#((2011-2013 was only 10 years ago but we as a society still have moved a long way from SSMI's era and politics))

[delicatelythoughtfulpatrol]

How Pop Music’s Teenage Dream Ended

A decade ago, Katy Perry’s sound was ubiquitous. Today, it’s niche. How did a genre defined by popularity become unpopular?

Story by Spencer Kornhaber

“I am a walking cartoon most days,” Katy Perry told Billboard in 2010, and anyone who lived through the reign of Teenage Dream—Perry’s smash album that turned 10 years old on August 24—knows what she meant. Everywhere you looked or clicked back then, there was Perry, wrapped in candy-cane stripes, firing whipped cream from her breasts, wearing a toothpaste-blue wig, and grinning like an emoji. She titled one world tour “Hello Katy,” a nod to the Japanese cat character on gel pens worldwide. She made her voice-acting debut, in 2011, by playing Smurfette.

Perry’s music was cartoonish too: simple, silly, with lyrics stringing together caricature-like images of high-school parties, seductive aliens, and girls in Daisy Dukes with bikinis on top. Kids loved the stuff, and adults, bopping along at karaoke or Starbucks, enjoyed it too. (Maybe that’s because, like with so much classic Disney and Looney Tunes animation, the cuteness barely disguised a ton of raunch.) Teenage Dream generated five No. 1 singles in the United States—a feat previously accomplished only by Michael Jackson’s Bad—and it went platinum eight times.

Perry wasn’t alone in achieving domination through colorful looks and stomping songs. Teenage Dream arrived amid a wave of female pop singers selling their own costumed fictions: Lady Gaga, a walking Gaudí cathedral, roared EDM operas. Beyoncé shimmied in the guise of her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. Nicki Minaj flipped through personalities while wearing anime silhouettes and fuchsia patterns. Kesha, glitter-strewn and studded, babbled her battle cries. Taylor Swift trundled around in horse-drawn carriages. Each singer achieved impressive things, though arguably none of their albums so purely epitomized pop—in commercial, aesthetic, or sociological terms—like Perry’s Teenage Dream did.

A decade later, that early-2010s fantasy has ended, and Perry and her peers have seemed to switch gears. Rihanna has put her music career on pause while building a fashion and makeup empire. Beyoncé has turned her focus to richly textured visual albums that don’t necessarily spawn monster singles. Gaga, after a long detour away from dance floors, has returned to sounds and looks comparable to those of her early days, but she cannot bank on mass listenership for doing so. Swift keeps reinventing herself with greater seriousness, and little about her latest best seller, Folklore, scans as pop. Perry’s latest album, Smile, came out Friday. Regarding her new music’s likelihood of world domination, Perry told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “My expectations are very managed right now.”

For the younger class of today’s stars, Teenage Dream seems like a faint influence. The Billboard Hot 100 is largely the terrain of raunchy rap, political rap, and emo rap, with a smattering of country drinking songs thrown in. Ultra-hummable singers such as Halsey and Billie Eilish are still on the radio, but they cut their catchiness with a sad, sleepy edge. A light disco resurgence may be brewing—BTS just strutted to No. 1 on the American charts while capitalizing on it—but that doesn’t change the overall mood of the moment. Almost nothing creates the sucrose high of Teenage Dream; almost nothing sounds as if Smurfette might sing it.

The recent state of commercial music has led to much commentary arguing that pop is dying, dead, or dormant. That’s a funny concept to consider—isn’t popular music, definitionally, whatever’s popular? In one sense, yes. But pop also refers to a compositional tradition, one with go-to chords, structures, and tropes. This type of pop prizes easily enjoyed melodies and sentiments; it moves but does not challenge the hips and the feet. It is omnivorous, and will spangle itself with elements of rock, rap, country, or whatever else it wants without losing its essential pop-ness. 

The early-2010s strain of it seemed like the height of irresistibility, and yet it’s mostly faded away. There are many reasons for that, but they can all be reduced to what Perry’s journey over the past decade has shown: Life and listening have become too complex for 2-D.

Pop has seemed to die and be reborn many times. When the 21st century arrived, the music industry was near the historical peak of its profitability—in part because of slick sing-alongs catering to teenagers and written by grown-up Swedes.

 But over the first few years of the 2000s, CD sales crashed thanks to the internet, boy bands such as ’NSync began to splinter, and Britney Spears’s long-running confrontation with the paparazzi reached an ugly culmination. 

Around the same time, women such as Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson, and Avril Lavigne began scoring hits inspired by mosh pits but more appropriate for malls. Gwen Stefani moved from rock-band frontwoman to dance-floor diva during this period as well. Such performers, though often assisted by the same producers and songwriters who helped mold Spears, flaunted unruly personalities to a reality-TV-guzzling public hungry for a kind of curated grit.

Katy Perry capped off this rock-pop boomlet. The California-born Katheryn Hudson had kicked around the music industry for years, first as a Christian singer—her parents were traveling evangelists—and then as an Alanis Morissette–worshipping songwriter.

She finally hit on a winning combo of sounds for One of the Boys, her delicious 2008 major-label debut, whose spiky rhythms, crunching guitars, sneering vocals, and juvenile gender politics earned her a spot on the Warped Tour, a punk institution. But the gooey, sassy hooks of “I Kissed a Girl,” “Waking Up in Vegas,” and “Hot n Cold” really made her a household name. 

Some of those songs benefited from the touch of Max Martin and Dr. Luke, songwriters-slash-producers of 2000s pop legend. (In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit accusing Dr. Luke, her producer and manager, of rape and abuse; he denied her claims and eventually prevailed in a years-long, very-public court battle over Kesha’s record contract.)

By late 2009, when Perry set out to record her follow-up to One of the Boys, the musical landscape had shifted again thanks to the arrival of Lady Gaga, a former cabaret singer with mystique-infused visuals and an electro-dance sound. What made Gaga different was not only her thundering Euro-club beats, but also her persona, or lack thereof. 

Gaga’s work overflowed with camp fun while keeping the singer’s true nature hidden under outrageous headpieces. By forgoing any attempts at banal relatability, Gaga seemed deep. In this way, she updated the glam antics of Prince, Madonna, and David Bowie for the YouTube era. Many of her peers took note, including Perry. 

Teenage Dream was lighter and happier than anything Gaga did, but it was electronic and fanciful in a manner that Perry’s previous work had not been. The cartoon Perry was born.

The conceit of Teenage Dream’s title track—“you make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream”—really boils down pop’s appeal to its essence: indulging a preposterous rush while also reveling in its preposterousness. “It is Perry’s self-consciousness—her awareness of herself as a complete package—that makes her interesting,” went one line in an NPR rave about the album. Even skeptical reviewers gave credit to standout singles such as “California Gurls” and “Firework” for being effective earworms. Perry had laid out her intended sound by sending a mixtape of the Cardigans and ABBA to Dr. Luke, who was part of a production team that pushed for perfection. 

“People on the management side and label side were pretty much telling me that we were done, before we had ‘Teenage Dream’ or ‘California Gurls,’” Luke told Billboard in 2010. “And I said, ‘No, we’re not done.’”

Such efforts ensured Teenage Dream’s incredible staying power on the charts through early 2012. The album’s deluxe reissue that year then generated a sixth No. 1 single, “Part of Me,” which also provided the title of a self-produced documentary that Perry released around the same time. Much of the footage showcases the stagecraft behind her 2011–12 world tour, a pageant of dancing gingerbread men and poofy pink clouds that would presage her hallucinatory 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. Perry comes off as charming and willful, and the film currently sits as the 11th-highest-grossing documentary in U.S. box-office history.

Yet the movie is best remembered today not for the way it shored up Perry’s shiny image, but for the way it complicated it. Over the course of the tour, Perry’s marriage to the comedian Russell Brand dissolved, and the cameras captured her sobbing just before getting on stage in São Paulo. It’s a wrenching, now-legendary scene. But elsewhere in the film, the viewer can’t help but experience cognitive dissonance as the singer’s personal dramas are synced up to concert footage of grin-inducing costumes and schoolyard sing-alongs. By hitching Teenage Dream’s whimsy to real-life struggle, the movie seemed to subvert exactly what had made the album successful: the feeling that Perry’s music was made to escape, not amplify, one’s problems.

Perry released her next album in 2013, a year that now seems pivotal in mainstream music’s trajectory. That’s the year Gaga pushed her meta-superficial shtick until it broke on the bombastic Artpop, which earned mixed reviews and soft sales.

 It’s also the year Lorde, a New Zealand teenager whose confessional lyrics and glum sonic sensibility would be copied for the rest of the decade, released her debut. Then in December, Beyoncé surprise-dropped a self-titled album whose opening track, “Pretty Hurts,” convincingly critiqued the way society asks women to construct beauty-pageant versions of themselves.

Later on the album, Beyoncé sang in shockingly explicit detail about her marriage to Jay-Z. Tropes of drunken hookups, simmering jealousy, and near-breakups were reinvigorated as specific and biographical, thanks in part to Beyoncé’s fluency with rap’s and R&B’s storytelling methods. She ended up seeming more glamorous than ever for the appearance of honesty.

The title of Perry’s album, Prism, not-so-subtly advertised her trying, too, to show more dimension. But the songs’ greeting-card empowerment messages, hokey spirituality, and awkward genre hopping made it seem as if Perry had simply changed costumes rather than had a true breakthrough. 

Still, both the cliché-parade of “Roar” and the trap-appropriating “Dark Horse” hit No. 1., and Prism’s track list includes a few examples of expert, big-budget songcraft. 

The album would turn out to be Perry’s last outing with a key collaborator, Dr. Luke. While she has maintained that she’s had only positive experiences with the producer, Perry hasn’t recorded a song with him since Kesha filed her 2014 lawsuit.

The Kesha-versus-Luke chapter added to a brewing sense that the carefree pop of the early 2010s was built on dark realities: Perry and Gaga have both described their most profitable years as personally torturous. Broader social and political developments—Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo movement, and the election of Donald Trump—also proved impossible to ignore for even the most frivolous-seeming entertainers. 

“When I first came out, we were living in a different mindset in the world,” Perry said in a recent Rolling Stone interview. “We were flying high off of, like, life. We weren’t struggling like we are. 

There wasn’t so much of a divide. All of the inequality was kind of underneath the mat. It was unspoken. It wasn’t facing us. And now it’s really facing us. I just feel like I can’t just put an escapist record out: Like, let’s go to Disneyland in our mind for 45 minutes.”

If that point of view sounds blinkered by privilege—who wasn’t struggling before, Katy?—Perry probably wouldn’t disagree. Her 2017 album, Witness, arrived with a blitz of publicity about how the star had become politically awakened and had decided to strip back her Katy Perry character to show more of the real Katheryn Hudson. A multiday live-stream in which fans watched her sleep, wake up, have fun, and go to therapy certainly conveyed that she didn’t want to seem like a posterized picture anymore. 

Yet neither Witness’s attempts at light sloganeering (the anti-apathy “Chained to the Rhythm”) nor its sillier side (the charmingly odd “Swish Swish”) 

connected with the public. It’s hard to say whether the problem was more temperamental or technological: By 2017, streaming had fully upended the radio-centric monoculture that stars like Perry once thrived in.

Her new album, Smile, is an explicit reaction to the commercial and critical disappointment of the Witness phase. Over jaunty arrangements, song after song talks about perking up after, per Smile’s title track, an “ego check.” There are also clear nods to her personal life. “Never Really Over” ruminates on a dead-then-revived relationship much like the one she has had with Orlando Bloom. “What Makes a Woman,” Perry has said, is a letter to her daughter, who was born on Wednesday. But she’s still mostly communicating in generic terms—lyrics depict flowers growing through pavement and frowns turned around—and with interchangeable songs. The explosive optimism of Teenage Dream has been replaced by ambivalence and resolve, yet the musical mode hasn’t really changed to match.

This leaves Perry tending to longtime fans but unlikely to mint many new ones. That’s because pure pop, the kind that thrives on doing simplicity really well, is largely a niche art form now. The delightful Carly Rae Jepsen will still sell out venues despite not having had a true hit in years. Today’s most acclaimed indie acts include the likes of 100 Gecs and Sophie, who create parodic, deadpan pastiches of pop clichés. Fixtures such as Lady Gaga do still have enough heft to ripple the charts (and thank God—her sense of spectacle saved the VMAs on Sunday). But her recent No. 1 single, “Rain on Me,” benefited from Ariana Grande, whose ongoing success comes from smartly channeling R&B. 

The current status of Dr. Luke, who has retreated from the public eye but still works with lesser-known talents and while using pseudonyms, seems telling too. He can’t land a hit with Kim Petras, a dance diva in the Katy Perry lineage. But he can land a hit with a rapper: He’s behind Doja Cat’s recent smash “Say So.”

Streaming, now the dominant form of music consumption, does not reward bright and insistent sing-alongs that demand attention but offer little depth. It instead works well for vibey background music, like the kind made by Post Malone, who’s maybe the most cartoonish figure of the present zeitgeist. It also works well for hip-hop with an obsession-worthy interplay of slangy lyrics, syncopated rhythms, and complex personas, all of which are presented in a context that feels like it has something to do with real life. 

Last week’s No. 1 song in the country, “WAP,” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, radiates some of the fantastical thrill of the 2010 charts. But it delivers that thrill as part of a lewd verbal onslaught by women whom the public has come to know on an alarmingly personal level. The video for “WAP” is bright and pink, yes, but also immersive. 

It’s not a cartoon—it’s virtual reality.

[fayewonglibrary]

Celebrity power couple Faye Wong, Li Yapeng divorce after eight years of marriage (2013)

Singer Faye Wong announced yesterday that she has divorced her second husband, Li Yapeng.

The disclosure on her Weibo page was reposted more than 70,000 times and attracted almost 30,000 comments from her shocked fans within half an hour.

"Our affinity and connection as a husband and wife in this life has come to an end," she wrote on the mainland's Twitter-like social media platform at around 7.30pm. "I'm well. Please take care of yourself as well."

The 44-year-old Canto-pop and Mando-pop diva, who is based in Beijing, married mainlander and former actor Li in 2005.

In a posting on his Weibo page later, Li, who is two years Wong's junior, admitted that they had broken up.

"What I want is a family, but you are destined to be a legend," he said in the post, implying that the two divorced because of a difference of values.

He said their daughter would be taken into his custody and that there would not be any disputes over money because the pair had remained independent in their financial affairs.

State-owned CCTV also put the news on its Weibo page. Citing an anonymous source said to be close to Li, it said the couple had signed a divorce agreement in Urumqi , Xinjiang , where Li was born, and that he was on his way back to Beijing.

The couple set up the Smile Angel Foundation, a charity for Chinese children with cleft palates, in 2006 after their daughter Li Yan was born with a severe cleft lip. They hosted their first charity gala dinner for the foundation in Hong Kong in May, showing no signs their relationship was on the rocks. The event, held on Li Yan's birthday, raised a total of about HK$56 million including funds from the record-breaking sale of a painting by contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi for HK$30 million. A panda painting by their daughter fetched HK$1 million.

Wong married her first husband, musician Dou Wei, in 1996 and divorced three years later. They had a daughter, who lives with Wong.

Internet users expressed their disbelief at the news.

"Are you getting back together with Nicholas Tse?" one asked.

Singer-actor Nicholas Tse Ting-fung and Wong were in a relationship between 2000 and 2004. In 2006, Tse married actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi. The couple divorced in 2011.

SOURCE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

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Faye Wong announces her divorce Singer Faye Wong announced on Sept 13 that she has divorced her second husband, former actor turned businessman, Li Yapeng.

They had been married for eight years.

Fans reposted her Sina Weibo micro blog announcement more than 100,000 times in the first hour.

The post read: "Our destiny as husband and wife ends here. I'm well. You take care, too." The 44-year-old pop diva also attached a smiling emoticon.

Li later confirmed the news on his micro blog, posting: "I wanted a family, but you are a legend. I miss the good days we spent together over the past 10 years."

The 41-year-old also said their daughter Li Yan will live with him, and there are no disputes over property issues because they have remained financially independent since they wed.

Li also said: "I still love you like I did before. Letting go is the only thing I can do for you now. I hope you are happy."

The posts received 200,000 comments and more than 700,000 reposts.

Traditional media are also abuzz.

CCTV cited an anonymous source on its official micro blog, saying the couple had signed a divorce agreement in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where Li was born. Tencent, China's largest and most-used Internet portal, also released photos of Wong arriving at Beijing International Airport around midnight on Sept 13. The reports said Wong looked tired and sad.

Internet users expressed disbelief.

"This isn't real. I don't believe in love anymore," one of Wong's fans commented on her micro blog.

Many were supportive.

"You're my favorite artist. You never hide your attitude toward love. I respect your decision and wish you happiness," a Web user posted.

Hong Kong-based Chinese actress Lau Kar-ling, one of Wong's close friends, said she was not surprised because she has been aware of Wong's decision for a while. She said the couple tried hard to fix their marriage, but the differences in their values were irreconcilable.

"Wong is strong, and she will make it through," she said.

Media sought comment from Hong Kong singer-actor Tse Ting-fung, who was in a relationship with Wong from 2000 to 2004. He married Hong Kong actress Cheung Pak-chi in 2006 and the couple divorced in 2011. Tse had not yet commented on Wong's divorce.

Beijing News cited an "insider" as saying the couple's problems began a year ago. The newspaper said Wong has been studying Buddhism for years and might become a nun.

Wong posted several pictures of her trip to the Tibet autonomous region days before the divorce announcement.

Wong was born in Beijing and developed her career in Hong Kong. She became one of the country's most popular singers and performed in Mandarin and Cantonese.

She married her first husband, rock musician Dou Wei, in 1996. They divorced three years later.

Their daughter Dou Jingtong is 16 and lives with Wong. Dou posted on her micro blog: "The pain is real, but life goes on. I love you."

Wong withdrew from the limelight after she married Li in 2005.

In 2006, she gave birth to their daughter Li Yan, who had a severe cleft lip. The couple founded the Smile Angel Foundation, a charity for Chinese children with cleft palates.

The Smile Angel Foundation has released a statement saying it will not be affected by the couple's divorce.

"We respect their decision toward different paths of life and the foundation will work as usual," it said.

Though Wong has kept a low profile since she married Li, she is still a headliner followed by fans and media.

In 2010, she returned to perform at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, China's most watched annual TV show. She also staged several concerts that year.

SOURCE: CHINA DAILY

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Faye Wong, Li Ya Peng to end marriage?

Are Faye Wong and her actor husband Li Ya Peng headed towards divorce? The singer took to Chinese microblogging site Weibo to announce the decision.

"Our fate as husband and wife ends here. I am very well. You take care too," said Wong, with a smiling emoticon, in a cryptic post. Her husband of eight years, actor Li Ya Peng, appeared to confirm the news in a note on his own Weibo. "I wanted a family, but you’re destined to be a legend. I will miss the good times we’ve spent together in the last 10 years."

The 41-year-old also suggested that it was Wong’s decision to end the marriage. "I love you like I did before. Letting go is the only thing I can do for you now. I hope you are happy now." Naturally, the Internet has been abuzz with over 478,000 re-posts, and 216,000 comments from fans and netizens.

"This can’t be. Her songs encouraged me, when I was at the lowest point of my life. Can there not be love in the entertainment business?" queried one. Others were a little more encouraging and supportive of Wong’s decision. "Faye Wong is my favourite female artiste. For the sake of love, she left the entertainment industry to give birth to her daughter at the height of her career. For the sake of love, she ignored what society said, and had a relationship with Nicholas Tse, who is 10 years younger than she is. I have respect for her, because she lives for love, and also because she’s always been confident, and she’s always been able to love."

But there were those who questioned such a move. "How many times is she going to get a divorce? She’s not young anymore. She was irresponsible with her first child. And now to the second child too. Are all celebrities and rich people like that? Just satisfy their children with money? It’s so irresponsible." In his note, Li said the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, Li Yan, will be living with him in the future. The actor added that the couple will not face any problems splitting their finances, as they have always managed their money separately. Wong was previously married to Chinese musician Dou Wei. They have a sixteen-year-old daughter, Dou Jingtong.

SOURCE:  TODAY ONLINE

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[ebenvt]

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures. I tell the story by changing the setting from the 2000s to the late 1800s when much of the technology behind bacon curing was unraveled. I weave into the mix beautiful stories of Cape Town and use mostly my family as the other characters besides me and Oscar and Uncle Jeppe from Denmark, a good friend and someone to whom I owe much gratitude! A man who knows bacon! Most other characters have a real basis in history and I describe actual events and personal experiences set in a different historical context.

