text:
Reporters Love Pontiff's Message for the Poor, Not the Unborn
Page One
Before Pope John Paul II landed in the
United States, Washington Post Style writer Henry Allen suggested
millions of American Catholics think he "speaks with the voice of a
conservative crank when he stonewalls on abortion" and other Church
doctrines. But when the Pope called on America to do more for the poor,
reporters turned him into a star witness against the Republican
Robert McFadden covered the Pope's
arrival for the October 5 New York Times: "Without naming names, or
even mentioning the Republican-dominated Congress, the Pope also seemed
to admonish the supporters of proposed laws to restrict immigration and
dismantle many of the nation's programs for the poor. In doing so, he
appeared to echo many of President Clinton's warnings."
The next day, after the Pope called legal
abortion a "moral blight" on America, Times reporter Celestine
Bohlen pronounced: "Though he mentioned the rights of the `unborn
child' at Giants Stadium last night, his most striking statements...have
been warnings against what he perceives as a rising movement to limit
immigration, reduce subsidies for the poor and weak, and retreat to an
isolationist position."
The same spin made its way onto
television. On Good Morning America October 6, ABC reporter Bill
Blakemore proclaimed: "He's striking a theme that runs directly
counter to Republican plans to limit welfare programs for the
On October 10, CNN anchor Judy Woodruff
asked Pat Buchanan on Inside Politics: "How do you as a Catholic
reconcile that with what your own party has done this year and is
talking of doing with regard to cutting back programs for the poor in
this country?" Neither ABC nor CNN asked Democrats how the Pope's
pro-life message reconciled with their pro-abortion position.
NBC's appointed papal expert in three
morning interviews, Andrew Greeley, a millionaire priest and author of
sexually explicit novels, told Today co-host Giselle Fernandez on
October 7: "The Pope has come to the United States when it's in a
very mean-spirited period when it's bashing immigrants, bashing poor
people, bashing minorities. And the Pope has come to say `Hey, stop
that!' He isn't talking about specific legislative measures but he's
certainly addressing himself to the spirit that elected and sustains the
Gingrich-Dole Congress."
But when asked about Catholic reaction to
the Pope's authority on sexual matters, Greeley replied: "Where
they think the Pope really doesn't understand, they reserve the right to
follow their own consciences and appeal to a God who does
Revolving Door
In moving personnel around in preparation
for the 1996 campaign, the White House has shifted three media veterans.
Donald Baer, Assistant Managing Editor (AME) of U.S. News & World
Report until becoming President Clinton's chief speechwriter last year,
has taken the title of Communications Director. While a lawyer in 1984
he organized a $75,000 fundraiser in New York City on behalf of Democrat
James Hunt, the unsuccessful nominee that year against North Carolina
Republican Jesse Helms. He joined U.S. News in 1987 as an Associate
At the Labor Department, Clinton will
nominate Susan King as Assistant Secretary for public affairs. She spent
the first half of the year as the presidentially appointed Executive
Director of the Commission on the Family Medical Leave Act. In the early
'80s King was a White House and general assignment reporter for ABC News
until taking an anchor slot at NBC's station in Washington, D.C.... In
Foggy Bottom, The Washington Post reported that Secretary of State
Warren Christopher has gained a new Senior Adviser: Bob Boorstin, a New
York Times metropolitan reporter in the '80s who has spent the last year
writing speeches for NSC chief Anthony Lake.
"Andie Tucher is editorial producer
of the ABC News Twentieth Century Documentary Project," read the
identification tag on an article in the Summer issue of the Freedom
Forum's Media Studies Journal. In the piece exploring the media's
unpopularity, Tucher and co-author Dan Bischoff recalled their positions
when attending MTV's inaugural ball: "One of us had toiled as a
speech writer in the Clinton campaign's War Room...and the other was
then political editor of the Village Voice." A check with Nexis
found that Bischoff worked for the Voice, leaving Tucher, a writer and
producer of Bill Moyers documentaries in 1991-92, as the Clintonite.
The duo argued in their article that
"the rampant dissatisfaction with the `fairness' of the media may
well stem from one fundamental misunderstanding: People seem to believe
that the definition of objectivity is `agreement with me.'"
To beef up its presidential campaign
coverage USA Today has brought aboard a Carter Administration veteran.
Walter Shapiro, Press Secretary to Labor Secretary Ray Marshall and
later a speechwriter for President Carter, has begun "Hype &
Glory," a weekly news section column that will appear twice a week
starting November 22. Shapiro, a Senior Writer for Time from 1987 until
Clinton's inauguration, when he became Esquire's White House
correspondent, will remain in that slot for the monthly.
John Scali, the ABC News reporter who
became an intermediary in the Cuban Missile Crisis and later a part of
the Nixon Administration, passed away on October 9. Scali gained fame
after it became known in 1964 that in October 1962, a year after he
joined ABC News, he had carried a critical message from a KGB Colonel to
U.S. officials. He left ABC in 1971 to serve as a foreign affairs
adviser to President Nixon, becoming U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations in 1973. Scali re-joined ABC in 1975 where he worked until
retiring in 1993.
Watching the Detectives?
Wallace's Whitewash
The official determination of suicide in
the 1993 death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster led to much
controversy. Some homicide detectives raised questions about
inconsistencies with suicide in the park. Former FBI Director William
Sessions called the investigation "compromised" from the
So when 60 Minutes decided to take a look
you'd expect a serious examination of all the evidence. Instead, on
October 8, Mike Wallace tried to debunk any notion of mysterious
circumstances by taking potshots at a few of the less important
questions. Wallace laid out the official story: "Vince Foster's
family, the U.S. Park Police, the FBI, the Senate Banking Committee, and
independent counsel Robert Fiske have all concluded that Vince Foster
killed himself. But according to a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans
still are not sure. The question is: Why? In large part, because of the
work of this man, investigative reporter Christopher Ruddy."
Wallace grilled Ruddy of the Pittsburgh
Tribune Review, portraying him as part of a right-wing conspiracy:
"Ruddy's paper is owned by a prominent conservative, Richard Mellon
Scaife. Scaife also supports a tiny conservative outfit that calls
itself the Western Journalism Center (WJC) and they've turned Ruddy's
stories into full page newspaper ads across the country. The ads ask for
contributions to keep Ruddy investigating and Ruddy's reporting is the
basis for two videotapes."
Wallace focused on two issues: A disputed
quote from a medical examiner, Dr. Donald Haut, and Ruddy's initial
mistaken reporting that Foster was left-handed. In a statement after the
show, WJC wrote: "Wallace never mentions that it was the Boston
Globe which first reported Foster was left-handed," and that Ruddy
had been first to report the correct information.
Wallace talked to medical examiner Haut,
who contradicted Ruddy about the amount of blood around the body. He
told Wallace it was consistent with suicide. But that's not what Haut
initially told Ruddy and the FBI. The WJC pointed out several major
discrepancies raised by forensic scientists that Wallace never
mentioned: powder burns on Foster's hand inconsistent with suicide,
eyeglasses 19 feet from his body, missing car keys, and the lack of soil
on his shoes.
Cooke Award
Scientist Says U.N. Report Includes Acknowledgment That Global Warming Will Be Slight
Potter's Press
Release Presentation
The hyperbole bandwagon behind the theory
of global warming has lost a lot of steam since its panicky debut in the
summer drought of 1988. Gloomy scenarios of a fiery, dying planet have
almost disappeared from the nightly news. But true believers in liberal
environmentalism remain, and foremost among them is ABC reporter Ned
Potter. For the second time this year Potter issued a one-sided warning
of a greenhouse catastrophe, which has again earned him the Janet Cooke
Back on the April 5 World News Tonight,
Potter took to the sea: "The ocean is giving a signal of global
warming -- the much-debated prediction that industrial air pollution
will trap the sun's heat and warm the earth in coming decades...There is
evidence, tentative but increasing, that the climate has already begun
to change, affecting people's lives in a range of ways." ABC
ignored a report two days earlier from NASA's George C. Marshall
Institute which said "a growing body of scientific evidence shows
global warming is not a serious threat."
So when the United Nations issued another
report on global warming, ABC returned to the subject, but kept ignoring
the skeptics -- and the real positive message buried in the report.
Peter Jennings began the September 18 World News Tonight story:
"And here is a weather problem that has an effect on the entire
globe, which is why they call it global warming. After years of debate a
consensus is forming. A United Nations report presents persuasive
evidence that the earth is already growing warmer because of man."
Potter began: "Larger and more
frequent hurricanes, longer and more intense droughts, coastal cities
slowly flooded by rising oceans. This is the worst case scenario of
global warming. The United Nations convened thousands of scientists to
argue over the problem. Instead, in a new report, they agree that the
earth is warming partly in response to human activities."
The story turned to Michael Oppenheimer
of the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the most prominent advocates
of an approaching catastrophe: "For the first time, the scientific
community has stated clearly that human beings are a probable cause of
much of the warming that's occurred over the last century." Potter
added NASA's Cynthia Rosenzweig to echo Oppenheimer.
