,000 Bedouin in 1948. Lake Hula was vital, not only to the Bedouin, but to Nature, as a wetland. But as part of the plan to “make the desert bloom”, the lake was drained, creating a dust bowl, and the new kibbutz soon abandoned. (I’m not kidding.)

In the ogre’s favour, Harperland at least tries to provide migrant birds with refuge, if not the original occupants. In a slick promo JNF video advertising the park and lauding Harper as the new messiah (I’m still not kidding),  DJ Schneeweiss, Toronto’s Israel consul general enthuses, “The birds know no borders.”

Ogre’s mask hard to shed

Is there any advice from Trudeau Sr on how Justin should deal with the prickly beast occupying the Holy Land? Like his predecessors, Pierre Trudeau followed the US-led script, opposing the Arab boycotts of Israel during much of the 1970s, abstaining from United Nations resolutions that were critical, but increasing relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization and opening embassies in Arab countries. PET’s only (timid) public criticisms were of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, and the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

In 2003, then-Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien refused to join the attack on Iraq, much to the anger of our Israel Lobby. In 2006, after ex-Liberal leader Michael Ignatief condemned Israel’s bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana as a “war crime”, the Israel Lobby went into high gear, switching to support Harper, helping him get his majority in 2011 with the help of turncoat (Liberal) Jewish voters. Chastened, Trudeau Jr distanced himself from Ignatief and campaigned zealously in synagogues during the 2015 election, bringing these ridings back into the fold.

There is no question that Trudeau is a vast improvement over Harper on the domestic front. But is his foreign policy just going to be a facelift of Harper’s? The Liberal nay on Palestine last month at the UN (voting with the US and Palau against “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”) is not surprising. It is part of the ogre’s legacy.

His denunciation of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is disappointing. In a recent interview in Canadian Jewish News, Trudeau called BDS “an example of the new form of anti-Semitism in the world,” and worried that “when Canadian university students are feeling unsafe on their way to classes because of BDS or Israel Apartheid Week, that just goes against Canadian values.”

Who wrote that nonsense for him? Are ‘they’ now whispering in his ear to pass Harper’s draft law outlawing all public protest of Israeli crimes? Wake up, Justin! Those students are your own past and our future. Some of them are your personal friends. Quebeckers are the backbone of BDS in Canada. There are many more Muslim Canadians (3.2% of the population vs 1% Jews), including 50,000 Palestinian. And their cause is just.

BDS will survive and prosper. The fact that Harper couldn’t kill BDS makes it unlikely that the nice Justin will be able to (or willing to, once he thinks about it for a nanosecond). Justin will be sure to have his mailbox flooded with plaints from thousands of idealistic students, his nature constituency, the very ones he writes about inspiring in his autobiography Common Ground.

New-old Liberal face?

In Common Ground, Justin tells how he enjoys math puzzles, but he doesn’t seem very good at sums. As MP, during the invasion of Gaza in July 2014 (2,200 Palestinians vs 66 IDF troops killed), Justin stated: “Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Hamas is a terrorist organization and must cease its rocket attacks immediately.” He acknowledged “the suffering of Israelis”, but had nothing to say about the suffering of Gazans. Are these “the very values and ideals that define Canada: values of openness, respect, compassion, that seek for justice,” as he opined in synagogues during the election campaign?

There are some hints of a new face. Trudeau has pledged to normalize Canada’s relations with Iran, ties that Harper cut in 2012 to Netanyahu’s loud applause. He will embrace the P5 +1 nuclear deal (it’s Obama’s baby). He has pledged to stop bombing Syria and Iraq, neighbours of our ‘friend’. The beanstalk was slippery, and Justin is just getting his feet on the ground.

Liberal principles include “the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestinian state”. The only way to achieve that is to make sure Palestinians get aid to prepare to run their own state. That is the objective of dozens of NGOs at work in the occupied territories–agencies which were all slashed by Harper, including Kairos and Rights and Democracy. Even the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees was not exempt. There is room here to restore justice without too much squawking from Israeli hawks.

There are Liberal wisemen who Justin can listen to. Top of the list is Robert Fowler, Canada’s ex-UN ambassador, who was kidnapped by al-Qaeda types and spent a harrowing 130 days with them in the Sahara (My Season in Hell, 2011). Fowler caused a furor at the March 2015 Liberal Party conference, castigating Harper for destroying Canada’s reputation in the Middle East as a result of domestic pandering to Jewish voters. He told the squirming delegates (including Justin) that while Canada condemned the 1956 British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt and established the first UN peacekeeping force (Sinai), it was wrong to support aggressor Israel during the 1967 war. Let’s hope that Justin has a copy of My Season in Hell on his bookshelf beside Common Ground.

Then there’s his brother Alexandre. In 2012, filmmaker Sasha produced the documentary “The New Great Game” which was balanced on both Iran and Israel, and of course much criticized by Zionist media hawks. Justin is lucky to have such a brother. He can help him chart a truly liberal course in the Middle East, void of hype. The major challenge left by the ogre, one that will define Justin in the world as a man of the people, a legend, is shaping up to be Israel, the ogre’s “best friend”.

So far, we’re stuck with the ogre’s epithet–the ‘f’ word, so to speak. In a call to Netanyahu, Trudeau explained there would be “a shift in tone, but Canada would continue to be a friend of Israel’s”. All three parties are now ‘friends’, a term which applies to no other country, and wasn’t used before Harper about Israel. It’s as if there is some doubt about whether a country as prickly as Israel could ever befriend anyone. Note, Mr Netanyahu: “The lady doth protest too much.”

Harperian semantics are still being parsed. In his first press conference, after the obligatory ‘f’ word, Justin’s Foreign Minister Stephane Dion added: “But for us to be an effective ally we need also to strengthen our relationship with the other legitimate partners in the region.” Perhaps Harper’s term of endearment for Israel will be his only legacy in Canadian Middle East policy.

Click here to have Eurasia Review's newsletter delivered via RSS, as an email newsletter, via mobile or on your personal news page.

Eric Walberg

Canadian Eric Walberg is known worldwide as a journalist specializing in the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia. A graduate of University of Toronto and Cambridge in economics, he has been writing on East-West relations since the 1980s. He has lived in both the Soviet Union and Russia, and then Uzbekistan, as a UN adviser, writer, translator and lecturer. Presently a writer for the foremost Cairo newspaper, Al Ahram, he is also a regular contributor to Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Global Research, Al-Jazeerah and Turkish Weekly, and is a commentator on Voice of the Cape radio.

4 thoughts on “Canadian Legend Chapter IV: Goodbye Canada, Hello Harperland – OpEd

  • January 2, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Biased partisan tripe.

  • January 2, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Worst biased article of 2016.

  • January 2, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    A heavily biased, not fully informed opinion.

  • January 2, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    It’s indeed ironic that all the major Jewish ridings in Toronto voted Harperinski out of office they all voted Liberal. And this is after Harperinski embarrassingly gushed love for all of Israel. In addition, simply look at the Ukrainian ridings in Toronto and Edmonton that Harperinski courted by vowing his undying love and affection for the Ukraine. He was totally and absolutely rejected, tar and feathered and unceremoniouslyturfed from office and deservedly so! Without exception, Harperinski will leave an eternal legacy of being the worst, most incompetent, most reviled, Prime Minister of Canada.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
ISSN 2330-717X

Uzbekistan: Opening Up To Tourism

By Timur Toktonaliev

Uzbekistan is continuing to push forward its key policy of opening the country up for tourism by relaxing visa rules for a host of countries.

Nationals of 39 countries can now obtain visas through a simplified procedure, while those of seven others – Israel, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore – will be able to stay in Uzbekistan for 30 days without a visa.

Location of Uzbekistan. Source: CIA World Factbook.
Location of Uzbekistan. Source: CIA World Factbook.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who replaced his authoritarian predecessor Islam Karimov in December 2016, has made tourism promotion a strategic part of much-anticipated reforms.

“The enormous potential of our country in the travel industry has not been efficiently or fully used for many years,” Mirziyoyev said at a special meeting on tourism promotion on February 22. “No favourable economic and procedural and legal conditions have been created to develop tourism, and this sphere has been left unattended.”

The tourism potential is certainly there. Uzbekistan has a wealth of historical monuments, not least the towns of Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkand which were the capitals of powerful kingdoms for many centuries.

In 2017, Uzbekistan was visited by 2.7 million foreign citizens, although only a tiny minority were tourists.

According to the State Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the travel industry accounts for 2.3 per cent of national GDP, a figure which they forecast could reach five per cent.

Karimov, who died in September 2016, was a ruthless leader who had ruled with an iron fist for 27 years and there has been much speculation over whether Mirziyoyev truly intends to open up one of the world’s most isolated states.

Soon after he took office in December 2016, Mirziyoyev decreed that tourism would be a government priority and announced that an ambitious visa-free regime for a range of countries in Europe and Asia would be introduced from April 1, 2017.

However, this was delayed due to objections from the National Security Service, in what some analysts interpreted as an internal power struggle.

Uzbekistan has visa-free regime agreements with the majority of CIS countries, although it has always been a closed-off country. Strict police controls made it particularly unattractive for tourists during the Karimov era, and part of his successor’s campaign has involved changing this image.

