Speculator, New York
Speculator is a village in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The population was 324 at the 2010 census.[6] 2,966-foot (904 m) Speculator Mountain rises just south of the village.
Location in Hamilton County and the state of New York
Munro Collie Smith[2]
47.2 sq mi (122.3 km2)
1,739 ft (530 m)
7.26/sq mi (2.80/km2)
UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
12164, 12812[5]
Speculator is the only incorporated village within Hamilton County and is within the town of Lake Pleasant.[1] The village includes the northeastern end of a lake, also called Lake Pleasant.[5] The local inhabitants sometimes refer to the village as the "Four Corners", referring to the intersection of NYS Route 8 and NYS Route 30 in the middle of the business district.[citation needed]
Speculator is within the Adirondack Park.[1]
Native AmericansEdit
Archeological evidence of Native Americans has been found in arrowheads and spearheads near the shores of Lake Pleasant. Many historians believe Speculator was the hunting and fishing grounds of both Mohawk and Algonquin tribes. These Native Americans would only travel to the Adirondack Mountains to hunt during the warm months, while their villages were located in the Mohawk and Hudson Valley regions. There was a Mohawk, who named himself Captain Gill, who lived in a wigwam at the outlet of Lake Pleasant, during the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. He had a wife named Molly, who had a daughter named Molly Jr., although Capt. Gill didn't claim the daughter as his own. Old Capt. Gill was a trail guide for the first settlers. He would show them places to hunt and fish. Capt. Gill was most famous for his storytelling of the Iroquois Nation, such as the Flying Head.[7][8][9]
Newton's CornersEdit
The small settlement at the outlet of Lake Pleasant was part of the town of Lake Pleasant. In 1864 Joel Newton built a small store and hotel in the center of town and secured a post office with the name "Newton's Corners". At that time Page Hill and Page Street were included in Newton's Corners. Joel Newton's structure burned in 1870, and in 1872 the Newton's Corners post office was reopened in Satterlee's store. Henry Dunning built a hotel in 1882 where Newton's hotel had been and the post office had moved there, and in 1896 the community received a new name, "Speculator", after the mountain seen across the lake.
Becoming SpeculatorEdit
In 1892, a few ambitious and industrious business leaders felt they needed to update and modernize their facilities. Speculator was a "booming Mecca" for tourists. With the support of the voters in 1925, the village of Speculator was incorporated with a mayor and two trustees, which later changed to four trustees. The village of Speculator purchased a small water system of Dexter Slack and expanded it. The village had a generating plant and waterwheel installed at Christine Falls, and by 1926 they had electricity.
Age of tourismEdit
Growth escalated in the Victorian era between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s. Entire families spent their summers enjoying the mountain hospitality and fresh air. Several more hotels were built to accommodate them, and eventually more stores, homes and several cottages were built. Around the 1850s, city sportsmen began to come to the Adirondack Mountains to hunt, fish, and enjoy expeditions into the deep woods. They hired local men to be guides, who provided food and crude lean-tos for shelter. Hunting shanties were later widely used. With these sportsmen came their whole families to use the many hotels and boardinghouses in Lake Pleasant and Speculator. Private summer camps and cottages were built and along came the established family and children camps. Camps such as Camp-of-the-Woods, Camp Setag for girls, Kamp Kun-ju-muk for boys, the YMCA Camp Agaming, and Deerfoot Lodge for boys were established around the shores of local lakes. After World War I, famous athletes came to practice in the isolated communities, such as Gene Tunney, Max Schmeling, and Max Baer who arrived to train for their heavyweight championship fights at various times. [10]
Age of lumberingEdit
In the beginning, small sawmills provided lumber for local use. After the Civil War, large lumber companies formed and mills were built near the Glens Falls area. At first logging was prevalent along the upper Hudson River which was used to float the logs to the mills. Later, logging operations moved into Lake Pleasant, and the Sacandaga River, the outlet of Lake Pleasant, was used to float logs to Glens Falls as the state of New York designated rivers as public highways for moving logs to the larger companies. Many local farmers found winter employment as lumberjacks, and also supplied the companies with potatoes, meat, animal feed and dairy products. The lumber companies bought large parcels of land for their timber. Some of this land was later abandoned and became state land. This was the beginning of the Adirondack Park as designated in 1892.
Speculator is located at 43°31′37″N 74°21′47″W / 43.52694°N 74.36306°W / 43.52694; -74.36306 (43.526920, -74.363185).[11]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 47.2 square miles (122 km2), of which 44.7 square miles (116 km2) are land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2), or 5.46%, are water.