The cast I use to mould the story into is letters I wrote home during my travels.

The English Pig

February 1893

Dear Kids,

Traveling back from Dublin to Calne, Michael met us at the Royal Waterloo Hotel in Liverpool (1). It was great seeing him again and the first hour we recounted the events in South Africa around Minette and my engagement.  We had much to tell him about our trip to Dublin where Dr. Stamatis took us around and introduced us to the most informative old professor.  Minette tool an immediate ling in Mike and we had the most amazing breakfast together.

The hotel where we stayed was historic in its own right.  The area was originally called Crosby Seabank.  There were a few farms dotted along the coast and some fisherman villages pre 1815.  Early in the 1800s, so the ever-informative Michael tells us, it gained a reputation amongst wealthy visitors for its beaches and clear water.  This prompted the building of the Roya Hotel.

Construction started on Sunday 18 June 1815, the very day of the battle of Waterloo where the Duke of Wellington’s forces defeated Napoleon Boneparte.  It effectively ended Napoleon’s rule as Emperor of the French and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.

The hotel was initially named the Crosby Seabank Hotel but as the news of  Napoleon’s defeat gained traction in England, on the first anniversary of the battle it was renamed Royal Waterloo Hotel. The area grew in popularity and soon a railway line was laid and a station build and wealthy merchants and sea captains from Liverpool began to build homes there.  Many of the street names given were associated with the battle and gradually the town became known as Waterloo.

The topic of discourse soon changed to the English pig.  Mike felt that I still did not appreciate the importance of breeding in producing good bacon.   He explained to me that the pig industry mostly situated in the south of England and as is the case today, followed on the heels of the dairy and the brewery industry.  Dairy farmers found that milk contains 20% whey proteins and 80% casein.  Whey is a byproduct of the cheese industry.  When milk is coagulated during the process of cheese making, why is the leftover product and contains everything that is soluble from milk after the pH is dropped to 4.6 during the coagulation process.  It is an excellent and inexpensive feed for pigs.  The other very cheap source of food for pigs is brewery waste and a third source is an inferior grain that turns wheat that the farmer can not expect to get a good price for into high priced pork protein.  Michael then started to tell us the most amazing tale which completely changed my opinion pigs.  The story of the English pig!

Chinese vs English Pigs

It begins in China, many, many years ago.  Wild boars (Sus Scrofa) from Europe and Asia roamed the land from antiquity.  Around eight thousand years ago, pigs in China made a transition from wild animals to the farm.  It was the creation of the domesticated pig (Sus scrofa domesticus or only Sus domesticus). They started living off scraps of food from human settlements. Humans penned them up and started feeding them which removed the evolutionary pressure they had as wild animals living in the forest. They were bred by humans instead of being left in the forests to breed naturally and to find for themselves. This led to an animal that is round, pale, short-legged, pot-bellied with traditional regional breeding preferences that persist to this day. (White, 2011)

Yu, et al (2013), reports that there are 88 indigenous breeds of pigs in China today.  They investigated the origin and evolution of Chinese pigs using complete mitochondrial genomic sequences (mtDNA) from Asian and European domestic pigs and wild boars. “Thirty primer pairs were designed to determine the mtDNA sequences of, Xiang pig, Large White, Lantang, Jinhua, and Pietrain.” (Yu, 2013)

This is a great place to start because it not only speaks directly to our topic of pigs in China and their relationship with those in the West, but it also introduces us to very important concepts when you are talking about pig breeds.

The first new concept is that of phylogenetics. “Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms (e.g. species, or populations). These relationships are discovered through phylogenetic inference methods that evaluate observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences or morphology under a model of evolution of these traits. The result of these analyses is a phylogeny (also known as a phylogenetic tree)—a diagrammatic hypothesis about the history of the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.” (Biology online. Retrieved 15 February 2013.) Yu and his coworkers investigated the phylogenetic status of Chinese native pigs “by comparing the mtDNA sequences of complete coding regions and D-loop regions respectively amongst Asian breeds, European breeds, and wild boars. The analyzed results by two cluster methods contributed to the same conclusion that all pigs were classified into two major groups, European clade and Asian clade.” (Yu, 2013)

A clade is “a grouping that includes a common ancestor and all the descendants (living and extinct) of that ancestor. Using a phylogeny, it is easy to tell if a group of lineages forms a clade. Imagine clipping a single branch off the phylogeny — all of the organisms on that pruned branch make up a clade.” (https://evolution.berkeley.edu)

A Clade, credit http://evolution.berkeley.edu)

It revealed that Chinese pigs were only recently diverged from each other and are distinctly different from European pigs. Berkshire was clustered with Asian pigs and Chinese pigs were involved in the development of Berkshire breeding. The Malaysian wild boar had distant genetic relationships with European and Asian pigs. Jinhua and Lanyu pigs had more nucleotide diversity with Chinese pigs although they all belonged to the Asian major clade. Chinese domestic pigs were clustered with wild boars in the Yangtze River region and South China.

In the West, the scavengers were treated differently than in China. There is evidence that they were initially exploited, as was the case in the far East, around 9000 to 10 000 years ago. The denser settlements of the Neolithic times in the fertile crescent did not pen the animals up but ejected them from their society. The pigs may have been a nuisance or competed with humans for scarce resources such as water. Genetic research shows that the first pig exploitation in Anatolia (around modern-day Turkey) “hit a dead end.” (White, 2011)  It failed to develop pig breeds that still exist today as was the case with pigs in China.

In contrast to pigs being shunned in the middle east and penned up and intensely farmed and manipulated through selective breeding as in China, the treatment of pigs in Europe was completely different which resulted in a particular set of characteristics.  Various European populations, for example, developed techniques of feeding the pigs called mast feeding (Mast being the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts). Herds were pushed into abandoned forests to feed on beechnuts and acorns which are of marginal value to humans. (White, 2011)

The practice of pannage, as it is called, is the releasing of livestock-pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beech mast, chestnuts or other nuts. Historically, it was a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests. Interestingly, it was the exact same technique practiced at the Cape at the time when the Colebrook sank and is one of the reasons why I doubt that the Kolbroek would have remained a homogenous pig breed if they were not taken in by a local farmer. The slave-hypothesis where the animals were kept in a confined space and fed by humans right from their arrival on African soil fits the scenario where slaves had to keep the animals under constant control in caves or at least, a small geographical area to avoid detection by the authorities who were looking to re-capture the slaves. The slaves did this, not only with pigs (which I assume) but also with other domesticated animals such as cattle (which we know for a fact).

The result of chasing animals into a forest to fend for themselves is that controlled breeding was very difficult, if not impossible. The pigs from the West remained long-legged, with ridges of bristles and residue tusks, keeping them fierce and agile like their wild ancestors as they continued to struggle against predators and the harshness of life in the wild. This correlates well with quotes I read from writers in South Africa (Green) who speaks about the fact that pigs that are chased into the wild to fend for themselves change back to the characteristics of their wild ancestors. He quotes a German, Richter, as reported by MacAdams that “pigs easily revert to wild state. . . and all over the world, there were droves living in forests and bush and raiding farms and plantations. They bred fast like guinea pigs, mastered the law of the wild and move silently about their destructive business. After years of this life, they lost their civilised look and developed large heads with long snouts and narrow, arched backs. They were far more alert than farm pigs and more ferocious. Richter declares that they were almost as intelligent as the great apes. They became hairier and regained the colour and shape of their wild ancestors with stripes on their sides.” (Green, 1968) Pliny said in Roman times that “a few generations can turn a thoroughly domesticated breed into a fierce feral animal.” (White, 2011)

As the contact of Europeans with China increased and the vigorous trade of previous centuries between these regions resumed, Chinese pig breeds and practices were both exported to Europe and England. The introduction of Chinese breeds into Europe and Brittain was precipitated by changes in population and deforestation which became precursors for globalization. By the early 1600s, sty rising was encouraged by a shortage in mast forests and some improved breeding followed, especially in southeastern England. The rapid expansion of London gave rise to an increased in pigs as urban scavengers. Brewery and dairy waste in this part of England became the first sources of concentrated fodder for pigs. Agriculture manuals started to appear that advocated using these to supplement mast or replacing it altogether as a quick and effective way of fattening pigs. In addition to these, potatoes from the Columbian Exchange became a lifeline for the family hog who lost access to pannage. (White, 2011)

New sty raised pigs from around cities like Leicestershire and Northamptonshire at the end of the 1600s and early 1700s, in conjunction with the rapid development of English agriculture, provided the first improved English breed, particularly around Leicestershire. These animals served the growing London market as well as the British navy for fresh and salted pork. These animals were rounder and fattened more quickly than the pigs from medieval times. (White, 2011)

Chinese breeding stock arrived in England in the midst of these developments. Studies of mitochondrial DNA suggest that the earliest exchange took place around 1700. Certainly not much earlier. “More detailed examination of European and Chinese haplotypes find two separate introductions, each from a different Chinese variety, the one ancestral to the large white and Berkshire and the other to the later Swedish Landrace, Duroc, and Welsh. All these share more genetic material than they do with traditional European pigs.”

Thomas Bewick’s late 1700 engraving shows the Chinese pig breed in England ((White, 2011)

“As early as the 1720s writers began to note the growing presence of a small black Variety in England which appears to match contemporary descriptions of those Chinese and Southeast Asia pigs that had already excited the interest of travelers to the far East. The earliest definite statement that Chinese pigs had arrived in the West appears to come from the Swedish naturalist Osbeck writing in the 1750s, who compared them favourably with European scavenger varieties.” (White, 2011)

“It was the last years of the 1700s that provided the real breakthrough with the production of improved crossbreeds combining the larger frame of European pigs with the rounder body and faster weight gain of the Asian newcomers. By 1797 William Henry Hall’s New Encyclopedia notes how “the breed of pigs have been greatly improved, both in the harness of their nature and the goodness of their flesh, by the introduction of those commonly called Chinese, or Touquin.” (White, 2011)

The fourth edition Bylbeis’s General History of Quadrupeds in 1800 would expand its chapter on hogs to note how, “By a mixture of Chinese black swine with others of the large British breed, a kind has been produced that possesses many qualities superior to the original flock. They are very prolific, are sooner made fat than the larger kind, upon less provisions, and cut up, when killed, to more useful and convenient portions.” (White, 2011)

The new improved breed of the 1790s crossed the rounder body and shorter legs of the Chinese with the larger frame of the European hog.  (White, 2011)

Marshall (1798) writes that when he visited Maidstone in 1790, some remains of the long white native breed of the Island were observable, in this part of it. The Berkshire, and the ” Tun back,” — a variety of the Berkshire (which is not uncommon in Surrey), — were prevalent: also the Chinese; — with mixtures of the various sorts; but without any established breed, which the district could call it’s own.”

What we achieved here was to place the development of the crossbreeds between Chinese and English breeds at a time before the Colebrook sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in 1778 and before the three visits of Cook to New Zealand, in 1769-70, 1773 and 1777.  The Marshall quote shows that both Chinese breeds and Chinese-English crosses were not only present in England, but in Kent in particular.  Marshall (1798) writes about the state of affairs regarding pork production in Maidstone, Kent, which is 25miles from Gravesend.  This is the time of Cook’s first voyage (30 years after the sailing in 1768 on the HMS Endeavour) and the sailing of the Colebrook which, on the 3rd February sailed to Gravesend to load shot, copper, stores, gunpowder, wine, guns, corn, livestock, and military recruits. She set sail on the 8th March from the Downs in the company of three other vessels, the warship Asia, as well as the East Indiamen Gatton and the Royal Admiral, to call at Madeira for 43 pipes of wine. On the 26th of May, she sailed from Madeira for Bombay and China via the Cape of Good Hope where she sank, 3 months later.

Marshall observed at Maidstone, Kent, a. various breeds; b. a few of the long white native breed of England. c.  The Berkshire and a variety of the Berkshire called the ” Turn back,” common in Surrey, d. Chinese which he describes as “prevalent” and e. mixtures of the various sorts, also described as prevalent.  I have long suspected that the Kolbroek looks like an older version of the Berkshire!  Later, when I saw the Kune Kune of New Zealand, I thought the same as a possible link between the old Berkshire, the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune.  If these pigs came from Gravesend, Kent, it could have been almost any of the various crosses that were found here, at this time.

This is the clearest statement we have on the state of pork production in Kent which is important in the considerations of how the Kune Kune could have arrived in New Zealand and the Kolbroek at the Cape of Good Hope.  More about that later.

Michael brought some sketches along to illustrate his point of the difference between the old English breeds from before the introduction of the Chinese breeds and the improved method of pig husbandry and the new English breeds.

The Old English Breed

Harris has a great sketch of an old English and old Irish pig.

Harris, 1870

Harris, 1870

All New Developments Takes Time to Settle In

Early breeders did not immediately find a market for the improved breeds which was done between old English sows with Chinese boars.  From the offspring of these animals, the farmer will then select the ones with the character traits that are most desirable and the rest will become ham or bacon.

There were many common village pigs that were crossed with Chinese pigs.  Wealthy landowners would buy the Chinese boar and “rent” him out to villagers on his property to fertilise their sows.  In this way, pigs from a village or a county developed similar characteristics.

The New English Breeds

-> Large White

Or Large Yorkshire Pig, as it used to be called.

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

-> Yorkshire Large, Middle, Small White

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

-> Suffolk

Also called Small Black, or Essex as it is called in the USA.

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

-> Berkshire

The most famous pig from England for years have been the Berkshire. It is said that businessmen drove the development of the Berkshire as opposed to lovers of pigs and pig breeds.  Agents of wealthy businessmen in the US bought the animals based on their ability to do well at shows and not for any inherent functionally beneficial characteristics.  The buyers were looking for pigs that are short, turned up snout, a heavy jowl, thick neck, wide shoulders, and a fat back.

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

The breed has formally existed from around 1780 and before this time, the animals were known to exist and have been bred in this region in England.  The colour and markings of the Berkshire show close association with the wild boar.

The unimproved Berkshire, c 1840

A breeders association targeted a longer, straight back animal as opposed to the more arched backs of the original Berkshires. There is a great description by a man called Laurance who, in 1790 gave the following account of the old Berkshire pigs. “It was long and crooked snouted, the muzzle turning upwards; the ears large, heavy and inclined to be pendulous; the body long and thick, but not deep; the legs short, the bone large, and the size very great.” (Richardson, 1857) This was not the best animal that the farmers wanted to breed by any means, but it was a marked improvement on the old English pigs that were described as “gaunt and rugged.” (Richardson, 1857) Developing the breed through cross-breeding with the Chinese and Siamese pigs resulted in an animal that Lawrence describes in 1790 as “already a great improvement from the old Berkshires“. He describes the 1790 animals as “lighter both in head and ear, shorter and more compactly formed, with less bone, and higher on the leg.” (Richardson, 1857) By 1875, Richards reports that “the breed has been since still further improved by judicious crossing; it still has long ears inclining forward, but erect, is deep in the body, with short legs, small bone, arrives early at maturity, and fattens easily and with remarkable rapidity.”

One of the men responsible for great developments of the breed in the mid-1800s was Richard Astley, Esq. of Oldstone Hall. Another important breeder of this time was an Irishmen, Mr. Sherrard. In crossing with the Berkshire, he used the Neapolitan pig or the improved Essex pig which is the same as the Neapolitan. This cross resulted in “a long body, a handsome head, a well-skinned animal which is a rapid grower”.

The Siamese and Chinese cross were important for the breed. The Chinese hog went by many different names. The Siam and the Chinese proper were two important variants of the Chinese hog in the 1700s and 1800s. The main difference between the two relates to colour. The Siamese is black and the Chinese, white. There were, however, great varieties, and one could get black Chinese and white Siamese hogs. Importantly, Chinese hogs are small. “The body is a near-perfect cylinder; the back slopes from the head, and is hollow, while the belly, on the other hand, is pendulous, and in a fat specimen almost touches the ground. The bone is small, the legs fine and short.” (Richardson, 1857) Both the Chinese and Siamese are good feeders and matures early. The Chinese are almost identical to the Portuguese and many people thought that the Portuguese breed of the 1800s is actually the Chinese proper.

Trow-Smith (1959) summarises the state of play well when he writes, that “by reason of the introduction of direct and indirect Chinese blood into British breeds very few of the swines of the late eighteenth century had any degree of stability in character. Those which were contemporarily notable have now ceased to exist or become of little importance, and the leading breeds of today were then barely distinguishable. . . The ubiquitous Berkshire, the first British breed of pig to achieve national fame, to win a national distribution, and to exercise a national influence. At the end of the eighteenth century, it was predominantly of a sandy red-spotted type, prick-eared, with no very marked dish of face, and renowned for its early maturity. In the following three decades the Berkshire seems to have been given its present appearance of a black pig with white extremities and dished face by the work of Lord Barrington, who probably had used Neapolitan blood in the improvement – or, at any rate, the alteration – of this breed. The sandy reddish colour still emerges occasionally in crosses from the modern Berkshire.” (Trow-Smith, 1959)

“After Barrington had to a large degree fixed the new mainly black type, the older red Berkshire continued to be found unimproved in the Midlands in considerable numbers and began to assume a Midland name and to be known as the Tamworth.” If one wants to know what the Berkshire looked like at the beginning of the early 19th century, look at the Tamworth of the 1950s. (Trow-Smith, 1959)

Tamworth

Sinclair, 1879

One of the oldest of the English pigs.  Extensively bred in Leicestershire, Staffordshire, and Northhamptonshire and in some of the adjacent counties.  It is native to the midland counties where there are lots of oak tree forests.  They were driven into the forests for autumn and early winter.  When the forests were closed off and converted to arable land, farmers opted for a quieter pig variety and one that fattens more readily. (Sinclair, 1879)

The change was accomplished by crossing long-snouted, prick-eared sandy and gry with black spots pigs with pigs having a strong infusion of Neapolitan blood.  Many also used the white pig.  Bakewell did, through inbreeding and selection, accomplished in both breeds a more delicate disposition and an animal that is more easily fattened.  He termed the white Berkshire breed.  (Sinclair, 1879)

The result of the mixture was a plum-pudding or the black, white and sandy pig.  In certain districts of Staffordshire and adjoining counties, the breeders of these mahogany coloured pigs took considerable pain by selection to increase the feeding properties of their pigs without losing their distinctive colour. (Sinclair, 1879)

The pigs were not particularly quick feeders but they were prolific and when well fattened, furnished a splendid carcass of pork nicely intermixed with lean.  (Sinclair, 1879)

They were later crossed with pigs that render them more suitable for bacon production.

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

English Purebreeds

The following pure breeds were acknowledged in England at this time.

Berkshire

Tamworth

Small Black

Yorkshire – divided into Large, Middle, Small White

(Sinclair, 1879)

Development of the New Engish Breeds

In Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Agriculture are a set of engravings that gives us a glimpse of what the transition would have been like.  The first edition appeared in 1825.

Harris, 1870

Compare it with the following English Breeds.

Harris, 1870

Harris, 1870

Harris, 1870

Loudon refers to the Berkshire as a “small breed” which was probably the first character quality to achieve better fattening and maturing quality (i.e., reducing the size of the animal improves its ability to gain weight and mature).

Harris, 1870

The sow above shows the effect of crossing the Berkshire with a Chinese pig and better feeding.  The effects of persistent improvements on these crossed animals can be seen from the two pictures below, figure 20 and 21 from Harris.

Harris, 1870

Harris, 1870

Compare these with the picture of the old English pigs given right at the top of the letter. Also compare it with this drawing of a Chinese Sow, given by Harris.

Harris, 1870

Boars of the improved Berkshire-Chinese cross, after the breed has been established were used to cross with the large old Berkshire sows.  This was considered a less violent cross and was more beneficial than the direct use of pure Chinese pigs.

I wondered how one would approach it if you desire to create a certain look or particular qualities in a pig.  Which one would have the biggest influence on what? The boar or the sow?  the ever-informative Michael had the answer.

Selection of a Boar – a few pointers

The boar exercise the greatest influence on the “external points of the joint produce”, then does the sow.  In the question I asked above, one will then select the boar by looking at its outer characteristics in the first place.  What is the outward “look” that you desire in your animal?  The sow is said to influences the internal portions to a far greater degree.

Other good pointers to look for in a boar is its sexual organs.  These must be well developed is an indication of vigour.  The quality that you do not want in a boar is a vicious and bad temperament.  Also, select a boar that was part of a large litter.  A large boar should not be preferred to a small one as large boars seldom last long. (Sinclair, 18970)

Selecting a Sow – a few pointers

A few comments about a sow to give us an inkling of the different functions of a boar and sow in creating a particular pig.  The sow is responsible to furnish her offspring with the internal arrangements to enable the complete animal to readily convert its food so that the pig grows rapidly, fattens quickly and proves itself a profitable hog.