Previously, all foreign nationals had to register at a local police station within three days of arriving at their destination. Now this registration will be performed by hotel staff or the visitor’s host.

“A tourist should travel instead of visiting law enforcement agencies,” Mirziyoyev said, adding that “if we want to create tourism-based jobs, we should create [positive] conditions for tourists instead of making demands on them.”

According to presidential decree, the interior minister will now have a special deputy responsible for both the security and comfort of tourists. The National TV and Radio Company and the ministry of culture have also been tasked with launching an international advertising campaign.

National carrier Uzbek Airlines has cut the cost of air travel, with a return ticket from Bishkek to Tashkent costing 150 US dollars, compared to 220 dollars in the past.

The Uzbek ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Komil Roshidov, said that his country now allowed visitors to “take pictures of everything” rather than trying to tightly control what tourists saw and recorded. Towns popular with would also be provided with free Wi-Fi, he continued.

According to Roshidov, it now takes 20-30 minutes to pass through border control in Tashkent airport, compared to one and-a-half to two hours in the past.

“Many things have been done to open the country to the world so far,” Roshidov told IWPR. “Yes, we did have opportunities, but now we want to expand them even more to familiarise tourists and visitors with Uzbekistan.”

“Last year the town of Samarkand was visited by 1.25 million tourists. Of them, 249,000 were foreigners. They spent 62 million US dollars – when the Samarkand region receives around seven million from cotton production. Now you can see why [tourism] is a strategic area,” Roshidov said.

Some remain sceptical of how far these aims will be achieved. A journalist based in Bukhara, who asked to remain anonymous, said that while work had already begun on revamping the city’s historic sites, progress had been haphazard.

“The old town is under reconstruction, yet it looks more like a bull let loose in a china shop,” he said. “The local authorities try to make everything go as fast as they can, without consulting specialists who favour a methodical approach in such operations within the old town. As a result, some architectural monuments have been damaged.”

Others note that opening up the tourism industry would not supersede other important revenue streams.

Central Asia expert Sheradil Baktygulov noted that Uzbekistan had had a well-established travel industry back in the Soviet period. However, he said that Uzbeks should be realistic as to how far tourism could impact on the economy.

Cotton, for instance, was an Uzbek product that was an important source of foreign currency, he continued.

According to official data, Uzbekistan earns around 500,000 dollars in cotton sales each year, and in 2017 this sector accounted for 3.5 per cent of a total 14 billion dollars in exports.

“The demand for cotton always has been and always will be [there],” Baktygulov said. “Therefore we cannot say that tourism would replace the export of cotton because it’s a strategic product.”

This article was published by IWPR

Click here to have Eurasia Review's newsletter delivered via RSS, as an email newsletter, via mobile or on your personal news page.

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting is headquartered in London with coordinating offices in Washington, DC and The Hague, IWPR works in over 30 countries worldwide. It is registered as a charity in the UK, as an organisation with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) in the United States, and as a charitable foundation in The Netherlands. The articles are originally produced by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
ISSN 2330-717X

The Coup In Bolivia Has Everything To Do With The Screen You’re Using To Read This – OpEd

When you look at your computer screen, or the screen on your smartphone or the screen of your television set, it is a liquid crystal display (LCD). An important component of the LCD screen is indium, a rare metallic element that is processed out of zinc concentrate.

The two largest sources of indium can be found in eastern Canada (Mount Pleasant) and in Bolivia (Malku Khota). Canada’s deposits have the potential to produce 38.5 tons of indium per year, while Bolivia’s considerable mines would be able to produce 80 tons per year.

Canada’s South American Silver Corporation—now TriMetals Mining—had signed a concession to explore and eventually mine Malku Khota. Work began in 2003, two years before Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism (MAS) won their first presidential election in Bolivia. South American Silver conducted several studies of the region, all of which found substantial deposits that were poised to make this Canadian firm one of the major players in the mining industry.

A study done by Allan Armitage and others for South American Silver, and delivered to the company in 2011, showed that the Malku Khota mine would produce substantial amounts of silver, indium, lead, zinc, copper, and gallium. “The indium and gallium,” the study noted, “are regarded as strategic metals that give the project future upside potential.” Gallium is used for thermometers and barometers, as well as in the testing side of the pharmaceutical industry. There is Fort Knox level treasure to be made from these minerals.

Resource Nationalism

Evo Morales rode to victory in 2006 with the promise of a new day for Bolivia. Key to his agenda was to take control of the country’s resources and use them to improve the quality of life of Bolivia’s deprived populations. One of the great tragedies of Bolivia has been that since the mid-16th century, the indigenous populations have had to work to remove precious wealth from underneath their lands and send that wealth to enrich the people of Europe and later North America. They did not benefit from those riches.

Millions died in the mines of Potosí to bring the silver, and later tin, out of the ground. For the indigenous people who live near and on the hill, everything is upside down—one of the most lucrative hills is known as Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), while in Spanish there is a phrase that toys with the idea that wealth is equivalent to Potosí (vale un Potosí). Morales’ message during his campaign was framed around the concept of resource nationalism—use our resources to better the lives of those who live in deprivation and indignity.

Morales first went after the oil and gas industry. It is important to recall that his opponent in this year’s election—Carlos Mesa—was the president right before Morales won the election in December 2005. Mesa had come to power when his predecessor Sánchez de Lozada resigned in disgrace over the mass demonstrations in 2003 when Bolivians demanded more control over their gas reserves (the state repression was severe, with at least 70 people killed in the demonstrations). In May 2006—just over three months after being sworn in as president—Morales announced that the oil and gas industry had been nationalized. It is important to recall that his approval rating was well above 80 percent.

Nationalization was not easy, since the Bolivian government could not expropriate assets but only raise taxes and renegotiate contracts. Even here, the government faced problems since it lacked enough technical skills to understand the opaque energy sector. Furthermore, the problem with the energy sector is that even nationalized oil and gas must be sold to the transnational firms that then process them and market them; they remain in control of the value chain. What Morales’ government was able to do was to ensure that the State controlled 51 percent of all private energy firms that operated in Bolivia, which allowed the State’s coffers to fill rapidly. It was this money that was invested to go after poverty, hunger, and illiteracy.

Revenge of the Mining Companies

Canada’s Fraser Institute—a libertarian think tank that is heavily funded by the energy and mining sector—publishes an annual survey of mining companies. This survey is conducted by asking mining executives their opinions on a range of issues. The 2007–08 survey said that Bolivia is the second-worst country for investment; the worst was Ecuador. In 2010, the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index rated Bolivia at 161 of 183 countries. Heads of mining firms—from Barrick’s Peter Munk to Repsol’s Antonio Brufau—made disparaging comments about the nationalization program. “If Bolivia keeps on this path,” a Wall Street banker told me at that time, “these companies will make sure that Bolivian natural gas remains underground.” Bolivia might be embargoed; Morales might be assassinated.

Pressure mounted daily on the MAS government, which began a process to write a new Constitution that would both protect nature and insist on resource wealth being used for the people. There was an immediate contradiction here: if the MAS government was going to undo centuries of deprivation, it would have to mine the earth to bring out the wealth. A tragic choice befell the government—it could not both conserve nature and transform the wretched conditions of everyday life at the same level of caution. At the same time, to get its minerals and energy to market, it had to continue to negotiate with these transnational firms; no immediate alternative was present.

Despite the constraints on it, the MAS government continued to nationalize resources, and insist on State firms being partners in resource extraction. Transnational firms immediately took Bolivia to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a part of the World Bank system. The ICSID—formed in 1966—is based in Washington, D.C., and shares an outlook toward business that mirrors that of the U.S. Treasury Department.

On April 29, 2007, the leaders of Bolivia (Evo Morales), Cuba (Carlos Lage), Nicaragua (Daniel Ortega), and Venezuela (Hugo Chávez) signed a declaration to create an alternative to the investor-government system institutionalized in the ICSID. Bolivia and Ecuador formally withdrew from this U.S.-dominated system, while Venezuela’s Supreme Court declared that it did not have the power to intervene in Venezuelan sovereign affairs.

On July 10, 2012, Morales’ government nationalized the Malku Khota property of South American Silver. Company CEO Greg Johnson saidhe was “really shocked” at the decision. South American Silver’s shares dropped immediately; it had been trading at $1.02 on July 6, and it fell to $0.37 on July 11.

The immediate spur for the nationalization was the protest around the mine by indigenous artisanal miners who did not want this mega-project to undermine their livelihood. South American Silver had spent a great deal of money to convince 43 of the 46 neighboring communities to accept the mine; but they could not convince the artisanal miners. “Nationalization is our obligation,” said Morales.

All that indium would not make its way in significant quantities to the factories to produce LCDs for television sets, computer monitors, and cell phones.

South American Silver took the Bolivian government to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. In November last year, the Court ordered Bolivia to pay South American Silver $27.7 million rather than the $385.7 million that TriMetals (the new name for South American Silver) had demanded.