Speculator Mountain, with an altitude of 2,966 feet (904 m), is south of the village.
Lake Pleasant and Sacandaga Lake are west of the village.[5] The Sacandaga River assumes its riverine nature from the outflow of Lake Pleasant at Speculator, although much of the water flows from Sacandaga Lake through the Sacandaga Lake Outlet into Lake Pleasant underneath NY-8 southwest of the village.[citation needed]
NY 8 and NY 30 intersect and combine in the village.
The entire village is located within the Lake Pleasant Central School District.[5]
As of the census of 2000, there were 348 people, 163 households, and 94 families residing in the village. The population density was 7.8 people per square mile (3.0/km²). There were 484 housing units at an average density of 10.8 per square mile (4.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.26% White, 1.72% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 1.15% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.[3]
There were 163 households out of which 17.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.61.[3]
In the village, the population was spread out with 14.7% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.6 males.[3]
The median income for a household in the village was $33,393, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $20,417 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,089. About 4.3% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[3]
Additional informationEdit
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Speculator calls itself the "All Season Vacationland". A public beach is located in the village on the north lake shore. Free parking is available across the street from the beach. There is a baseball field, basketball court and large pavilion next to the parking lot. There is also a nature walk behind the pavilion.
Speculator Mountain, for which the village was named, lies just south of the village on Gilmantown Road, and is visible from most of the village. Oak Mountain is the location of the Oak Mountain Ski Center, located just north of the four corners.
The Grace Methodist Church Complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.[13]
ChoppedEdit
Two chefs from Speculator,[citation needed] Steven Tempel and Lance Nitahara, were featured on the Food Network show Chopped in the episode "Crunch Time", which aired on July 6, 2010.[14] Tempel was eliminated after the appetizer, but Nitahara held on until the dessert, at which he was eliminated.[citation needed] Nitahara later returned to the show in a special Chopped Redemption episode and subsequently won.
^ a b c "Welcome". Hamilton County, NY. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
^ "Government". Town of Lake Pleasant. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
^ a b c d e "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ a b c d Hamilton County Online Mapping System (Map). variable. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Speculator village, New York". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
^ Weaver, Anne A., and Beverly Hoffman. "Introduction." Lake Pleasant and Speculator in the Adirondacks. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2010. 7-8. Print.
^ Aber, Ted, and Stella King. Tales from an Adirondack County. Prospect, NY: Prospect, 1981. Print.
^ Aber, Ted, and Stella Brooks King. The History of Hamilton County. Lake Pleasant, NY: Great Wilderness, 1965. Print
^ "Welcome!". Town of Lake Pleasant. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
^ "National Register of Historic Places". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 2/09/15 through 2/13/15. National Park Service. 2015-02-20.
^ ""Chopped" Crunch Time (TV episode 2010)". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Lake Pleasant and Speculator in the Adirondacks by Anne Weaver and Beverly Hoffman. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
Speculator Chamber of Commerce
Speculator information
Gene Tunney at Speculator
Brief history of area
Retrieved from ""


World News in Brief: January 10
Thursday, 2019-01-10 10:35:31
Cambodia dispatched the eighth batch of 184 peacekeepers to Lebanon on January 9 to replace the seventh group, whose one-year United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has come to an end.
* Myanmar will launch Mekong-Lancang Cultural Exchange Youth Camp with the use of Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Fund, aiming at enhancing cooperation between cultural groups and youth artists from six Mekong-Lancang countries, Myanmar News Agency reported on January 10.
* The Republic of Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed the offer by Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to resume inter-Korean cooperation projects during his New Year press conference on January 10.
* The DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping had in-depth discussions on how to "jointly study and steer" the situation on the Korean peninsula and denuclearisation talks, DPRK's state media KCNA said on January 10.
* Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced his transport and finance ministers this week in his first cabinet reshuffle since forming his own government in July and amid a cash crunch and growing discontent with the island's transport sector.
* Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it would be against British people's interests to leave the European Union without an exit deal, but declined to say how the government would respond if parliament refused to back its Brexit plans.
* Mexican authorities will meet with Central American officials to prepare for the arrival of a planned new caravan of migrants headed to the United States next week.
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a state-owned Israeli technology company, announced on January 9 that it has sold the US military "Trophy" protection systems for vehicles in a deal worth US$200 million.
* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on January 9 called on the public to be patient and cooperative as the government's strategy to combat fuel theft disrupted supplies to gas stations, leading to long lines of vexed motorists.