Skeptics reject the notion of scientific
consensus. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental sciences at
the University of Virginia, testified to Congress on September 20:
"I want to state clearly that there is no scientific consensus on
ozone depletion or its consequences. `Consensus' is a political concept,
not a scientific one. It is used mainly to gain reassurance for an
ideological position and to avoid having to examine scientific arguments
in detail. Consensus has also been claimed on the global warming
The one time Potter allowed an opposite
point of view -- on June 9, 1992 -- he identified Fred Singer as "a
scientist who often defends industries like coal and oil, which are less
concerned about the climate than about drastic economic measures being
proposed to protect it."
Potter continued his September story with
exposition: "When coal and oil are burned in cars and factories,
they release gases like carbon dioxide that can trap the sun's heat in
the atmosphere and warm the earth. Scientists say the earth's average
temperature has increased about one degree in the last hundred years and
could increase in the next hundred by another one to six degrees. That
may not sound like much but scientists say it could mean dramatic
changes, with food shortages in some places and oceans drowning low
lying areas as they rise a foot and a half."
Potter ended by underlining the need for
onerous government action: "Industry is worried that it may be
forced to make drastic changes, closing down coal-fired power plants or
switching cars from gasoline to much more expensive batteries. But with
scientists so clearly labeling industry as part of the problem,
politicians may not give companies a choice."
Potter would have gotten the opposite
message if he'd interviewed Patrick Michaels, professor of environmental
sciences at the University of Virginia, who told MediaWatch: "This
is another example of a reporter ostensibly reporting on science who has
not critically read or investigated the subject of his report. It is
astounding to me that a person who has followed this issue as closely as
Potter did not read between the lines in this report." Michaels
explained: "The real story is not that it implicates humans in
climate change. It is that the United Nations now says the climate model
that best tracks the past, and is therefore most reliable in the future,
one that predicts very little future
The U.N report cited an August 10 paper
in the journal Nature by a British team of scientists led by J.F.B.
Mitchell, which begins: "Climate models suggest that increases in
greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere should have produced a
larger global mean warming than has been observed in recent decades,
unless the climate is less sensitive than is predicted by the present
generation of coupled general circulation models."
Michaels told MediaWatch: "That's a
polite way of saying the so-called cynics were right." He explained
that the British team's model projects that a doubling of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere would cause an increase in global temperatures of 2.5
degrees Celsius by the year 2100, lower than most models. But the model
also includes the offsetting cooling effect of sulfate aerosols, which
reduces warming by a third, leaving a net warming of only 1.7 degrees
from 1900 to 2100.
Michaels added: "Mitchell's model
accurately projects a 0.4 degree warming `since the 1930s and 1940s,'
which should have been more specific. But if you subtract that
four-tenths from the 1.7 degrees the model predicts, we would only see
1.3 degrees warming by the year 2100."
How does this make scientific
"cynics" right? In his 1991 book Sound and Fury: The Science
and Politics of Global Warming, Michaels predicted: "The warming
that will have occurred between 1900 and the time CO2 effectively
doubles in the next century will be on the order of 1.0 to 1.5 degrees
Celsius." Michaels told MediaWatch: "The media's attempt to
create policy and subsidies in the latest spasm of global warming
apocalyptism is so transparent. But if this U.N. report doesn't kill the
issue before this Congress, I don't know what will."
As usual, Potter failed to return
repeated MediaWatch phone calls. In a 1993 Nightline, Ted Koppel
concluded the show with what would be good advice for Potter: "The
measure of good science is neither the politics of the scientist nor the
people with whom the scientist associates. It is the immersion of
hypotheses into the acid of truth. That's the hard way to do it, but
it's the only way that works."
The Washington Post devoted a September
19 front-page story to the Republican bill aiming to stop activist
groups from using taxpayer money to lobby for more government. But the
bill's liberal critics never were identified as liberal. Reporter
Stephen Barr listed "the bill's harshest critics -- including
Independent Sector, a coalition of more than 800 corporate and nonprofit
groups, and OMB Watch, a public interest group." Barr also
introduced without a label the National Committee for Responsive
Philanthropy, the American Association of Retired Persons, the Aspen
Institute, and Georgetown law professor David Cole, who Barr didn't
mention is active in the far-left Center for Constitutional Rights. But
Barr ended his story by turning to Leslie Lenkowsky of the
"conservative Hudson Institute."
As Congress prepares to vote on allowing
oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and logging
in the Tongass National Forest, environmentalists are launching a
counter-attack. Their weapon of choice? The media.
Reporter Martha Brant took aim at
Alaska's Republican delegation in an October 2 Newsweek piece titled
"The Alaskan Assault." Rep. Don Young, described by Brant as a
"hot-tempered trapper," and Senators Ted Stevens (who's
"given to sudden fits of rage") and Frank Murkowski (who lacks
Young's "menacing flair") have been shepherding the
legislation to supposedly destroy Alaska and kill all the caribou
through the committees they control.
Brant set the debate:
"Environmentalists try to depict the current conflicts as a
morality play that pits helpless animals and sparkling streams against
rapacious developers. The problem is that these lawmakers -- arguing
that jobs for loggers and oil drillers outweigh traditional preservation
worries -- are happy to wear the black hats."
Just how big is this "assault"
on Alaska's natural resources? It's tiny, Steve Hanson, Communications
Director for the House Resources Committee told MediaWatch. The Tongass
National Forest is 17 million acres large. Only 1.5 million acres of
Tongass can be harvested for wood. Since 1952, the most wood harvested
in a single year was 13,997 acres. The ANWR is 19 million acres, the
size of South Carolina. Hanson pointed out that "the actual
footprint of the oil facilities is about 12,000 acres."
The media buildup for the 1996 Clinton
campaign is beginning. An August 20 Knight-Ridder story was headlined in
one Pennsylvania newspaper, "Polls Show that Clinton's Tough Stance
is Gaining More Public Support." Washington bureau reporter Robert
Rankin detailed Clinton's popularity-earning moves: "Ordered
sweeping regulation over sale and marketing of cigarettes and chewing
tobacco to children," "restricted lobbyists' access to
executive branch officials," and appointed two proponents of
"clean government" to "spearhead campaign-finance
In addition, Rankin reported that over
the summer Clinton "Ordered his Education Department to notify
every school in America about the religious rights of students, and his
Justice Department to defend students whose religious rights are
infringed upon." Glowing phrases like "flexing his executive
muscles" and "the public seems to like the newly assertive
Clinton" permeated the story. To show the popularity of all this
plus moves like ordering "equal access to security clearances for
homosexuals in government" and defending "affirmative action
programs as unequivocally necessary," Rankin cited poll numbers
showing Clinton beating Bob Dole.
But according to a poll in the October 2
U.S. News and World Report, "only 40 percent of the voters approve
Clinton's job performance and 46 percent disapprove -- no change from
last November."
Newsweek contributor Gregg Easterbrook is
no conservative. National Journal reporter Paul Starobin wrote in the
September 2 edition that "he volunteered at a recent lunch with EPA
administrator Carol Browner to endorse the Clinton Administration's
environmental agenda." Then why has A Moment On the Earth,
Easterbrook's book on the environment, been greeted with such hostility
on the liberal environmental beat? Because Easterbrook's thesis is that
the environmental news today is basically good, a theme insufficiently
gloomy for some statist environmental journalists: "Not only
Easterbrook's science, but also his motive and credentials, have been
questioned in a raucous, at times petty, spat that has important
implications for the direction of policy."
Starobin noted Time reporter David
Seideman penned a poisonous book review for the Los Angeles Times.
Seideman wrote that the book "sinks beneath a landfill of
falsehoods and sophistries." In an interview Seideman called him a
"bully" who "makes caricatures of environmentalists...I'm
absolutely appalled by what
he's writing but in awe of his
[publicity] skills. He's very good at playing the provocateur -- maybe
we're all unwittingly playing into his hands." A second Times
review said the book was "powerfully persuasive, both in detail and
in perspective."
Also angry is Philip Shabecoff, the
ex-New York Times environmental reporter, who accused Easterbrook of
sending "a jarringly wrong message to environmental
journalists." And what's the correct message? Shabecoff wrote in a
recent newsletter of the Society of Environmental Journalists: "Our
role is to probe beneath the veneer placed over our continuing
environmental ills by industrial political and ideological
propaganda," not "feel-good fluff."
Shabecoff told Starobin his big worry was
a "corporate culture in the media that looks askance at
environmental reporting." In his 1993 book A Fierce Green Fire,
Shabecoff cited approvingly the "valuable role" professional
activists play in environmental journalism as "intermediaries
between the scientific community and reporters." Starobin noted
that "[Shabecoff] left the Times in 1991 after he was pulled off
the environment beat by editors who, he said, told him that his coverage
was pro-green -- an accusation that he disputes."
Senator Bob Packwood's resignation led to
some confusion in the media. Reporters worried about the loss of another
moderate as they went searching for a label for Senator William Roth,
his successor as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
On the September 8 Good Morning America's
7:00 a.m. news summary, correspondent Bob Zelnick anointed him moderate:
"Bill Roth, the Republican of Delaware, will take over, a moderate
but not quite the power Packwood is." Thirty minutes later,
however, anchor Morton Dean changed the label: "The moderate
Packwood leaving the Senate and giving up the chairmanship of the
powerful Senate Finance Committee, and favored to replace him, the more
conservative William Roth of Delaware."