In July 2007, U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg sent a cable to Washington in which he pointed out that U.S. mining firms had approached his embassy to ask about the investment climate in Bolivia. Goldberg felt that the situation for mining firms was not good. When asked if he could organize a meeting with Vice President Álvaro García Linera, he said, “Sadly, without dynamite in the streets, it is uncertain whether the Embassy or the international mining companies will be able to attain even this minimal goal.”

“Without dynamite in the streets” is a phrase worth dwelling upon. A year later, Morales expelled Goldberg from Bolivia, accusing him of aiding the protests in the town of Santa Cruz. Just over a decade later, it was the “dynamite” that removed Morales from power.

Resource nationalism is no longer on the agenda in Bolivia. The fate of Malku Khota is unknown. The fate of your screen is guaranteed—it will be replaced with indium from the Potosí deposits. And the benefits of that sale will not go to improving the well-being of Bolivia’s indigenous population; they will enrich the transnational firms and the old oligarchy of Bolivia.

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Click here to have Eurasia Review's newsletter delivered via RSS, as an email newsletter, via mobile or on your personal news page.

Vijay Prashad

Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, CT. Prashad is the author of seventeen books. He can be reached at: [email protected]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
News Release

Diverse livelihoods helped resilient Levänluhta people survive a climate disaster

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Helsinki

The Leväluhta Spring

image: Levänluhta is among the most unique archaeological sites, even on a global scale. Bones belonging to nearly a hundred individuals who died in the Iron Age have been discovered in the middle of the Southern Ostrobothnia plains in western Finland since the 17th century. Today, three springs and their ferrous red water serve as reminders of this ancient burial site. view more

Credit: Anna Wessman

A multidisciplinary research group coordinated by the University of Helsinki dated the bones of dozens of Iron Age residents of the Levänluhta site in Finland, and studied the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. The results provide an overview of the dietary habits based on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems, as well as of sources of livelihoods throughout the Levänluhta era.

Ever since the 17th century, human bones have been emerging from the spring-containing lake burial site at Levänluhta in Southern Ostrobothnia, western Finland. The secrets of these Iron Age remains are now beginning to be revealed through measuring isotopes of atomic nuclei. A recently published study offers an overview of a diverse community that relied on an extremely broad range of livelihoods, which matches well with the understanding provided by archaeological discoveries.

The carbon and nitrogen in human food end up in the skeletal system and soft tissues as building blocks for the human body. There are three isotopes of carbon and two of nitrogen, and information pertaining to past events is recorded in the contents and ratios of these isotopes.

"The isotope data of the human remains at Levänluhta is divided into three clearly distinct groups, a unique occurrence around the Baltic Sea area," says Docent Markku Oinonen, director of the Laboratory of Chronology at the University of Helsinki.

Dietary modelling speaks of diverse livelihoods

There is variation between the isotope ratios of terrestrial, marine (the Baltic Sea) and freshwater food sources included in the background data used in the study. Thanks to this variation, dietary modelling based on isotopic analyses generates information on the relative shares of these different food groups. It appears that most of the people found buried in Levänluhta exploited all three food sources available to them: the Gulf of Bothnia, the plains and wilderness surrounding them and the Kyrönjoki river flowing close by. In most of the remains, the share of terrestrial food sources was roughly 85%, with an emphasis on protein-rich foodstuffs. This is a trend that prevails in the basic population throughout the entire period.

However, in certain remains approximately half of the food had been caught at sea, indicating seal hunting or fishing in the Gulf of Bothnia. Furthermore, the dataset includes a group that used no freshwater food resources at all. The researchers posit that there might be a possible connection to archaeologically observed links with locations further away in the Baltic Sea area.

Resilience generated by livelihoods helped survive a climate disaster

In the middle of the Levänluhta era, the most severe climate disaster in 2,000 years took place. In the 540s volcanic eruptions initiated a cold and dark period lasting several years, possibly reflected in folktales across the northern hemisphere. Recently the researchers working in the project headed by Oinonen have found a link between the disaster and a reduction in the quantity of light observed in the carbon isotopes found in the annual growth rings of trees in Lapland between 541 and 544.

"If you want to date Fimbulwinter, the three successive winters mentioned in Scandinavian sagas, this is the best candidate," Oinonen considers.

Fimbulwinter has been said to have caused a collapse in farming in the areas surrounding Sweden and Estonia. However, the ratio of food from terrestrial sources consumed by the Levänluhta population does not decrease after this period. Instead, the group relying heavily on marine food starts to fade out. The largest group of people continued to supplement their diet with marine food, actually increasing its presence in the human remains buried in the middle of the 7th century. Protein-rich food indicates produce derived from animals, and it appears that, instead of farming, most of the population probably based their sustenance on animal husbandry and hunting. In fact, fur trade has traditionally been thought as the source of wealth during the Iron Age in these southern roots of the Suomenselkä water divide.

Prior genetic research and place name data indicate a connection between the Levänluhta population and the Sámi. Signs of the diverse livelihoods of Iron Age Sámi have also been previously observed in Sweden on the same latitudes. Indeed, the researchers are considering whether the lake burial site of Levänluhta could be a manifestation of sáivas, the sacred spring-containing lakes in the Sámi mythology.

How is the research conducted?

The amount of radiocarbon, the radioactive isotope of carbon, serves as evidence of time periods, while the ratios of stable isotopes relate to the food sources used. By combining methods, researchers can build time series on changes in human diets and livelihoods over time.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have carried out almost 40 radiocarbon and carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses with the bone material excavated from Levänluhta. Combining these findings with an extensive background dataset on the isotope values of nutrients and their relative quantities has enabled the conduct of dietary modelling and time series analyses throughout the Levänluhta period.

About Leväluhta

Levänluhta is among the most unique archaeological sites, even on a global scale. Bones belonging to nearly a hundred individuals who died in the Iron Age have been discovered in the middle of the Southern Ostrobothnia plains in western Finland since the 17th century. The deceased were buried during the Iron Age, roughly between the 4th and 9th centuries, probably in a lake located at the site at the time, subsequently transformed into wetland due to the post-glacial rebound as well as, later on, to arable land due to human activity. Today, three springs and their ferrous red water serve as reminders of this ancient burial site.

The published study was carried out as a multidisciplinary cooperation coordinated by the University of Helsinki, with contributions by researchers from the Laboratory of Chronology and the disciplines of archaeology, genetics and forensics from the University, as well as researchers from Natural Resources Institute Finland, the University of Tübingen and the University of Bern. Funding for the study was provided by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation through a project headed by Docent Anna Wessman.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.


text:
This content is not available in your region

Russia's Putin raises nuclear deal at Ramaphosa meeting during BRICS

Access to the comments Comments
By Reuters
Russia's Putin raises nuclear deal at Ramaphosa meeting during BRICS

By Alexander Winning

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the subject of a nuclear deal at a private meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, but his host said Pretoria could not sign such a deal for now.

Russian state firm Rosatom was one of the front runners for a project to dramatically increase South Africa’s nuclear power-generating capacity championed by former president Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa has put nuclear expansion on the back burner since taking office in February, saying it is too expensive, and has focused instead on pledges to revive the economy and crack down on corruption.

“While we remain committed to an energy mix that includes nuclear, South Africa is not yet at the point where it is able to sign on the dotted line,” Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman Khusela Diko said about the meeting between Putin and Ramaphosa.

Hours earlier, one of the top six officials in South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) had said that Pretoria would not rush into major nuclear investments but that it was still open to future deals with Russia.

“Once we are clear that this is affordable for us to do, we are open for business including with Russia,” ANC Treasurer General Paul Mashatile said.

He spoke on the sidelines of a three-day BRICS summit attended by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“I think the approach we will take is to avoid the Big Bang approach. The initial intervention was that we would do close to 10,000 megawatts (MW). … It’s unaffordable,” he said.

Mashatile also said the ANC wanted greater private investment in struggling state-owned power utility Eskom, which swung to a loss for the year to end-March.

Russia wants to turn nuclear energy into a major export industry. It has signed agreements with African countries with no nuclear tradition, including Rwanda and Zambia, and is set to build a large nuclear plant in Egypt.

Rosatom is “still interested” in helping South Africa expand its nuclear capacity, a Rosatom executive told Reuters.

“If there is a place for nuclear energy in the energy mix, we are happy to cooperate. We are happy to follow each and every procedure that will be communicated to us by the South African government,” said Dmitry Shornikov, Rosatom’s chief executive for central and southern Africa.

Rosatom on Thursday signed a separate agreement with South African state nuclear firm Necsa to explore joint production of nuclear medicines and other ways of harnessing nuclear technology, a statement from the two firms showed.

The agreement, which is non-binding, is a further sign that Rosatom is keen to cement its position on the African continent.

South Africa currently operates Africa’s only nuclear power plant, with an installed capacity of around 1,900 MW.

The nuclear expansion deal backed by Zuma envisaged adding an additional 9,600 MW, but ratings agencies cited the project as a cause for concern given the country’s recurring budget deficits and ballooning public debt.

(Editing by James Macharia and Elaine Hardcastle)


text:
The Treaty of Lisbon after the second Irish referendum

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details No.09/75 (October 2009)
Publication Date 08/10/2009
Content Type

This paper looks at the background to the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, which took place on 2 October 2009, and other ratification developments.