* German officials are racing to bolster cyber security after a far-reaching data breach carried out by a 20-year-old student laid bare the vulnerability of Europe's largest economy ahead of a critical European Parliament election in May.
* Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral commission on January 10 declared opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi the winner of the Dec. 30 presidential election.
* The US-led coalition fired 15 missiles on the last two towns controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group in the eastern Euphrates River region in eastern Syria on January 9, a war monitor reported.
* The UN humanitarian chief on January 9 called for progress on the humanitarian front in Yemen following the implementation of a ceasefire that largely restored Hodeidah to calm.
* Morocco produced 35 percent of its electrical power in 2018 from renewable energy sources, said here on January 9 Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development Aziz Rabbah.
Xinhua, Reuters
New EU sanctions against Iran elevate tensions in the Middle East (Jan 11, 2019 12:38:41)


Music Notes: September 2012
September 30, 2012 at 8:01 pm (Uncategorized)
The fall edition...
1. The XX - Coexist
I confess, I can never remember which XX song I'm listening to whenever the album is playing. They all have a dreamy vibe to them. The second album is no different, except it does seem more confident in its setting. Somehow more roomy. Perfect for Saturday night or Sunday morning.
2. All Tomorrow's Parties
Named for the Velvets song, this film and the music festival for which it was named, is certainly worth checking out. The basic principle is that each year a group is named to "curate" the festival, which makes for a pretty interesting selection of artists every year. The film takes the form of a series of interviews and snippets of live performances. Not really much direction, but some very fine bands. And to think it usually takes place at British Holiday camps.
3. The Smiths - s/t
Never owned a copy of this until a few weeks back. A local used CD shop was having a sale, and I picked this up. Really a terrific record - a great balance of Johnny Marr's guitar nad Morrissey's miserableness. "Suffer Little Children" (the song about the Moors Murderers still sends chills up my spine)
4. Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter, Houston Texas
A live 2 CD set containing highlights from Townes' 1973 shows. Simply a marvellous, fucked-up songwriter and story-teller. I saw Townes in Toronto a few years before his death, along with what seemed like most of Toronto's country-folk establishment in the audience (inc the Cowboy Junkies and Blue Rodeo). That was a great show too. This set features a younger, more vital Townes. Go find it.
5. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
Ah, it's the 35th anniversary of this one, so expect all sorts of nostalgia along with the re-issue package. It's easy to forget in all of the time that has passed and in all the subsequent reunions accompanying cynicism, just how dangerous this record was. No, not really dangerous, but there was such hatred for this band. I was a little young to fully appreciate this until the moment had passed, but still a stunning record. Whatever followed, this was the real thing.
6. The Pogues - Poguetry in Motion
I'm working my way through The Wire and am halfway through season three. At the ed of an episode, there's a wake for a fellow officer. "The Body of an American" is the song they sing along to. The rest of this EP is quite wonderful as well. Whatever mood you're in, the Pogues make you feel better.
7. One Direction - "Live While We're Young "
No I haven't gone soft, but I do have a 12 year-old daughter. For the past, oh I don't know, forever, One D have been a staple in my house. And as much as I detest boy bands, I'll admit that the lads aren't the worst - "What Makes you Beautiful" is a well-crafted pop song. However, boy bands tend to have an expiry date, and with their new album a matter of weeks away, talk turns to whether or not they still have "it." This new single, in my opinion, doesn't. It's not terrible. It just sounds like one of those songs that end up as outtakes on the deluxe edition of the album. Countless One D-ers may disagree, so we'll see. Just sounds a bit samey to my ears.
8. Non-"Intro/Total War"
Dating back to 1992, this song appears on the free CD given away with the September issue of Mojo magazine. The theme of the CD is electricity and is selected by Mute's Daniel Miller. Hard to really describe except to say it has a suffocating intensity. Miller writes on the liner notes: I ended this compilation with [it] because it's a track that can't be followed." Uh huh.
9. Le Tigre - "Deceptacon"
No, not the autobots sworn enemies. Hadn't listened to this in ages, but the track is featured in last week's episode of the mediocre "The Mindy Project." Interesting. (Actually prefer the DFA remix though).