Some breeds produce what is sometimes called a big roomy sow.  They are “flat-sided; their loins are “weak”.  They are often admired by people who know nothing about breeding pigs.  These poor animals have difficulty getting up once they lie down.  An evenly-made compact sow with quarters long, wide and deep, and on short legs will rear far more pigs and at much less cost than will one of the large kind.

The important points to look for in an ideal sow, are the same as what is required in a boar.  Particularly, its temperament must be gentle. A well-formed udder is of the greatest importance and she should have no fewer than 12 teats.  15 is better!  They should be spaced evenly.

Possible Supply Points for the English Navy:  The Kolbroek and the Kune Kune Question

As for my own exposure to pig breeding, it is confined to the Kolbroek and later, the Kune Kune from New Zealand.  I discussed the tradition about the origin of the breed in the Cape Colony with Michael who had had very interesting insights.  Large scale pig breeding or rearing has been associated with the dairy industry for many years. There is a report from 1830 which states that keeping pigs “especially valuable to those persons whose other occupations furnish a plentiful supply of food at a trifling expense; as the keepers of dairies, brewers, millers, etc., the very refuse of whose customary produce will serve to keep a considerable number of these useful animals.” (White, 1977)

One of the places where pig industries developed for exactly the reasons as mentioned, is Wiltshire.  Daniel Defoe commented in his work, Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1720) on the huge volumes of bacon sent from Wiltshire to London.  He wrote, “this bacon is raised in such quantities here, by reason of the great dairies..the hogs being fed with the vast quantity of whey, and skim’d milk, which so many farmers have to spare, and which must, otherwise, be thrown away.” (Defu, 1720)

I expressed interest in the state of pig farming from Kent, since, as I suppose, the pigs that made it onto the Colebrook at the end of the 1700s and swam ashore at Koge Bay at Cape Hangklip in the Cape Colony, came from Kent, there should be evidence of large pig farming in this county or did the pigs come from London.  Michael referred me to one author he managed to locate which possibly spoke to the issue, Pehr Kalm.  Pehr, also known as Peter Kalm, was a botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist and an explorer.   He wrote in 1748 that “in Kent the farmers generally have no more pigs than they require for their own use, so that they seldom come to sell any of them; but in and near London, the Distillers keep a great many, often from 200 to 600 head, which they feed with the lees, and any thing that is over from the distillery; and after these animals have become fat enough, they are sold to the butcher at a great profit.” (Kitchen, 1940)

This being said, Henry Mayhew reports in his “The Morning Chronicle Survey of Labour and the Poor: The Metropolitan Districts, Volume 6”, (1981), with writing from 1849 and 1850, “A great many sheep and other cattle are slaughtered at outside places (outside London and the Smithfield market), such as Gravesend.  They are bought at the farmers in the neighborhood, or selected from droves on their way to London.”  He later includes pigs in his calculations.  This statement shows that livestock was bought from local farmers as opposed to receiving them from London.  It mitigates the theory that the pigs from Gravesend were bought from local farms as opposed to being driven from London.

A second fact lends tremendous credence to this theory. The many woodlands and forests in Kent would have been ideal for pig farming.  There are reports from early 1800 that there were plenty of pigs in the Weald, located just a short distance from Gravesend. (remarks about Goudway) (Aslet, 2010)  (2)   It, therefore, seems plausible that the pigs for the Navy and the English East Indian Company was produced from Kent and not from London.  This will, therefore, include the pigs brought to South Africa on the Colebrook as well as the pigs that Captain Cook took with him to New Zealand on his first voyage.  Both voyages started by taking livestock onboard at Gravesend in Kent.

The clearest statement about pork production in Kent comes to us from Marshall (1798) who writes about the state of affairs regarding pork production in Maidstone, Kent, which is 25miles from Gravesend.  This is the time of Cook’s first voyage (30 years later) and the sailing of the Colebrook. Here, he observed a. various breeds; b. a few of the long white native breed of England. c.  The Berkshire and a variety of the Berkshire called the ” Tun back,” common in Surrey, d. Chinese which he describes as “prevalent” and e. mixtures of the various sorts, also described as prevalent.

The evidence suggests that there were after all, not only pigs for private consumption in Kent which, one must remember, is a massive county.  The writing was done at a time when statistics and information on matters such as the pig population were not available and each writer’s impressions were limited to small geographical locations in Kent and could not possibly have been absolute, verified factual statements.  Secondly, once one accepts the premise that there could have been, as some authors seem to imply, large herds of pigs in Kent from which live animals were supplied to the Navy and English East Indian Company.  Barrel pork, we know, would have been bought from London,  firms like C & T Harris or imported from one of the colonies or Ireland. We found no evidence of large curing and “pork salting” industry in Kent, at this time.

There is another important possibility that comes up.  We have a statement that farmers in Kent had only enough pigs for their own consumption.  We know that there were a lot of pigs in the woodlands and have a description from marshall on the kind of pigs found in Kent and in Maidstone in particular which is very close to Gravesend.  What theory would adequately take all these factors into account in a way that is honest and flows from the facts?  I propose that Marshall gives us a clear statement that very close to Gravesend, all the genetic ingredients were present for the creation of the cross that would become the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune.  We know that large landowners or brewers would have had large pig herds as was the case in Wiltshire.  The statements of the large pig population in London and the fact that many labourers in Wiltshire kept pigs does not mean that there were no large pig farmers in Wiltshire.  By inference, the same logic will be true in Kent. It is a  possibility that pigs were not procured from small farmers but from a farmer or a landlord or a business that had a large herd of pigs and the genetic material available in Kent would have been reflected in such a herd.  That this source supplied the live pigs to Gravesend and that this practice was maintained from the 1760s all the way through to the end of the 1700s.  A single source for the Kune Kune and the Kolbroek, located close to Gravesend is a real possibility and will explain the similarities between these two breeds perfectly!

Courtesy of Bridge, J. W.. Maidstone Geneva, an Old Maidstone Industry.

The question is now if there is a president for such large pig farmers around Gravesend.  As it turns out, there is an example of such a large operation that emerges from the village of Maidstone that was associated with hop production.  According to a report from the late 1720s, submitted to the Treasury Board, one-third of the English hop acreage was situated in Kent. In the 1780s, George Bishop started production of his distillery business.  He too learned the art from another country.  He had a similar operation in Holland from where he learned the art of distilling Schiedam genever (Dutch Gin).  Genever has been distilled in the city of Schiedam for hundreds of years and is world-renowned to this day. Hasted reports that the operation was of such a scale that it accommodated seven hundred pigs, fed on the waste products. (Armstrong, 1995)  This is exactly the size operation that one would expect to supply the navy and English East Indian Company with live pigs on a regular basis.

There is one more clue that can narrow our options down.  Samuel Lewes (1831) wrote in his A Topographical Dictionary of England that “the Hogs of East Kent are of various sorts, the smaller of which are those that have been intermingled with the Chinese breed : many pigs are reared in this district, and having been fed on the corn stubbles for the butchers, are killed in the autumn for roasting pork. In the western part of the county are some of the large Berkshire breed. Many hogs are fed on acorns in the woods of the Weald, and fattened on corn in the winter.” Maidstone is in East Kent which means that it falls in the category of “Hogs of various sorts, the smaller of which are those that have been intermingled with the Chinese breed.” Of course, we know that this is not an absolute distinction and that George Bishop could have raised Berkshires, but the general description by Lewes fits the Kolbroek and Kune Kune profile nicely.

The Village Pig

Despite the fact that there were clearly large pig farmers in Kent in the 1700s and 1800s, it is still noteworthy that the village pig was commonplace in England during these centuries. The pigs that were predominantly present in England, as was the case in Kent, was the village pig.  The English lagged behind in large scale, industrial pig farming until early in the 1900s.  Wage-dependence grew but before this time, the economy of self-sufficiency prevailed with rural households provided for most of their own needs.  The pig was central to this state of affairs. William Marshall wrote in the 1790s “during the spring and summer months, every laborer, who has industry, frugality, and convenience sufficient, to keep a pig, is seen carrying home, in the evening, as he returns from his labor, a bundle of ‘Hog Weed’; – namely, the heracleum sphondylium, or crow parsnep; which is here well known to be a nutritive food of swine. Children, too, are sent out, to collect it, in by roads, and on hedge banks.” (Marshall, 1798)

The keeping of at least one or two pigs per household was commonplace in the 1700s and 1800s England.  One thousand three hundred rural households were surveyed in 1837 to 1838 in Hertfordshire, Essex, and Norfolk and it was discovered that around 38% kept at least one pig. (Boys, 1805)  For the most part, the cottagers did not breed their own pigs but bought the piglets and raised them.  It is difficult to know exactly how many village pigs were in England at this time but estimates set the numbers at between half a million and a million cottage pigs in late Victorian England. (Salisbury, 1822)

How to feed these animals was another question.  George Stuart wrote in the mid-1800s that “most people kept pigs, and made a practice of opening the pig-sties every morning and letting the occupants out into the village street for the day.  There can hardly have been any pretty front gardens.  Pigs browsed on the grass that ew by the open drain.” (Kightly, 1984)

Most of the feed, however, came from the owner.  One cottager from Hertfordshire describes it as follows.  “The water in which food had been cooked, and also that in which plates and dishes had been washed, formed a very valuable asset for the pig keeper, and was accordingly put in a wooden vessel called ‘the pig tub’…  Those cottagers that kept a pig or pigs had their own tub near the back door; others put their wash (so termed) into a common pig tub provided by a neighbouring pig keeper, who each night came around with yoke and pails to collect same.  At the killing, a portion of the liver or some part of the offal was given by the keeper to each of the cottage women who had contributed to the wash tub, as a recompense for the same.”  (Grey, 1935)  I mention this because it speaks to how the animals were being kept, a practice that would have been brought to the Cape of Good Hope by the English settlers.

Feed was supplemented by various other food sources such as potatoes and even hop that was planted specifically for the pigs.  There are many delightful accounts of the importance of the cottage pig to the social structure of England in the 1700s and 1800s.  Visitors would inquire as to the health of the family pig in the same way they would about the health of the kids.  Parents who wrote letters to kids would include comments on the welfare of the pigs in every letter.  It is fair to say that the pig took on a role in English life that became closet to that of a pet than a farm animal.  After church, visitors would invariably stop and spend some time at the pigsty where they would scratch the animals back and talk to them before they would enter the house and greet the occupants.  All this to say that the pig played a role in England far more important than simply a source of bacon and lard.  A distinction started to emerge in my mind between commercial operations in pig husbandry and bacon production and small scale cottage pig raising and the production of home-cured hams, bacon, and sausages.  The two disciplines are in reality far removed even though the same animal is the subject and the similar spices and salts are used in curing.  This distinction would stay with me.  As far as my work is concerned, it focuses on large commercial operations and not on a small scale operation.

Finally

Minette loved the discussion.  By the time Michael was done, we had four dining room tables around us with photos and bits of scrap paper scattered across the phots and on two more tables where I laid out my notes.  I suggested that Minette and Mike make their way to the bar area so long and get drinks while I sit for a few minutes to gather my thoughts and complete my notes.

I thought that by now I learned a lot about bacon, but the discussion this morning taught me that I have only begun.  The interconnectedness of it all stunned me.  The pig is one of the easiest and most profitable ways to convert corn and maize into animal protein.  The link between this fact and the need to feed an ever-increasing world population stunned me.  Not only is the preservation of the meat of supreme importance, but the art of manipulating what nature has given us is the real start of the journey to the best bacon on earth!

I recalled a discussion with John Harris and how they breed bacon pigs with long loins and little fat for bacon as opposed to short, far pigs which they call lard-pigs for the production of hams and lard.  The Kolbroek bigs that Oupa Eben farmed back in South Africa are clearly lard pigs and the Berkshire and the whites and blacks are being bred as bacon pigs.  It all fascinated me tremendously.

It made me realise that life must be lived like that – with ample interconnections we can engineer in our lives to create a grand tapestry!  We can indeed fall in love with life and when our work and our passion are the same – it is the condiments to a complete life that is lived well in every area.  My Minette, bacon, the mountains, the different lands and customs and peoples of this bountiful earth all unite in my heart and soul it becomes the gift from an amazing universe we exist in.  I smiled when I walked over to the bar area and thought to myself that bacon is truly connected to the art of living!

Lots of love from Liverpool!

Your Dad and Minette

Further Reading

Also refer Chapter 10.02: C & T Harris in New Zealand and other amazing tales where I take up the similarities between the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune.

Chapter 03: Kolbroek where the story of the link with the pigs from Gravesend (Kent) is first proposed.

In Search of the Origins of the Kolbroek

Kolbroek – Chinese, New Zealand, and English Connections

The Old and the New Pig Breeds

(c) eben van tonder

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Notes

(1) Oscar and I arrived at the Royal Waterloo Hotel on  18 March 2012.  Colin Turner from Dantech made the booking.

(2)  There is a popular hiking trail called the Wealdway which is from the Southern Coast to Gravesend, crossing the Weald.

References

Armstrong, A (Ed.).  1995. The Economy of Kent, 1640-1914. Boydell Press.

Aslet, C..  2010. Villages of Britain: The Five Hundred Villages that Made the Countryside.  Bloomsbury.

Boys, J..  1805. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Kent.  2nd edition.

DANIEL DEFOE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Pirate Tales & Historical Novels – Including Biographies, Historical Works, Travel Sketches, Poems & Essays (Illustrated), Robinson Crusoe, The History of the Pirates, Captain Singleton, Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the Plague Year, Moll Flanders, Roxana, The History of the Devil, The King of Pirates and many more. From Letter IV Containing a Description of the North Shore of the Counties of Cornwall, and Devon, and Some Parts of Somersetshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. 1761.  Also refer, A Tour Thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain: Divided Into Circuits Or Journies. Containing, I. A Description of the Principal Cities By a Gentleman.  December 31, 1760 

Grey, E..  1935. Cottage Life in a Hertfordshire Village.

Harris, J..  c 1870.  Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement.  New York, Orange Judd, and company

Kightly, C..  1984. Country Voices:  Life and Lore in Farm and Village.

Kitchen, F..  1940.  Brother to the Ox: The Autobiography of a Farm Labourer.

Lewis, S.. 1831. A Topographical Dictionary of England. S. Lewis & Co.

Marshall, W..  1798.  The Rural Economy of the Southern Countries (2 vol)

Mayhew, M..  1981. The Morning Chronicle Survey of Labour and the Poor, The Metropolitan Districts Volume 3. In the years 1849 and 1850, Henry Mayhew was the metropolitan correspondent of the Morning Chronicle in its national survey of labour and the poor. Only about a third of his Morning Chronicle material was included in his later and better known, publication, London Labour and the London Poor.  First published in 1981, this series of six volumes constitutes Henry Mayhew’s complete Morning Chronicle survey, in the sequence in which it was originally written in 1849 and 1850.

Salisbury, W..  1822.  The Cottager’s Agricultural Companion.

Sinclair, J. (ed).  1897.  Pigs Breeds and Management. Vinton and Co, London

Tunick MH (2008). “Whey Protein Production and Utilization.” (abstract). In Onwulata CI, Huth PJ (eds.). Whey processing, functionality and health benefits. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing; IFT Press. pp. 1–13.

White, G..  1977.  The Natural History of Selborne. Penguin. From letters in 1775.

Wilkinson, p. R..  1933.  Thesaurus of Traditional English Metaphors.

A Maori Proverb from Maori lore, 1904, by Izett, James (https://archive.org/deta…/maoriloretraditi00izetuoft/page/n3)

Photos

Old photos from Liverpool

-Liverpool, history, Liverpool-history-l22-waterloo-royal-hotel-c1900 Find this Pin and -Waterloo Station 1907; -Waterloo beach scene, circa 1906; -Picnic on Waterloo seafront on Easter Sunday – undated – photos from our stay on 18 March 2012

From: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/…/photos-show-waterloo-thro…

Old Hotel photo from pinterest

Other photos, taken by Eben

Pig photos from

Pigs Breeds and Management Edited by James Sinclair Vinton and Co, London 1897

Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement by Harris, Joseph New York, Orange Judd, and company c 1870

Chapter 09.15 The English Pig with links to the Kolbroek and Kunekune Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures.

[underneaththecobblestones-blog]

‘A female Viking Warrior confirmed by Genetics’

Ok, it’s been a year since i’ve posted anything on my archaeology page, but I think now maybe a good time to bring it back. I’m sure if you have facebook or twitter you’re aware of the recent research by Hedenstierna-Jonson et al  released this week ‘confirming’ the presence of a female Viking Age warrior from Birka. If you know me, you know Viking Age women and children are my thing so I’m just going to compile a few thoughts that I have about this research.

Firstly, I think people are a little bit too eager to accept this article at face value, people are so eager to see confirmation that society in the Viking Age was largely egalitarian and don’t consider the rest of the evidence we have, a common example of people trying to place modern ideals on the past, but that’s for another post.The title of this article is incredibly miss leading because the research does not confirm that the skeleton  Bj581 from Birka was a ‘female viking warrior’, it confirms that a burial initially thought to be male is in fact female from DNA Analysis, analysis is a wonderful thing but it cannot tell us someone’s profession or daily activities in this instance.

‘But Bethany, the only difference is the sex why are you trying to suggest she was not a warrior?’ Because even when it was thought to be male there is no actual evidence that this individual so much as picked up a weapon in their lifetime, artifacts are placed in burials as a ritual by the mourners (Harke 2004). Artifacts are tricky little things; at Bedale we see a male buried with a pair of tortoise brooches which are heavily associated with females. It could be suggested that they were placed in the burial in memory of a loved one etc (Hardcastle 2017). Objects can be used in burials to convey a wide array of identites or just as symbols of mourning (Halsall 2011 and Brather 2017). Heinrich Harke conducted research on the weapon burial rite in Anglo-Saxon England, he largely concluded that weapons in male burial were likely connected to wealth due to the ratios of other grave goods present and time invested in the burial (2004: 3). Harke also notes the presence of weaponary in children’s graves in England and older adults who would not have been of fighting age, suggesting that weaponary were not a symbol of ‘fighting males’ (Ibid: 5). We see the occasional weapon in the burials of Scandinavian children, for example at Balnakeil, Sutherland, the burial of an individual between the age of 10 and 13 produced a wide array of grave goods including weapons and gaming pieces (Batey and Patersen 2012). There are many things I could say about this burial; however, the thing of most importance here is that the individual was most likely a member of the elite, which I would most certainly argue the woman from Birka was too.

The authors note the presence of a gaming board and gaming pieces suggesting that the woman was involved in military tactics. I’ve already noted that artifacts are problematic little things, but lets take a look at where else we see such items. Yes we see gaming pieces at places such as Torksey winter-camp (Hadley and Richards 2016) which is heaviliy associated with the Great Heathen Army; however is it not possible that they were used as gaming pieces? after all I’m sure members of the Viking Army liked to have fun. In the burial record we see gaming pieces with the child at Balnakeil, with an adult and 3 children at Cloghermore Cave, Co. Kerry (Connolley and Coyne 2005), The Scar Boat Burial containing the remains of an elderly woman, an adult male and a child (Batey and Graham-Campbell 1998), along with others. We also see them at the settlements of Buckquoy and Saeve Howe, Orkney. In honestly, nothing here is screaming ‘military tactics’ but rather ‘people who could afford it liked to play games’.

Moving on to literary sources, I’m an archaeologist not a historian so forgive me but this is far from my comfort area so I’m only going to very briefly touch upon this. Yes the Gesta Danorum notes women who dressed as men and participated in combat; however, this account was produced in the late 12th-13th century which is problematic in itself as it is second hand knowledge. There are obviously Saga accounts of ‘shieldmaidens’ but again, they are not contemporary accounts and in parts largely influenced by the mythology. Further, the archaeological record as it is does not support the notion of female Viking Warriors as such...there are female weapon burials in the Scandinavian homelands (see Gardela 2013) but nothing to the extent of the Birka burial. Birka was excavated a long time ago and as with all antiquarian finds there is the issue of ‘archaeologically gendering’ a burial not ‘osteologically sexing’ by this I mean a persons biological sex has been assumed by their grave goods and not their skeleton. With this in mind it is very possible we many more females with the weapon burial rite that have been identified as males due to their grave goods; however, without digging out every old skeleton we have we’re not going to know. But then again, weapons do not equal warriors, so we would still be no closer to solving the question of whether shieldmaidens were a part of Viking Age society.