Source Link
Subject Categories
Countries / Regions ,


text:
Germany never stopped defending its core interests(or what it sees as such), witness the Ost-Politik and the creation of the ECB.

So the enlargement to 27 and the creation of the Euro were Germany's interest and have worked in Germany's interest, and now they refuse to give something back.

The brainless should not be in banking -- Willem Buiter

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 13th, 2010 at 08:55:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It may not be so much the problem of not giving something back, as the apparent blindness to where Germany's interests really lie.

A broken euro and single market are not in Germany's interest. If the single currency were to collapse, the mark would suffer a pretty massive revaluation relative to other European currencies, not to speak of the return of borders and tariffs. That may be an extreme scenario. But the German attitude seems to be "wherever it's heading, it's not our problem".

But it is.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Apr 13th, 2010 at 10:21:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, Germany could always just let Greece default. How bad could that hurt them?  :-)

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Apr 13th, 2010 at 03:28:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Top Diaries

Occasional Series


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Do you sell tickets for an event, performance or venue?
Sell more tickets faster with Eventfinda. Find out more. Find out more about Eventfinda Ticketing.

St John Garden Fete

Ticket Information

  • Adult ticket: $17.66 ea ($16.25 + $1.41 fees)
  • Child Ticket (over 5yrs): $6.15 ea ($6.00 + $0.15 fees)
  • Adult Ticket with packed lunch: $35.80 ea ($32.00 + $3.80 fees)
  • Buy Tickets
10 weekly payments.
No interest, no fees.

That's it! We manage automatic weekly payments until you're paid off. Full purchase details can be viewed anytime online.

You will need

  • To be over 18 years old
  • Visa/Mastercard payment
  • NZ drivers licence or passport
  • First instalment paid today
Learn more about how it works. Credit criteria applies. Weekly payments will be automatically deducted. Failed instalments incur a $10 charge. See our Terms & Conditions for more information.

All Ages

Phone Sales

Listed by

Back again in 2021! Same awesome venue at Rakaia Gardens.

Start your Christmas shopping early at boutique stalls from well known and unique NZ businesses and enjoy exploring 6 acres of beautiful gardens. Take a break to have a bite to eat for lunch and enjoy the music, or take in a cooking demonstration. Stalls will feature jewellery and accessories, housewares, clothing, flowers, plants and garden supplies, art, eco products, gourmet foods and great gift shopping amongst the trees in a country setting. Cooking demonstrations and great lunch options with live music to enjoy.

The garden is 6 acres - with wide lawn paths linking each area together with rhododendrons, camellias, thousands of annuals, perennials and roses. An idyllic boardwalk meanders through a huge area dedicated to NZ natives surrounding a tranquil pond.

Tickets on sale from 16th August
At the event: $20 adults, $5 children over 5
Early-bird sales: $15 Adults, $5 Children over 5
Pre-sale tickets will be available at various sites in Ashburton, Methven, Mayfield, Geraldine, Timaru, Rakaia and Christchurch from 16th August. Check back nearer the time for locations.
Pre-paid & Gate Admission Ticket Includes:
Admission to the Fete and Gardens
Great shopping, gorgeous gardens, live music, cooking demonstration and an opportunity to support Mid Canterbury St John while having a fun day out.
ATM services will be available on the day.

Here is a list of our vendors:
All Buttered Up
Angel 'A' Fashions
Baby Kulture Handknits
Barr Originals
BBQ Craft
Behind the Hedge Garden Company
Brents Country Furniture
Bubbles Gluten Free Catering
Build'em Up
Buoni Saporu at Gunyah Country Estate
By The Hook
Coffee Dash
Concrete Garden Ornaments
Contemporary Water Sculptures
Crafty Buggers
Crafty Lady
Crispy Dumplings Ltd
Dahm Good Coffee
Daphne's Designs
Dunsinane's Black Garlic
Framing Good Crafts
Gardners Pantry
Greenstone Gifts
Hair Princess
Hookoe Garden Tools
Jamka Visors
Jan Earl (Plants)
Jo's Homemade
Just the Beez Kneez
Kitchen and Things
Kjole Style
Krama and Giving Seeds of Love
Let's Play
Lily Grace and Perfect Harmony
Lilyfields Mt Somers
Lions Club food caravan
Loburn Grove
Love Light Soy Candles
Love Ya fudge
Miss Muffet's Knits
Moore toys
MT Studio
Muscogen Woods
Myra's Collections
Nood Food
Ocean Grow
Oriwa Naturals
Paper Daisy Story
Paul Johnson Art
Peninsula Flowers
Pita Pit Mobile
Pure By the Barrelman
R U Peckish
RD8 Art
Red Rock Hats
Reobar Sculptures
RhodoDirect Nursery
Robinsons Bay Olives
Roxtar Glass Art
Saoirse and Friends
Sharney Downs Country Clothing
Side Project
Smoke N Barrell
Snake Gully Country Kids
Southern Woods Nursery
Subarb Products
Susanne Pearls
The Bee Keepers Honey
The Tweaker
West Melton Plants
Whitehorse Cheese

Post a comment

Are you going to this event, or would you like to? Let the community know what you're looking forward to most by posting your comments here!

People who liked this also checked out these events

Geraldine Summer Fete

Geraldine Summer Fete

Stover Farm, Geraldine, South Canterbury

Thu 24 Feb 2022 9:30am

Christmas Twilight Market

Christmas Twilight Market

St Mary's Church, Geraldine, South Canterbury

Thu 23 Dec 4:00pm


text:
Legal Updates

Legal Updates will appear here periodically.

MANDATORY RENT ESCROWING: THE ONLY REAL SOLUTION By G. Emil Ward, Esquire Copyright 2004, 2016.

In 1972, in Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U.S. 56 (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that it was not an unconstitutional deprivation of the tenants’ right to trial in an eviction action for the State of Oregon to require the tenant to escrow rent in court if the tenant wanted more than the five days allowed by statute to prepare a defense to the eviction action. The Court stated in footnote 13, that it might well be an unconstitutional deprivation of the landlord’s right not to have his or her property taken without just compensation, if an escrow requirement were NOT imposed upon the tenants.

In line with this legal precedent, many states have adopted some form of mandatory rent escrowing statutes to combat the pernicious tactic where tenants set up a defense, sham or real, to an eviction with no intention of ever paying withheld rent during the months it typically takes to evict a tenant who contests the summary process action. Some in Massachusetts have dubbed this the “free rent trick.” It is simple, and devastatingly effective.

Here is how it works:

A tenant decides, based on problems with the apartment, or based on no legal reason at all, that he or she no longer wishes to pay rent. She then complains to the landlord, in writing or orally, of defects, real or imagined. Or, the tenant complains to the Board of Health, who immediately issues a citation and a list of defects which could be substantial or which could be minor. At this point the tenant sets up the right not to pay any rent to any person until all defects have been remedied; or until a court orders further payment.

While the tenant is legally obligated to resume rent payments from the moment repairs have been made, typically tenants unlawfully do not resume payments at that time. Then, the landlord’s only recourse is to bring a costly, time-consuming eviction, known as a Summary Process action. From the service of the 14-day Notice to Quit to the original trial date, by law, this must take at least seven weeks, if the tenant(s) file discovery.

The well-versed tenants always do. That means two more months of rent gone just getting to court. In a busy court, with State Sanitary Code violations raised as a defense, the landlord will probably not get a non-jury trial on the Thursday dictated by the rules. It will happen perhaps in another two to three weeks, when the court has an open date which allows enough time to try the case. Therefore, another month of rent is gone: three months in addition to what was previously unpaid. The action is not at all speedy. Additionally, a sympathetic landlord may have delayed for two to four weeks in sending the Notice to Quit to allow the tenant a chance to “catch up with his/her rent.” Therefore, the total rent unpaid at this point is four months, and this is before trial. There are many other delays a malicious or knowledgeable tenant could interject to put off the trial date. For example, a malicious tenant might avoid the owner’s calls and thus delay granting access to make repairs. Or, a malicious or simply knowledgeable tenant might make an appointment and then fail to answer the door after having unlawfully changed the locks. These actions extend the period of disrepair during which usually no rent can be collected through court

It should be noted that more judges are granting ad hoc orders requiring tenants to escrow unpaid rent as the process drags on.

Housing Courts will not generally entertain evictions where Code violations are still unremedied. Savvy tenants know this and act accordingly to delay the day of trial: more lost rent. Frequently, tenants contest the landlord’s discovery responses and further delay trial by Motions to Compel. This takes weeks to resolve in a busy court, perhaps months: more lost rent. A recent study by Massachusetts Landlords found that Housing Court evictions take three times longer than District Court evictions.

Then, win, lose or draw a trial, the tenant typically just leaves without paying rent despite a court order to pay it.

Unlike approximately 28 other states, while an eviction grinds on, Massachusetts does not require a tenant to escrow the withheld rent subject to either: a) the landlord completing all repairs; or b) a court ruling determining how much money, if any, must be paid back to the landlord after repairs have been made to retain possession.