10. Sam Sniderman
The passing of Sam the Record Man founder Sam Sniderman marks an end of some kind of era. Sam's was the first record store I went into in Canada (probably the one in Niagara Square - think I bought Lou Reed's Rock n Roll Animal). The big Sam's on Yonge Street was one of the first mega-stores in Toronto, and you could easily while away hours there. Never the coolest record chain (can a chain ever be cool?), its disappearance a few years back in the digital age made me reminiscent about the days when you lined up outside the store to buy the new record from your favourite band. Downloading just doesn't have the same thrill. Goodbye Sam.
PS Saw First Aid Kit last week. Review coming soon.
Michael Cho: Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes
September 29, 2012 at 5:56 pm (Uncategorized) (arts, illustration, michael cho)
On Thursday, I went down to Gallery 129 on Ossington Avenue to see a small exhibition of Michael Cho's work from his book Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes.
The book is a collection of Cho's paintings of, well, back alleys and urban landscapes in Toronto. Cho has an arresting style which to me calls to mind those phrases about the lonely city. It's striking the almost total absence of people in these paintings. Haunting.
Unfortunately, the exhibition ends today, but have a look at his stuff at his blog
The book is published by Drawn and Quarterly.
Exchanges on South Africa
South Africa has become a news fixture again since the recent massacre of miners.
There's a good exchange of Internationalist Perspective's blog on recent events and the character of South Africa. It's a bit long to re-post, but head on over to IP's blog.
Back to the Grind
Following an all to brief liberation, I've had to return to wage slavery, which accounts for the lack of posts this month. Sorry. Will try to rectify that.
Still, on a Sunday, I'm reminded of the lyric from the Smiths' "Still Ill" :
"and if you must go to work tomorrow
well, if I were you I wouldn't bother
for there are brighter sides to life
and I should know because I've seem them
but not very often..."
Which is all very nice if you can afford to be off work. For most people, work is a deeply unpleasant, alienating activity, the only alternative to which is quite often even more unpleasant.
New Aufheben (2012)
September 13, 2012 at 9:35 pm (Uncategorized) (politics)
The UK communist journal has changed its publishing schedule. Up to now, the collective has always published its annual issue in late October in time for the London Anarchist bookfair. Now it's earlier. This is a bit of a problem if you rely on me to get your copy at the Toronto, Hamilton or Montreal anarchist bookfairs. The issue arrives after they've taken place.
This issue contains four articles: An editorial on workfare, green capitalism, the Euro crisis and a piece on the Arab Spring written by the German group Friends of the Classless Society.
The issue is a bit thicker than usual and a bit more expensive - $8. Get in touch with me if you're interested in touch.
Language is a Virus (again)
I was dropping my kid off for the school bus the other morning when a curious scene unfolded in front of me.
A group of other children were waiting for the bus too, but entertaining themselves with an inpromptu game of long jump. "Get a choc rock" said one of them. Initially I thought I had misheard. Maybe shakra? OK, that's a bit unlikely for 9 year olds. Chocolate rock , a new type of candy? I listened further.
Turns out it was chalk rock (to mark where they landed). I don't think I've ever heard "chalk" and rock rhymed before. I grew up in England, and while my accent is considerably more Canadian than it was when I was a child, it still bears the scars of an English upbringing: Chalk for me is always has that "or" sound it in not an OH sound (sorry, couldn't find IPA symbols). Does it matter?
In the UK, accent was and is always a matter of judgement. Does it matterin the US? Have a read through this piece from last Sunday's Times. Interesting. Especially since Obama is criticized for being too black and not black enough elsewhere - also because a goodly number of white kids effect "black" speak.
Obama and the Racial Politics of America.
TWO aspects of President Obama's acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night were of linguistic interest. The first was "signifying"  -  the use of indirect humor as critique, and a much discussed feature of black speech. "My opponent and his running mate are ... new ... to foreign policy," he said, adding the two pauses for great comedic effect. The second, and more familiar, was the soaring crescendo, beginning with "in the words of Scripture, ours is a future filled with hope," in which Mr. Obama demonstrated his strongest mode of linguistic performance  -  the black preacher style  -  to end his remarks ("knowing that providence is with us and that we are surely blessed").
"Artful," the Republican strategist Steve Schmidt called it. "Literary," said the liberal commentator Rachel Maddow.
Language played a notable role in the last election cycle, when President George W. Bush and Joseph R. Biden Jr., now the vice president, called Mr. Obama "articulate," and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, observed that Mr. Obama spoke "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."
Language is playing a role in this electoral season, too, but in ways most observers have overlooked. Because language is a primary factor in shaping whether a politician is seen as "likable" or "relatable," the stark differences in speaking styles between Mr. Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, are probably contributing to the persistently higher marks for "personality" that Mr. Obama has gotten in numerous polls.