Isn’t archaeology fun?

[yasbxxgie]

Sea level has been stable, at current levels, throughout recorded history for 5,000 years. That’s about to change. Still, it’s very difficult for people to imagine a change in sea level after 5,000 years of rock solid stability.

Nevertheless, assuming sea levels do rise markedly, one of the biggest questions of the century is whether the world is prepared for sea level rise?

As a guess, the answer is: No, not even close.

Well, they better start making plans because there’s no stopping at 410 ppm CO2 and +1°C post-industrial temperature, sea level rise is locked and loaded. It’s only a matter of when how much.

A recent scientific forum offers insight. In February 2019, John Englander, oceanographer and world-renown sea level expert, spoke at The Royal Institution, London, which is affectionately called “the home of science.” It’s one of the world’s most prestigious and long-standing institutions.

The Royal Institution has promoted scientific breakthroughs and new theories for 220 years. In 1859, Prof. John Tyndall spoke at the same spot and same desk where John Englander stood to deliver his speech. Tyndall was one of the first scientists to theorize the impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) on climate change.

One hundred-sixty-years later, John Englander spoke about the consequences of Tyndall’s observations, the onset of sea level rise: “We really can’t wait for the tragedy to evolve to deal with it.” Unfortunately, “We tend to make big changes and expensive projects when tragedy has happened… But, with this one, we really can’t wait for the tragedy to unfold to begin to deal with it. And, therein lies a particular challenge for all of us.”

Accordingly, sea level rise should be the most important consideration for thousands of coastal communities around the world. And, not only that, but surprise, surprise! Sea level rise is a regular, normal feature in Earth’s climate history of the past 400,000 years. In fact, major instances of sea level rise happened four times during that time.

The four-glacial/interglacial periods of the past 400,000 years happened at the rate of one per 100,000 years with four Down (cold) Cycles each lasting 80,000 years and four Up (warm) Cycles each lasting 20,000 years.

The last Down (cold) Cycle ended 22,000 years ago. Thus, and therefore, today is the tail end of the last Up (warm) Cycle and a new Down (cold) Cycle should already be here, but, no, human greenhouse gases (GHG) like CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide have altered the normal rhythms of the planet, stopped dead in its tracks, preventing another long overdue Down (cold) Cycle.

Englander claims there won’t be another Down (cold) Cycle as long as people exist on the planet. People are “heat machines.” They have changed the planet’s chemistry and physics and thus, artificially extended the Up (warm-to-hot-to-hotter) Cycle.

The paleoclimate record shows temperatures over the past 400,000 yrs ranged plus/minus 5°C and CO2 ranged 180 ppm to 280 ppm.

Today’s CO2 at 410 ppm literally smashes the old record of 280 ppm that stood for 400,000 years. Hmm.

Over those 400,000 years, 5°C temperature change brought 120 meter (394 feet) sea level changes in its wake. Looked at another way, sea level rise equals 20 meters (60 feet) per 1°C temperature increase. Uh-oh! Earth’s already heated that much. Does this mean 20 meters (60 feet) of sea level rise is already “baked in the cake,” ready to burst forward?

Well, yes, but not exactly, the key ingredient is when it happens because timing is tricky. In days of yesteryear when 280 ppm was top end, CO2 grew at a rate 0.1 to 0.3 ppm/annum, so sea level rise took centuries as temperatures slowly increased, whereas today, CO2 at 410 ppm and growing 3.0 ppm/annum (10xs the paleoclimate rates) is like a turbo-charged Indy race car on a geological track, and it has powered ahead, thus leaving sea level rise choking on fumes. But, it’ll catch up…count on it. Thus, there’s a lag time between GHGs today and temperature rise and sea level rise tomorrow.

Think of Earth, the biosphere, as a big oven, similar to the one at home, when turned to 450°F, the home oven takes several minutes to crank up to 450°F. It’s not instantaneous. Similarly, the biosphere oven receives tons and tons of greenhouse heat-trapping gases, but its version of “several minutes” is “several years-to-decades” to achieve maximum heat. In other words, your 2010 auto exhaust generated today’s global warming.

It’s all about “timing.” After all, when warming cycles happen, sea level rise usually takes centuries and centuries to increase. For example, 14,000 years ago an increase in temperatures took seas up 65 feet over 400 years. Accordingly, that’s 1.5 feet per decade, which calculation, in part, led John Englander to make the assumption that today’s sea level rise will be 1-2-3 feet by mid 21st century. In turn, that would be a real shocker, especially to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with its median expectation of one-half a meter or 1.6 feet by 2100.

The IPCC’s absolute “worst-case” guesstimate is 32 inches by 2100, but a footnote hidden in fine print says the IPCC does not factor Antarctica into their calculations. Ahem! Antarctica is not included! Mercy!

Englander’s key points:

1. Sea level never rises smoothly. It’s not a straight line or a curved line. There are inflection points when it suddenly rises. So far, that has not been experienced. In fact, over the past 100 years, temps are up 1°C and sea level rise is only up 4 inches.

2. Sea level has been stable, at current levels, throughout human recorded history for 5,000+ years.

3. Thus, it’s very difficult for people to imagine a change in sea level, especially after 5,000 years of rock solid stability.

Today’s big problem: Sea levels are now (today) at an early stage of exponential growth, meaning, the rate of growth is doubling, cycle-by-cycle, for the first time in known history. Based upon satellite recordings since 1993: sea level rise 1993-98 +1.5MM/yr. 1998-2011 +3.2MM/yr. 2011-2018 5.0MM/yr. That’s nearly double every cycle, which is an exponential function, and it’s trouble, very-very big trouble.

The exponential: “The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” (Albert Allen Bartlett, 1923-2013 /Harvard PhD, Professor Emeritus, Nuclear Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder)

An exponential, to wit: How long does it take to fill Yankee Stadium with water, assuming 1 drop of water is added, then 2 drops, then 4 drops, then 8 drops, then 16 drops, on and on, doubling the number of drops every minute? Answer: 47 minutes.

Exponential is fast, real fast, and sea level rise is now on an exponential pathway for the first time ever!!! That’s a very big pill to swallow! But still, timing is everything, which nobody knows for certain.

Meantime, the sources of sea level rise are readily identifiable as Greenland 24 feet and Antarctica 186 feet and another 3 feet in glaciers found in Alps and around the world in mountainous terrain.

Greenland is surprisingly big. Englander has been there 6 times; it’s 1,600 miles north to south and 1,000 miles east to west. It’s the biggest island in world with ice 2 miles thick that covers 80% of the island.

Antarctica is even more enormous at 7xs Greenland. There are four parts to Antarctica:

1. East Antarctica – relatively solid but starting to rumble – it’s the final frontier of global warming

2. West Antarctica – glaciers go under water here and a high risk zone

3. Antarctica Peninsula- melting the fastest and closest to South America

4. Ice Shelves – thick ice slabs resting on the water, serving as backstops to glaciers- increasingly breaking off in ever-bigger chunks, e.g., Antarctica’s Iceberg B-15 at 183 miles long by 23 miles wide.

With mounting concerns expressed by scientists, six Antarctic glaciers are under special watch: Pine Island Glacier – a huge cavity discovered only recently – Thwaites Glacier-a new disturbing discovery found only recently, Haynes Glacier, Pope Glacier, Smith Glacier, and Kohler Glacier. All of these glaciers are located around the Amundsen Sea. Combined, these six have 10 feet of sea level locked up inside. Nobody knows when, but the entire region is extremely vulnerable, already showing the early signals of “losing it.”

Meanwhile, Englander’s guesstimate: By mid century, we could get a couple of feet of sea level rise. But keep in mind it doesn’t happen all at once. It’s the buildup that destroys, and that is now, unfortunately, on an exponential pathway. In other words, it’s an extremely dicey affair that could be gradual, or it could be rapid, awful, and nasty.

Englander’s conclusion: Sea level rise is unstoppable.

Interestingly, ever since the 1990s, mainstream science has been at least 30 years late with sea level projections, consistently way too low, but then again, exponential growth throws off the best of ‘em. It’s a wild card.

According to Englander, there are three key takeaways from his speech:

1. Reduce emissions, immediately – it’s most important to slow warming as much as possible as early as possible.

2. Regardless, sea level rise will still be catastrophic on a global scale. Even with 100% renewable energy tomorrow, sea level rise will happen. As an aside, oceans (2/3rds of the planet) absorbed 85% of planetary heat and emit CO2 when too warm/hot.

3. The sooner “engineering for the future” happens, the easier to adapt.

According to Englander, society has 20-30 years to redesign cities to prepare for the inevitable as thousands of coastal communities must move or adapt to sea level rise. As an aside, and in fairness to contrary opinion, there are scientists that disagree with the timeline of 20-30 years to do something.

The risk factor is heightened by the fact that past sea level rises had saw-toothed patterns with inflection points of rapid increase along the way, making it nearly impossible to predict timing.

As such, and here’s the big oops-a-daisy, with exponentials kicking into gear, it’s truly a gamblers’ world.

According to John Englander, there are no options. It must be dealt with. Come hell or high water, sea level rise is forthcoming.

[lodelcar]

RE-INDUSTRIALIZATION: EUROPEAN REGIONS HAVE A LOT OF BENEFITS

Picture: metal roof tiles production in Moldova

1.      Re-industrialization for the right reasons

  For forty years there has been a move in the West to abandon industrial activities and to fully rely on services. Services guru Günter Pauli (°1956) proclaimed in Flanders with his book "Services: The Engine Of Our Economy (1987)"[1] that the entire industry had no chances of survival and should focus on the expansion of services. The main reason was of a very practical nature: industrial companies moved to low-wage countries with their activities. And although the quality and diversity of the products delivered decreased considerably, the price was so decisive that Western consumers resigned to buying cheap washing machines, refrigerators, tools and cars and then replacing them quickly when they broke. In my article “Localisation in a globalising world” [2] I wrote already in 2015: “Customers understand that local production often refers to better quality and less replacement. The neighbourhood of reparation skills is also a motive in favour of the trend.”

The part of the population that depended on this production for their income was in trouble. The “working class” was less successful in finding satisfactory jobs. Society did indeed offer education to free the next generation from the poverty trap and get decent jobs, yet not everyone is born intelligently. There is always a quota of lower-skilled people who still expect to find a job with a future in their own country.

Table 1: Share of manufacturing industries in the GDP in selected economies [3]

In a study about the effects of the Greek crisis, the authors, professors of Panteion University in Athens and University of Thessaloniki wrote that “Specialization in manufacturing is an important determinant of regional development, either in times of growth or in times of crisis, (…).There is nowadays a trend towards re-industrialisation of the west.”[4]

In the United States, the trend towards re-industrialization started more quickly. That country offers almost no social security, not like Europe does, and therefore obliges its population and investors to take new directions quickly. The trade unions in the US are also less powerful and play therefore a less conservative role sticking to past achievements. This allows companies to adjust their wage bill to foreign competition. Add to that a trend towards a significant increase in wages in the BRICS countries as well as in the transport costs from those countries, the decreasing  dependence on imported petroleum for energy consumption and the American industry was/is "back in business". American companies also have the advantage that they can quickly and flexibly adjust their assortment and volumes to the rapidly changing demands of consumers, for example in the textile industry.[5]  America, however, benefits most from the convergence between industry and IT. On the one hand, the increased use of IT generally promotes labor productivity. On the other hand, digital production processes are central to the ongoing fourth industrial revolution. Moreover, goods transport by rail for raw materials and intermediates is running smoothly. The re-industrialization of the US is therefore based on a broad basis. [6]

In Europe, it is mainly Switzerland that has taken the same path of re-industrialization at an early stage. Although employment in the Swiss industry continued to fall between 1990 and 2000, its share of value added remained constant at the same time. The explanation is obvious: the industrial sector has experienced a strong productivity growth at this stage. And this not only continued after the millennium, but it even accelerated. Since then, the number of employees in the industry has increased again, albeit only slightly. Between 2000 and 2012, industry grew faster than GDP and many service segments. Switzerland was the only Western country that clearly surpassed the level of 2007 after the 2008/09 economic crisis. Compared with other Western countries, industrial production in Switzerland scored well and increased by 6.6 percent - compared to the period between 2007 and 2013.[7]

The evolution after the 2008 crisis was different in the various European countries. In Austria, industrial production had already reached the starting level of 2007 by the end of 2012. In Germany this was only slightly lower (-1.4%). In the other three major economies of the euro zone, however, it is still lagging behind (France -13.5%, Italy -20.8% and Spain even -27.1%). De-industrialization and the loss of production potential are the biggest problems that dominate the Spanish economy.[8]

Inspired by the US, Switzerland, but also Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Scandinavian countries, which have been less eager to complete their full conversion to the services sector, the EU has become interested in the principle of re-industrialization from 2012 onwards. From 2014, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Romania and Hungary recorded increases in their industrial production from 5% to 7.2%. However, the reasons for this EU commitment were not always clear. Of course: the industrial sector still employs 34 million people in Europe in 2017 and has to be kept at level. And of course: large factories still offer a scale advantage for direct and indirect employment. And of course: industry and a combination of industry and services are the engine of the European economy.[9]  But there is more, as the Romanian industrialist Stefan Vuza puts it in his plea: “The industry and manufacturing jobs do not represent an outdated solution to Europe’s predicament”. And he insists: “The ongoing trend towards service-based economies should not prevent one from understanding the benefits of a strong industrial sector and from acting to strengthen its role, especially in those countries most hit by the crisis and where the potential exists. “  [10] In addition, the search for labour at lower costs is becoming obsolete due to the introduction of digital production and the integration of digital tools or artificial intelligence.[11]  75 percent of the economic impact of the digital economy is captured by traditional industries, as they become more competitive and grow faster. [12]  And in that context, the manufacturing industry can maintain itself through digitization with high-quality products that cannot be made in low-wage countries or for which European companies are even recovering their production, proves that there is a place for industry in the EU.

The Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs therefore includes an industrial component with the aim of increasing the share of GDP to 20%.[13] The table hereunder shows the decrease of the entire industrial sector over the last ten years. It also shows the difference of importance of the industrial sector in the respective economies: whereas the Central European economies still thrive more on industry and have evidently an important need for innovation and continuation of the trend, Western Europe lost an important part of its industry and has to catch up once again, in a different more innovative way. Compared with the table 1 describing the manufacturing sector, we can conclude that it is especially the heavy industry that is under pressure and that Europe has to specialize in manufacturing of high-end products with the help of very qualified digitization.

Table 2: Gross value added of industrial sectors, at basic prices 2007 - 2017[14]

 2.      Successful re-industrialization: what are the ingredients?

The decline of the weight of this sector in national economies is not equally distributed across the UE. Germany still has a very important industrial base, the backbone of which is formed by the so-called "silent champions". These are production companies that excel in their niche, at least at the European level and even at the global level. In other words, world class companies. A larger Eastern-European country like Romania also has such companies (also in sectors like textile, metal working, chemistry etc.), but relatively less than Germany.  While countries such as France are dramatically behind.[15]

My own state, Flanders, quickly entered the methodology of re-industrialization. Dirk Torfs, CEO of Flanders Make: “A country like China has positioned itself very strongly on the large volumes, covering the lower and middle segments. The real high-end products - which are often produced in smaller series - are now increasingly coming from Europe. Where the face of the industry used to be determined by a number of very large production companies, including in the automotive sector, we are now evolving towards an industrial fabric with much more small, but also stable activities and companies. Also because the insight has grown that companies that not only carry out the research and design, but also the production itself, are better able to optimize those products in function of the rapidly evolving market needs”[16]

The fact that the Belgian manufacturing industry, which is often realized by SMEs, is gradually moving in the right direction, can also be seen from the decision of the European Commission to roll out the Belgian Factories of the Future project, which was launched seven years ago (2011) from Agoria was started, now also in the rest of Europe.[17]  The result is that more and more extremely flexible and high-tech companies are recovering their production from low-wage countries and reinvent them here once again. The Belgian approach to the manufacturing industry will soon be replicated elsewhere in Europe. [18] The “Factories of the future”- trajectory focuses on 7 industrial transformation domains for SME manufacturing companies that are recognized and promoted by the EU:

1. The means of production must be used efficiently ("advanced manufacturing. technologies")

2. The emphasis should be on efficient and flexible production of a large variety of products. ("Smart manufacturing")

3. A company with a future involves its employees in an innovative work organization that combines autonomy, creativity and continuous development of skills and abilities ("human centered organization")

4. It is paramount that digital technology is used to transform product and / or process development ("Digital Factory")

5. A future-oriented company learns to design a process to ensure that products meet customer expectations from their initial concept to the end of their life. ("End to End Customer Focused Engineering")

6. A future-oriented manufacturing company plays a pioneering role in eco-production (“Eco factory”)

7. Innovation capacities can be increased to a significant degree by, among other things, pursuing co-creation, that is, by implementing innovative applications together with a network of companies (“Value-chain-oriented Open Factory”)

Belgian companies that have already successfully entered the "Factories of the future"-trajectory are good for an average decrease in their production lead time of 50%. They reduced their time-to-market of new products by 40%. Their productivity has increased by 25% over the last 4 years, with the number of errors in production decreasing by the same percentage. The Factories of the Future invest € 850 million in robotization, digitization, automation and factory expansions. Employment was also expanded by 13%. Every Factory of the Future shows an increase in turnover.[19]

There are many aspects that make a region and its companies capable of re-industrializing. New business models are needed, based on flatter management structures and much more responsibility dispersal. Added value must be created. This requires constant innovation in products, in production techniques, in sales methods, etc.

There has to be a clean supply of raw materials (both at the EU and global level) and material replacement, there has to be a focus on clusters and technological ecosystems, the  implementation of advanced robotics and automation industrial symbiosis, more attention to secondary material resources and resource recycling technologies.[20]  

Moreover the success of re-industrialization will depend on lifelong education and periodic training of the existing workforce. This is a topic that I will discuss in more detail in a subsequent article. And finally there is a theme that appears in all articles: building the right infrastructure for the industrial recovery refers to the availability of financing opportunities at the European, regional, and national level.

In Southern European economies such as France, Spain and Italy, government programs have been launched to stimulate re-industrialization. But the road is long, and inspiration is often lacking. In France, Bpifrance offers assistance with re-industrialization and / or relocation in the form of a repayable advance without interest to finance the project. More generally, financial support to support re-industrialization efforts represents € 2.5 billion in tax benefits granted to companies investing in their production tool.[21]

Morever, red tape is still very common, whereas one of the most important requirements is precisely to reduce or remove barriers for companies and SMEs. The priorities set to give re-industrialization a chance are often not met. Research and development efforts have to be increased. Spain is currently at the bottom of the competition when it comes to R&D spending - both in the public and, more importantly, in the private sector. Secondly, public spending must be increased at all levels of the education system. Third, investment needs to be increased in general to expand and modernize production capacity by supplementing it by saving energy and making production greener.[22]  France's contributions to modernity have been enormous, not only in the early modern period, but also in the industrial revolution. This time is not long back and the efforts to regain their former status are slow and with a lot of internal opposition. A change of direction will not be easy. Society seems to have largely lost its industrial pride.[23]  But here it is the regions that make the difference. Where in several regions of France the last industrial employment is still fleeing the country, there are other regions, such as Rhöne-Alpes, which help SMEs develop in new markets through cooperation between governments, universities and private companies. The same goes for Italy (Piemonte, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia)  as well as for Spain (Catalunya, Basque country).

3.      Sectors of  re-industrialisation in Europa

Re-industrialization only takes place in those industries that can increase their productivity and added value. In Switzerland, these include pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals, medical technology, precision instruments, watches, household appliances, electronics, energy, rail vehicles and certain segments of the food industry, such as coffee or luxury  foods. Increased productivity and added value is based on the enormous innovative power of the companies in these sectors. The innovative strength of the sector makes a major contribution to Switzerland taking first place on the Global Innovation Index. Decisive here are the expenditure for research and development (R&D). No other country invests more per capita in R&D and therefore in innovation than in Switzerland. For many Swiss SMEs it is a bit different. These are only in midfield with regard to R&D expenditure. To remain competitive in the future, they too will not be able to handle more research and development and invest in innovation.[24]

Innovation and R&D (research and development) are extremely important for all branches of industry. Yet the significance of innovation and R&D in agriculture and food manufacturing is sometimes underestimated, despite the role of innovation and R&D helping them become more competitive and energy-efficient. Innovation in production processes and increased exports have in many cases made it possible to overcome the economic crisis.