Further, while much lip service is PAID to the supposedly “Summary Process” for regaining possession, the speed with which these evictions proceed when contested can, in actual fact, take from three months to a year, or longer in some cases, without the landlord receiving one penny in rent during this time. Before concentrating on only landlord representation, the undersigned represented a tenant who did not pay rent for three years, although eventually there was a small rent escrow established and the tenant eventually vacated the premises without paying the manager a dime.

Normally, the actions of parties in litigation are somewhat constrained by the fact that the parties must choose carefully which litigation acts they wish to pursue, because they must pay their lawyers as they go in order to pursue their chosen tactics. For example, if a defendant in a collections case wants to pursue legal tactics which, although ethically proper, have the effect of delaying the litigation, but which may have a slight chance of changing the ultimate result, that defendant would have to think twice about paying his or her lawyer to do those litigation acts. It is that obligation to pay one’s lawyer as one moves through legal proceedings, which acts as a brake on intentionally time-wasting, low efficiency legal tactics, because the defendant “must pay to play.” Indeed, even very effective steps may be foregone where the party has little cash.

In Massachusetts, where almost every claim or defense by a tenant in an eviction action carries with it fee-shifting rights which work to force the losing landlord to pay the tenants’ attorney should there be even a nominal win in the tenants’ favor, normal litigation inhibitions do not exist. Therefore, the tenants are encouraged to perpetrate almost any baseless litigation acts which may come to hand. This is especially so where the tenant receives free legal services. For example, the tenant (and landlord) have an absolute right to send discovery questions to each other seeking sworn answers and documents to use in his or her case. The mere filing of discovery automatically continues the trial for two weeks. Legal services offers standard check-the-box discovery that a tenant can complete without a lawyer and file to obtain an automatic two-week extension of the trial. The questions need not even be relevant to work. The mere filing of discovery triggers the automatic two-week delay. Further delays of months are routinely obtained by the tenant requesting a jury trial.

Further, where the tenant has the prospect of having his landlord pay his lawyer, if the tenant wins, there is another reason not to save or escrow the withheld rent. The Massachusetts tenant has nothing to lose by refusing to pay rent using this method. Frequently, after trial, the tenant will owe the landlord more money than the landlord owes the tenant for breaches of the tenancy. Where there is no state-wide mandatory rent escrow requirement in Massachusetts, even if the net judgment runs in favor of the landlord, and even if possession is therefore granted to the landlord, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the landlord will never see a dime of the unpaid rent. Rather than pay money they have not been required to save or escrow, the tenant simply leaves, if the landlord is lucky.

If the landlord is unlucky, to add insult to injury, because Massachusetts requires the landlord to take the execution (order to vacate) and remove the tenant from the premises by a constable and bonded mover, not only will the landlord lose whatever rent has gone unpaid for the past six to twelve months, the landlord must then swallow the bitter pill of either paying the tenant more money to move voluntarily or of paying the constable, mover and warehouse to remove the tenants’ possessions and store them. Typical move out and storage bills easily exceed $1,500.

A missing cover on a wall outlet, a dripping faucet, missing batteries from a smoke detector, a missing window screen, even in the dead of winter, a stained ceiling tile, one broken floor tile, are sufficient to force the landlord into costly litigation to have the tenant’s damage claims decided by a court after months of expensive litigation where the tenant may well lose.

But, once having lost, while Massachusetts statutes require the tenant to pay to the landlord the balance found due to the landlord after the case has been decided, if the tenant does not want to remain, where no escrow was required, there is no legal incentive or requirement for the tenant to ever pay the money.

In 40 years of evictions, the undersigned may have witnessed the tenant paying the rent found due once, or perhaps twice and in those cases the tenant wanted to remain in the premises. In this fashion, millions of dollars are lost by landlords, because Massachusetts law encourages this appalling result.

Massachusetts law operates to pay the tenant to thumb his/her nose at the landlord and the courts. Let’s use an example to illustrate the point.

Assume a monthly rent of $1,500 for a two-bedroom apartment in Boston. The tenants stop paying rent on, say, January 2, 2014. The tenants then let the oil run out and thus clog the furnace burner nozzle and destroy the filter. Even upon filling up the tank, the heat is off until the landlord pays to fix the tenant-caused malfunction of the oil burner. The landlord is forced to repair these to get her rent. Cost: $100.

On or about February 1, 2014, the tenants have the Board of Health (BOH) write-up violations of no heat and many others not previously complained about. In this author’s opinion, there are few buildings in Boston which have no violations for any length of time. Therefore, there is almost always fodder for a citation.

Note in this example, the tenants have not preserved their defense to possession, because they were behind in their rent before they complained to the landlord through B.O.H. In short, even after trial, no matter what the monetary give and take, in this example the tenants have no legal way to keep possession. But, let’s continue. The tenants bar access to the landlord and her repairmen. The tenants promise, yet deny access for weeks before the workmen can finally fix the heat, cracked window, broken screen, etc. Repairs cost $650.00.

It is now March 15. Three months’ rent is gone.

Finally, on March 22, B.O.H. has closed the violations.

It is this author’s experience that such a fast violation sign off does not generally occur. The B.O.H. generally takes much longer. But, the tenants still do not pay the landlord.

On or about March 24, 2014, the landlord served a 14-day Notice to Quit for non-payment. It is seven more weeks (with the tenants’ filing discovery) before the first trial date, May 13, 2014 is established. (This presupposes no discovery battles or additional delays).

Let’s look at the respective ledgers: Landlord Before Trial -$7,500 Unpaid rent (5 months: Jan-May) -650 Repairs -125 Filing Fee -70 Constable (Notice to Quit, Summons & Complaint) -750 Retainer only for attorney -100 Replace nozzle and fuel filter. Total loss: -$9,195 Costs to date. Tenant Before Trial + $7,500 saved in unpaid rent, but not necessarily withheld, rent – 0 Attorney’s fees (fee-shifting laws) 150 – Fuel Oil. Total gain to date: + $7,350 Net unspent by tenant.

The tenant remains in possession of a rent-free, defect-free apartment. But, back to the trial court. Trial is delayed because of many Code claims and lots of witnesses. On the day of trial, May 13, 2014, the parties are told the case will not be heard for two more weeks, a non-Thursday, or May 25, 2014.

After a contested two-day trial ending May 26, 2014, the landlord wins (lack of heat and broken window were tenant’s fault), the tenants lose possession and are ordered to pay $7,000 ($7,500 – $500 reduction in value of the apartment for door, window and other minor defects) to the landlord within 7 days in order to lawfully remain in the apartment. M.G.L.L.239 §8A

The landlord’s attorney’s fees cost $2,250 (very conservative for a contested trial). The decision did not come down until June 16, 2014. The execution (court order allowing landlord to take back possession) issues on June 30, 2014. At this point: four more months’ lost rent. As of June 30, 2014:

  1. The tenants continue living in a defect-free, rent-free apartment. They do not appeal;
  1. The landlord hires a constable, a mover and a locksmith to physically evict the tenants using her execution. Costs are approximately $150 + $1500 + $50, respectively. Total out of pocket: $1,700;
  1. The landlord’s mortgage of $2,500 per month is one month behind due to lack of rent; and her savings are exhausted for the same reason;
  1. The landlord has been ordered to pay the tenants’ attorney $1,000 for winning the Breach of Warranty/Chapter 93A claim;

By July 6, 2014, the tenants are finally removed and the locks are changed. The tenants, of course, paid nothing. The apartment is vacant, in need of $750 of repairs due to damage caused by the tenant on the way out of the apartment. It will not be occupied until August 1, 2014. Another month of lost rent.

Landlord’s total loss for a largely tenant-caused problem:

$10,500 seven months lost rent;

$2,250 landlord’s attorney’s fees;

$1,000 tenants’ attorney’s fees;

$1,700 constable, mover and locksmith fees;

$125 filing fees;

$70 constable’s service fees;

$650 repairs (Note, landlord keeps value of repairs);

$100 furnace repairs;

$750 repair for tenant-caused damage $17,145.

The tenants’ Net Gain:

$10,000 approximately, in unpaid rent;

Likely landlord loss: $17,895. This is a conservative number in Boston due to many variables. Trials almost never go forward in two weeks from the intended trial date. Tenants’ lawyers often make discovery motions, trials take longer than expected, and for many other time-consuming reasons.

The lack of mandatory rent escrowing effectively pays the tenant to cheat the landlord out of huge sums of money. Small wonder there is too little affordable housing in Massachusetts. Without mandatory rent escrowing, the landlord will never see a dime of the lost money. Clearly, if the tenant no longer has the judgment amount saved, the tenant cannot pay it. No landlord should be made to run risks of this magnitude just to be in the landlording business. Landlords supposedly supply something which the government on its own has been unable to provide in sufficient quantities: affordable housing. Yet, landlords are treated as though they were all slumlords all of the time.

The above-described loop-holes in the law have a very negative effect on the housing stock, landlords in particular and on the legal system in general. Deprived of their rent money, with no assurances that at the end of a protracted eviction they will receive a just award after deducting for any breaches in the landlord/tenant relationship by the landlord, landlords not only are deprived of the means with which to make speedy and proper repairs to an apartment where they should, but they are also deprived of the incentive to do so because they all know that even at the end of protracted litigation, they are not likely to receive one dime of unpaid rent, win, lose or draw. Most understand that they are in fact likely going to pay a “cash for keys” sum to the tenant, because there is no other inexpensive, reliable way to get them out. Or, the landlord will have to pay another few thousand dollars to a constable, mover and locksmith to finally move out the tenant.

