#kenneth fraizer

[ljones41]

"STAR TREK VOYAGER: Love on a Starship"

"STAR TREK VOYAGER: LOVE ON A STARSHIP" I am not going to deceive myself and pretend that the relationship between Captain Kathryn Janeway and her First Officer, Commander Chakotay, lacked any chemistry. Of course there had been chemistry. Even a blind person could have sensed the chemistry between them just by listening to their dialogue. But while I will admit the enormous dynamics between the two characters, I never could see the possibility of a "happily ever after" for them. Not while the pair served as the command team of the U.S.S. Voyager.

When many "STAR TREK VOYAGER" fans had first started speculating upon the possible futures for the main characters during the series’ early Season Seven, for some reason I had foreseen a tragic ending in the Janeway/Chakotay relationship. I figured that the Captain or the First Officer would bite the dust in the finale, leaving the others to mourn and regret their decision not to pursue a romance during Voyager’s nearly seven years in the Delta Quadrant. This feeling was reinforced in the episode, (7.11) "Shattered", when Season Seven Chakotay not only revealed the lack of romance in their relationship to the Season One Janeway, but also expressed regret in his words . . . and tone: JANEWAY: Mind if I ask you one last question? CHAKOTAY: Will I have to break the Temporal Prime Directive to answer it? JANEWAY: Maybe, just a little. For two people who started off as enemies it seems we get to know each other pretty well, so I've been wondering. Just how close do we get? CHAKOTAY: Let's just say there are some barriers we never cross. Both Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) and the series’ producers had expressed opposition against an affair between Janeway and Chakotay. They have repeatedly stated that it would not be appropriate for the two to get involved in a romance. At first, I had believed that she, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and later, Brannon Braga and Kenneth Biller were being obtuse. Now that I have had a chance to think about it, I have managed to see their point of view. They were right. A romance between Janeway and Chakotay could have led to many problems. I have never believed that a good idea for someone in a position of power to have a romance with a subordinate. If you think that it is difficult for equals to maintain a relationship, it might be doubly so for a superior and his/her subordinate. There is a great deal of potential for resentment from one partner, subjugation from the other and manipulation from both sides. Chakotay’s relationship with Voyager’s Chief Engineer, B’Elanna Torres, is a mild example of this. I had been one of those fans who had been relieved by the quiet death of B’Elanna’s infatuation with the First Officer by late Season Two. Do not get me wrong. Chakotay was a fine First Officer. Frankly, I have always felt that he was one of the best in the entire "TREK" franchise. But he had an unfortunate habit of dealing with B’Elanna’s temperament by inflicting his will upon her, using his position as her superior officer. I am not saying that Chakotay did not have the right to behave this way toward B’Elanna. After all, he was Voyager’s First Officer. But he was also supposed to be one of B’Elanna’s closest friends. If he and B’Elanna had such moments during their "friendship", can you imagine how damaging this would have been to any romance that may have sprung between them? Remember when I had mentioned the possibility of resentment? Well, even B’Elanna eventually expressed her resentment of being chastised by Chakotay in the Season Five episode, (5.21) "Juggernaut": CHAKOTAY: Your concerns are noted. Get them inoculated. We'll meet you in Transporter Room one. We're trying to avoid explosions, remember? TORRES: Not another lecture about my emotions. CHAKOTAY: No, a lecture about how to treat guests aboard this ship. TORRES: Guests? Chakotay, these people are the scourge of the quadrant. CHAKOTAY: Agreed, but right now they're our only hope of repairing that freighter, so I suggest you make friends. TORRES: Diplomacy. Janeway's answer to everything. CHAKOTAY: This isn't the Captain talking, it's me, and I'm giving you an order. Keep your temper in check. Understood? Understood? TORRES: Yeah. CHAKOTAY: I didn't hear you. TORRES: Yes. CHAKOTAY: B'Elanna, I need your expertise on this mission, not your bad mood. TORRES: I'll see what I can do. Like Chakotay, Janeway was not above using her position to inflict her will upon the crew members under her command, regardless of whether she was right or wrong. And we have seen how Chakotay had reacted when he believed that she was wrong . . . especially in (3.26) "Scorpion I" and (4.01) "Scorpion II": CHAKOTAY: How much is our safety worth? JANEWAY: What do you mean? CHAKOTAY: We'd be giving an advantage to a race guilty of murdering billions. We'd be helping the Borg assimilate yet another species just to get ourselves back home. It's wrong! JANEWAY: Tell that to Harry Kim. He's barely alive thanks to that species. Maybe helping to assimilate them isn't such a bad idea. We could be doing the Delta Quadrant a favour. CHAKOTAY: I don't think you really believe that. I think you're struggling to justify your plan, because your desire to get this crew home is blinding you to other options. I know you, Kathryn. Sometimes you don't know when to step back. JANEWAY: Do you trust me, Chakotay? CHAKOTAY: That's not the issue. JANEWAY: Oh, but it is. Only yesterday you were saying that we'd face this together, that you'd be at my side. CHAKOTAY: I still have to tell you what I believe. I'm no good to you if I don't do that. JANEWAY: I appreciate your insights but the time for debate is over. I've made my decision. Now, do I have your support? CHAKOTAY: You're the Captain. I'm the First Officer. I'll follow your orders. That doesn't change my belief that we're making a fatal mistake. JANEWAY: Then I guess I'm alone, after all. Dismissed. Had there been any semblance of hope of a romance between Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay? Perhaps. If Chakotay’s Maquis ship had remained intact following the battle against the Kazon-Ogla in (1.02) "Caretaker II". Both the Starfleet and the Maquis captains could have become allies in the Delta Quandrant. And they could have engaged in a romance as equals. They also could have begun a relationship if Voyager’s crew had never rescued them from New Earth in (2.25) "Resolutions". To this day, I still wonder if Janeway had ever learned of Harry Kim’s role in that rescue. That would explain his inability to earn a promotion during those seven years in the Delta Quadrant. As for Janeway and Chakotay, there seemed to be a residual of flirtation between the two after their rescue from New Earth that lasted through most of Season Three. This flirtation eventually died after Chakotay’s romance with ex-Borg Riley Fraizer in (3.17) "Unity". In the end, Chakotay began a relationship with another former Borg drone, Voyager’s own Seven-of-Nine by late Season Seven. As for Janeway, she ended up in a relationship with Michael Sullivan, a holographic character created by Chief Helmsman Tom Paris’ for his Fair Haven program. She also had a relationship with Norvalian named Jaffen, after her memory was altered for work at a power plant on Quarren in the Season Seven episode, (7.16-7.17) "Workforce I & II". When she regained her original memory she suggested that he join Voyager’s crew as an engineer. But she also pointed out that it would not be appropriate as they were romantically involved. Jaffen had decided to remain on Quarren. Could Janeway and Chakotay have pursued a romance upon Voyager’s return to the Alpha Quadrant? I really do not how to answer this question. Chakotay had assumed command of Voyager, in the post-series "VOYAGER" novels and Janeway was promoted to vice-admiral. On one hand, there was a chance that he might not have found himself under her direct command. Then again . . . he probably did. But the only way I could see a romance between Janeway and Chakotay was if they had both resigned their Starfleet commissions, one of them resigned from Starfleet or if Chakotay found himself at the same rank as Janeway. Other than the above, I could never see a serious romance between the two . . . even though I believe they were emotionally suited for one another.