U.S. News & World Report Senior
Writer Steven Roberts worried in the September 18 edition that Roth's
ascension would leave "fewer GOP moderates, more hardline
conservatives and a Senate where compromises are harder to reach."
Specifically, he described Roth as "a more timid lawmaker who is
far less likely to assert his independence from conservative
orthodoxy" than Packwood. If Dean or Roberts had checked they'd
have learned that Roth is hardly a hard-line conservative. In 1994 he
earned a 35 percent rating from the liberal Americans for Democratic
Action and a 68 from the American Conservative Union which gave Packwood
67 percent approval.
The U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing
gave the media a convenient hook to hang their large feminist hats,
celebrating abortion as women's liberation and the good old days of
gender equality under communism. ABC World News Tonight reporter Beth
Nissen suggested September 3 that American women shared the plight of
the Third World: "American women are still underrepresented among
those who enforce the law, who make the law," she said, describing
America as "a society that often fails to treat women equally,
fairly, or well."
Eight days later, on September 11, ABC's
Jim Laurie noted the Beijing conference was "making important
breakthroughs," among them a sexual rights manifesto "likely
to urge the decriminalization of abortion around the world. With such
strides in women's rights, said one delegate, disputes between George
Bush and Bella Abzug are unfortunate diversions." But neither
Nissen nor Laurie discussed the victims of these "rights," as
China's forced abortion condemns many infant girls to death.
In the August 24 Los Angeles Times,
reporter Robin Wright noted approvingly that "China's constitution
is among the few that openly pledges `women enjoy equal rights with men
in all spheres of life.'" Wright lamented women's lack of good
authoritarian opportunities in the new, freer societies:
"Opportunities have actually diminished for females in many of the
formerly socialist countries that are embracing democracy and free
markets. East European governments have far fewer women than their
communist predecessors. And China admits that women hold limited
positions of influence in the government and Communist Party -- and none
in the Politburo."
As if that weren't enough demonstration
of a blind eye to the reality of communism, a week later, Los Angeles
Times reporter Maggie Farley blandly recounted how Shen Huiqin
reminisced about her "good old days when they were young women at
the forefront of China's Cultural Revolution two decades ago. `I was a
Red Guard then, and we had power.'" Indeed, those at the
"forefront of the Cultural Revolution" from 1966 to 1976 are
estimated to be responsible for the deaths of at least 20 million men
and women. But Farley never mentioned that -- only that "most of
the gains made by Chinese women" came during that murderous decade.
wistfully noted: "Now, as communism
gives way to capitalism, in many ways women are bearing more than half
the burden of change."
Newsweek Senior Editor Melinda Beck wrote
without irony about home abortion methods in 1989: "Sadly, many
home remedies could damage a fetus instead of kill it." In the same
style, Debra Rosenberg, Michelle Ingrassia, and Sharon Begley returned
to the subject in the September 18 issue, graphically describing a few
women's experiences using RU-486 to abort babies.
They recounted how after one women took
the drug, she went into the bathroom, yelling to her boyfriend:
"Richard! Come here -- look at this!" Newsweek described the
scene: "There is a fist-size glob of red and white at the bottom of
the toilet. Becky can see the curled-up fetus, the size and color of a
cocktail shrimp. `Look at that, honey,' Becky says to Richard. Its hands
are curled into tiny fists. `It's sad. It's sad,' Becky murmurs, turning
away." Another woman had a different experience: "Unlike
Becky, Sarah has not expelled the fetus within 24 hours...nine days
after the misoprostol -- she is taking a shower when she suddenly expels
the pregnancy sac. It doesn't go down the drain. She scoops it up, wraps
it carefully in toilet paper and flushes it away. `It really emotionally
hit me,' she says later."
Newsweek related the story of
"Claudia, a 23-year-old computer programmer from Connecticut who
lives with her boyfriend, had an experience starkly different from
Sarah's: the night after taking the drug at the Planned Parenthood
clinic she passed the fetus, without even taking the
contraction-inducing misoprostol. She had never had an abortion before.
`At first I cried,' she says. `It's a mourning process. It's respect for
Republican "Cuts" Portrayed as Horrific, While Clinton's Unreal Budgets Hailed as Terrific
The Media's More-Spending Bias
The media play an important role in what
political scientist James Payne calls "the culture of
spending." Like many other Washington players, reporters have a
bias in favor of more activism by the federal government, with an
emphasis on more spending. This leads to a very distorted difference in
the way Republican and Democratic spending proposals are reported.
In 1993, when President Clinton proposed
a "$500 billion deficit reduction package," reporters promoted
a vision of serious deficit reduction without mentioning a planned
dramatic expansion of entitlement spending -- the Clinton health plan,
which the public was told would require very little in new taxes or
spending. With this year's Republican budget proposals, they provided
hostile word-pictures of "slashing" and
"bloodletting," even as spending is projected to grow well
beyond the rate of inflation.
In the Bush years alone, Medicare grew 72
percent, and Medicaid jumped 132 percent. Republicans have proposed to
reduce the growth of federal spending on Medicare from over 10 percent a
year to about 7 percent. Spending per recipient is projected to increase
from $4,800 per recipient to $6,700. For Medicaid, the Republicans plan
to send the program's administration back to the states, but also plan a
39 percent increase over seven years, from this year's $89.2 billion to
$124.3 billion.
But reporters have sounded the alarm in
frightful tones. "March madness has begun on Capitol Hill, and
almost as predictable as a B horror film, the slashing has begun,"
warned CNN's Judy Woodruff on March 16. When the Republicans sought to
pass an overall budget, CNN's Bob Franken announced on May 9: "The
House Republican budget bloodletting will infuriate lots of people.
Besides the Medicare cuts, Medicaid, the government health plan for the
poor, loses $184 billion."
In September, the formal introduction of
a Medicare reform plan drew more of the same. Bryant Gumbel charged on
Today September 15: "Republicans in Congress are beginning to
detail how they intend to cut $270 billion from the Medicare
budget." Five days later, Dan Rather declared on the CBS Evening
News: "There's no doubt that Medicare spending will be cut. The
question is how much and for how many." The next day, Rather
announced for effect: "Republicans in Congress today unveiled their
long-awaited and potentially most explosive proposal of all -- to cut
Medicare spending increases by more than a quarter trillion
CBS This Morning co-host Paula Zahn
warned on September 29 that "The Republican plan to slash $270
billion from Medicare cleared its first hurdle in a Senate committee
last night." On PBS, anchor Robert MacNeil reported October 2 that
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle proposed a Medicare plan that
"would cut $89 billion over seven years, a third of what the
Republicans have proposed to slash."
But when Clinton introduced a budget plan
in April 1993 which included no estimates of how much his proposed
health plan would cost in the coming five years, media reaction was not
hostile. Most reporters touted the fiscal solidity of a budget with a
massive magic asterisk in the middle, with no estimate of the increased
costs of adding 37 million Americans to a nationalized health program.
NBC's Lisa Myers declared on the April 30
Today: "The President deserves great credit for having the courage
to come up with a deficit reduction plan and we shouldn't lose sight of
that." On May 28, CBS This Morning's Paula Zahn asked Ross Perot:
"Do you acknowledge that this is at all better than anything the
Republicans attempted over the last 12 years?" This is the same
person who accused the Republicans of "slashing" Medicare.
Reporters also claimed inaccurately that the new budget (which
completely excluded new spending on health care for the uninsured) would
actually lower overall spending. The Clinton budget clearly stated the
budget would grow from $1.3 trillion to $1.7 trillion by 1998.
"Three months after Mr. Clinton
outlined his plan to lower the deficit, by a combination of lower
spending and higher taxes, the tax portion has passed its first
important test on Capitol Hill," announced Peter Jennings on the
May 13, 1993 World News Tonight. Declared CBS Face the Nation host Bob
Schieffer on May 23: "It is a plan which raises taxes and reduces
government spending to bring the deficit into line."
When the initial numbers of the health
plan were introduced in September 1993, reporters continued to present
the White House line that health reform would require no massive tax
increases. ABC's Jim Angle touted savings on World News Tonight
September 2. "Though many analysts are skeptical of the
administration's numbers, they say universal care will save the
government money....In all, some $31 billion a year could be saved by
shifting insurance costs for the working poor and elderly from the
government to their employers."
On the September 15, 1993 CBS This
Morning, Linda Douglass explained: "They have a very elaborate plan
to pay for this revolution in health care. It doesn't provide for much
new in the way of taxes, just a sin tax, cigarette tax. They claim the
money's going to come from savings in spending."
Time Washington Bureau Chief Dan Goodgame
announced in the September 20, 1993 issue: "The Clinton plan is
surprisingly persuasive in supporting the longtime claim of the
Clintons, and their top health care strategist, Ira Magaziner, that
reform can be almost entirely from savings, without broad-based new
taxes and with enough left over to reduce the federal budget
deficit." Not every reporter found the fantasy alluring. In the
September 20, 1993 issue, Newsweek economics correspondent Rich Thomas
charged: "It is the biggest exercise in wishful thinking since
President Reagan promised to cut taxes, increase defense spending, and
balance the budget."