Mr. Romney's manner of speaking is essentially the verbal equivalent of his public persona: flat, one-dimensional, unable to connect. It is striking that he sounds almost the same in every speech, regardless of the audience. Observers have chronicled the wooden, monotonous nature of his delivery, the lack of tonal variation, the multiple hedges, the forced laughter, the "Leave It to Beaver"-era "gosh"-ness of his speaking. A painfully awkward example: his attempt to interact with black youngsters, at a parade in Jacksonville, Fla., for Martin Luther King's Birthday in 2008, where he dully barked: "Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof." During the primary campaign this year, he was mocked as inauthentic for throwing in some "y'alls" while stumping in the South.
This linguistic judgment is not based on race or party. Our last three presidents have all been able to shift their speaking styles  -  an ability that is distinct from eloquence or empathy. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were known for speaking in a "folksy" manner: Mr. Clinton with black and Southern audiences, and Mr. Bush with Southern and Latino audiences (he would even switch into Spanish in his speeches). Before them, Lyndon B. Johnson was perhaps the president most notable for variation in speaking style. More recently, the blunt (and occasionally profane) style of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, and the strategic sprinklings of Spanish by Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, have contributed to their rising profiles in the Republican Party.
In 2008, Mr. Obama took the linguistic flexibility of his predecessors to new heights. Take, for example, his style-shifting during a visit to Ben's Chili Bowl, a well-known Washington eatery, days before his inauguration in 2009. In a scene captured on YouTube, Mr. Obama declined to accept the change from a black cashier with the statement "Nah, we straight." These three short, seemingly simple, words exhibited distinct linguistic features associated with African-American ways of speaking.
First was the rendering of "no" as "nah." The vowel sound in "no" is like the one in "note," while the vowel sound in "nah" is like the one in "not" (not to be confused with the way some whites say "nah" as in "gnat," or the way some Southerners say "naw" like the vowel sound in "gnaw").
Second was Mr. Obama's use of "straight" in the sense of "O.K.," "fine," "all right." Observers have noted Mr. Obama's use of black slang in relation to hip-hop culture, his use of words like "flow" (the mapping of rhymes onto a beat) or "tight" (cool, hip). In his memoir "Dreams From My Father," Mr. Obama also used words and phrases that are not as widely known outside the black community, like "trifling" (lazy and inadequate) and "high-yella" (a reference to light-skinned blacks).
Third was Mr. Obama's omission of the word "are." The removal of forms of "to be"  -  what linguists call copula absence  -  is one of the most important and frequently studied features of black English.
MR. OBAMA'S embrace of the black preacher tradition is also reflected in his use of call-and-response. A quintessential example was his speech to a predominantly black crowd in South Carolina in 2008. He fired up the audience by slowly walking around the stage and then called them with words associated with Malcolm X:
Obama: They're tryna bamboozle you.
Audience response: Yes!
Obama: It's the same old okey-doke.
Audience: That's right!
Mr. Obama's ability to bring together "white syntax" with "black style" played a critical role in establishing his identity as both an American and a Christian.
It also has a multilingual dimension. In his 2011 visit to Puerto Rico, for example, he got cheers for using "boricua" to describe residents of the commonwealth. In "Dreams From My Father," he described learning enough Spanish in Harlem to "exchange pleasantries" with his Puerto Rican neighbors; noted that his Kenyan father spoke with a British accent; explained that he learned some Hawaiian Creole from his maternal grandfather; and claimed that it took him "less than six months to learn Indonesia's language, its customs, and its legends." Later in life, Mr. Obama wrote about greeting some of his Kenyan relatives in Luo. In March, The Washington Post even reported on his sign-language interactions with a deaf community college student.
While Mr. Obama's linguistic flexibility is a political asset, his style-shifting is not without its critics. There are some who read his "chameleon-like" speaking skills as not quite authentic, or as slightly patronizing  -  a sort of linguistic pandering. Some African-American critics have strongly objected to Mr. Obama's use in the public sphere of phrases deemed to be part of black private discourses. In June 2008, when Mr. Obama criticized absent black fathers, his style-shifting was read as a coded message to white voters that he could be tough on his own people, and prompted the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson to grumble that Mr. Obama was "talking down to black people."
For their part, right-wing critics have observed Mr. Obama's linguistic fluidity with a mix of admiration and outrage. "Obama can turn on that black dialect when he wants to, and turn it off," Rush Limbaugh once fumed.