[stillwithhernothim]

That makes 2.... So, how's that keen business sense going #DontheCon? 🤔🤔🤔🤔 Such a clown.... who ever thought this trust fund baby was good at anything other then being privileged. For that quality, we say, well done, yes, you are privileged ! @reuters "The chief executives of Merck & Co Inc and Under Armour Inc resigned from U.S. President Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council on Monday, following Trump's initially tepid response to weekend violence at a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Kenneth Fraizer, the chief executive of drugmaker Merck and an African-American, said he left the advisory council because of the president's reaction after the violence between white supremacists and counter protesters. Frazier cited the need to "take a stand against intolerance and extremism." The AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions that represent 12.5 million workers, said it was considering pulling its representative on the committee. After the white nationalist rally turned deadly on Saturday, Trump initially said that many sides were to blame. On Monday, in a statement, Trump denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan as criminals and thugs, bowing to mounting political pressure as critics assailed him for not singling out white supremacists." (at Charlottesville, Virginia)

[omcik-blog]

New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/three-ceos-resign-from-trump-council-over-charlottesville/

Three CEOs resign from Trump council over Charlottesville

(Reuters) – The chief executives of Intel Corp, Merck & Co Inc and Under Armour Inc resigned from U.S. President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council on Monday, following Trump’s initially tepid response to weekend violence at a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“I resigned from the council to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues…,” Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said in a blog post. intel.ly/2fFOjAd

Kenneth Fraizer, the chief executive of drugmaker Merck and an African-American, said he left the advisory council because of the president’s reaction after the violence between white supremacists and counter protesters. Frazier cited the need to “take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”

The AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions that represent 12.5 million workers, said it was considering pulling its representative on the committee.