The concept of a circular economy, as opposed to a linear “take-makeuse-dispose” economy, was born of the need to foster sustainable growth, with a view to ensuring that products retain their added value for as long as possible and to maximising the chances of reusing their components productively, thus reducing waste generation and waste disposal and environmental pressures even further.

The digitisation of industry offers huge potential, for example, in terms of automatisation, processing technologies, increased productivity and flexibility, as well as greater competitiveness. Digitisation offers industry savings in energy and in the cost of raw materials. Moreover: fully harnessing the potential of the Internet of Things provides a unique opportunity for the EU to forge ahead in terms of global competitiveness.[25]

4.      The EU encourages (has stimulated) re-industrialization

For the Juncker EU committee, the pursuit of growth and more jobs was a top priority. A Digital Single Market and a robust industrial base were central to that. The Commission wanted to promote that ambition at all policy levels: European, national and local. The modernisation of the European  industry was at the core of all major initiatives of this Commission: 1. The Digital Single Market strategy, 2.  The Energy Union package, 3. The Circular economy, 4.  The Capital Markets Union, 5. The European Fund for Strategic Investments and 6. The Internal Market Strategy.[26]

We do not know what the priorities of the next EU-Commission will be. There has already been a moment when test balloons were released to abolish the goal of re-industrializing Europe at 20% of the BIP. Fortunately that didn't happen. But we will have to remain vigilant. There are plenty of reasons not to give up: after all, there are still large multinationals looking for low-wage structures. Investing in future innovative activities often costs more than reducing costs by moving to low-wage countries. Many multinationals are therefore strongly influenced by shareholders-fund managers who have no industrial experience and only prescribe short-term return on investment. Intervening in this type of minefield as an EU commission is not easy. The influence of local authorities on companies can therefore also contribute to this.

Louis Delcart, Board member EAR-AER, www.ear-aer.eu

[1]

Gunter Pauli, Diensten: De Motor Van Onze Economie (1987)

[2] Louis Delcart, Localisation in a globalising world, on tumblr blog Principles of Regional approach, 16-2-2016 https://lodelcar.tumblr.com/post/139787275600/localisation-in-a-globalising-world

[3] Michał Młody, Reindustrialisation of the European Union member states in the context of reshoring, Poznan University of Economics - December 2016, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311440242_Reindustrialisation_of_the_European_Union_member_states_in_the_context_of_reshoring

[4] Yannis PSYCHARIS, Antonis ROVOLIS, Vassilis TSELIOS, Panayotis PANTAZIS, ECONOMIC CRISIS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GREECE, Région et Développement n° 39-2014 , https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/49284416.pdf

[5] Dr. Reto Mülle, Industrialisierung, Deindustrialisierung, Reindustrialisierung – Teil 1, Handelskammerjournal – 20/1/2015; https://www.handelskammerjournal.ch/de/industrialisierung-deindustrialisierung-reindustrialisierung-teil-1

[6] Dr. Armin Schmiedeberg und Michael Füllemann, Go West! Wie Unternehmen von der Reindustrialisierung der USA profitieren können, Bain & Company, Inc, 2014; https://www.bain.com/contentassets/109b48c1660c4af3892e41ee1ac83ec5/bain-studie_reindustrialisierung_usa_final_es.pdf

[7] Dr. Reto Mülle, Industrialisierung, Deindustrialisierung, Reindustrialisierung – Teil 1, Handelskammerjournal – 20/1/2015; https://www.handelskammerjournal.ch/de/industrialisierung-deindustrialisierung-reindustrialisierung-teil-1

[8] Gabriel Flores Sánchez, Wie ist eine Reindustrialisierung in Spanien möglich? – A&W Blog, 13. August 2013, https://awblog.at/wie-ist-eine-reindustrialisierung-in-spanien-moglich/

[9] Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Reindustrialisation of Europe: Industry 4.0 - Innovation, growth and jobs, Forum Europe conference, Speech23 June 2015, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/bienkowska/announcements/reindustrialisation-europe-industry-40-innovation-growth-and-jobs-forum-europe-conference_en

[10] Stefan Vuza: A smart policy for the EU: reindustrialisation and the role of European champions, European Business Review, June 9, 2017 https://www.europeanbusinessreview.eu/page.asp?pid=1992

[11] Réindustrialisation de l’Europe : un mouvement favorable aux PME, BNP Paribas Entreprises, 07/03/2017 https://banqueentreprise.bnpparibas/fr/focus-entreprises/international/reindustrialisation-de-l-europe-un-mouvement-favorable-aux-pme

[12] Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Reindustrialisation of Europe: Industry 4.0 - Innovation, growth and jobs, Forum Europe conference, Speech23 June 2015, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/bienkowska/announcements/reindustrialisation-europe-industry-40-innovation-growth-and-jobs-forum-europe-conference_en

[13] Réindustrialisation de l’Europe : un mouvement favorable aux PME, BNP Paribas Entreprises, 07/03/2017 https://banqueentreprise.bnpparibas/fr/focus-entreprises/international/reindustrialisation-de-l-europe-un-mouvement-favorable-aux-pme

[14] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/a/a0/Gross_value_added_at_basic_prices%2C_2007_and_2017_%28%25_share_of_total_gross_value_added%29_FP18.png

[15] Fa Quix : Zonder herindustrialisering komen we er niet,  Fedustria - 23/01/2015 https://www.fedustria.be/blog/zonder-herindustrialisering-komen-we-er-niet

[16] Filip Michiels: Hoogtechnologisch, ultraflexibel én Belgisch, De opmars van de nieuwe maakindustrie, in: De Standaard, zaterdag 19 mei 2018

[17] Filip Michiels: Hoogtechnologisch, ultraflexibel én Belgisch, De opmars van de nieuwe maakindustrie, in: De Standaard, zaterdag 19 mei 2018

[18] Filip Michiels: Hoogtechnologisch, ultraflexibel én Belgisch, De opmars van de nieuwe maakindustrie, in: De Standaard, zaterdag 19 mei 2018

[19] https://www.agoria.be/nl/Laat-u-inspireren-door-de-Factories-of-the-Future

[20] Stefan Vuza: A smart policy for the EU: reindustrialisation and the role of European champions, European Business Review, June 9, 2017 https://www.europeanbusinessreview.eu/page.asp?pid=1992

[21] Réindustrialisation de l’Europe : un mouvement favorable aux PME, BNP Paribas Entreprises, 07/03/2017 https://banqueentreprise.bnpparibas/fr/focus-entreprises/international/reindustrialisation-de-l-europe-un-mouvement-favorable-aux-pme

[22] Gabriel Flores Sánchez, Wie ist eine Reindustrialisierung in Spanien möglich? – A&W Blog, 13. August 2013, https://awblog.at/wie-ist-eine-reindustrialisierung-in-spanien-moglich/

[23] Gerd Held, Frankreich muss produktive Tugenden neu entdecken, Welt - 14.02.2013 - Axel Springer SE

[24] Dr. Reto Mülle, Industrialisierung, Deindustrialisierung, Reindustrialisierung – Teil 2 - Schweizer Wirtschaft  - 21. Jan 2015; https://www.handelskammerjournal.ch/de/industrialisierung-deindustrialisierung-reindustrialisierung-teil-2

[25] The Reindustrialisation of Europe; Food Manufacturing, Innovation and Circular Economy, summary of the two-day seminar organised on 26 and 27 October 2015 by the Employers’ Group and its partners

[26] Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Reindustrialisation of Europe: Industry 4.0 - Innovation, growth and jobs, Forum Europe conference, Speech23 June 2015, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/bienkowska/announcements/reindustrialisation-europe-industry-40-innovation-growth-and-jobs-forum-europe-conference_en

[itsfinancethings]

October 11, 2019 at 07:00AM

Warning: This story contains mild spoilers for Parasite.

When the director Bong Joon-Ho was a college student in Seoul, he landed a job tutoring the child of a wealthy family. He only lasted two months: “I never really helped the kid study—I was more interested in having fun with him,” he recalls with a laugh. “They fired me right away when they wanted to.”

This unceremonious dismissal is nothing compared to the bloody turn that ignites Parasite, Bong’s latest film, which arrives in theaters on Friday. The movie centers on a down-and-out family that lives in a dingy, underground apartment, frequented by stink bugs and a drunkard prone to public urination. When the son is hired by an affluent family as a tutor, he orchestrates a series of lies to secure various jobs for his parents and sister across their spacious house. As the two families grow closer together, they realize how much money dictates every aspect of life, from attitude to accent to smell—and disaster ensues.

Parasite won the top prize at Cannes, has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and will approach awards season with considerable momentum. “Bong sails beyond good enough, devising a twist upon a twist and connecting one scene to the next with ingenious precision,” Stephanie Zacharek wrote in her TIME review. “It’s impossible to figure out where Parasite is headed.”

The film is not Bong’s first story of class warfare. Snowpiercer (2013) portrays an uprising among humanity’s last survivors on a speeding train. “The original graphic novel [Le Transperceneige, which Snowpiercer was adapted from] was published in the ’80s, and now we have Parasite in 2019,” Bong said through a translator, while on a publicity tour for the movie in New York. “I think it’s meaningful that even after three or four decades, and probably over the next century to come, we’re still talking about this era of capitalism.”

While the fundamental conflict of Parasite is transmutable—Bong called it a “universal story about rich and poor”—the film is also gaspingly specific to present-day South Korea and its hardships. The specter of nuclear war from North Korea—which motivated families with means to build underground bunkers—looms large, as does flooding, which caused catastrophic damage to the country in 2011 and 2014. Bong even alludes to the economic collapse of Taiwanese cupcake shops, which many Koreans invested in heavily before they went out of business. “A lot of people filed for bankruptcy: it was a kind of trauma to Korean society,” he says.

Bong also drew inspiration from his personal history. He grew up in a different traumatic era of the country, when Seoul was under the command of a military dictatorship and tear gas wafted through the streets. When he stepped into his aforementioned tutee’s house during college, he was taken aback by one particular symbol of excess: “I remember just being so shocked to see a private sauna in a home,” Bong says. The wealthy family of Parasite, likewise, owns a sauna in its labyrinthine mansion.

Bong, too, could surely afford a sauna by now. He’s become one of the most successful directors in Korean history, with films like Memories Of Murder and The Host, and he successfully crossed over to the United States and other international markets with Snowpiercer and Okja. The transition from rich to poor is a major theme in Parasite, with one character comparing money to an iron: “It smooths out all the wrinkles.”

But Bong still feels a kinship with the ethos of the working class. “Regardless of the success or the awards, my life has been pretty much the same the past 20 years,” he says. “I think of ideas, I have a hard time writing the script, I storyboard, I shoot, I go into post.”

“Making films is a difficult job, but I just do it because I’ve never tried anything else and it’s too late to change my job,” he says with a small smile. “So I don’t really have any opportunities to consider my success or the weight of the iron. I just feel like I’m a factory that’s constantly moving on and on.”

While Bong has made a specialty of creating films about wealth disparity, he’s far from the only director to explore the subject in recent years. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, Lee Chang-dong’s Burning and Jordan Peele’s Us have all recently explored poverty under capitalism in similar ways. Most notably, Us shares a startling number of commonalities with Parasite: they each focus on the clash between two mirrored families of four, one privileged and one oppressed; they sow a contrast between large, airy houses and seedy underground spaces; and are informed by house invasion tropes and horror genre frameworks.

Bong finished Parasite in March, the same month that Us was released, so he never had a chance to be influenced by the film. But he was taken aback when he saw its trailer, because it featured the familiar image of decalcomania, a technique in which an image is created on paper and then folded over to form a doubled, symmetrical work of art. “I remember being very surprised because that was actually the working title of Parasite, around three or four years ago,” he said. (He says that decalcomania is extremely common in art classes in Korea; perhaps not coincidentally, two major K-pop artists—BTS’ Jungkook and Mamamoo—also have songs with the same title.)

While Parasite and Us share many eerie similarities, Bong is unperturbed. “It’s not as if these contemporary directors and I intentionally formed an alliance—it just happened naturally,” he says. “I think that’s great: I wouldn’t call it solidarity, but it shows we all sympathize with the current climate.”

Parasite and Us also both erupt into harrowing violence, something that is far from new for Bong. Bloodshed has played a central role in many of his films, including The Host and Memories of Murder. (On an unrelated note, the serial killer that the latter film was based on confessed to his crimes earlier this month after three decades. “It’s bringing back a lot of memories and some of the struggles I had back then,” he says of the news.) Violence in film has been the subject of a heated dialogue over the past month thanks to Todd Phillip’s Joker, in which the disaffected lead character embarks on a series of murderous sprees. Many have condemned the film based on the concern that it portrays violence in a glorified light and could lead to copycat crimes.

But Bong feels that, for the most part, these criticisms are unfounded. “I don’t really think that films lead to violence in the real world—I think it’s the other way around,” he says. “Films, novels and all creative works, they always reflect the violence that exists in the world, but a beat late. If we are concerned and anxious that the violence depicted onscreen will influence our real world, I think it means that our current reality is that capricious and dangerous.”

Systematic oppression, compassionless communities, global warming, serial killers: Bong’s movies are driven by unrelentingly dark and fatalistic themes borne out of current realities. But when asked about the dystopian qualities of 2019, Bong demurs: “I wouldn’t want to define anything in this current world as dystopian.” He points to how he closes the film—with Choi Woo-shik (who plays the tutor Ki-Woo) singing a song with lyrics of resilience, that Bong himself wrote. “The lyrics don’t portray this great sense of optimism,” he says, “but they do feature a sliver of hope.”

[anew-books-blog]

A Matter of Time - Volume 2 ::: by Mary Calmes

My dear Anewers!

I think it is time for the sequel of A Matter of Time Series. Here we go again in a journey with Jory Harcourt and Samuel Thomas Kage. Let’s hope things get better between these two.

Let’s cut to what matters? Synposis and starting info:

“Books Three and Four Vol. 2

Three years ago, Jory Harcourt changed his name and shut the door on a past full of pain, only to emerge stronger on the other side. He has a new career, a great working partner, and a satisfying life—except for the hole in his chest left behind when police Detective Sam Kage walked out with his heart.

Now Sam's back and he knows what he wants... and what he wants is Jory. Jory, who doesn't know if he can survive another break up or losing Sam to his dangerous job, resists returning to the arms of the only man he has ever truly loved. But when a serial killer with a score to settle targets Jory, he will have to decide if love is worth the danger as he tries to solve the case and keep Sam safe.

Title:  A Matter of Time Volume 2 (Books 3 and 4)

Author: Mary Calmes

Year: 2011

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Language: English

Pages: 298

Reading time: 3 days

Format: e-book (Kindle)

Date of Purchase: 28/07/2013 at amazon.com

LINKS: Amazon (US) Dreamspinner Press

Again, this volume has two books in sequence.

I - Cover: (1)

The only thing i will say about the cover is: Who the hell is depicted at the cover? Jory? Nah... Sam? If it is, please don't... Erase this image from my brain please! Sam is like Chris Hemsworth easily for me... So please... Just don't.

II - PoV: (4.5)

BOOK 3: Now she nailed it! The third stallment of A Matter of Time was sublime! Fast paced when needed, slowed down right on time. Not much dwelve on repeat scenes that just happened. PERFECT! Jory’s mind each time more and more twisted and interesting.

BOOK 4: Well... I will not repeat myself. Amazing. (lol), but the narrative sometimes gets a bit fuzzy, confusing.

III - Protagonists: (4.875) - HEAVY SPOILER ALERT!

Jory Harcourt: (Book 3 e 4) He was resilient about being back where all things began. Sam was out of his life completely for 3 whole years or so, and of course, who in the name of God would be, in good shape, after loosing the one person that holds your heart in his hand and then (even well justified) trashed it? Not a soul, i bet. So the reaction that Jory had about being around with Sam again was totally justified, i would personally do things a bit differente, but hey! That's Jory, not Alex.

Sam Kage: (Book 3 e 4) That persistent sonofabitch. He's adorable and perfect about the way he crumbles little-by-little the resistance of Jory. Stubborn, but both are. And his family mauling him and Jory after the definitive reunion... awesome... but let's not talk about them, the focus here is SAM. Hot as ever, still the man of anyone's dreams. I just didn't enjoyed him at all at the last chapter of book 4, if i was Jory, i would've let him alone and went home.

IV - Antagonists: (4.5) 

(Book 3): There's no antagonists at this book, i could place Aaron Sutter like it, but it wouldn't be fair to the man.

(Book 4): Caleb Reid: I can't mention him in his full feature now, because the HUGE SPOILER is coming on twists section... all i can say is this. This character is full of surprises, awesome and awful surprises. It would be interesting to read more about him messing with Jory and Sam’s life in the future.

V - Side Characters: (5)

(Book 3): General speaking... All perfect as always. I am madly inlove with Dylan Greer and her husband. The Kage's are something unreal. I miss a lot of Dane and his wife Aja. Aaron Sutter is something! Like a refined Sam Kage, but way out of Jory's league. Having nothing else to add... PERFECT.

(Book 4): Dane is back, like ACID back... He just mauled Sam's ass to submission for being back at Jory's life again. It was really awesome!

VI - Hot Scenes: (4.75)

(Book 3): There's only two hot scenes about Jory and Sam. And... WOW! The first one, the getting back sex was ASTONISHING-BREATHTAKING-AROUSING-EXCITING-SUBLIME-HOT.AS.HELL-PERFECT! Being mauled against a door, it got me right at the spot!... I can't comment any longer without pausing to take a cold shower...

(Book 4): Not so many scenes like that, and the ones that happened were as great as always, but getting too fast, should be a little bit more detailed.

VII - Story: (4.5)

(Book 3): The story is shortened as the Sam pushing real hard to get Jory's back... Or as his father said: "Hey, dipshit, when do you get your boy back?" Plain and simple, with some sidetracks: the marriage of Dane at the beginning, the pregnancy and birth of the first child of Jory's partner and BFF Dylan, the reencounter of Jory and Aaron, and two or three bad dates of Jory. No crime, no pursuit, no shots fired, or house busted, or kidnapping, torture... so on... just the plans of Sam to get Jory back. Funny and sweet. Unmisseable.

(Book 4): Despite the perfectness of book 3, book 4 starts doing a full back to books 1 and 2... and back and forth memory lane, BUT this time it was right. At least Mary Calmes doesn't lost too many time (or lines) re-explaining things... Thing is, if you never read Books 1, 2 and 3... you will be filled Crash-Course-Style everything in 3 chapters, and i meant it: EVERYTHING.

On this book, we already have the all cops-investigating-thing back again. Turns out that, the Brian Minor's case wasn't the real deal after all... but a serial killer matter, and, as you might think, "Jory is at the center of it" (well, not really), or so they thought. No more spoilers here...

This time Jory left Sam (same situation of Book 2, but in reverse) to investigate himself what's going on. And... well... read and see. It was interesting, and well developed,... BUT there's a huge ass flaw: Why the hell the police or the FBI didn't traced Jory's cellphone position to find where the fuck he was? Only when you take off the battery tracing is impossible. Moving on...

Jory's Batman-Mode is interesting, but... tiresome. Mary Calmes build this up for far too long, that i caught myself skipping some lines and paragraphs, meaning that i had to went back several times to catch up. It transited easily and fastly from interesting to boring.

But in the end, was really good, as a Hitchcock's Psycho gay version.

VIII - Plot Twists: (4) 

(Book 3): No twists in here. The story was way too forthcoming as predicted. And its not bad, actually it is awesome, no room for continuity mistakes.

(Book 4): HUGE SPOILER NEEDED! BE WARNED: The twists here are almost every single one in Jory's mind, and especially at the end when he was doing the Batman-Investigating-thing. Confused twists, first the one to Caleb Reid as the responsible for the murders, after that shifts to his mother Susan with a very poor excuse. Then Jory assumed that Sam thinks about he's being a danger for himself and the society?! Really??? Then Jory, unexplicably, tells he's wrong, Susan Reid is innocent. WHAAAAAT??? How so? The Caleb Reid hid inside the closet, really?! And the police didn't find him there? Really??? Searching 1-0-1: look under beds, furniture, inside armoires, furniture and CLOSETS!!! And Surprise-surprise! Caleb Reid has MPD! Multiple Personality Disorder. REEEEALYYYY!!!!!????? How Psycho is this?! Originality was forgotten or forsaken or forbidden? Hahaha, jokes apart: i loved it! However... the dialog between Jory and Caleb in Susan's shoes was AWESOME! Short and direct. I felt the horror Jory felt. This alone saved the entire sequence of unrealistic, unlikely, illogical, unclear and highly implausible events.