Regardless of who wins in November, Mr. Obama's linguistic legacy will have implications for both education and politics. It's still true, as Mr. Obama wrote in his book "The Audacity of Hope," that "members of every minority group continue to be measured largely by the degree of our assimilation." But while racial and ethnic minorities (and working-class whites) must continue to learn "standard" American English  -  the country's dominant language  -  all children surely need to learn to understand and appreciate the nuances of America's diverse ways of speaking.
In a multiethnic, multicultural America where Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority and Asians are the fastest-growing minority, national politicians also will have to be fluent in multiple ways of speaking. For too long, sounding presidential meant sounding like a white, middle- or upper-class straight man (with modest leeway for regional accents). In 2012 and beyond, it's going to take a lot more than that to win over the hearts and minds  -  and ears  -  of the American people.
H. Samy Alim, the director of the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Language at Stanford University, and Geneva Smitherman, a professor of English at Michigan State University, are the authors of "Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S."
VMA Blues
September 11, 2012 at 1:38 am (Uncategorized) (celebrities, entertainment, Music, video music awards)
Wanna feel old? Watch MTV's Video Music Awards with your (pre) teenage daughter.
Last week's VMAs confirmed for me how much I dislike much of what is popular among "the kids." That's OK, my kids hate most of what I listen to as well. I do like music, and like to think myself being informed about music. I still attend concerts and buy new music- while the music of my formative years (late 70s punk/post-punk) will probably always be dearest to my heart, I like to think I 'm not one of those geezers for whom music ended when the Beatles broke up. I guess I just don't like pop music (come to think of it, a lot of music in the charts in those halcyon days of 1977 was rubbish too). I am looking forward to 2:54 in November (and OK, the Rezillos too)
Still the interesting thing about watching awards shows is trying to guess who will still have a career five years from now. My daughter thinks that One Direction may be the best thing since sliced bread (maybe even better than sliced bread), but the chances are, 1D's best before date is fast approaching. The lads have new album, Take Me Home, out on November 12, but it seems unlikely to inspire the same near-hysteria as the first.
Rihanna, probably. Taylor Swift, yup. A$AP Rocky, somewhat less likely.
The fickleness of fame? But more than that, the music industry needs fresh product. A continual need to re-invent, then to package and sell. This year's crop of winners should enjoy the moment. In five years time, most of them won't have a career.
Labour Daze
September 3, 2012 at 2:26 pm (Uncategorized) (education unions)
Probably the last Labour Day event I went to in Toronto was 2001. Maybe.
I had been to an IWW General Assembly in Boston a few weeks earlier, and was handing out some or other piece of IWW literature. I joined the IWW at the urging of my friend Ed of The Bad Days Will End. A week or so later came the World Trade Center bombings, Ed disappeared and I lost interest in the Toronto branch (actually so did the other members - there is a new branch, but I don't have any contact with it)
But I used to go every year when I was a Trotskyist. In fact all of the Trotskyist left, (IS, TL, BT, Usec, NSG, etc) made a big deal of selling there. Not sure we ever sold too many copies, and there were always plenty of copies of the leftist littering University Avenue as the march left to make its way to the final day of the Canadian National Exhibition (free entry if you were on the march!)
The march represented that layer of politicized union members who were probably also the NDP foot soldiers in any campaign. An average size march was between 10 and 25,000 depending on what was happening in the outside world. The years when Mike Harris was premier obviously pushed the numbers up, but after the Conservatives replacement with the "labour friendly" Liberals numbers began to drop again.
This year should be up.
In advance of a couple of by-elections this month, the Liberals have decided to re-invent themselves as financial conservatives. They are in the process of passing a wage freeze (and strike ban) on teachers for two years (with possibility of extension), and eying other public servants for the same treatment.
It's mildly comical though to watch the unions in their role, but also trying to mouth words of class struggle. At a rally last Tuesday in Toronto, education unions gathered at the front of Queen's Park to protest government legislation. The tough talk would have been more plausible if the secondary teachers unions OSSTF hadn't already agreed to the wage freeze and called off its strike votes. But then, the unions aren't really about class struggle, are they?
Labour Day has been celebrated in Canada since the 1880s, and actually predates the US adoption. However, it's more closely associated as the last weekend of summer. A time to close up the cottage, have a final picnic, fireworks and get the kids ready for the start of school the following day.
Hard times coming round again.