After the white nationalist rally turned deadly on Saturday, Trump initially said that many sides were to blame. On Monday, in a statement, Trump denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan as criminals and thugs, bowing to mounting political pressure as critics assailed him for not singling out white supremacists.

The CEO of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, announced his resignation from the council in a Twitter posting. “We remain resolute in our potential and ability to improve American manufacturing,” said Plank. “However, Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics.”

Plank was criticized last winter by some of Under Armour’s biggest stars over his support of Trump, comments that basketball star Stephen Curry echoed.

The demonstration in Charlottesville by hundreds of white nationalists took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter protesters and killed one person.

“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” Frazier said in a statement announcing his resignation. (bit.ly/2fFnITM)

“As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism,” he said.

Trump responded shortly later in a tweet, saying, “Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”

Trump doubled down on his attack later in the day, tweeting that Merck “is a leader in higher & higher drug prices while at the same time taking jobs out of the U.S. Bring jobs back & LOWER PRICES!”

The son of a janitor, Frazier joined Merck as general counsel of one of the drugmaker’s subsidiaries in 1992, working his way up to CEO of the company in 2011.

He made his name as the company’s top lawyer, steering it through daunting litigation over Vioxx, its widely used painkiller that was withdrawn in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks.

Many observers thought Merck would eventually have to shell out $10 billion or more to thousands of plaintiffs over the drug’s withdrawal. But Frazier’s legal strategy led to a $4.85 billion settlement in 2007, allowing Merck to refocus on its pipeline of experimental medicines.

Merck shares closed up 0.5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, roughly in line with the wider market.

FILE PHOTO: Intel Chief Operating Officer Brian Krzanich is seen during an interview with Reuters at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California March 13, 2012.Robert Galbraith/File photo

Frazier frequently made political contributions during the 2016 election, donating to both Republican and Democratic members of Congress but making no donations to a presidential candidate during the year.

The political PAC maintained by Merck and funded through donations from Merck employees made over $1.1 million in candidate contributions during the 2016 campaign – but did not contribute to Trump or his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, according to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents the pharmaceutical industry and lobbies on its behalf in Congress, declined to offer a statement of support for Frazier or to comment on Trump’s reaction.

The industry’s silence comes as Trump is finalizing an executive order on drug prices that would relax industry regulation and contains measures that, some say, would protect existing drug prices or even increase them.

Individually, at least one CEO, John Maraganore of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, tweeted his support, saying he was “proud to stand with leaders like Ken Frazier.”

Other top business leaders also spoke out in response to the violence in Charlottesville.

“I support Ken Frazier’s decision. I’m thankful we have business leaders such as Ken to remind America of its better angels,” said Hewlett Packard Enterprises CEO Meg Whitman, who ran for governor of California as a Republican in 2010.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein tweeted: “Lincoln: ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Isolate those who try to separate us. No equivalence w/ those who bring us together.”

Richard Trumka, president of the largest federation of U.S. labor unions, the AFL-CIO, questioned the council’s effectiveness and said the group was mulling leaving.

“The AFL-CIO has unequivocally denounced the actions of bigoted domestic terrorists in Charlottesville and called on the president to do the same,” Trumka said in a statement.

Several executives from top U.S. companies have previously stepped down from a number of presidential advisory councils in protest to Trump policies.

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger left the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a business advisory group, in June, after Trump said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Musk also left the manufacturing council.

Former Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] CEO Travis Kalanick quit the business advisory council in February amid pressure from activists and employees who opposed the administration’s immigration policies.

The White House said Sunday that Trump’s remarks condemning violence at a white nationalist rally were meant to include the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.

Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump for waiting too long to address the violence – his first major domestic crisis as president – and for failing when he did speak out to explicitly condemn white-supremacist marchers who ignited the melee.

Trump on Saturday initially denounced what he called “this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”

On Sunday, however, the White House added: “The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”

Reporting by Michael Erman; Additional reporting by Toni Clarke and Ginger Gibson in Washington, Sophia Kunthara in New York and Natalie Grover, Rachit Vats, Parikshit Mishra, Narottam Medhora, Yashaswini Swamynathan, Uday Sampath Kumar, Anirban Paul and Rama Venkat Raman in Bangalore; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Leslie Adler and Biju Dwarakanath

[maslovsaslov]

Merck CEO Kenneth Fraizer for the Harward Business Review