IX - Ending: (4.5)

(Book 3): HAPPY ENDING! I JUST LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS!!! So cute! And it gave you the feeling that there's room for more (a lot more). I love it! Simple as that.

(Book 4): So... Considerations on this ending... Interesting thing is, i would rather read about the full Jory/Sam wedding at Canada, some party after and they coming back to US happily ever after. This would be the crown jewel for me. BUT - in the interest of surprising people - Mary Calmes didn't do it. Disappointing? Definately yes. Bad? No.

Sam's brother, Michael's wedding with a blasting-catholic chick was the touch, but then again, i would rather see Jory this time standing his ground and obliterating that bitch over pulling out Sam and kiss the life outta him, than sucking it up and got all jealous in silence. So not Jory, even in Michael's best interest. I wouldn't toletare such thing, but then again it is me, not Jory. To avoid this i would not be at the reception, i would just be at the wedding, at the most far away bench and accept that everyone or suffer the consequences.

I would not consider this a real perfect happy ending, it was a happy ending, but with a catch. I didn't enjoy it that much. Pity.

X - Pace: (4.5)

(Book 3): Since this book has no twists (not that i can recall) tempo was right. Could be a little bit longer, but i'm not complaining at all. Perfect timing as i said at the beginning of this review.

(Book 4): This book has ups and downs. Some scenes i simply skipped, too long or visiting extensively down memory lane. Even so, not tiresome. The book have a good pace. In comparison with book 3, this one could be shorter, like WAY shorter. Too many unnecessary twists.

XI - Re-reading Factor: (5)

(Books 3 and 4): Well, this was the 8th time that i read the entire series, so... You all know what i mean by that, right?

XII - Recommendation: (5)

(Books 3 and 4): Do i really need to answer to that?

XIII - EXTRA POINTS: (+2.5)

- Bonus points:

   . Gorgeous characters, and absolutely my type;

   . Should have a TV or Silver-screen adaptation;

   . Perfect HOT Scene (wow, just wow... did i mentioned that i want Samuel Thomas Kage in my bed right fucking now?!)

- Penalties:

   . None.

Average: 4.34 of 5 (from I to XII)

Final grade (applying bonus points): 6.84 of 10

Well, a little improvement from the previous volume. Although my review on book 4 was a bit harsh, the story is really interesting, just gets confusing and tiresome at a few points.

Anyway, Mary Calmes still delivers great stories about Jory and Sam. I would mention a few things here about this series, but let’s mention only after the review of the last book, ok?

x-o-x-o

AlexM

NEXT REVIEW: “Pale as a Ghost” by Stephen Osborne.

[hashtagblogfan]

These Movies Has Totally Unexpected End

The post Hashtag3r.Com - Psychology , Travel , Photography , Lifestyle Blog These Movies Has Totally Unexpected End appeared first on Hashtag3r.Com.

These Movies Has Totally Unexpected End

  As we all know, in general, the films that upset us, are those whose plot is captivating, those who impress with the beauty of the images or the talent of the actors, and those whose end remains engraved forever in our memories. This article will be the occasion to present to you some incredible Movies Has Totally Unexpected End which will attract all your attention and which you will have a mad desire to pierce all the mysteries …

  Side effects, 2013

  When Emily’s husband returns from prison, she falls into depression and even tries to commit suicide. During a session with her psychiatrist, Emily is prescribed an experimental drug to help her recover. The drug works and she can now lead a normal life; but what was not expected is that she becomes a sleepwalker, a state in which people move while they are fast asleep.

  tell no one, 2006

  Eight years ago, Alexander Beck’s wife was murdered by a serial killer. Alex did not manage to overcome this loss and tried to forget it by plunging into work. Shortly after,two other bodies are found at the scene of the crime and all the evidence overwhelms Alex. The situation becomes more complicated when the man learns that his wife may still be alive. And that from now on, they are both in danger.

  Identity, 2003

IDENTITY, Leila Kenzie, John C. McGinley, John Cusack, Bret Loehr, 2003, (c) Columbia

To shelter from a raging storm, 10 strangers find shelter in an old motel. They quickly discover that they are actually in a survival game and that the killer is among them.

Mindhunters 2004

  On an isolated island, seven future FBI agents pass a test to join the section of “profilers”, these individuals able to detail the psychological portrait of a murderer. The test becomes real when a murderer appears on the island and nobody knows how to identify it. Will survivors find the maniac who coldly calculates their actions and never makes mistakes?

  The Hole, 2001

  The protagonist tells a criminal psychologist what happened in a bunker where she, her friend and two boys went down to party. The teenagers wanted to challenge the school, their parents and the routine, but they had not imagined what could happen.

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  Stay, 2005

  Henry, a student on the edge of a nervous breakdown, tells psychiatrist Sam Foster that he wants to end his life. To avoid this, the doctor accompanies him on a journey through the city and gradually begins to immerse himself in the terrifying illusions of his patient.

  Primal fear, 1996

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 91

A young man is accused of murdering an archbishop, but he denies his guilt. The lawyer Martin Vail defends the defendant and tries to save him at all costs from the death penalty. The plot of the film is spiced up by the fact that during the legal proceedings, the lawyer is confronted by his examiner, attorney Janet Venable.

  The Usual Suspects, 1995

  On a boat in a New York harbor, dozens of people are found dead in mysterious circumstances. The case is handled by an investigator who interviews one of the survivors. He says that it all started in a police station where he met four repeat offenders.

  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared on an island without a trace, and her body was not found. The uncle of the girl is convinced that the killer is a member of his family and hires an experienced journalist and a tattooed hacker to conduct the investigation.

An intriguing film based on the bestseller Stieg Larsson.

  Murder on the Orient Express 2017

  On one of the most beautiful train lines in Europe, a mysterious murder is committed, and all passengers are suspected. To solve this puzzle,the famous detective Hercule Poirot must succeed in finding the culprit before he strikes again.

  Taking Lives 2004

In the city of Montreal, a maniac leaves behind a mountain of corpses and lives the lives of his victims. He uses their credit cards, their accounts and their names. The detectives in the city are powerless and do not understand the killer’s motives. The case is thus entrusted to the FBI agent Illeana Scott, who seeks to enter the killer’s head and predict his next actions.

  Contratiempo 2016

The main character, Adrian Doria, a successful young businessman, discovers his beloved lifeless in a room. Everything overwhelmed him, because there was no one else in the room. Adrian denies his guilt and asks Virginia Goodman for help, who will do anything to get to the bottom of the truth.

  La migliore offerta, 2012

  Virgil Oldman, an elderly auctioneer, receives a proposal from a mysterious woman who wants to sell his family’s precious items. They can not meet in person, which frustrates the main character. But he learns that no one has ever seen this woman alive. So Oldman decides to visit him, not only, to sell the precious objects, but also to elucidate his mystery.

  The Vanishing of Sidney Hall 2017

The protagonist, student, is writing a story. Later, he published a novel that earned him a Pulitzer Prize nomination. In the film, we see three stages of the life and maturity of the writer,and we discover what prompted him to write this novel and what price he had to pay.

The post Hashtag3r.Com - Psychology , Travel , Photography , Lifestyle Blog These Movies Has Totally Unexpected End appeared first on Hashtag3r.Com.

source https://hashtag3r.com/movies-has-totally-unexpected-end/

[maxwellyjordan]

A “view” from the courtroom: Wait, wait … there’s more

Today is the last day scheduled on the court’s calendar for the justices to take the bench. But most observers are not expecting to court to issue all six remaining merits opinions.

For one thing, although it was once routine for the justices to release as many as six opinions on a single day, the court generally sticks to fewer than that these days. For another, Chief Justice John Roberts this past Friday did not give the customary indication that today would be the last one and “at that time we will announce all remaining opinions ready during this term of the court.” (I mistakenly suggested in Friday’s “view” that it was Marshal Pamela Talkin who makes that statement, but as some astute readers reminded me, it is the chief justice.)

Chief Justice Roberts stops Marshal Pamela Talkin from gaveling out the Court “prematurely” (Art Lien)

Inside the courtroom, there is a growing number of interested observers — those awaiting the result in a particular pending case. In the center section of the public gallery, Illinois state worker Mark Janus is here, awaiting a decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31, about whether public-employee unions may continue to collect agency fees from those members of a bargaining unit, such as Janus, who decline to join the union.

On Janus’ left is Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois, who launched the lawsuit that asks the court to overrule its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. Rauner was found to lack standing in the matter, but Janus and two other state employees intervened, which allowed the case to make its way here, where Janus is the sole petitioner.

Also in the courtroom today are participants in the Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers, a joint effort of Streetlaw Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society. Two groups of teachers from around the country come to Washington for several days of instruction, a moot court at Georgetown University Law Center and various events at the court itself.

The case for moot court this year was Carpenter v. United States, about whether the government’s review of cell-site location information was a search under the Fourth Amendment. The court held that it was in most instances. The moot court justices of the teachers institute, however, ruled for the government, both in a session that occurred a week ago before the real Supreme Court had ruled, and in the second session this past weekend, after they had the additional resource of 118 pages of opinions from the real justices.

The VIP box looks pretty full this morning, but we see only one justice’s spouse—Joanna Breyer, the wife of Justice Stephen Breyer. In the press section, meanwhile, we have a guest whose face should be familiar to anyone who watched “The Fourth Estate,” the Showtime documentary series about The New York Times and its coverage of President Donald Trump’s first year in office. Michael Shear, a White House correspondent for The Times who appears prominently in the series, is helping the newspaper’s Supreme Court correspondent, Adam Liptak, who is down in the press room to receive opinions.

When the real justices take the bench at 10 o’clock, the chief justice settles in and appears ready to give his routine announcement that today’s orders have been duly certified and filed with the clerk. But his long, thin, adjustable microphone is tilted practically skyward, and Roberts looks askance at it momentarily before moving it down. At least two other such microphones on the bench are in the same position, as if someone had moved them to dust the desks and not returned them to the proper positions.

Roberts announces that Justice Samuel Alito has the opinion of the court in … and here Rauner and Janus perk up expectantly, because an Alito assignment in the Janus case would be good news for them. But it’s not the Janus case, it’s Abbott v. Perez, a racial-gerrymandering case from Texas (and a companion case with the same caption).

“The background of these case is somewhat complicated, but I will try to keep this summary relatively short,” Alito says.

He provides some of the background of this case that began with a 2011 remap of Texas congressional and state legislative districts, which led to a later plan that continues to be challenged for some racially gerrymandered districts.

Alito does fairly quickly summarize that the court’s holdings today, that the justices have jurisdiction to review the orders of the three-judge federal district court effectively barring the use of the plan in this year’s election, and that the district court erred in requiring Texas to show that the state legislature in 2013 had purged the taint that the court had attributed to the 2011 plan.

The court has never held that past discrimination “flipped the burden of proof on its head,” Alito says. Except with respect to one Texas House district, Alito says the district court erred in enjoining the use of the districting maps adopted by the state legislature in 2013.

Justice Clarence Thomas has written a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has written a dissent, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Breyer and Elena Kagan.

Justice Clarence Thomas is up next with the opinion in Ohio v. American Express Co., a big-ticket antitrust case over the credit-card company’s contractual provisions with merchants.

Like everyone else in the world, Thomas says he will refer to the company as “Amex for short.” The contractual provisions at issue prohibit merchants from discouraging customers from using their Amex cards at the point of purchase, a practice known as steering. Amex earns most of its revenue from merchant fees, which tend to be higher than those of its competitors, such as Visa, Mastercard and Discover, who collect fees from merchants but also interest from cardholders.

Amex was sued by the United States and several states, who argued that the anti-steering provisions in its contracts with merchants violate federal antitrust law.

Thomas concludes for the court that they do not. The two-sided platform in this area, involving merchants and cardholders, is still just a single market because only a company with both will to be able to participate in the market. And the challengers have not met their burden of showing anti-competitive effects because their argument that Amex’s anti-steering provisions increase merchant fees wrongly focuses on just one side of the market.

Among other things, Thomas says, “Amex’s competitors have exploited its higher merchant fees to their advantage,” such as by being more widely accepted.

Thomas wraps up quickly, noting that Breyer has filed a dissent, joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan.

With that, before the chief justice says anything else, Marshal Pamela Talkin bangs her gavel, and court police officers begin to motion everyone to stand.

But wait. We’re apparently not yet done. Roberts interrupts Talkin and motions with his hands for all to remain seated. “Whoa, whoa,” he seems to say, then raising his hands to shoulder-height.

Breyer has a summary of his dissent to offer, and he starts delivering it even as there is still a small commotion of everyone settling back into their seats.

“The antitrust laws play a central role in our economic free-enterprise system,” he says. “This is a traditional Sherman Act, Section 1, antitrust case.”

He appears to ad lib the next line: “I don’t know if that excites you, but it is.”

Breyer provides his perspective on the anti-steering provision. Without such an agreement, a merchant might encourage a customer to use a lower-fee card, such as Discover, and might reward retail patrons with “a free shopping bag” or restaurant customers with “free butter.” (I’m not sure where Breyer dines where the butter costs extra.)

“But the merchant cannot do any of those things because of the nondiscrimination [or anti-steering] provision,” he says. “And the agreement thereby stops price competition in its tracks.”

He goes on at some length about the particulars of his dissent before seeking to put it in perspective. “I particularly fear the interpretive impact of the majority’s discussion of what it calls ‘two-side platforms,’ in an era when that term might be thought to apply to many internet-related goods and services that are becoming ever more important.”

“Just in case we’re wrong about everything I’ve said so far, and of course we’re not wrong,” Amex should still lose, Breyer says, before offering several reasons for that. (From the bench, he does not mention the term “laissez-faire capitalism”, which readers of the published slip opinion by this justice who sometimes delivers speeches in French are quickly pointing out is misspelled there as “lassez-faire.”)

More generally, he says, he wants to emphasize the importance of “traditional antitrust law,” which “insists on a freely competitive marketplace.”

“It has long helped this nation prosper by charting a middle path between monopoly capitalism and state economic control,” Breyer says. “Long gone, we must hope, are the days when great trusts unfettered by competition presided over the American economy.”

After a few more closing words, Breyer is finished, and so is the court for today.

With a slight smile on her face, Talkin bangs her gavel again, and says, the “honorable court is now adjourned until tomorrow at 10 o’clock,” with some emphasis on “now.”

And Roberts has not delivered the second-to-last day comment, so it appears there are two more opinion days for the four remaining opinions.

[Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel on an amicus brief in support of the petitioners in this case. However, the author of this post is not affiliated with the firm.]

The post A “view” from the courtroom: Wait, wait … there’s more appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

from Law http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/06/a-view-from-the-courtroom-wait-wait-theres-more/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[melissagarcia8]

Transportation sector becomes most significant polluter

Transport is now the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Britain for the very first time given that records started, new figures reveal.A 2 percent boost in emissions outputs in 2016 pressed transport ahead of the energy supply sector for the very first time after the latter handled to cut emissions by 17 per cent year-on-year, mainly by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations.Transport is now at threat of

extending its position at the top of the table of the majority of contaminating sectors following the Government's recent crackdown on low CO2 releasing diesel cars.Biggest polluter: Federal government figures expose that the transport sector contributes more greenhouse gas emissions in Britain than any other sector for the first time The latest figures have actually been released by the Department for Organisation, Energy and Industrial Strategy.It said overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5 percent in Britain in 2016, with energy supply, company and sectors categorised as 'other'all lowering the amount of pollution they produce. HOW THIS IS CASH CAN AID However, numerous sectors posted boosts. This includes transport which is now accountable for more than a quarter

of the Britain's greenhouse gas

outputs.It's the very first time because records began 26 years ago that cars, buses, vans and trains have actually produced more environment-damaging emissions that other sector.Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 41 per cent in the UK, while co2 -the most significant contributor -is down 36 percent, BEIS added. League table: Transport is now the greatest factor to greenhouse gas emissions than other UK sector The BEIS said the energy supply sector had substantially decreased greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations Energy products have actually lowered their overall outputs by 57 percent in that time, however the transport sector

hasn't had the same level of improvement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by simply two per cent between 1990 and 2016, resulting in recent plans to choose the sale of diesel and

petrol-powered cars in the near future. The Government already announced ambitions to end sales of new cars powered solely by combustion engines in 2040 as part of efforts to tackle environment change and air pollution.The Committee on Environment Change, which recommends the Federal government on meeting its long term lawfully binding environment targets

, said last month that three in five brand-new cars and trucks sold in 2030 need to be electrical in

order for the country to hit its low-emissions targets, including cutting transportation emissions by 44 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK: Which sectors have contributed one of the most contamination each year given that 1990? YEAR Transport Energy supply Organisation Residential Farming Waste management Other 2016 26%25%17 %14%10%4% 4% 2015 24%29

%17%13%10% 4%4 %2014 23%31 %17 %12 %9% 4%4%2013 21%33 %16% 14%9%4%4%2012 21 %35% 15%13%10% 4%4% 2011 21%35 %16%13%9%3%3%2010 21%35%15 %15%9%3%2%200921%35%16%14%9%3%3%200820%36 %16%13%8%3%4%2005 20%35%16%13%8%3%4%2000 19%33%17%13%9%4%5%199517%33%15%12%9%6%9%199016%36%15%11%8%6%9%SOURCE: Department for Company, Energy &Industrial Technique and Departmentfor Energy & Climate Change Good friends of the Earth environment campaigner Simon Bullock stated:'Regardless of this welcome fall inclimate-wreckingpollution, the transport sector is still stopping working to playits partinslashing emissions.'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should play catch-up quick-- his departmentcan't continue to crawl along in the slow lanewhen it concerns taking on environment modification.'And if wewant to play ourpartin worldwideefforts to prevent global warming, we must do evenmore, raisingour ambition to match theParis Agreement and taking instantmeasures such as enabling communities to develop onshore windandsolar andmaking sureallnew homes are absolutely no carbon.'While there's been a significant decline in overall greenhouse gas emissions of 41%since 1990, thetransportation sector had only posted a 2%reduction in that time A Government spokeswoman reacted to report, stating:'Today's data stress the UK's leadership

in taking on environment change.'Since 1990, we have actually cut emissions by more than 40 per cent while growing our economy by over 2 thirds-- the very best efficiency of any G7 country.' We wish to construct on this success, which is

why clean development is at the heart of our enthusiastic Industrial Strategy, making sure the UK is well positioned to take benefit of the economic chances provided by the switch to a low

carbon economy.' Specialists have cautioned that the federal government's current intro of tax additional charges on the sale of new diesel cars might press CO2 outputs higher Crackdown on diesel has actually pressed CO2 outputs higher The Government has actually come down hard on diesel in current months as part of strategies to decrease harmful emissions being pumped

into the country's air. This culminated in the Chancellor's Budget decision to increase first-year tax for anyone who buys a new diesel cars and truck from April next year.But the decision to dissuade chauffeurs from buying the fuel type has seen CO2 emissions for new lorries increase for the very first time in 14 years in 2017. If industry is to fulfill difficult CO2 targets

getting more of the most current low emission diesels onto our roads is important, as they can give off 20%less CO2 than the comparable petrol models Department

for Transportation figures revealed that the average new cars and truck offered in 2017 produces more CO2 than one offered in 2016-reversing a continuous decrease in greenhouse gas emissions on this step considering that figures were initially released in 2003. Authorities data for the first 10 months of 2017

program that the typical new automobile offered this year produces 121.1 g of CO2 per kilometre.The typical CO2 output of new vehicles sold in 2016 was 120.3 g/km. Experts alerted

that the greater number of fuel cars hitting the road compared to diesel threatens to derail the Federal government's ambitious climate change targets.Car producers are currently under pressure to meet an EU target of cutting typical CO2 emissions

across their ranges to 95g/km by 2021. Hybrid will cut CO2 emissions quicker than diesel, professional says The International Council on Clean Transport, a research study group that has led the campaign against harmful diesel emissions, stated sophisticated gas engines, in addition to electric and hybrid technology, will cut CO2 emissions quicker than the most current diesels could.' Quite a lot of petrol automobiles do not use the current technologies available and still have greater CO2 emissions than equivalent diesel automobiles,'said Peter Mock, managing director

of ICCT Europe.' Nevertheless, the-regrettably frequently repeated-statement that diesel cars and trucks are necessary to reduce CO2 emissions is simply incorrect.' Instead, hybridising gas cars and transitioning to electric automobiles today makes more sense for car manufacturers.