The Congressional Budget Office
eventually calculated the Clinton plan as costing $1 trillion a year by
1998. Since Clinton had no balanced budget deadline, reporters never
reported that as a "seven-trillion-dollar health plan over the next
seven years." The public relies on the national media for accurate
information about the federal budget, but it often doesn't get it. Will
next year's budget really spend less than last year? Will Medicare
spending actually go down? Reporters know that the pollsters have found
that the word "cuts" helps the Democrats, but "slowing
the growth" does not. They seem more interested in curbing
Republican budget balancing plans than providing the most basic
statistical information, finding numerical calculation less necessary
than political calculation.
the Bright Side
In a rare post Cold War look at the
political oppression that existed in the Soviet Union, Newsweek's Andrew
Nagorski reported about the horrors of Soviet prison camps in his
September 25 piece, "Back to the Gulag."
He traveled to Perm, 700 miles east of
Moscow, to relate the horrors of those who had been trapped in the
gulag. "What most gripped the survivors was the memory of being
hungry and cold. Their jail diet was watery soup, bread and weak tea --
meager at best, and often forsworn by prisoners on hunger strikes."
Nagorski learned: "Prisoners lived in terror of catching a cold,
because they were so weak that any illness could prove fatal...And
guards played on that fear by often forcing prisoners to repeatedly
submit to strip searches in the cold."
Nagorski noted that Soviet oppression
ended only recently. "Several inmates died in Perm as late as
1985." He concluded that most former prisoners "aren't looking
for retribution. But they do want some wider recognition of how they
were wronged."
NBC's Lucky Severson took advantage of
the UN women's conference in China to explore the danger women there
face under communism. On the September 3 Nightly News he explained:
"Hidden in this mass of humanity, there's an alarming statistic. By
the year 2000, China will have eighty million more men than women."
Why? "They're missing because China has strictly enforced a one
child per family policy" which is "a death sentence for
China's women."
Citing a human rights report, he asserted
that women become "the silent victims of abortion, and murder, or
they are simply abandoned" since a boy can work the fields. Now,
"it is not uncommon to find the bodies of baby girls floating in a
river." Ultrasound "was designed to save lives," but
Severson said it "is the reason 97 percent of abortions in China
are performed on female fetuses."
After criticizing Ronald Reagan for
years, Newsweek ran two upbeat articles October 2 on the ailing
ex-President. The first was au-thored by Contributing Editor Eleanor
Clift, who once praised Kitty Kelley's 1991 book about Nancy Reagan
(that alleged she had a lesbian affair, performed oral sex acts on
various men, and cheated on her husband) as "a contribution to
contemporary history."
This time, she provided a largely
touching portrait of a family brought together by tragedy, detailing the
reconciliation of daughter Patti with her parents. Clift described how
"Ronald Reagan has always believed in happy endings, and now, in a
way, he is living one. The onset of Alzheimer's in the 84-year-old
former President's brain has brought peace to his once-warring
family." Former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan's appreciation
followed Clift: "Other Presidents have loomed large. Nixon loomed,
but like a shadow. Reagan looms like a sun, lighting the stage on which
the year's contenders [for the presidency] stand. But his light is so
bright they squint in the glare and seem paler, washed out."
Back Page
Audience Not "Angry White Males"
Countering those who dismiss talk radio
as a forum for ignorant and angry white men, a new survey has
determined that regular listeners are better educated than the general
public and a minority are Republican. "Only 22 percent of those
who listened to political radio talk shows `today or yesterday' are
Republican men," found the poll of 3,035 people released in
September by Adams Research Inc. The Arlington, Virginia firm is the
publisher of a new fax newsletter, Talk Daily.
Talk radio has a vast audience, with 47
percent of adults saying they listen occasionally and 17 percent
tuning in within the past 48 hours. Of these frequent listeners, 40
percent are women. Only 38 percent identified themselves as
Republicans, 23 percent as Democrats and 39 percent as independents.
Frequent listeners "are disproportionately better educated"
as 39 percent have a college degree compared to 21 percent of all
adults, and while 20 percent of Americans earn more than $60,000
annually 30 percent of talk show listeners take home that much.
On NBC Nightly News in January Bob Faw
lashed out, asking if "talk radio is not democracy in action, but
democracy run amok?" Re- porters may have reason to fear the
rival: Asked "How important to you is talk radio as a source of
political information and ideas," 67 percent said
"very" or "moderately."
1995 Archive
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the MRC | Subscribe
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Recommended Posts
Similar Content
By Dale68
In the forest sits this stone building, I can't find any info on it other that it's sitting on a settlement mound.
Video.. https://youtu.be/nGuRNOeRuA8
By Dale68
Been waiting all week to go here only to find it's all been boarded back . so just some from the outside.☹
By lucan
The company was established in 1949 , they relocated in 2015 to a more central location and just left the site ,
there is a small petrol station at the front consisting of two bungalows , one is fairly empty and the other is full of paperwork from the petrol sales ,
not a huge ammount left in the factory but a fair bit of office stuff laying round and a few work stations , decaying nicely in a few places
on with the pics from my visit
thanks for looking
By Landie_Man
I had been waiting to do this one for a month or so; but simply hadn't found the time to hop on the M40 and up to Brum.
It was a good opportunity to meet up with some explorers whom I have been chatting to for the best part of ten years or so and do an explore at the same time!
We arrived here mid morning one Sunday and once inside; the beauty of the place was revealed! I really loved this place.
Again though; it was full of the new age era of explorers; about a dozen of them, some videoing and some just shooting photos. It's rare you bump into a person on explores, but lately its been every explore. This one was flavour of the month back in the summer though!!
After the explore, we went to Costco for a cheap lunch in the canteen there and had a nice, chilled drive around the local area looking for other sites
The Hall, built between 1903 and 1904 by architects Ewan Harper and James Harper and the terracotta was made by Gibbs and Canning ltd of Tamworth, is situated at the northern end of Corporation Street in Birmingham.
The hall is a 3 storey red brick and terracotta building with Grade II Listing on it, with 2000 seats in the main halll over 30 additional rooms including 3 school halls.
By 1991, the building had been converted into a nightclub which closed in 2002, but reopened as the Q Club in 2007.
This club's last event at the premises was "Flashback" in 2011. During its time as a Night Club 3 deaths were reported.
-A punter jumped off the tower in 1998
-A clubber OD'd in 2000
-A stabbing outside in 2008.
The Club reopened in 2012, but closed in 2016.
In 2018; Birmingham city council granted planning permission to convert it into a 147 room hotel costing £35 million.
Works have begun and are expected to be complete by 2020.
I just love the contrast between old and new here; with the older Methodists Hall and the big, modern buildings springing up around it. There is a live part of the building and as we were there, a Gospel Band were practicing literally behind the wall; a strong scent of Jerk Chicken was filling the rooms of the abandoned part.
Thanks for Looking, more of the Hall at:
By Landie_Man
So back in August (yes I'm slow as ever!); a non-explorer friend and myself visited The Springs in Wallingford, which at the time was a bit of a local tourist trap; but it was an afternoon out!
It had really dawned on me at this point which way this hobby is going these days. No word of a lie; there was at least 15 people in that hotel, all this new wave of "YouTube Explorer" we all have our opinions of. They were all nice enough there and then, but a couple were very, very loud and had small children with them.
Inevitably, a member of staff of the live Golf Course this was on came and flushed everyone out, myself and my friend sat in an old en-suite upstairs and waited for it to die down.
After that; we explored for an hour and a half or so; not much to see here, fairly plain, but it was an enjoyable day out. Upon exit the same Golf Course Staff found us, but were polite and we were on our way.
The original build dates back to 1874; a Mock Tudor Style building, this Victorian Villa has been massively altered and extended from the original.
Rock Star Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, purchased the villa in 1973 and was behind its and installed a guitar shaped swimming pool in the grounds behind the building before its later conversion into a 32 bedroom hotel.
The last owners bought the hotel in 1995 and added a large golf course and club to the grounds.
The Springs finally closed in 2014 after the owners could no longer afford the vast upkeep. The Golf Club however; voted one of the best in Oxfordshire is still open.
As Always Guys, Thank You. More Hotel At:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Whats New?
Selected Abstracts from JASIST
Editors note: We invite JASIST authors to submit structured abstracts of their articles for possible inclusion in the Bulletin, particularly those that might be of interest to practitioners. ASIST would welcome reader feedback on the usefulness of this (or any other) Bulletin feature (email@example.com).
From JASIST v. 54 (9)
Bergman, O., Beyth-Marom, R., Nachmias R. (2003). The user-subjective approach to personal information management systems, pp. 872-878.
Study and Results: Personal computers often serve as personal information management (PIM) systems: they allow people to collect items of information and store them outside their cognitive system. Research has shown that users of these systems find it hard to remember where they placed their personal information and thus have difficulties in retrieving it whenever necessary. In the article we propose a user-subjective approach to PIM system design that advocates that PIM systems should relate to the subjective attributes that users give to the data stored in them. This will hopefully facilitate system use: help users find information items again, recall them when needed and use them effectively in subsequent interactions with them.