This is grossly unfair to the landlord. Ultimately this has a destructive effect on both the housing stock and landlords’ desires to provide a stock of housing to low and moderate income tenants. One must remember that while bearing these losses the landlord must somehow continue to pay her mortgage, property taxes, insurance, water, etc.

If one takes a step back to look at the overall process of “dispute resolution” and eviction, it is clear that Massachusetts is in the forefront of those who are the least enlightened about some of the real reasons why adequate housing remains in such short supply.

On the one hand, Massachusetts mouths the platitudes that it wants to produce adequate, safe, housing for low and moderate income persons. Yet, on the other hand, it does nothing to dismantle a system which in the end discourages landlord investment in rental property, removes the fiscal ability to properly maintain rental premises, and pays tenants to steal large sums of money from landlords.

This situation is untenable and must end. However, only the Massachusetts legislature can provide a consistent, state-wide remedy for this cancerous blight upon our housing stock and judicial system by passing mandatory rent escrowing.

In more recent cases, some judges have been responsive to the glaring inadequacies of the Massachusetts landlord-tenant laws, and, on an ad hoc basis, have ordered some tenants to escrow their rent as they go forward contesting the landlord’s claim to possession and rent.

However, far too many escrow motions are denied or are inadequate to protect a landlord’s right to her rent.

While some far-sighted judges have imposed a rent escrow, because there are only trial court decisions espousing this position and no broad based acceptance of the principles of Lindsey v. Normet, there is a lack of state-wide consistency and predictability.

Some years ago the undersigned was involved in a case after a far-sighted judge ordered the tenants to escrow their rent as litigation ground on. In that Housing Court case the summons and complaint was served on February 7, 2003, and final judgment was entered on October 31, 2003. At the end of the case, there was approximately $14,000 in escrow. The tenants received their reduction in rent due to the landlord’s breaches. There was enough money collected over the approximately eight to nine months the litigation dragged out, so that the tenants’ attorney was paid for their win. The landlord’s attorney was paid, and the landlord actually received some money after setting off her debt to the tenants. That is a rare outcome in Massachusetts for a landlord.

The landlord was able to raise the money to make the required repairs, because the landlord knew that at the end of the litigation, money would be released back to the landlord to cover the loans taken to make the needed repairs. The net results of escrowing in this case were that all of the goals supposedly sought by the legislature were fulfilled:

1) the tenants had their day in court and were compensated for harm done to them;

2) proper repairs were made and signed off where there were deficiencies found on the part of the landlord;

3) the tenants’ attorney was paid his fees;

4) the landlord’s attorney was paid his fees; and

5) the landlord received the excess after all her debts to the tenant were discharged.

Without the court-ordered escrow account, as in thousands of similar cases across Massachusetts, it would have been much more difficult for the landlord to finance the repairs. The litigation may therefore have dragged on even longer. The tenants’ attorney may never have taken the case if there had not been the real prospect of payment for services rendered, or he may never have been paid for his efforts, thus discouraging him from taking more cases on a fee-shifting basis.

The landlord’s attorney may not have been paid fully, thus discouraging him from taking this or future landlord cases where the landlord is not well heeled. Finally, the landlord would not have received a penny of the money to which she was justly entitled after the above set off. The housing stock would have suffered, and the legal system would have suffered another loss in confidence. The last effect is probably the most destructive effect. For the legal system depends for its viability on the belief of all litigants that the system is fair and that it will work for them. However, where one group consistently perceives it as unfair, this leads to many systemic ills too numerous to mention here. Thus, without a court escrow, no one but the tenants who took the landlord’s money would have been satisfied with the results.

Massachusetts needs a mandatory rent escrow law, because it would avoid unfairness, polarization, loss of housing, and large financial losses described above. If mandatory rent escrowing were required from the moment the tenant begins to withhold rent, this abuse would end.

Tenants should be required to pay their rent as they litigate. This is asking no more of the tenant than to live up to his or her rental agreement until a judge finds a breach by the landlord. If this were the law, incentives for spurious litigation, for basing defenses on false or de minimis violations, and for clogging the courts with such cases that readily lend themselves to abuses, would be reversed. It would likely force to resolution many cases before they ever arrived on the courthouse steps. If tenants knew beforehand that it is unlikely that they will keep all of their unpaid rent at the end of the litigation by simply leaving rather than paying any judgment against them, the number of these junk cases would be dramatically reduced. Under mandatory rent escrowing, the landlord and tenant would be encouraged to work out their differences prior to trial, not discouraged from doing so even after trial. Under such a system, the landlord would be encouraged to make prompt repairs, not discouraged from doing so because of either a lack of funds, a lack of the ability to obtain funds and/or fear and animosity towards the tenant from whom he or she knows they will never collect one red cent even if he or she wins.

When a tenant withholds rent, whether rightly or wrongly, the landlord suffers five immediate harms:

1) the landlord’s cash flow is reduced by, let’s assume, one third for a three family property (for example $1,500 per month);

2) however, there is no equal reduction in the landlord’s mortgage, tax, maintenance, utility, or other monthly expenses;

3) the landlord must usually pay a lawyer to pursue the eviction, in addition to suffering the reduced cash flow;

4) the landlord must pay the funds or must somehow borrow the funds (with no assurances that the funds will be returned to him or her) with which to make prompt and effective repairs; and

5) the landlord must expend the time and effort gathering evidence, contacting vendors and/or going to court in order to staunch the bleeding that the rent withholding, whether justified or not, engenders.

Looking at the tenant’s side for a moment where the tenant withholds, the effects on the tenant without a requirement to escrow rent arrears are these:

1) the tenant suddenly has a windfall of an extra $1,500 per month to do with as he or she wishes;

2) the tenant has a “free lawyer” provided by the fee-shifting statutes;

3) the tenant typically does not save or escrow the unpaid rent money;

4) after a few months the tenant readily concludes that s/he is not going to pay the $3,000 or $4,500 (two or three months’ rent) because he or she has spent it, no matter how it turns out in court; and

5) the tenant typically denies or delays the landlord’s access in order to put off paying rent for an apartment with all defects corrected.

Mandatory rent escrowing in approximately 28 other states sometimes takes the following general form:

If the tenant asserts any defense other than payment, or if the tenant wishes to delay a speedy hearing, meaning delay trial for more than seven days, the tenant must escrow his or her rent in court as it accrues during the progress of the litigation. If the tenant fails to do that, the tenant’s case is subject to dismissal, and judgment for possession would enter for the landlord. The tenant, in some instances can submit receipts for tenant-made repairs and the difference in cash in lieu of monthly rent. Or, the tenant in some states may have a right to ask the court in an expedited manner to make a preliminary decision as to the present value of the apartment with defects and order future rent paid into court in that amount during the pendency of the case.

As it is now, without mandatory escrowing, the Massachusetts tenant gets a free ride simply by alleging defects, real or imagined, with no requirement to be a responsible part of the landlord/tenant equation.

“A recent study found that: 99.5% of all judgments were decided in favor of the landlord.”

The overwhelming majority of these judgements are uncollectable.

Worcester Property Owners Association, inc., March 15, 2016.

Significantly, the study also found that:

“Cases filed in Housing Court were three times as likely as cases in District Court to last longer than 90 days”

The form of mandatory rent escrowing the author suggests is as follows.

If the tenant seeks to set up any defense at trial other than payment, the tenant would be required to deposit all withheld rent into the court escrow until further order of the court at the contract rate for the tenancy. The deposits would continue to be made throughout the pendency of the eviction action. For any failure to deposit rent the tenant’s claims would be dismissed on motion by the landlord. The landlord could apply to the court for a release of money from escrow in an amount sufficient to pay for repairs required by the board of health. Or, the landlord could apply for a release of funds sufficient to remedy a situation where the landlord is about to lose the property through foreclosure or to avoid an imminent shut off of utilities.

The tenant could apply to the court at an expedited hearing for a reduction in the monthly escrow deposits upon proof of serious code violations. Otherwise, the 8A statute would apply as it has in the past. It could be tweaked to better suit the new rent escrow requirements.

While some courts have sporadically granted a rent escrow motion, because these orders are ad hoc and lack a consistent, state-wide, predictable basis for their grant, there is really no rent escrowing in Massachusetts. It is simply false to state that there is any statute or appellate case which implements effective, consistent, predictable, mandatory state-wide rent escrowing. That loop-hole in the law can best be addressed by the Massachusetts Legislature. Only through a consistent set of rules can genuine mandatory rent escrowing be made a reality for all landlords and tenants within the state.

The enormity of the long-term harm done to landlords, tenants, the judicial system and the housing stock in general by the lack of mandatory rent escrowing cannot be adequately remedied on a case-by-case basis. Such litigation is too costly and has little potential for a long-term cure to the ill that is a cancer on the present system.

Lindsey v. Normet declared that it was probably an unconstitutional taking of property to deny the landlord the benefit of rent escrowing during the pendency of litigation beyond the five-day trial period set by the State of Oregon’s statute.