'Monk likewise blamed the increased sales of SUVs -which are typically less fuel efficient than a hatchback option -for the spike in average CO2 outputs. The current demonisation of diesel has triggered concerns that these objectives won't be met if makers cannot even move low-emissions diesel cars and trucks that comply with the existing Euro6 standards.At the end of last year, Tamzen Isacsson, director at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said:' If industry is to satisfy difficult CO2 targets getting more of the latest low emission diesels

onto our roadways is crucial, as they can release 20 per cent less

CO2 than the equivalent petrol models.She blamed' confusion around government air quality strategies and tax'for plunging diesel sales. She included: 'If brand-new diesel car registrations continue on this unfavorable pattern, UK average new cars and truck CO2 levels might indeed rise this year'.

Matt Freeman, handling consultant at cars and truck appraisal firm cap hpi, added:' Striking the 2021 environmental targets for CO2 decrease would be a considerable challenge without the likely decrease in diesel.

'Therefore it is vital that diesels continue to command a considerable share of the new car marketplace.'If customers, with no option of transitioning to hybrid or EVs, switch to petrol the ecological effect is clear-their CO2 emissions would likely increase between 3 per cent and 23 per cent inning accordance with design. 'CONSERVE CASH ON MOTORING

Car insurance coverage Compare policies Breakdown cover Find the best deals< a href= http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/loans-finder target=

_ blank >

Personal loans Borrow for an automobile MOTs made easy Apply online

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-5357349/Transport-polluting-sector-greenhouse-gas-emissions-drop-5.html

source http://taxi.nearme.host/transportation-sector-becomes-most-significant-polluter/

from NOVACAB http://novacabtaxi.blogspot.com/2018/03/transportation-sector-becomes-most.html

[kevingbakeruk]

Transportation sector becomes most significant polluter

Transport is now the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Britain for the very first time given that records started, new figures reveal.A 2 percent boost in emissions outputs in 2016 pressed transport ahead of the energy supply sector for the very first time after the latter handled to cut emissions by 17 per cent year-on-year, mainly by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations.Transport is now at threat of

extending its position at the top of the table of the majority of contaminating sectors following the Government’s recent crackdown on low CO2 releasing diesel cars.Biggest polluter: Federal government figures expose that the transport sector contributes more greenhouse gas emissions in Britain than any other sector for the first time The latest figures have actually been released by the Department for Organisation, Energy and Industrial Strategy.It said overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5 percent in Britain in 2016, with energy supply, company and sectors categorised as ‘other'all lowering the amount of pollution they produce. HOW THIS IS CASH CAN AID However, numerous sectors posted boosts. This includes transport which is now accountable for more than a quarter

of the Britain’s greenhouse gas

outputs.It’s the very first time because records began 26 years ago that cars, buses, vans and trains have actually produced more environment-damaging emissions that other sector.Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 41 per cent in the UK, while co2 -the most significant contributor -is down 36 percent, BEIS added. League table: Transport is now the greatest factor to greenhouse gas emissions than other UK sector The BEIS said the energy supply sector had substantially decreased greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations Energy products have actually lowered their overall outputs by 57 percent in that time, however the transport sector

hasn’t had the same level of improvement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by simply two per cent between 1990 and 2016, resulting in recent plans to choose the sale of diesel and

petrol-powered cars in the near future. The Government already announced ambitions to end sales of new cars powered solely by combustion engines in 2040 as part of efforts to tackle environment change and air pollution.The Committee on Environment Change, which recommends the Federal government on meeting its long term lawfully binding environment targets

, said last month that three in five brand-new cars and trucks sold in 2030 need to be electrical in

order for the country to hit its low-emissions targets, including cutting transportation emissions by 44 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK: Which sectors have contributed one of the most contamination each year given that 1990? YEAR Transport Energy supply Organisation Residential Farming Waste management Other 2016 26%25%17 %14%10%4% 4% 2015 24%29

%17%13%10% 4%4 %2014 23%31 %17 %12 %9% 4%4%2013 21%33 %16% 14%9%4%4%2012 21 %35% 15%13%10% 4%4% 2011 21%35 %16%13 %9%3 %3%2010 21 %35%15 %15%9% 3%2%2009 21%35%16%14 %9%3%3%2008 20%36 %16%13%8%3 %4%2005 20%35% 16% 13% 8% 3% 4% 2000 19%33% 17% 13% 9% 4% 5% 1995 17% 33% 15% 12% 9% 6% 9% 1990 16% 36% 15% 11% 8% 6% 9% SOURCE: Department for Company , Energy & Industrial Technique and Department for Energy & Climate Change Good friends of the Earth environment campaigner Simon Bullock stated:'Regardless of this welcome fall in climate-wrecking pollution , the transport sector is still stopping working to play its part in slashing emissions.'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should play catch-up quick– his department ca n’t continue to crawl along in the slow lane when it concerns taking on environment modification.'And if we want to play our part in worldwide efforts to prevent global warming, we must do even more, raising our ambition to match the Paris Agreement and taking instant measures such as enabling communities to develop onshore wind and solar and making sure all new homes are absolutely no carbon.'While there’s been a significant decline in overall greenhouse gas emissions of 41% since 1990, the transportation sector had only posted a 2%reduction in that time A Government spokeswoman reacted to report, stating:'Today’s data stress the UK’s leadership

in taking on environment change.'Since 1990, we have actually cut emissions by more than 40 per cent while growing our economy by over 2 thirds– the very best efficiency of any G7 country.’ We wish to construct on this success, which is

why clean development is at the heart of our enthusiastic Industrial Strategy, making sure the UK is well positioned to take benefit of the economic chances provided by the switch to a low

carbon economy.’ Specialists have cautioned that the federal government’s current intro of tax additional charges on the sale of new diesel cars might press CO2 outputs higher Crackdown on diesel has actually pressed CO2 outputs higher The Government has actually come down hard on diesel in current months as part of strategies to decrease harmful emissions being pumped

into the country’s air. This culminated in the Chancellor’s Budget decision to increase first-year tax for anyone who buys a new diesel cars and truck from April next year.But the decision to dissuade chauffeurs from buying the fuel type has seen CO2 emissions for new lorries increase for the very first time in 14 years in 2017. If industry is to fulfill difficult CO2 targets

getting more of the most current low emission diesels onto our roads is important, as they can give off 20%less CO2 than the comparable petrol models Department

for Transportation figures revealed that the average new cars and truck offered in 2017 produces more CO2 than one offered in 2016-reversing a continuous decrease in greenhouse gas emissions on this step considering that figures were initially released in 2003. Authorities data for the first 10 months of 2017

program that the typical new automobile offered this year produces 121.1 g of CO2 per kilometre.The typical CO2 output of new vehicles sold in 2016 was 120.3 g/km. Experts alerted

that the greater number of fuel cars hitting the road compared to diesel threatens to derail the Federal government’s ambitious climate change targets.Car producers are currently under pressure to meet an EU target of cutting typical CO2 emissions

across their ranges to 95g/km by 2021. Hybrid will cut CO2 emissions quicker than diesel, professional says The International Council on Clean Transport, a research study group that has led the campaign against harmful diesel emissions, stated sophisticated gas engines, in addition to electric and hybrid technology, will cut CO2 emissions quicker than the most current diesels could.’ Quite a lot of petrol automobiles do not use the current technologies available and still have greater CO2 emissions than equivalent diesel automobiles,'said Peter Mock, managing director

of ICCT Europe.’ Nevertheless, the-regrettably frequently repeated-statement that diesel cars and trucks are necessary to reduce CO2 emissions is simply incorrect.’ Instead, hybridising gas cars and transitioning to electric automobiles today makes more sense for car manufacturers.

'Monk likewise blamed the increased sales of SUVs -which are typically less fuel efficient than a hatchback option -for the spike in average CO2 outputs. The current demonisation of diesel has triggered concerns that these objectives won’t be met if makers cannot even move low-emissions diesel cars and trucks that comply with the existing Euro6 standards.At the end of last year, Tamzen Isacsson, director at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said:’ If industry is to satisfy difficult CO2 targets getting more of the latest low emission diesels

onto our roadways is crucial, as they can release 20 per cent less

CO2 than the equivalent petrol models.She blamed’ confusion around government air quality strategies and tax'for plunging diesel sales. She included: 'If brand-new diesel car registrations continue on this unfavorable pattern, UK average new cars and truck CO2 levels might indeed rise this year’.

Matt Freeman, handling consultant at cars and truck appraisal firm cap hpi, added:’ Striking the 2021 environmental targets for CO2 decrease would be a considerable challenge without the likely decrease in diesel.

'Therefore it is vital that diesels continue to command a considerable share of the new car marketplace.'If customers, with no option of transitioning to hybrid or EVs, switch to petrol the ecological effect is clear-their CO2 emissions would likely increase between 3 per cent and 23 per cent inning accordance with design. 'CONSERVE CASH ON MOTORING

Car insurance coverage Compare policies Breakdown cover Find the best deals

_ blank >

Personal loans Borrow for an automobile MOTs made easy Apply online

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-5357349/Transport-polluting-sector-greenhouse-gas-emissions-drop-5.html

from TAXI NEAR ME http://taxi.nearme.host/transportation-sector-becomes-most-significant-polluter/

from NOVACAB https://novacabtaxi.tumblr.com/post/171534083806

[cynthiabryanuk]

Transportation sector becomes most significant polluter

Transport is now the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Britain for the very first time given that records started, new figures reveal.A 2 percent boost in emissions outputs in 2016 pressed transport ahead of the energy supply sector for the very first time after the latter handled to cut emissions by 17 per cent year-on-year, mainly by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations.Transport is now at threat of

extending its position at the top of the table of the majority of contaminating sectors following the Government's recent crackdown on low CO2 releasing diesel cars.Biggest polluter: Federal government figures expose that the transport sector contributes more greenhouse gas emissions in Britain than any other sector for the first time The latest figures have actually been released by the Department for Organisation, Energy and Industrial Strategy.It said overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5 percent in Britain in 2016, with energy supply, company and sectors categorised as 'other'all lowering the amount of pollution they produce. HOW THIS IS CASH CAN AID However, numerous sectors posted boosts. This includes transport which is now accountable for more than a quarter

of the Britain's greenhouse gas

outputs.It's the very first time because records began 26 years ago that cars, buses, vans and trains have actually produced more environment-damaging emissions that other sector.Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 41 per cent in the UK, while co2 -the most significant contributor -is down 36 percent, BEIS added. League table: Transport is now the greatest factor to greenhouse gas emissions than other UK sector The BEIS said the energy supply sector had substantially decreased greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations Energy products have actually lowered their overall outputs by 57 percent in that time, however the transport sector

hasn't had the same level of improvement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by simply two per cent between 1990 and 2016, resulting in recent plans to choose the sale of diesel and

petrol-powered cars in the near future. The Government already announced ambitions to end sales of new cars powered solely by combustion engines in 2040 as part of efforts to tackle environment change and air pollution.The Committee on Environment Change, which recommends the Federal government on meeting its long term lawfully binding environment targets

, said last month that three in five brand-new cars and trucks sold in 2030 need to be electrical in

order for the country to hit its low-emissions targets, including cutting transportation emissions by 44 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK: Which sectors have contributed one of the most contamination each year given that 1990? YEAR Transport Energy supply Organisation Residential Farming Waste management Other 2016 26%25%17 %14%10%4% 4% 2015 24%29

%17%13%10% 4%4 %2014 23%31 %17 %12 %9% 4%4%2013 21%33 %16% 14%9%4%4%2012 21 %35% 15%13%10% 4%4% 2011 21%35 %16%13%9%3%3%2010 21%35%15 %15%9%3%2%200921%35%16%14%9%3%3%200820%36 %16%13%8%3%4%2005 20%35%16%13%8%3%4%2000 19%33%17%13%9%4%5%199517%33%15%12%9%6%9%199016%36%15%11%8%6%9%SOURCE: Department for Company, Energy &Industrial Technique and Departmentfor Energy & Climate Change Good friends of the Earth environment campaigner Simon Bullock stated:'Regardless of this welcome fall inclimate-wreckingpollution, the transport sector is still stopping working to playits partinslashing emissions.'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should play catch-up quick-- his departmentcan't continue to crawl along in the slow lanewhen it concerns taking on environment modification.'And if wewant to play ourpartin worldwideefforts to prevent global warming, we must do evenmore, raisingour ambition to match theParis Agreement and taking instantmeasures such as enabling communities to develop onshore windandsolar andmaking sureallnew homes are absolutely no carbon.'While there's been a significant decline in overall greenhouse gas emissions of 41%since 1990, thetransportation sector had only posted a 2%reduction in that time A Government spokeswoman reacted to report, stating:'Today's data stress the UK's leadership

in taking on environment change.'Since 1990, we have actually cut emissions by more than 40 per cent while growing our economy by over 2 thirds-- the very best efficiency of any G7 country.' We wish to construct on this success, which is

why clean development is at the heart of our enthusiastic Industrial Strategy, making sure the UK is well positioned to take benefit of the economic chances provided by the switch to a low

carbon economy.' Specialists have cautioned that the federal government's current intro of tax additional charges on the sale of new diesel cars might press CO2 outputs higher Crackdown on diesel has actually pressed CO2 outputs higher The Government has actually come down hard on diesel in current months as part of strategies to decrease harmful emissions being pumped

into the country's air. This culminated in the Chancellor's Budget decision to increase first-year tax for anyone who buys a new diesel cars and truck from April next year.But the decision to dissuade chauffeurs from buying the fuel type has seen CO2 emissions for new lorries increase for the very first time in 14 years in 2017. If industry is to fulfill difficult CO2 targets

getting more of the most current low emission diesels onto our roads is important, as they can give off 20%less CO2 than the comparable petrol models Department

for Transportation figures revealed that the average new cars and truck offered in 2017 produces more CO2 than one offered in 2016-reversing a continuous decrease in greenhouse gas emissions on this step considering that figures were initially released in 2003. Authorities data for the first 10 months of 2017

program that the typical new automobile offered this year produces 121.1 g of CO2 per kilometre.The typical CO2 output of new vehicles sold in 2016 was 120.3 g/km. Experts alerted

that the greater number of fuel cars hitting the road compared to diesel threatens to derail the Federal government's ambitious climate change targets.Car producers are currently under pressure to meet an EU target of cutting typical CO2 emissions

across their ranges to 95g/km by 2021. Hybrid will cut CO2 emissions quicker than diesel, professional says The International Council on Clean Transport, a research study group that has led the campaign against harmful diesel emissions, stated sophisticated gas engines, in addition to electric and hybrid technology, will cut CO2 emissions quicker than the most current diesels could.' Quite a lot of petrol automobiles do not use the current technologies available and still have greater CO2 emissions than equivalent diesel automobiles,'said Peter Mock, managing director

of ICCT Europe.' Nevertheless, the-regrettably frequently repeated-statement that diesel cars and trucks are necessary to reduce CO2 emissions is simply incorrect.' Instead, hybridising gas cars and transitioning to electric automobiles today makes more sense for car manufacturers.

'Monk likewise blamed the increased sales of SUVs -which are typically less fuel efficient than a hatchback option -for the spike in average CO2 outputs. The current demonisation of diesel has triggered concerns that these objectives won't be met if makers cannot even move low-emissions diesel cars and trucks that comply with the existing Euro6 standards.At the end of last year, Tamzen Isacsson, director at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said:' If industry is to satisfy difficult CO2 targets getting more of the latest low emission diesels

onto our roadways is crucial, as they can release 20 per cent less

CO2 than the equivalent petrol models.She blamed' confusion around government air quality strategies and tax'for plunging diesel sales. She included: 'If brand-new diesel car registrations continue on this unfavorable pattern, UK average new cars and truck CO2 levels might indeed rise this year'.

Matt Freeman, handling consultant at cars and truck appraisal firm cap hpi, added:' Striking the 2021 environmental targets for CO2 decrease would be a considerable challenge without the likely decrease in diesel.

'Therefore it is vital that diesels continue to command a considerable share of the new car marketplace.'If customers, with no option of transitioning to hybrid or EVs, switch to petrol the ecological effect is clear-their CO2 emissions would likely increase between 3 per cent and 23 per cent inning accordance with design. 'CONSERVE CASH ON MOTORING

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Transportation sector becomes most significant polluter

Transport is now the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Britain for the very first time given that records started, new figures reveal.A 2 percent boost in emissions outputs in 2016 pressed transport ahead of the energy supply sector for the very first time after the latter handled to cut emissions by 17 per cent year-on-year, mainly by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations.Transport is now at threat of

extending its position at the top of the table of the majority of contaminating sectors following the Government's recent crackdown on low CO2 releasing diesel cars.Biggest polluter: Federal government figures expose that the transport sector contributes more greenhouse gas emissions in Britain than any other sector for the first time The latest figures have actually been released by the Department for Organisation, Energy and Industrial Strategy.It said overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5 percent in Britain in 2016, with energy supply, company and sectors categorised as 'other'all lowering the amount of pollution they produce. HOW THIS IS CASH CAN AID However, numerous sectors posted boosts. This includes transport which is now accountable for more than a quarter

of the Britain's greenhouse gas

outputs.It's the very first time because records began 26 years ago that cars, buses, vans and trains have actually produced more environment-damaging emissions that other sector.Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 41 per cent in the UK, while co2 -the most significant contributor -is down 36 percent, BEIS added. League table: Transport is now the greatest factor to greenhouse gas emissions than other UK sector The BEIS said the energy supply sector had substantially decreased greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing its usage of coal-fired power stations Energy products have actually lowered their overall outputs by 57 percent in that time, however the transport sector

hasn't had the same level of improvement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by simply two per cent between 1990 and 2016, resulting in recent plans to choose the sale of diesel and

petrol-powered cars in the near future. The Government already announced ambitions to end sales of new cars powered solely by combustion engines in 2040 as part of efforts to tackle environment change and air pollution.The Committee on Environment Change, which recommends the Federal government on meeting its long term lawfully binding environment targets

, said last month that three in five brand-new cars and trucks sold in 2030 need to be electrical in

order for the country to hit its low-emissions targets, including cutting transportation emissions by 44 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK: Which sectors have contributed one of the most contamination each year given that 1990? YEAR Transport Energy supply Organisation Residential Farming Waste management Other 2016 26%25%17 %14%10%4% 4% 2015 24%29

%17%13%10% 4%4 %2014 23%31 %17 %12 %9% 4%4%2013 21%33 %16% 14%9%4%4%2012 21 %35% 15%13%10% 4%4% 2011 21%35 %16%13 %9%3 %3%2010 21 %35%15 %15%9% 3%2%2009 21%35%16%14 %9%3%3%2008 20%36 %16%13%8%3 %4%2005 20% 35% 16% 13% 8% 3% 4% 2000 19% 33% 17% 13% 9% 4% 5% 1995 17% 33% 15% 12% 9% 6% 9% 1990 16% 36% 15% 11% 8% 6% 9% SOURCE: Department for Company , Energy & Industrial Technique and Department for Energy & Climate Change Good friends of the Earth environment campaigner Simon Bullock stated:'Regardless of this welcome fall in climate-wrecking pollution , the transport sector is still stopping working to play its part in slashing emissions.'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should play catch-up quick-- his department ca n't continue to crawl along in the slow lane when it concerns taking on environment modification.'And if we want to play our part in worldwide efforts to prevent global warming, we must do even more, raising our ambition to match the Paris Agreement and taking instant measures such as enabling communities to develop onshore wind and solar and making sure all new homes are absolutely no carbon.'While there's been a significant decline in overall greenhouse gas emissions of 41% since 1990, the transportation sector had only posted a 2%reduction in that time A Government spokeswoman reacted to report, stating:'Today's data stress the UK's leadership

in taking on environment change.'Since 1990, we have actually cut emissions by more than 40 per cent while growing our economy by over 2 thirds-- the very best efficiency of any G7 country.' We wish to construct on this success, which is

why clean development is at the heart of our enthusiastic Industrial Strategy, making sure the UK is well positioned to take benefit of the economic chances provided by the switch to a low

carbon economy.' Specialists have cautioned that the federal government's current intro of tax additional charges on the sale of new diesel cars might press CO2 outputs higher Crackdown on diesel has actually pressed CO2 outputs higher The Government has actually come down hard on diesel in current months as part of strategies to decrease harmful emissions being pumped

into the country's air. This culminated in the Chancellor's Budget decision to increase first-year tax for anyone who buys a new diesel cars and truck from April next year.But the decision to dissuade chauffeurs from buying the fuel type has seen CO2 emissions for new lorries increase for the very first time in 14 years in 2017. If industry is to fulfill difficult CO2 targets

getting more of the most current low emission diesels onto our roads is important, as they can give off 20%less CO2 than the comparable petrol models Department

for Transportation figures revealed that the average new cars and truck offered in 2017 produces more CO2 than one offered in 2016-reversing a continuous decrease in greenhouse gas emissions on this step considering that figures were initially released in 2003. Authorities data for the first 10 months of 2017

program that the typical new automobile offered this year produces 121.1 g of CO2 per kilometre.The typical CO2 output of new vehicles sold in 2016 was 120.3 g/km. Experts alerted

that the greater number of fuel cars hitting the road compared to diesel threatens to derail the Federal government's ambitious climate change targets.Car producers are currently under pressure to meet an EU target of cutting typical CO2 emissions

across their ranges to 95g/km by 2021. Hybrid will cut CO2 emissions quicker than diesel, professional says The International Council on Clean Transport, a research study group that has led the campaign against harmful diesel emissions, stated sophisticated gas engines, in addition to electric and hybrid technology, will cut CO2 emissions quicker than the most current diesels could.' Quite a lot of petrol automobiles do not use the current technologies available and still have greater CO2 emissions than equivalent diesel automobiles,'said Peter Mock, managing director

of ICCT Europe.' Nevertheless, the-regrettably frequently repeated-statement that diesel cars and trucks are necessary to reduce CO2 emissions is simply incorrect.' Instead, hybridising gas cars and transitioning to electric automobiles today makes more sense for car manufacturers.