Whats New? Three generic principles for system design are suggested and discussed: (a) The subjective classification principle stating that all information items related to the same subjective topic should be classified together regardless of their technological format; (b) the subjective importance principle proposing that the subjective importance of information should determine its degree of visual salience and accessibility; and (c) the subjective context principle suggesting that information should be retrieved and viewed by the user in the same context in which it was previously used. We claim that these principles are only sporadically implemented in operating systems currently available on personal computers and demonstrate alternatives for interface design.
Limitations: Empirical data are presently collected to support our claims, but are not yet reported in this article.
From JASIST v. 54 (10)
Borlund, P. (2003). The concept of relevance in IR, pp. 913-925.
Study and Results: The concept of relevance is introduced as viewed and applied in the context of information retrieval (IR) evaluation and presented in accordance to the multidimensional and dynamic nature of the concept. The literature on relevance reveals how the concept is many-faceted. The multidimensionality of relevance does not refer only to the various relevance criteria users may apply in the process of judging relevance of retrieved information objects. The multidimensional aspect of relevance covers also classes, types and degrees of relevance. Further, special attention is paid to situational relevance, which is discussed with reference to its potential dynamic nature and as a requirement for interactive IR evaluation.
Whats New? It is often said that no consensus exists on the relevance concept. However, the outlining of the multidimensional and dynamic nature of relevance provides a framework, which demonstrates that a consistent and compatible understanding of the relevance concept has been reached at an overall level.
Limitations: The focus of the paper is limited to the application of relevance within the research area of IR.
Hara, N., Solomon, P., Kim, S., & Sonnenwald, D. H. (2003). An emerging view of scientific collaboration: Scientists perspectives on collaboration and factors that impact collaboration, 952-965.
Study and Results: This paper describes collaboration among a group of scientists and considers how their experiences are socially shaped. The scientists were members of a newly formed distributed, multi-disciplinary academic research center. To investigate challenges that emerge in establishing scientific collaboration, data were collected about members previous and current collaborative experiences, perceptions regarding collaboration and work practices during the centers first year of operation. The data for the study includes interviews with members of the center, observations of videoconferences and meetings, and a center-wide sociometric survey.
Whats New? Data analysis has led to the development of a framework that identifies forms of collaboration that emerged among scientists (e.g., complementary and integrative collaboration) and associated factors, which influenced collaboration including personal compatibility, work connections, incentives and infrastructure. Practitioners can learn about possible issues to attend to in their own developing collaboration situations, especially collaboration in dispersed locations. These results may inform the specification of social and organizational practices, which are needed to establish collaboration in distributed, multi-disciplinary research centers.
Limitations: This study was of an emerging scientific collaboration. The purpose was to understand facilitators and barriers to collaboration as seen by participants in this collaboration. The findings may not apply to other settings. The resulting framework is offered to enable consideration of applicability in other settings as well as to inform other research on factors impacting on collaboration.
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Information Science and Technology


text:
About Hebrew College
Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is dedicated to the principle that rigorous, pluralistic Jewish education is essential to building and sustaining a vibrant Jewish community.
We are committed to training Jewish professionals who have a strong foundation in classical Jewish studies and are equally well equipped to engage the complexities of contemporary Jewish life.
We also embrace a mission that connects serious academic study of Judaism with the educational needs and challenges of the community, via outstanding graduate, adult-learning and youth-education programs. No ivory tower, Hebrew College strives to be a modern equivalent of Abraham's tent, with all sides open to anyone who wishes to join our passionate pursuit of Jewish education.
Here you will find diverse entryways, ranging from intensive text study and professional training that prepare you for a leadership role in the Jewish community to opportunities that enable you to explore Jewish culture, arts and music as a means to define and refine your Jewish identity.
Rooted in the Hebraist-Zionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we maintain a deep commitment to the importance of Hebrew language as a conveyor of Jewish culture and as a link between Diaspora Jewry and the State of Israel. Courses at Hebrew College were originally taught only in Hebrew; today most classes are taught in English, but Hebrew language instruction for beginners to advanced students remains an essential element of the curriculum for graduate degree programs and an accessible option for adult learners and Prozdor high school students.
Hebrew College's legacy also bequeaths a strong commitment to pluralism, an openness to all forms of Jewish expression, commitment and practice. We seek to engage diverse perspectives on any given Jewish topic, both to encourage a dynamic exchange and to foster respect for other points of view. Hebrew College, true to our roots, strives to encompass the broadest spectrum of Jewish life and to model k'lal Yisrael — a community of all Jews — while welcoming members of other faiths to join our vibrant conversation.
Wendy Linden
Digital Marketing Manager


text:
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RVs for Sale near Woburn, MA
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8 RVs listed for sale
Looking to buy a rv? RVParkStore.com has 8 rvs near Woburn. Click here to list your RV for sale.
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2014 Navion 24G
2014 Itasca Navion 24G, 2014 Itasca Navion iQ 24G, 25'5", Double Slide, Class C, 3.0L Mercedes Benz Turbo Diesel, 188 HP, Mercedes Benz Spri...
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2012 Sprinter 311BHS
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2007 Leprechaun 317 KS
2007 Coachmen Leprechaun 317 KS, This coach is in incredibly good condition, it is a single owner with only 8900 miles. Overhead entertainme...
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1985 Mc9
1985 MCI-MC9 - 1985 MC-9 Angola 40 Coach. Converted with new shell, 116,218 Original Miles, 8V92 Silver Turbo Engine, 5-Speed Allison Auto, ...
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2010 Rockwood Roo 233S
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2013 Passport 199ML
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FamilySearch Wiki:Community Meetings
From FamilySearch Wiki
Revision as of 23:18, 9 January 2013 by VasquezJL (talk | contribs) (removed researching in the wiki class)
- Join a Wiki Community Meeting
Come and discuss ways we can work together to improve the wiki.
|Prior to joining the meeting for the first time, please run the MeetingPlace Test to verify you can participate in a web meeting.
|Within MeetingPlace, pressing #5 on your telephone will mute or un-mute your ability to speak during the meeting
Wiki Contributors Meeting
- This meeting is to share best practices, ideas, tips, current issues, etc., for working on projects in the Wiki. Important community issues are also discussed as we help move things along to decisions.
- Information & Agendas: Wiki Contributors Meeting
- Time: Thursday 1:00 - 2:00 PM (Mountain Time) (3:00 - 4:00 PM Eastern
- Dial-in: MeetingPlace ID: 7770; click to attend; Dial-in number: 877-453-7266
Technical Meeting
- This meeting involves technical discussions about how the wiki works including technical issues, workarounds, strategy, and design.
- Information & Agendas: Wiki Tech Users Meeting
- Time: Thursday 2:00-3:00 PM (Mountain Time) (4:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern)
- Format: MeetingPlace ID 7780 click to attend
- Archives
Wiki Support Meeting
- This meeting discusses issues relating to supporting and helping Wiki contributors and keeping the Wiki contributor community running smoothly.
- Information & Agendas: Wiki Support Meeting
- Time: Thursday 9:30-10:30 AM Mountain Time (11:00-12:00 AM Eastern)
- Format: MeetingPlace ID 3232; click to attend or call 877-453-7266
Project Meetings
WikiProject: Indians of North America
- Information & Agendas: Indians of North America Project
- When? — Contact Rorie Jenson for details.
- Format: Skype chat and email
- Open to new team members, if interested.
WikiProject: State of Idaho
- Information & Agendas: Idaho Project Meeting
- When? — Contact Rorie Jenson for details.
- Format: Skype chat and email
- Open to new team members, if interested.
WikiProject: FamilySearch Historical Records
- Information and Agendas: FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject FamilySearch Records
- Time: Every second Wednesday, Monthly, 2:00 - 2:30 PM (Mountain Time) (3:30 PM Eastern)
- Meeting Place ID: 6654
- Click to Attend or Dial in Number: 801-240-2663
- To mute or unmute your telephone, press # 5 on your telephone key pad.
- General Meeting Information: This meeting is held on the second Wednesday of each month, circumstances permitting. If you wish to help provide information and content to articles on the research wiki describing collections found online at FamilySearch Historical Records, attend this meeting and help get this project off the ground.
- Now open to new team members as of September 2011. Anyone interested is invited to attend!
WikiProject: Sweden
- Information Agendas: see Swedish User Group Meeting page
- When? — Every other Thursday @ 2:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) Room ID 0606. Contact Geoffrey Fröberg Morris for details.
- Format: MeetingPlace Meetings, Skype chat, and email
WikiProject: New York
- Dormant since 29 February 2012. DiltsGD 20:10, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
- Information and Agenda: see FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject New York page
- Eighteenth meeting: Thursday 9 February 2012 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) MeetingPlace ID 7717. Contact David Dilts for details.
- Click to Attend or Dial in Number: 801-240-2663
Anyone interested is invited to attend!
- Format: MeetingPlace Meetings ID 7717.
WikiProject: Utah
- Information and Agenda: see FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Utah page
- Wednesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) MeetingPlace ID 2249. Contact Wilma Adkins for details.
- Click to Attend or Dial in Number: 801-240-2663
Anyone interested is invited to attend!
- Format: MeetingPlace Meetings ID 2249.


text:
Mohamed Nasheed, (born May 17, 1967, Male, Maldives), journalist, activist, and politician who was elected president of the Maldives in 2008 but resigned from office in early 2012 in what he characterized as a coup d'état.