Massachusetts must accept the implications of this case and shake off its lethargy. For years, Massachusetts legislators have listened to false statement after false statement that rent escrowing does exist in Massachusetts, that the system is not broken so don’t fix it, or that landlords will somehow take advantage of tenants through this system. None of this is true.

It is time for the legislators to take off their blinders, to accept the reality described above, and to act on behalf of landlords, tenants and the sake of credibility to the judicial system to create a more equitable, effective set of laws which do not likely violate the Constitutional rights of landlords in the State of Massachusetts.

Were they to do so, we would all benefit greatly.

By G. Emil Ward, Esquire Copyright 2004, 2016 All Rights Reserved

By G. Emil Ward, Esquire Copyright 2004, 2016

Finding tenants in this market is easy. But, finding a good tenant is not. Let’s look at some of the more common problems and things to watch out for if you are a landlord in Massachusetts.

When a tenant applies to you or your broker to become a tenant of yours, you must check his/her credit history before accepting the person. It is amazing the large number of landlords who either do not run the credit history or who do not carefully review the report once obtained. It is perfectly legal to require a tenant to grant access to his/her credit history for purposes of evaluating whether or not the applicant will be able to pay the entire year’s rent. Business-wise, it is essential to review it carefully. Although not perfect, one can substantially increase the odds of getting a good tenant if properly used.

For example, an applicant who has several charge-offs on the report (statements by the creditor that it simply gave up trying to collect the debt from this person) is obviously a bad bet if you are looking for a person who will consistently pay you on the first of the month as agreed without a headache. If the person did not pay his Master Card bill or student loan, it is highly likely he won’t pay you either. The same holds true of prospects with a number of a 30-day or even a 60-day late payment on their credit history. Some landlords will not take a tenant who has any “lates” on the report. I recently evicted a tenant for a landlord where the tenant had these things on his credit report. But, the landlord said he trusted the broker to review that for him, and the broker failed to do a good job. So, the client had to incur the cost of an eviction and the aggravation of constantly dunning the tenant pervious to that for timely payments and for money orders to replace bad checks. Once you take the time to review the credit report carefully, if you see these or similar red flags, throw that prospect back. Also a low FICO is not good. Keep looking for a tenant who will pay you on time and who will respect you and your property. After all, your mortgage is due on time isn’t it? Then, you should be entitled to receive your rent on time so you can pay your mortgage on time, right?

You must verify employment and income. Ask for several pay stubs as proof. Also verify through one of the employment verification services or receive verification from a supervisor. A written verification is preferable.

A guarantor for any lease or tenancy is a good thing. You, as the landlord, should not restrict this safety mechanism only to those under 18 or only to college students. Any prospective tenant who may have a blemish on his/her credit report or who has just started a job, or who might be a recent college grad with no credit history good or bad, is a likely candidate for a guarantor. If you are inclined to take the applicant because of other positive things in the application, but you have some minor reservations as above described, get a guarantor to co-sign the tenancy agreement before you take the prospect on.

But, be careful about taking out-of-state guarantors. Many are not worth the paper they are written on for one very good reason. If the tenant whose performance they have guaranteed defaults, in order for you to collect your money from the guarantor, you will eventually have to go to the state where the guarantor lives or has assets to enforce a judgment. You will also have to hire a lawyer in that distant state to reduce your judgment to cash. So, be careful to get at least one in-state guarantor on any tenancy agreement or you may find the guarantee is not any easier to collect than the rent was.

By G. Emil Ward, Esquire Copyright 2004, 2016 All Rights Reserved

Call us today and let us put our in-depth experience to work for you solving your legal problems:

Ward & Associates, Counselors at Law, PC
21 Oak Square Avenue
Brighton, MA 02135
617-202-5200 (Office)
617-202-4417 (Fax)

Comments are closed


text:
Razor Discover Shaving

Becker of Solingen Nose, Ear & Beard Scissors

In stock
In stock

Superior quality, hardened German stainless steel, 10.5cm long, round-tipped nose, ear and beard scissors from Becker of Solingen. Becker has been making manicure tools and scissors since the 1930s. These scissors are from Becker's premium Erbe collection.

Not just for ear and nose hair but perfect for trimming eyebrows, sideburns and essential for the safe trimming of beards and moustaches.

The round ends are to ensure you won't nick your skin around the delicate ear and nose areas.

Precision ground, these steel scissors should last a lifetime.

There is no excuse for unsightly facial hair, love your face with this essential gentlemen's grooming item.

Add to Wish List

Round tipped for safety.

All orders placed before 3pm GMT will be dispatched same day
Free UK delivery*  available on all orders over £75!

The round tips of these scissors ensure you won't cut yourself around the delicate ear and nose areas.

Precision made by Becker of Solingen Germany, these stainless steel scissors should last a lifetime.

Scissor Length: 10.5cm

Use for safe trimming of all facial, nose and ear hair.

Becker of Solingen of Germany, quality assured - we highly recommend these scissors to anyone looking for durability and safe, ease of use.

Hard-wearing German stainless steel.

Christmas Posting Dates for 2021

You can find out all about the last posting dates for Christmas 2021 by clicking this link - Christmas Delivery Information 2021

Yes, we deliver to the USA and the Rest of the World, as well as to the UK and Europe.
The Executive Shaving Company treats the delivery of all our customers’ orders as a priority.
We want you to receive your order as quickly as possible, so you can start enjoying it.

Order Dispatch

Orders will be dispatched on the same day as the order is placed, providing we receive the order before 15:00 GMT Monday to Friday.
Orders placed over the weekend or on Bank Holidays will be dispatched the next working day.

Delivery Services

United Kingdom

We offer Standard, Express, Next Working Day before 1pm and Saturday delivery services to customers in the UK.
You will be advised of all the delivery services you can select for your order when you checkout.
*Free shipping is currently available for all UK orders over £75 only. This free service is our Standard Shipping service by Royal Mail and can take between 2 to 5 days for delivery.

International includes deliveries to the USA, Canada, Europe and all other countries in the World. You will be able to select the delivery service for international orders when you checkout. Some products are restricted to the countries we can ship them to. You will be notified at the checkout, after you input your delivery address, as to what restrictions apply to your order, if any. You can see the full details of our Delivery Policy here. If you have any queries about our delivery policy please contact us on 0141 880 3040, or email us at [email protected].

Write Your Own Review
You're reviewing:Becker of Solingen Nose, Ear & Beard Scissors
Your Rating

They Tried, They Understood


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
Cheap Flights to Bulawayo

Reviews from verified customers

13 Apr. 2019

Everything went well and I arrived safely and on time both directions

A verified traveller
Johannesburg to Bulawayo · South African Airways

Bulawayo Flights

Have the time of your life in Bulawayo

Flying to Bulawayo is now easier than ever when you use Expedia to book your trip. We’ve got an extensive catalogue of Bulawayo flight deals, giving you the greatest number of options to choose from. Whether you prefer to fly on weekdays or weekends, in the morning or at night, a quick search on will help you find cheap tickets to Bulawayo in seconds. We even make it simple for you to stick with a certain airline if you’re trying rack up frequent flyer points.

Tips for flying and packing light

If it’s been a while since you’ve travelled, you might be due for a refresher when it comes to flying. That’s where our helpful blog, Out There Starts Here, comes in. Wondering whether to pack for fine dining or more casual eats? Or whether you really need to bring a jacket? Written by seasoned travel experts, the articles on our blog provide you with the latest details about certain destinations, so you know just what to expect. Check out some of our recent articles for the smartest ways to see the sights.

Fly for less when you bundle airfare and accommodation

Our already low airfares are even more affordable when you bundle your flights with a stay at one of the hotels in Bulawayo. By booking all of your travel plans with us, you’ll save time and money, and enjoy the convenience of having all of your arrangements in one place.

Get the power of planning in the palm of your hand

Booking your trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe has never been easier than when you use our mobile app to plan your dream getaway. The Expedia app is available on both Android and iOS, allowing you to reserve flights and hotels at any time of day, no matter what kind of phone you use. You’ll also get exclusive offers, receive flight updates, and can earn extra points. Wherever you are, the Expedia app helps you get where you want to be.

Join the Expedia Rewards Program

If you enjoy the finer things in life, sign up for our rewards program to receive exclusive benefits when you book with us. Expedia Rewards opens the door to member-only deals, +VIP Access hotel benefits, and earning Expedia Rewards points which you can redeem your way. You’ll also get access to Unreal Deals that could save you the price of a plane ticket to Bulawayo when bundled with your accommodation.

What are you waiting for? helps you find cheap flights to Bulawayo ! So why wait another second to begin planning your trip? Start your search right now, and you could be boarding the next Bulawayo-bound flight. Bon voyage!

Frequently asked questions


text:
• MiddletonHallEstate

Ross Sands Bank Beach

Today we finally made the trip to Ross Sands Beach somewhere we have been meaning to visit for a long time but never really got around to it. As soon as we stepped foot on the sand we both looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed with excitement that this was our new favourite beach.