News Room Archive " Radio Commentary " The successes and failures of fashion retailers
The successes and failures of fashion retailers
Listen to interview "
Larry Williams:
Alright, retail tonight  -  fashion retail. Tell us about David Jones taking over Kirkcaldies  -  what do you think?
Carmel Fisher:
Indeed! Yeah look, the news came out last week and I was interested because I have always had a soft spot for Kirkcaldies in Wellington. While it hasn't been a very profitable store  -  in fact it hasn't been profitable the last seven years  -  it is New Zealand's oldest department store and arguably they've done well to survive, given our changing shopping habits and the growth of online retailing.
For David Jones to come into New Zealand and choose Wellington for their first store I just thought was quite a surprise, rather than choosing Auckland. Secondly, they said that in taking over Kirks they are going to be stocking and positioning the store differently than their Australian stores  -  so it makes it something of an experiment for them.
In terms of Wellington versus Auckland, you could argue that they chose Wellington because the opportunity arose and Kirks already had a presence there as a major department store, but it is still something of a punt and it's quite contrary to what we've seen elsewhere. In Auckland, we've seen other big retail brands such as Topshop and the likes of Louis Vuitton and Gucci, they've chosen to focus on Auckland first before establishing themselves elsewhere in New Zealand. As the chief of Topshop said when opening their Queen St store earlier this year; "Location is absolutely crucial  -  having the right space in the right retail area."
I think it's going to be interesting to see whether Lambton Quay proves the right retail area for David Jones. It would be more obvious to position themselves in Queen St, where you've got all the big designer brands  -  whereas Lambton Quay in Wellington, it's literally on its own. So good luck to them!
With the likes of David Jones and I guess Myers across the Tasman, it's not exactly glory days at the moment is it?
No, not at all! They're having to work really hard just to establish themselves, because it used to be that every major city had a department store and it was a real sort-of destination shop, but people just don't shop that way now.
The other challenge I think for David Jones coming to New Zealand is the variety of merchandise  -  that's really why you go to a department store, rather than a single store. David Jones stocks 1700 brands and typically have large stores with the biggest being 55,000 sqm, whereas the Kirkcaldies store is only 6000 sqm, so they are going to have to pick and choose which brands they stock.
The David Jones CEO was quoted as saying; "It's not a huge store so if anything we'll err to the premium end". Now I think that is a really interesting position to take, because the premium end of the New Zealand retail scene is pretty skinny and I would argue it's a tough nut to crack. So good luck to them, look I hope it works  -  but interesting.
Now what about Pumpkin Patch finding no takers  -  what are your thoughts on that?
I'm really sad about that actually  -  I've owned Pumpkin Patch shares for a long time and it was sad that after courting a number of interested parties, Pumpkin Patch just couldn't find anyone to buy or recapitalize the business. So instead, they said they're going to focus on "performance improvement initiatives" to try and deliver value to shareholders.
It doesn't surprise me that the share price fell 20% on this news because the price had rallied on the thought that a new owner could come in and reverse the trend of this downward path that Pumpkin Patch has been on for several years, but I think that pursuing performance improvement initiatives in an environment in which the company says it remains challenging, it sounds like hard work and there has been nothing in recent times to give us confidence that the company will be able to get some traction.
I think it's a really disappointing outcome for a company that was once lauded as an international fashion success story. It went from making a full year profit of $30m in 2007 to losing $30m in six months in 2012. I remember when we sold out of our shares in November 2008, seasoned retailers Rod Duke and Jan Cameron (from Kathmandu) could both see the potential of Pumpkin Patch and Rod Duke said at the time that he thought Pumpkin Patch was a "world class company with the smell of success about it. They just do their category very, very well." Well yes they did, which is why I found it particularly disappointing that the company has found itself in the position it is in today.
What about the Zara juggernaut? They have stores everywhere around the globe.
They do indeed  -  and I thought we've got to finish on a good story about fashion retail! The founder of Zara has just overtaken Warren Buffett to become the world's second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Amancio Ortega is the Spanish magnate who founded Inditex, which is the world's largest clothing retailer, with brands including Zara, operating out of 6,600 stores around the world. His net worth has increased 17% this year to $71 billion, overtaking Warren Buffett whose fortune is just $70 billion.
It's hard to imagine, for me anyway, that a clothing retailer might make such a fortune when we all know how fickle the fashion industry is and we also know that while brands might become established and well-known, they don't always translate into sales, profits and wealth for the owners. In the case of Ortega, he decided to differentiate his Zara business, not by the clothing it produces but in the way the business is run.