Nasheed attended grammar school in Male before attending schools in Colombo, Sri Lanka (1981–82), and in West Lavington, Wiltshire, England (1982–84). He received a bachelor's degree in maritime studies from Liverpool John Moores University in 1989.
Nasheed returned to the Maldives and in 1990 became assistant editor of the new magazine Sangu, which criticized the government of Pres. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Sangu was banned, and Nasheed was sentenced to house arrest. He was jailed later that year and was held in solitary confinement for 18 months. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 1992 but was released in 1993. Nasheed applied for government permission to form an independent political party in 1994, but his request was rejected. Beginning in April 1996, he served six months in prison for an article he had written in a Philippine magazine about the 1993 and 1994 elections in the Maldives.
In 1999 Nasheed was elected to the Maldivian parliament, the People's Majlis. He was arrested again in October 2001, and in the following month he was sentenced to two and a half years' exile to a remote island. In March 2002, while in exile, he was expelled from the Majlis because he had not attended the parliament for six months; he was released in August. After riots in the capital, Male, in September 2003, Nasheed left the Maldives for Sri Lanka, and while in exile there he helped found the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in November 2004.
Nasheed returned to the Maldives in April 2005. That June the Maldivian government passed legislation allowing political parties to participate in elections, and Nasheed, as head of the MDP, began a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience designed to bring greater democracy to the Maldives. Detained again, he spent more than a year under house arrest (2005–06). In the first free presidential election in the Maldives, in October 2008, Nasheed defeated Gayoom with 54 percent of the vote.
As president, Nasheed became known internationally for his outspoken efforts toward halting climate change. All the Maldive Islands are low-lying, none rising to more than 6 feet (1.8 metres) above sea level. In 2009 Nasheed wrote, "Sea level rise of even half a metre would make much of [the Maldives] uninhabitable.…But the Maldives is no special case; simply the canary in the world's coal mine." The Maldives announced plans that year to become the world's first carbon-neutral nation by 2020. Nasheed even held a cabinet meeting underwater in October to draw attention to the danger the Maldives would face from rising sea levels. In June 2010 relations between Nasheed and the People's Majlis reached a new low when Nasheed's entire cabinet resigned to protest the parliament's blocking of the Nasheed government's initiatives. Nasheed reappointed his cabinet. A 2011 documentary film, The Island President, covered Nasheed's history of political activism and his environmental-protection efforts as president.
Nasheed's administration continued to be hampered by loyalty to Gayoom within the judiciary and among members of the opposition Maldive People's Party in the Majlis. In January 2012 Nasheed had a senior criminal court judge arrested for alleged bias in favour of the political opposition. After weeks of street protests by citizens opposed to the arrest, Nasheed resigned in early February and was replaced by his vice president, Mohamed Waheed Hassan. Shortly thereafter Nasheed claimed his resignation had been forced by the police and military, and his supporters staged protests and called for early elections. In August an official commission of inquiry backed by the Commonwealth announced its finding that Nasheed's resignation had been voluntary and that there had been no coup. Meanwhile, in July charges were filed against him for what was deemed to have been his illegal arrest of the criminal court judge in January. Nasheed's trial was delayed repeatedly over the following months through various appeals and hearings. He charged that the proceedings were meant to result in his disqualification from contesting the scheduled September 2013 presidential election. In March 2013 it was announced that the trial would be delayed until after the election, in which Nasheed was running as the MDP candidate.
In the September 7 election Nasheed won a large plurality of votes (45 percent) but not enough to avoid a runoff election against the second-place candidate. That election was scheduled for September 28, but legal challenges to the first election's validity delayed the second vote and eventually resulted in the annulment of the results. A new election was held November 16. Nasheed, the front-runner, was defeated narrowly by Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
In February 2015 the charges against Nasheed were dropped. However, shortly thereafter he was re-charged, and in March he was found guilty of having illegally arrested the criminal court judge. Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison. In December he was granted leave to travel to Great Britain for medical treatment. While there, he gathered support for his case and warned of growing authoritarianism in his country. The British government granted him asylum as a political refugee in May 2016.


text:
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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2007 News Releases > June 2007 > Texas Watercolor Society annual exhibit makes stop in Plainview
Texas Watercolor Society annual exhibit makes stop in Plainview
PLAINVIEW – The annual exhibit of the Texas Watercolor Society makes a stop in Plainview this month as one of only three locations the show will be on display. The 58th Annual Exhibition will be featured in the Abraham Art Gallery at Wayland Baptist University from June 15 through July 14.
Featuring works from a variety of artists from Texas and beyond, the show features the "crème de la crème" of watercolor pieces, including several chosen for special honors by TWS. Frank Webb served as juror for the exhibition, which also has been on display in San Antonio and Snyder and will travel to Columbus, Texas, after its stay at Plainview.
Best of show honors went to Dan Burt of Kerrville for his piece "The Church at Bianca," bringing with it a $2,000 cash award. Webb called the piece "expressive of visual delight" and praised its values and shapes. The silver medallion, also titled the Margaret Pace Willson Award for a Texas Artist, was awarded to John McBeth of Universal City for "Gristmill at San Jose Mission." The award carries a $1,000 prize. Webb noted that the piece was "a combination of observations coupled with good design shapes" and was "well placed on the paper."
Ratindra Das of Wheaton, Ill., received the bronze medallion, $1,000 and the Martin Scully Award for Excellence in Transparent Watercolor for her piece titled "El Jardin '06." Webb described the work as "well shaped, well placed values animated with calligraphic accents."
Other awards went to Thomas Owen of Black Forest, Colo., for "Shadows of Industry;" Al Zerries of Huntington, N.Y. for "Twenty Two Days to Spring;" Frank LaLumia of Trinidad, Colo., for "Rio Brazos;" and Luis Llarina of National City, Calif., for "Distinct Shadows." Texas artists Gail Delger of McKinney, Lesta Frank of San Antonio, Ernani M. Land of Pearland, Kurt Meyer of Arlington, Anita Meynig of Richardson, and Gordon West of San Antonio all have pieces in the exhibit.
From the area, Nancy Carr of Levelland had a piece in the original exhibit, titled "Sunflower Delight." Lubbockite Carol Peterson also had a piece titled "Working Cowboy." Neither are included in the traveling exhibit, which has 30 pieces.
The Abraham Art Gallery is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday 2-5 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The gallery is located in the lower level of the Mabee Learning Resources Center.


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1. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistxerb Mar 31, 2010 8:25 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
no change. 1155: error installing Microsoft .net frame work File c:\users\ darryl\ desktop adobe\ preimuere elements 8 content\1033dotnetredist.exe not found.
2. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Mar 31, 2010 10:08 AM (in response to xerb)
This THREAD might give you some tips on Net Framework.
Good luck,
3. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jun 2, 2012 10:51 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
I'd like to add another thing to check on - corrupt fonts!
Jeff Bellune just shared some info that these can halt the installation of Premiere, and you can also have too many fonts installed in the system.
Something to think about, and news to me.
Hope that helps others,
4. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistrockethead123 May 17, 2010 11:09 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
i've done all of this, used CS4 cleaner, and then some.
i installed all other products fine, only Premiere CS4 is the issue.
There is a problem with Premiere CS4.
5. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jun 29, 2012 11:13 AM (in response to rockethead123)
As this is a general Adobe installation checklist, and if nothing works, it might be time to contact Adobe directly. Support for installation issues is free, but now that CS5 is out, I cannot comment on whether your issues with CS4 will be supported at all.
Good luck, and sorry that nothing helped.
6. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jun 2, 2012 10:53 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
One other thing to consider, when installing some of the larger Adobe programs, like PrPro, PrE, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., is that you have enough defragmented free space on your C:\ for the installation. Whatever the stated minimum is, I would multiply that by 4x, as the minimum is basically what is needed to just install, but not to run the programs.
For a program, such as PrE, or PrPro, I would recommend at least 60GB of defragmented free-space, and more is not a bad thing. As HDD's get to about 70% of capacity, they slow down. That performance hit increases toward 100% capacity, where catasthropic failue can occur. Never fill up your HDD to 100% capacity.
7. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistlittlepawan Jun 14, 2010 4:14 PM (in response to rockethead123)
1)I would like to know that how are u installing the software, Is it through downloaded folder or any media.If it is through media(DVD) then , you can copy paste the complete folder on your hard drive and then try to install again.The best place would be Desktop.This could be an issue with the bad sector on the media.
2)Register the windows installer.
- Click Start , and then click Run .
- In the Open box, type msiexec / unreg , and then click OK .
- Click Start , and then click Run .
- In the Open box, type msiexec / regserver , and then click OK .
3)Create a new user account as admin and then try to install from that account.
Try the above step one by one and see if it works.And possible, put the screenshot of this error message.And let me tell you that it is not specifically adobe error, it can occur with any software installation.
8. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Sep 22, 2010 7:26 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
I want to add another thing to be concerned with - other Adobe programs running, while you are attempting to install. Some, like Adobe Bridge will likely not show on the Desktop, but you can shut them down in Task Manager. Do this first, and check carefully for any other Adobe programs running in the background. Shut them all down. Then install.