This is a blog example more will be added

#Middletonhallestate #northumberlandholiday

4 views0 comments


text:
How to stream the 2019 CrossFit Games with a VPN

Güncellendi: 13 Temmuz 2021

30 günlük para iade garantisi

How to stream the 2019 CrossFit Games with a VPN

Stream the CrossFit Games 2021 live on YouTube

This year, you can catch the action on the CrossFit site. To watch:

  1. Get ExpressVPN.
  2. Connect to a server location in the U.S.
  3. Head to the CrossFit YouTube channel.
  4. Enjoy the games!

Learn more about watching YouTube with ExpressVPN.

Want it on the big screen? Learn about all the ways to get ExpressVPN on your TV.

[The Olympics begin on July 23. Get all the details you need on our landing page.]

The 2021 CrossFit Games Regionals schedule

Worried about missing the live streams? Don’t sweat it!

Follow the latest schedule on

Who will be crowned ‘Fittest on Earth’?

Which event are you most looking forward to? Is it the powerlifting, the super squats, or the extreme gauntlets?

Whatever event you’re most excited about, make sure you use a VPN to secure your connection and stream all the games!

And, as always, live chat is available if you have any questions!

ExpressVPN is a VPN service not intended to be used as a means of copyright circumvention. Please read the ExpressVPN Terms of Service and your content provider’s Terms of Use for more details.

Yorum yapın

E-posta hesabınız yayımlanmayacak. Gerekli alanlar * ile işaretlenmişlerdir

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

  <acronym title="">
      <q cite=""> <s>

Need help? Chat with us!

Subscribe to the Newsletter


text:
FabFilter User Forum

Linux support with new VST SDK

Probably most you you already read it, but this is really big news.

Steinberg is releasing a new SDK with linux support:

Can we expect a new version of fab plugins compiled for linux?

I can't wait to buy each one of them.

There's no market for Linux plugins right now. There are maybe a handful of users that would still require a significant amount of support.

At most they'd probably release an unsupported beta (just compiled and sent out).

We're not planning support for Linux any time soon. It's a significant amount of work, and testing is harder than on Windows or Mac because there are various major Linux distributions, all with subtle differences. And of course the market is very small.

Frederik (FabFilter)

Maybe you can concentrate only on one LInux distribution ? Ubuntu studio for exemple ?
I think that there have a lot of ubuntu users in the world ...

Best regards

I reckon there's a market out there for Harrison Mixbus users on Linux that'd go for pro-grade plugins like these. With Mixbus, Linux is a very valid platform for pro-audio work these days and there's still plenty of opportunity in the plugin space to establish a name as THE essential plugins to be using for pro work on that platform (exactly as fabfilter have very intelligently done with the iOS platform).

Oscar South

Just try to compile smth for linux users and you will see the amount of us!)))

FWIW, the plugs run well for mixing at higher latency in Reaper/Linux using WINE and the LinVst wrapper: github.com/osxmidi/LinVst

At least something to consider in the meantime.

Jack Winter

The Linux market is still small for one reason - most developers like you don't build anything useful for Linux. Give people an alternative and the market will grow.

It's not small market - is a not full market which can be claimed.
And this market has a very small percentage of piracy, users value their developers.

Every manufacturer of VSTs/Plugins should be interested in supporting Linux:
Somehow, every potential customer is on a budget and the less money one has to spend on the systems that host plugins, the more money the one has left over to spend on plugins... Building a linux based DAW is more interesting than ever these days. Not only that Linux is free and professional grade DAWs like Reaper are cheap. Building a linux based system also reduces costs for computer hardware a lot. Windows and Mac OS don't shine when it comes to parallel processing. Very powerfull multi core CPUs (AMD Ryzen/Threadripper) are available but in Windows/Mac OS based systems with established DAWs like Protools, that are not build for parallel processing/SMT, the potential of this kind of silicon does not translate into performance very well. But with Linux you get way better performance when it comes to SMT. Using these kind of CPUs enables you to put together a machine that is more than twice as powerfull as a fully equipped ProMac for 20% of the price...
It is true that today linux does not play a roll in audioengineering yet but that will change radically. If they are wise, FabFilter should really be interested in becoming envolved in supporting linux.

Linux users are already able to use major DAWs and plugins from 3rd party devs like u-he. Still the market share of Linux is only about 2%. If people didn't care until now, why should they start building Linux systems now suddenly? Further more for hobbyists (which I'd consider the majority of producers) audio production is only an add on. So as long as Linux isn't able to keep up with other stuff like games it's not convinient enough to switch to or to dual boot it.

BTW ProTools utilizes all CPU cores and highly runs in parallel...

I am running the media technology lab at a public art university and nearly all audio stuff done here is done on linux machines.

I also privately own all Fabfilter products, because before my university position I worked as a freelance rerecording mixer for film (on Windows) I am still looking forward to the day where I can make the full switch to Linux, one of the blockers are the fabfilter plugins (or something like it).

Although I like open source, what I like about linux for audio is that it is just so damn reliable once you have a running setup (which is also why most dedicated audio hardware that ia anove the microcontroller level usually runs linux). It is also incredibly customizable. I need to use the HDMI Audio output while also using a Soundcraft MTK mixer? Easy on linux, totally and utterly impossible on Windows (just as an example).

Any company that supports Linux (like Bitwig for example) will automatically get a lot of plus points from my side. "Why should we support Linux if the market share is low?" This is not about market share but about showing a willingness to support reliable, customizable and open systems — to move away from a total dependency on Apple and Microsoft, two giant corporations that really did not shine as marvelous examples of having audio professionals as their first priority.

Will it pay off right away? Probably not. But it is certainly the direction things should move into. It is the right thing to do and maybe it is even a good long term investment.

As someone observing the whole thing for a decade now, things are moving faster now than ten years ago. Newer companies are more willing to support Linux right away. If something comes along that replaces Q3 and works on Linux I'd gladly pay double the Fabfilter price for it.

> there are various major Linux distributions, all with subtle differences

You can do what most companies that aren't fully into Linux do and simply support one version of Ubuntu.

Bitwig Studio is a great example, they provide downloads for Ubuntu 18.04 and that's the only version they support.

The Linux community is more than used to porting packages between distros when there is no other way, and things work out very well. I'm on Arch Linux and I was able to get Bitwig setup in just one command because someone already ported the .deb version to AUR. Everything worked out of the box.

Reaper works perfectly as well, again installed via AUR.

u-he provides Linux versions of their synths but explicitly says there is no official support, only community support, and that works out great too.

While it's not ideal, many of us dual boot or run many systems with both Linux and Windows and would be more than happy to jump through a few extra steps to get more of the same software running on Linux.

If you give us one build that works on one distro as a "beta" version with no support I'm sure we'll figure it out together as a community.

i don't know if anyone is reading this anymore, but i so much
agree with everyone, who says it's worth the effort.
I mean the linux community is small, but right. And we all know it.
Microsoft and Apple do what they want and everyone has to go with it, with linux all can be free.
But it's gonna take another 20 years. Unless...

Reply to this topic:


text:
Bavaria: final exams for 37,000 high college students and junior high students begin on Tuesday

On Tuesday commence the written examinations for practically 37,000 Bavarian students in the secondary schools. They take location within the period from 30 June to ten July.Collectively with their teachers, graduates could use the past weeks to prepare an intensive and targeted. A commitment which is worthwhile, simply because the high-school diploma is highly regarded in enterprise and society. He is regarded because the key to future profession or for additional educational qualifications.With thriving completion of the tests, the students received the certificate of high-school diploma. This types the basis for a certified qualified education and for college continuing by way of to the subject-specific or general university.Written final examinations at secondary schools from 30 June to 10 July.

The written final examinations at secondary schools discovered within the period from 30 June to ten July. Because of the Corona-related disabilities within the college operation, the final exams hire a ghostwriter to write your book have been moved to the secondary college for 14 days. This time was utilized in the classroom for intensive and targeted preparation for the exams. All Bavarian real students and actual students take the exams in German, English and mathematics, and – as outlined by the gravity from the selected specialization – in an additional topic for example physics, home business administration / accounting, French, art, plants, nutrition and overall health or social function from. On unique concentrate schools, the students can full the fourth test in music, Spanish or sports. As a part of the very best promotion as well as a fifth audit specialist can attend at certain pilot schools students.

Even prior to the ability tests and voluntary audit for the specialized information and facts technology have been carried out.The language proficiency exams centrally provided in English, French, Spanish and Czech have been held the written examination period just before the begin. In the final exam in French, the international language diploma “Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française” (DELF) at level B1 on the Prevalent European Framework (GER) is integrated. This permits the genuine students and true students to obtain the recognized planet DELF diploma.

Dates of written exams 2020thJune 30: Spanish / Czech 1st July: German JULY two: French JULY three: English JULY 6: Mathematics I / II July 7: Home business Administration / Accounting July eight: Physics JULY 9: Art, food and well being, social services, music, sports ten July: functions.Numerous educational backgrounds at the secondary college.Towards the Bavarian secondary schools the students from grade 7 pick out in line with their interests and talents, various educational backgrounds: In elective courses Group I, the emphasis in mathematics, all-natural sciences and technology is, in electives Group II inside the economic-commercial and electives Group III within the foreign language and musisch- formative, wellness or social field.Press release Bavarian Ministry of Culture / MB.