'Monk likewise blamed the increased sales of SUVs -which are typically less fuel efficient than a hatchback option -for the spike in average CO2 outputs. The current demonisation of diesel has triggered concerns that these objectives won't be met if makers cannot even move low-emissions diesel cars and trucks that comply with the existing Euro6 standards.At the end of last year, Tamzen Isacsson, director at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said:' If industry is to satisfy difficult CO2 targets getting more of the latest low emission diesels

onto our roadways is crucial, as they can release 20 per cent less

CO2 than the equivalent petrol models.She blamed' confusion around government air quality strategies and tax'for plunging diesel sales. She included: 'If brand-new diesel car registrations continue on this unfavorable pattern, UK average new cars and truck CO2 levels might indeed rise this year'.

Matt Freeman, handling consultant at cars and truck appraisal firm cap hpi, added:' Striking the 2021 environmental targets for CO2 decrease would be a considerable challenge without the likely decrease in diesel.

'Therefore it is vital that diesels continue to command a considerable share of the new car marketplace.'If customers, with no option of transitioning to hybrid or EVs, switch to petrol the ecological effect is clear-their CO2 emissions would likely increase between 3 per cent and 23 per cent inning accordance with design. 'CONSERVE CASH ON MOTORING

Car insurance coverage Compare policies Breakdown cover Find the best deals

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Wealthy murder suspect freed on bail as man accused of welfare fraud stuck in jail California woman whose friends raised $35m for her is on house arrest as a man who can’t afford bail has two options: plead guilty or stay behind bars

Joseph Warren sees no sunlight and never gets fresh air. The 60-year-old San Francisco man, locked up for more than a month, said he has become suicidal, rarely eats the jail food and tries to sleep as much as possible when he’s not crying in his small cell. As a gay man, he is afraid he will be assaulted in the shower.

Warren is awaiting trial on welfare fraud charges. Charged with stealing roughly $5,000 from the government – an accusation he denies – a judge recently set his bail at $75,000, which he can’t afford. His only options are to plead guilty or stay incarcerated.

In the same region, another criminal defendant is preparing for trial in a very different setting. Tiffany Li, a wealthy real estate heir who is accused of conspiring to murder the father of her children, is able to remain under house arrest after posting $4m in cash and pledging $62m in property for her bail. She has a multimillion-dollar mansion 10 miles south of Warren’s jail.

The parallel cases moving through the San Francisco Bay Area’s courts have shone a harsh light on a system that critics say is fundamentally flawed and unconstitutional, where wealth can buy freedom even for those accused of the most serious offenses while others facing minor charges are jailed indefinitely simply for being poor.

“It hurts. I don’t have the money,” Warren said, dressed in a bright orange uniform on a recent morning while seated inside a cramped jail visiting room in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno. Guards stood watch nearby.

“I feel like I’m an animal here in a cage – less than an animal,” he said.

While Warren waits in jail, lawmakers and activists in California are pushing to abolish key elements of the state’s bail system so that people accused of crimes would no longer be jailed simply because they are unable to pay the fees. Supporters hope the reforms spread across the US – which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world – and correct one of the cruelest aspects of the American criminal justice system.

The concept of bail was originally designed to ensure that defendants return for their court dates by requiring them to post funds upfront. But over time, bail effectively created a two-tiered system where the rich are immediately released while poor defendants are forced to languish behind bars, sometimes destroying their lives and leading to coerced guilty pleas.

On any given day in California – which has one of the largest prison systems in the country and has long struggled with overcrowding – roughly 46,000 people are in local jails waiting for trial or sentencing because they can’t pay bail.

That means people who are innocent or accused of minor offenses are trapped. From 2011 to 2015, one in three people jailed for felony accusations in California were never found guilty, according to a recent report from Human Rights Watch. In a two-year period across six counties, the government spent $37.5m jailing people who ultimately faced no charges or had cases dropped.

“When you’re in jail because you can’t pay bail, innocent people are more likely to plead to crimes they didn’t commit, because they need to get out,” said Rob Bonta, a California assemblyman sponsoring legislation to overhaul the bail system.

Even a short stint in jail can lead people to lose their housing, their jobs and their children.

Warren said his life had unraveled since he was detained in March. His fraud case stems from an honest misunderstanding, according to his attorney Elizabeth Camacho, a public defender.

The San Francisco native works as an in-home care provider whose salary is subsidized by the government. When an elderly client of his died in December 2013, Warren immediately alerted police, but continued to assist in cleaning the apartment, planning funeral arrangements and managing the estate, Camacho said.

He collected checks for several months while doing the work, the attorney said, but San Francisco prosecutors later alleged that Warren had stolen the $4,862 he received. The case dragged on, and Warren missed a court date last year due to his mother’s death, according to Camacho. As a result, he was arrested in March of this year and told he could only leave jail if he paid 10% of the bail a judge set – $7,500, nearly twice what the government claims he owes.

When Camacho arrived to meet Warren on a recent visit with the Guardian, he immediately delivered bad news: he learned from a friend that he has now lost his apartment of six years and all his possessions inside. That includes many items of sentimental value such as his late mother’s jewelry and family photo albums he can never replace.

“Everything is gone,” he said with a sigh, explaining that if his mother were still alive, she might help him post bail, but that he now has nowhere to turn.

Warren said he was losing work, too, and that regular clients who depend on him for care may be without help. He said he had been unable to reach his partner since he was taken into custody. The partner suffers from drug addiction, and he feared he could be suffering from a relapse.

Warren could only be released if he pleaded to a felony conviction and agreed to six months in jail, according to Camacho, who is preparing to take the case to trial next month. “He’s desperate to get out.”

Defendants too poor to pay bail face huge disadvantages throughout the process. Not only are they pressured to plead guilty, but incarceration can make it much harder to prepare for trial.

Research also suggests that black defendants like Warren are affected by racial biases at every step. African Americans are disproportionately stopped and arrested at higher rates, are more likely to face monetary bail and higher bail fees than their white counterparts and they subsequently face greater convictions and harsher sentences.

Low-income defendants who do manage to pay bail can also face severe long-term consequences since they are forced to sacrifice basic necessities and incur ongoing debts. Even when charges are dropped, defendants can still be on the hook for their debts with bail bondsmen, the private companies that collect non-refundable fees to post the initial bail that allows people to be released.

“You really can’t understate the downstream peril and hardships that the criminal justice system imposes on people, sometimes for the rest of their lives,” said Tom Hoffman, a former California police chief and prison official who supports bail reform efforts.

Ato Walker, a San Jose man, said his mother had to pay $8,500 out of her retirement money to bail him out of jail when he was accused of resisting arrest, a charge that was later dropped.

“It made me sick to my stomach to sit there and see my mom come up with that money we know we are never going to get back,” he said, noting that he felt targeted for being black when prosecutors argued he was a threat to society. “That was very humiliating. It was very racist in my opinion.”

Reform activists argue that people accused of crimes should by default be cited and released, and that those facing serious felonies should be considered for pre-trial detention on an individual basis based on the danger they pose.

“Once we make the commitment that the justice system is going to be about justice and not punish people before they are convicted, the solutions need to be targeted towards honoring the presumption of innocence,” said John Raphling, senior researcher with Human Rights Watch and author of the recent bail report.

Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Warren’s case, noted that the defendant was initially released without bail and only taken into custody after failing to appear in court on multiple occasions.

Asked about the fraud claims, he added: “The underlying facts of this case will be presented at court.”

Camacho, however, pointed out that Warren repeatedly returned to court when he missed a few dates and argued that he should have been released under a monitoring program that would have allowed the courts to track him.

Jail budget data suggests that taxpayers have already spent more than $6,000 to detain Warren, who has a handful of convictions on his record, mostly minor non-violent misdemeanors, dating back to more than eight years ago. He is also hearing impaired and has struggled to navigate daily life in jail.

Warren said some of his family members didn’t even know he is in jail and that he didn’t want to ask his loved ones for bail money, citing a lesson his grandfather taught him about self-reliance.

“I don’t ask for no help,” he said.

Instead, Warren said he tries to pass the days asleep for hours on end, alone in his cell: “I just isolate.”

+Update: Warren free after anonymous Guardian reader pays $7,500 bail

Photographs:

Joseph Warren is awaiting trial on welfare fraud charges

Joseph Warren said his life has unraveled since he was detained in March

Ato Walker said his mother had to pay $8,500 out of her retirement money to bail him out of jail

[newstfionline]

As Economy Grows, North Korea’s Grip on Society Weakens

By Choe Sang-Hun, NY Times, April 30, 2017

SEOUL, South Korea--Despite decades of sanctions and international isolation, the economy in North Korea is showing surprising signs of life.

Scores of marketplaces have opened in cities across the country since the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, took power five years ago. A growing class of merchants and entrepreneurs is thriving under the protection of ruling party officials. Pyongyang, the capital, has seen a construction boom, and there are now enough cars on its once-empty streets for some residents to make a living washing them.

Reliable economic data is scarce. But recent defectors, regular visitors and economists who study the country say nascent market forces are beginning to reshape North Korea--a development that complicates efforts to curb Mr. Kim’s nuclear ambitions.

Even as President Trump bets on tougher sanctions, especially by China, to stop the North from developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of striking the United States, the country’s improving economic health has made it easier for it to withstand such pressure and to acquire funds for its nuclear program.

While North Korea remains deeply impoverished, estimates of annual growth under Mr. Kim’s rule range from 1 percent to 5 percent, comparable to some fast-growing economies unencumbered by sanctions.

But a limited embrace of market forces in what is supposed to be a classless society also is a gamble for Mr. Kim, who in 2013 made economic growth a top policy goal on par with the development of a nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Kim, 33, has promised his long-suffering people that they will never have to “tighten their belts” again. But as he allows private enterprise to expand, he undermines the government’s central argument of socialist superiority over South Korea’s capitalist system.

There are already signs that market forces are weakening the government’s grip on society. Information is seeping in along with foreign goods, eroding the cult of personality surrounding Mr. Kim and his family. And as people support themselves and get what they need outside the state economy, they are less beholden to the authorities.

“Our attitude toward the government was this: If you can’t feed us, leave us alone so we can make a living through the market,” said Kim Jin-hee, who fled North Korea in 2014 and, like others interviewed for this article, uses a new name in the South to protect relatives she left behind.

After the government tried to clamp down on markets in 2009, she recalled, “I lost what little loyalty I had for the regime.”

Kim Jin-hee’s loyalty was first tested in the 1990s, when a famine caused by floods, drought and the loss of Soviet aid gripped North Korea. The government stopped providing food rations, and as many as two million people died.

Ms. Kim did what many others did to survive. She stopped showing up for her state job, at a machine-tool factory in the mining town of Musan, and spent her days at a makeshift market selling anything she could get her hands on. Similar markets appeared across the country.

After the food shortage eased, the market in Musan continued to grow. By the time she left the country, Ms. Kim said, more than 1,000 stalls were squeezed into it alongside her own.

Kim Jong-il, the father of the North’s current leader, had been ambivalent about the marketplaces before he died in 2011. Sometimes he tolerated them, using them to increase food supplies and soften the blow of tightening sanctions imposed by the United Nations on top of an American embargo dating to the Korean War. Other times, he sought to suppress them.

But since 2010, the number of government-approved markets in North Korea has doubled to 440, and satellite images show them growing in size in most cities. In a country with a population of 25 million, about 1.1 million people are now employed as retailers or managers in these markets, according to a study by the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

Unofficial market activity has flourished, too: people making and selling shoes, clothing, sweets and bread from their homes; traditional agricultural markets that appear in rural towns every 10 days; smugglers who peddle black-market goods like Hollywood movies, South Korean television dramas and smartphones that can be used near the Chinese border.

At least 40 percent of the population in North Korea is now engaged in some form of private enterprise, a level comparable to that of Hungary and Poland shortly after the fall of the Soviet bloc, the director of South Korea’s intelligence service, Lee Byung-ho, told lawmakers in a closed-doorbriefing in February.

This market activity is driven in part by frustration with the state’s inefficient and rigid planned economy. North Koreans once worked only in state farms and factories, receiving salaries and ration coupons to buy food and other necessities in state stores. But that system crumbled in the 1990s, and now many state workers earn barely a dollar a month. Economists estimate the cost of living in North Korea to be $60 per month.

“If you are an ordinary North Korean today, and if you don’t make money through markets, you are likely to die of hunger,” said Kim Nam-chol, 46, a defector from Hoeryong, a town near the Chinese border. “It’s that simple.”

Before fleeing in 2014, Mr. Kim survived as a smuggler in North Korea. He bought goods such as dried seafood, ginseng, antiques and even methamphetamine, and he carried them across the border to sell in China. There, he used his earnings to buy grain, saccharin, socks and plastic bags and took it back to sell in North Korean markets.

He said he had paid off border guards and security officers to slip back and forth, often by offering them cigarette packs stuffed with rolled-up $100 or 10,000-yen bills.

“I came to believe I could get away with anything in North Korea with bribes,” he said, “except the crime of criticizing the ruling Kim family.”

Eighty percent of consumer goods sold in North Korean markets originate in China, according to an estimate by Kim Young-hee, director of the North Korean economy department at the Korea Development Bank in the South.

But Kim Jong-un has exhorted the country to produce more goods locally in an effort to lessen its dependence on China, using the word jagang, or self-empowerment. His call has emboldened manufacturers to respond to market demand.

Shoes, liquor, cigarettes, socks, sweets, cooking oil, cosmetics and noodles produced in North Korea have already squeezed out or taken market share from Chinese-made versions, defectors said.

Regular visitors to Pyongyang, the showcase capital, say a real consumer economy is emerging. “Competition is everywhere, including between travel agencies, taxi companies and restaurants,” Rüdiger Frank, an economist at the University of Vienna who studies the North, wrote recently after visiting a shopping center there.

A cellphone service launched in 2008 has more than three million subscribers. With the state still struggling to produce electricity, imported solar panels have become a middle-class status symbol. And on sale at some grocery stores and informal markets on the side streets of Pyongyang is a beverage that state propaganda used to condemn as “cesspool water of capitalism”--Coca-Cola.

When Kim Jong-un stood on a balcony reviewing a parade in April, he was flanked by Hwang Pyong-so, the head of the military, and Pak Pong-ju, the premier in charge of the economy.

The formation was symbolic of Mr. Kim’s byungjin policy, which calls for the parallel pursuit of two policy goals: developing the economy and building nuclear weapons. Only a nuclear arsenal, Mr. Kim argues, will make North Korea secure from American invasion and let it focus on growth.

Mr. Kim has granted state factories more autonomy over what they produce, including authority to find their own suppliers and customers, as long as they hit revenue targets. And families in collective farms are now assigned to individual plots called pojeon. Once they meet a state quota, they can keep and sell any surplus on their own.

The measures resemble those adopted by China in the early years of its turn to capitalism in the 1980s. But North Korea has refrained from describing them as market-oriented reforms, preferring the phrase “economic management in our own style.”

In state-censored journals, though, economists are already publishing papers describing consumer-oriented markets, joint ventures and special economic zones.

It is unclear how much of recent increases in grain production were due to Mr. Kim’s policies. Defectors say factories remain hobbled by electricity shortages and decrepit machinery while many farmers have struggled to meet state quotas because they lack fertilizer and modern equipment.

More broadly, the economy remains constrained by limited foreign investment and the lack of legal protections for private enterprise or procedures for contract enforcement.

Plans to set up special economic zones have remained only plans, as investors have balked at North Korea’s poor infrastructure and record of seizing assets from foreigners, not to mention the sanctions against it.

But there is evidence that the state is growing increasingly dependent on the private sector.

Cha Moon-seok, a researcher at the Institute for Unification Education of South Korea, estimates that the government collects as much as $222,000 per day in taxes from the marketplaces it manages. In March, the authorities reportedly ordered people selling goods from their homes to move into formal marketplaces in an effort to collect even more.

“Officials need the markets as much as the people need them,” said Kim Jeong-ae, a journalist in Seoul who worked as a propagandist in North Korea before defecting.

Ms. Kim fled North Korea in 2003 but has kept in touch with a younger brother there whom she describes as a donju, or money owner.

Donju is the word is what North Koreans use to describe the new class of traders and businessmen that has emerged.

Kim Jeong-ae said that her brother provided fuel, food and crew members for fishing boats, and that he split the catch with a military-run fishing company.

“He lives in a large house with tall walls,” she added, “so other people can’t see what he has there.”

Called “red capitalists” by South Korean scholars, donju invest in construction projects, establish partnerships with resource-strapped state factories and bankroll imports from China to supply retailers in the marketplaces. They operate with “covers,” or party officials who protect their businesses. Some are relatives of party officials.

Others are ethnic Chinese citizens, who are allowed regular visits to China and can facilitate cross-border financial transactions, and people with relatives who have fled to South Korea and send them cash remittances.

Whenever the state begins a big project, like the new district of high-rise apartment buildings that Kim Jong-un unveiled before foreign journalists in April, donju are expected to make “loyalty donations.” Sometimes they pay in foreign currency. Sometimes they contribute building materials, fuel or food for construction workers.

“Kim Jong-un is no fool,” said Kang Mi-jin, a defector who once ran her own wholesale business. “He knows where the money is.”

Donju often receive medals and certificates in return for their donations, and use them to signal they are protected as they engage in business activities that are officially illegal.

They import buses and trucks and run their own transportation services using license plates obtained from state companies. Some donju even rent farmland and mines, working them with their own employees and equipment, or open private pharmacies, defectors said.

“Donju wear the socialist hide, operating as part of state-run companies,” Ms. Kang said. “But inside, they are thoroughly capitalist.”

Before Kim Jong-un took power, the government made a last attempt to rein in donju and control market forces. It called on citizens to shop only in state stores, banned the use of foreign currency and adopted new bank notes while limiting the amount of old notes that individuals could exchange.

The move wiped out much of the private wealth created and saved by both donju and ordinary people. Market activity ground to a near halt. Prices skyrocketed, and protests were reported in scattered cities.

The government eventually retreated and is believed to have issued an apology when officials convened villagers for their weekly education sessions. It also executed the country’s top monetary official, Pak Nam-gi.

The crisis is widely considered the moment when the government concluded it could no longer suppress the markets. A year later, Pak Pong-ju, a former prime minister who had been ousted for pushing market-oriented policies, was restored to power. He now manages the economy under Mr. Kim.

As the markets develop, growing numbers of North Koreans will see the vastly superior products made overseas and perhaps question their nation’s backward status.

“Thanks to the market, few North Koreans these days flee for food, as refugees in the 1990s did,” said the Rev. Kim Seung-eun, a pastor who has helped hundreds of defectors reach South Korea. “Instead, they now flee to South Korea to have a better life they learned through the markets.”

Jung Gwang-il, who leads a defectors’ group in Seoul called No Chain, said that with more North Koreans getting what they needed from markets rather than the state, their view of Mr. Kim was changing.

“North Koreans always called Kim Jong-un’s grandfather and father ‘the Great Leader’ or ‘the General,’” Mr. Jung said. “Now, when they talk among themselves, many just call Jong-un ‘the Kid.’ They fear him but have no respect for him.”

“They say, ‘What has he done for us?’” Mr. Jung said.