Back in the "old days," most programs would install from Safe Mode, so many of the issues did not exist, as nothing else was loaded. Now, most programs will not install from Safe Mode, so one has to do some behind the scenes tweaking.
Good luck,
9. Re: Installation Issues? A ChecklistAnkush Ved Sep 24, 2010 2:58 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
Here are a few links which might be helpful for quick reference:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/862/cpsid_86215.html - Error message when installing Premiere Elements on Windows XP (non-English OS)
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/863/cpsid_86374.html - Install Adobe Premiere Elements 9 | Windows | Mac
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/862/cpsid_86251.html - The message " A reduced set of content has been installed is displayed in Adobe Premiere Elements on Windows"
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/858/cpsid_85843.html - Troubleshoot installation problems Adobe Premiere Elements 9 Windows
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/858/cpsid_85844.html - Troubleshoot installation problems Adobe Premiere Elements 9 Mac OS
Hope having all these links handy in single page will help the users..
10. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Sep 24, 2010 7:19 AM (in response to Ankush Ved)
Great additions, Ankush. Thank you for the contributions.
11. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jan 22, 2011 8:23 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
There is another consideration, when installing some Adobe applications. Some of these, like PrElements and Encore, have additional functional content.
With the download versions, there are usually separate files, which must be Unzipped, to be installed, like with the program. Note: with many programs now, there are four files in the download, two EXE files and two 7z (the archived files), and one does NOT have Unzip the archives, as the EXE files will do that for you. With older installation schemes, one did not have the separate EXE files, and one then needed to Unzip the 7z files, to access the executable files, so this will depend on which version, of which product you are installing.
The important part of the installation is that the program (the core application) MUST be installed before any of the functional content can be installed. The functional content cannot be installed until the program has been successfully installed.
Also, many products ship with both a Mac and a PC version on the discs. As an example PrE 9 ships with four (4) DVD's, two for the Mac, and two for the PC. One MUST choose the platform, and then install the program first. Once done, they would then insert the appropriate Functional Content disk and install that. One CANNOT install the Content first - the program MUST be installed first - then the Content. Many errors arise, because the user is trying to install the wrong platform version, or trying to install the Content before the program. Both of those methods is wrong. If one gets error messages, this would be the first thing to check - are you trying to install for the correct platform, and are you installing the program first?
12. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jan 22, 2011 8:24 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
VERY IMPORTANT - See Reply 11 first, as this will solve the vast majority of installation issues.
13. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklisttalaisin2 Sep 10, 2011 8:23 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
Same exact issue with creative suite 5.5 - spent 2 days on this now
it gets to complete download then says not enough room for extraction - I have vista - 140 GB free on C and 300 GB free on D
have done all the suggestions - that I can find - no go- just does the same thing
will not let me delete and try to download to a jump drive - automatically goes back to about 90 percent down then freezes on extraction and gives 101 error again
I would really like to trial this before I buy it - in fact will not buy if I can not trial
14. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Sep 18, 2011 7:34 PM (in response to talaisin2)
First, the extraction of the downloaded file takes a lot of HDD real estate, and the installation should go smoothly on C:\, but you might need to Extract to your D:\ and then install to C:\, where most Adobe programs really want to be installed.
From the error message, it sounds like there is not enough room. Also, consider that at about 70% of capacity, the HDD will slow down, and that slow-down will increase, as capacity is neared. Capacity should never be reached, as catastrophic failure can possibly result.
Good luck,
15. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Dec 4, 2011 3:24 PM (in response to the_wine_snob)
Also see this Installation Forum for more info.
16. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Jun 24, 2012 9:31 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
If one is installing from physical media, and it has become damaged, or ceases to function properly, these "tricks" might be helpful:
- Copy the installation DVD to your internal HDD, and launch the installer from there. I would NOT Copy it to the Desktop Folder, but would create a New Folder, and name it something like "Premiere_Install." Sometimes, a file, that causes an issue when called from the installation routine, will Copy over just fine.
- Use a program, like the great, free ImgBurn, to Copy your installation DVD to a new DVD. Use high-quality blank media, such as Verbatim, Taiyo-Yuden, or Falcon Pro. Try to install from your copy. Sometimes, the byte for byte Copy process will get you non-corrupt files on the new disc.
- If you have more than one multi-drive, try installing from the other. I always build systems with at least two multi-drives and always choose different brands and models. Some multi-drives read some discs better, than another multi-drive. I have had several that would throw errors in my Plextor, but my LG would handle them just fine, and vice versa.
While none is guaranteed to fix things, they have worked for me, and for many others.
17. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob Apr 24, 2013 6:56 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)
If one is downloading Adobe programs, and especially the trials, then get error messages from the Adobe Download Assistant, this Adobe KB Article might be helpful: http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/troubleshoot-download-assistant.html
18. Re: Installation Issues? A Checklistthe_wine_snob May 28, 2013 2:26 PM (in response to the_wine_snob)
If one has received an Error 6, or 7, then this Adobe KB Article might be useful: http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/error-exit-6-exit-7.html


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Want to know how to unlock your phone in Winster?
Read on and we will give you a little bit of advice on how to get a phone unlock.
Normally to get your phone unlocked in Winster you would have to find time to travel in to town, get parked, leave the phone with a phone shop for a few days and then find time to pick it up again, often for an expensive price as they have over heads to pay to run a shop in Winster.
But there is a better way to unlock your phone. It can actually all be done online. You simply can buy the unlock and they send you the unlock code, often in minutes, depending on the phone. You then pop the code in and it's unlocked!
You can then use your phone with any network and in any country. Making it all super easy, fast and cheap.
All you do to unlock your phone in Winster is visit a phone unlocking site, we recommend these guys "Swift iPhone Repair". To unlock your phone click the button below.
We've found a lot of companies are unreliable and will ask for one price up front and then ask for more money once the unlock is complete to activate it, scandalous! We don't recommend those types!
But Swift iPhone Repair, have always been perfectly reliable with us, you see the full price before buying, and we've never had any problems with them, and if it can't be unlocked you get a full refund.
We've used them and others and they are definitely the most reliable and easiest to use.
- Cheaper than buying a phone unlock in Winster at a local shop.
- Faster and more efficient as you don't have to travel to a phone repair shop.
- Can use the phone as normal during the unlocking, some networks take days to unlock from, so best not to be without your phone.
- Easier, once you buy the unlock, you simply receive a code to put in, with instructions.
- Official, Permanent, Guaranteed Unlocks that don't void your warranty.
- They're able to offer much more types of unlocks, if they can't unlock it, it likely can't be unlocked.
So with that said, the cheapest as easiest way to unlock your phone in Winster, is to visit Swift iPhone Repair.


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|2008-07-15, 16:20
|Link #162
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Here's 2 by U.S. company Outspark
Fiesta I love this game, easy to get into and I love the feature: "Kingdom Quests", and an awesome community of players.
They also make a game that looks a lot like RO
Secret of the Solstice
Both are free
|2008-07-16, 15:46
|Link #163
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Hayward, CA
Age: 34
I dont want to double post but check out this f2p MMORPG called Perfect World. The post is listed below.
|2008-07-31, 16:57
|Link #164
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
The contest page is here.
If anyone signs up look for me in game my name is larkn on the teva server.
|2008-08-04, 07:41
|Link #166
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
I myself love anime MMORPGs, but I just can't find anything for my taste! I just went through this whole thread, but NOTHING. I still gotta try Mabinogi, but I'm afraid that wont satisfy my taste either. -_-'
Are there any MMoRPGs that are in a modern world? XD
|2008-08-04, 17:06
|Link #167
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
I've been playing Wonderland Online myself, I started playing it because of the graphics, they are ADORABLE. But it is a fun game anyway so it's okay. It's pretty intuitive and versatile, somehow it reminds me of an online Rune Factory. I find the gameplay very girl-friendly as well, personally.
|2008-08-05, 10:27
|Link #168
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
I tried Wonderland, didn't like it. Those fights and stuff ain't really my thing. I also DIDN'T like the graphics, and the game is to slow. To crowded as well. I don't like that there is no something like a city, or anything, just goddamn forst, and caves. -_-
Now I'm trying Audition, not but for now, but I'll see (dancing game). Mabinogi doesn't work for Europe. T_T And it looked soo good.
Btw I tried playing Yogurting, but it didn't work, anyone knows why?
|2008-08-05, 11:58
|Link #169
Join Date: Nov 2006
Rose Online went F2P. http://roseonlinegame.com/
Anyone heard of Atlantica Online? It's a turn based mmorpg coming soon, first one actually. Also it will be
F2P, which is good. The world you play actually takes place on earth, but with a fantasy setting.
|2008-08-05, 16:43
|Link #170
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: event horizon
I don't know what to say about it, I guess if you look at it a certain way you could say it's no less stupid then killing monsters.
The graphics are kind of bulky and it's a resource hog. Personally I don't really like it.
As for it not being playable if your in Europe, lies!
Let's just say nobody's trying too hard to ban you.
|2008-08-06, 00:50
|Link #171
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
Damn... and I just wasted a mess of bandwidth downloading Mabinogi... ah well, I'll try it anyway and form my own opinion.
So far though, DOMO is the least annoying of the "anime"ish MMOs I've come across.
The "Dungeon Runners" (free mode) is a hoot (pokes fun at the whole MMO concept and the players) ... but it seems to have some network latency issues I don't encounter with other MMOs.
|2008-08-06, 15:53
|Link #172
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Was the first line supposed to be an offense or what? "Didnt seen a cow"? Dont get it. -.-
Anyway, I dunno if it is really lies, it didn't work with my comp - didnt want to login. And I read someting in their Support page, I guess I misunderstood it, lol. XD
What, it's stupid game? It really looked fun... There is COW MILKING? Man... that sounds like fun (NOT) XD I thought it i better tahn that. What is the "goal" of the game? To become the greatest cow milking man or what? XD
btw, what is with that ban thing? Didnt get it either. Write something understandable already. :P
|2008-08-07, 01:05
|Link #174
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
Anyway... so far it looks like Mabinogi is a rather social game that tries to give you career options outside of the "kill the monster" rut (though you can slay'n'hack in dungeons). It focuses more on rewards for crafting skills, socialization, and bard skills.
The graphics are a little blocky -- and I've not been in long enough to quantify the "quality of the average player".
The main annoyance I have is that its version of 'play free' + cash shop is rather annoying. It lets me set up an entire character only to be informed at the last second I've wasted my time because I chose non-free attributes (not labeled as such either). I'm going to mess with it some more because the potential to play a non-violent character sounds interesting. I can only slay cute pigs in DOMO if I need violence.
(Hard to believe I play PvP rarghhhhh on the adult MMO Age of Conan... but then I keep wondering where the adults are there :P )
|2008-08-07, 04:25
|Link #175
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Haha, it looks like it! X3
Well, that's the game I've been looking for then XD I mean I can't play it, but I'm bored with all that experience thing, and slay 2 brown bears etc etc -_- All the games are the same. Mabinogi seemed a lot better to me... but now, I'm not sure anymore XD
|2008-08-07, 08:18
|Link #177
Sleep beneath the flowers
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Lording above all of humanity >;3
Age: 29
And I have to correct you all (as a Mabinogi nerd). Its a fantasy life game. The mainstory line WILL force you to fight (a lot) but its a game that you don't have to do any combat at all to level up (though the EXP from anything else is very little) so you could make a character who did nothing but part-time jobs and stuff all day long.
As far as combat goes I find Mabinogi has one of the best. Since its not one of those "click and forget" or "click and push a F key or number key once in a while". The graphics look old because the game is like 6 years old or something Its a very old game that in Korea is just reaching Chapter 3 Generation 9 (in contrast the US is up to Chapter 1 Generation 2 Season 4).
On that topic though Mabinogi is the only "kid"-looking one of the series. Besides Mabinogi 360 (That is Mabinogi on the Xbox 360) there's Mabinogi 2 and Mabinogi: Heroes in development. Though no footage of Mabinogi 2 exists Mabinogi: Heroes is a very bloody game that plays like a hack 'n slash only with some more thought put into it (i.e. You can break pretty much everything in the environment. You can wield TREES as weapons... Kick monsters into walls, etc. etc.)
Mabinogi though is IP locked to US and Oceania. Anyone living elsewhere will need to use an IP masker to play.
|Thread Tools


text:
Gareth Giles followed his murder plan almost to the letter.
Steps one and two were taking a bus to Russell Hammond's Victorian home.
Tying up Mr Hammond with rope and duct tape was step three.
Burying the body was step eight; burning the 49-year-old's car was step 17.
Victorian Supreme Court judge Betty King read out the majority of Giles' murder plan - found on his computer - as she jailed him for 26 years on Wednesday.
"It was an 18-step plan and corresponds in a breathtaking way to a large number of the steps that you took this night," Justice King said.
"It is a chilling document, because it is a plan to kill an unknown, random person."
Giles followed 13 of the 18 steps. Four of the five he didn't follow involved removing the skull of the planned victim.
Giles, 26, of Leopold, knew Mr Hammond through a work-for-the-dole scheme, and they later shared a house.
"This was a senseless, inexplicable, vile, random murder of another human being," Justice King said.
Giles and Christopher Leigh Coulter, 20, went to Mr Hammond's Drysdale house and he invited them in for a drink before they killed him on January 5, 2012.
Neither man has admitted responsibility for the murder and both blamed each other.
Justice King said Giles had been socially isolated his entire life, despite clear intelligence.
"The only two close relationships you had ever had were with a young niece and your dog," she said.
Justice King said Giles had talked about what it would be like to kill an innocent person with another friend.
"The crime was entirely motiveless, except for your expressions to your friend about your curiosity and your desire to see what it felt like to kill," she said.
Giles rolled his eyes in court as Justice King questioned his ability to feel empathy with people.
She sentenced Giles to 26 years in prison, with a 21 year non-parole period.
Coulter, also of Leopold, was declared not fit to stand trial but was found at a special hearing to have committed the murder and was sentenced in February to 25 years in jail.


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Mosques, churches and hummus in Ramla
Located in the Ayalon valley on the way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, Ramla offers an excellent look at multicultural coexistence in a land wobbling on a tight rope of ethnic, religious, and political enigmas.
If you've been to Israel before, we know you've experienced religion and politics in Jerusalem, hangovers on the beach in Tel Aviv, floating while reading a newspaper on the Dead Sea and getting lost in the confusing cityscape of Haifa.
There's also a good possibility you've enjoyed an afternoon of Protest Tourism – or Occupation Tourism, as uniquely coined by activists operating in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
So, at this point, we're assuming you're back for round 2, and eventually rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6!
Your next trip is the perfect time for a stop in Ramla.
Located in the Ayalon valley on the way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and resting between the Coastal Plain and Judean Lowlands, Ramla offers an excellent look at multicultural coexistence in a land wobbling on a tight rope of ethnic, religious, and political enigmas.
There is always an aura of tension surrounding life in Jerusalem, while the mood in Ramla is much lighter
The story of Ramla begins at the advent of the 8th century after the first Muslim conquest of the Holy Land – the Terrae Sanctae – and the steady decline of the Byzantine Empire in what was at the time Palestina Prima, Palestina Secunda and Palestina Tertia (primarily the area between Damascus and Jerusalem).
Upon recognizing the strong Christian ethos attached to the city of Lydda – today's Lod – the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman Ibn Abed al-Malik, whose father Abed al-Malik authorized the building of the Dome of the Rock, decided to build a Muslim stronghold just down the road from Lydda,
Suleiman's claim to fame in the area was his building of the marble White Mosque, which according to the famous Muslim chronologist Al-Muqadassi was even more opulent and captivating than the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and "the most splendid to be seen after that of Jerusalem." Like so many great structures of the time, the White Mosque was destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1033 but was refurbished time and time again by various Muslim rulers such as Saladin and the Mamluk Sultan Baybars.
Today, the most impressive remains at the site are the Muslim gravestones which date back at least 600 years and the 112 step tower, which was built in the 14th century to serve as either the muezzin of the renovated 12th century mosque or a regional guard tower, which today offers spectacular views of the Mediterranean, Judean and Samarian hills, Ayalon Valley and Tel Aviv.
As the Crusaders entered the Holy Land in 1099, so did their monumental church styles and fervor in building security installations – the two often overlapping one another.
Today, at the Al Omari mosque, we can see the largest remaining and most in tact Crusader church in Israel – what used to be the 12th century Church of Saint John the Baptist. Like he did with other Crusader structures, the Sultan Baybars kept the structure in tact and converted it into a large mosque. Inside it, visitors can get a unique glimpse at some classic Crusader and Medieval architectural styles while observing the defining features of most mosques today.
ALSO READ Tel Aviv – bubble of art and creativity
Ramla continued to play an important role in both Ottoman and British Palestine as well as during the 1948 Israeli-Arab war.
After conquering Alexandria in 1798, Napoléon made his way up the coast and conquered Ramla and lodged at a local Franciscan pilgrims' hostel before making his way up the coast to Acre, only to retreat to Egypt after a grueling siege ended in defeat.
Ramla has always been tied at the hip with neighboring Lod, and in both cities we can see the sisterly attachment between the two places.
We know the British valued this area tremendously as they built the largest train depot in the Middle East here after World War I. The station had five different track lines that connected destinations between Damascus and Palestine.
The city hosted a primarily Arab population until Israel's War of Independence, and almost every citizen – Jew and Arab – will offer you a different perspective of how history played out here.
Today, the city is a bustling marketplace of different religious beliefs, ethnicities and minority populations. Here however, these minorities constitute the majority. There are pockets of different Jewish sub groups like Karaites, Ethiopians and Cochin Jews, a large population of Muslims and enclaves of Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Franciscan and Anglican Christians.
On the surface, it would be easy to compare Ramla to Jerusalem in terms of its ethno-religious composition; however, there is always an aura of tension surrounding life in Jerusalem, while the mood in Ramla is much lighter and less adrift in political and religious antagonism amongst the masses.
Due to the shaky socio-economic situation in the city, an increase in crime and specifically violence against women has often brought scattered groups of people into the street to protest the police's lack of sufficient strength. But the city as a whole is an excellent way to get away from the side of Israel and the West Bank that can often feel like a lions den of cultural and political strain.
DON'T MISS OUR GUIDE What to do in Ramla