He set up what is now known as "fast-fashion retail", with the idea being to deliver what customers want, as quickly as possible. Zara stores receive new stock twice a week and the whole supply chain is many times faster than other fashion competitors. While in most fashion stores, customers look forward to seeing next season's range, Zara customers look forward to seeing next week's range or next month's range.
What do they do with the stuff they can't sell in that time?
That's the wonderful thing, Zara's store managers are empowered to respond to their customer's needs. If they have items that aren't selling, they just get rid of them and replenish them with popular items. So stores are always changing their stock over. As a result, customers visit a Zara store 17 times per year on average (compared to 3 times per year for most fashion retail stores), because you've got to buy today, as the stock won't be there tomorrow. It's an incredible story.
Orders are delivered within 48 hours  -  this enables Zara as a bricks and mortar company to compete head-on with online fashion websites. Arguably Zara is at the opposite end of the retail spectrum to David Jones and Kirkcaldies, because they sell affordable items quickly and in volume. So far, Zara seems to have found the magic formula to succeed as a mass market fashion retailer. They have no plans to stop, with 8-10% expansion in store numbers planned for the next three to five years.
I enjoyed learning of this success story in what is otherwise an incredibly challenging and competitive industry.
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Martin Luther King Jr: The Quest for Justice and Peace
Fifty years ago today, the world lost a prophet of justice. Known as a champion of civil rights, during his final years, Martin Luther King Jr. focused much of his attention on the plight of the poor. His final book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, focused on fighting poverty. This was also a major theme of his Nobel Peace Prize address.
At Oslo, Dr. King shared that in addition to racial injustice, "a second evil which plagues the modern world is that of poverty. Like a monstrous octopus, it projects it's nagging, prehensile tentacles in lands and villages all over the world. Almost two thirds of the peoples of the world go to bed hungry at night. . .Most of these poverty-stricken children of God have never seen a physician or a dentist. . .Poverty is one of the most urgent items on the agenda of modern life."
Here is an excerpt from his lecture at Oslo on December 11th, 1964.
Audio from the Nobel Prize Organization and Norsk Rikskringkasting. Photos from the Public Domain. Music by Kevin McLeod. Past the Edge. Creative Commons 3.0. By attribution
Tagged: Martin Luther King, Justice, Peace
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What In The Hell Happened in Alaska?
Nov. 6, 2008 , at 2:04 AM
Although Ted Stevens holds a small lead in Alaska and is the favorite to retain his seat, the outcome is not as inevitable as it might appear to be. Stevens currently holds a lead of 3,353 votes, or about 1.5 percent of the votes tallied so far. But, there are quite a large number of ballots yet to count. According to Roll Call, these include "at least 40,000 absentee ballot, 9,000 early voting ballots, and an undetermined number of questionable ballots".
Indeed, it seems possible that the number of "questionable" ballots could be quite high. So far, about 220 thousand votes have been processed in Alaska. This compares with 313 thousand votes cast in 2004. After adding back in the roughly 50,000 absentee and early ballots that Roll Call accounts for, that would get us to 270 thousand ballots, or about a 14 percent drop from 2004. It seems unlikely that turnout would drop by 14 percent in Alaska given the presence of both a high-profile senate race and Sarah Palin at the top of the ticket.
But even if Begich were to make up ground and win a narrow victory, this would seem to represent a catastrophic failure of polling, as three polls conducted following the guilty verdict in Stevens' corruption trial had Begich leading by margins of 7, 8 and 22 points, respectively.
The emerging conventional wisdom is that there was some sort of a Bradley Effect in this contest  -  voters told pollsters that they weren't about to vote for that rascal Ted Stevens, when in fact they were perfectly happy to. Convicted felons are the new black, it would seem.
The problem with this theory is that the polling failures in Alaska weren't unique to Stevens. They also applied to the presidential race, as well as Alaska's at-large House seat. In each case, the Republican outperformed his pre-election polling by margins ranging from 12 to 14 points:
Contest  Projection         Result       Delta
AL-ALL   Berkowitz +6.4 (i) Young +7.7   GOP +14.1
AL-Sen   Begich +12.9 (ii)  Stevens +1.5 GOP +14.4
AL-Pres  McCain +13.9 (iii) McCain +25.3 GOP +12.4
(i) Pollster.com Trend Estimate
(ii) FiveThirtyEight Polling Average
(iii) FiveThirtyEight Trend-Adjusted Estimate
There are three plausible explanations I can think of to explain this discrepancy. The first and most likely is that the Democratic vote became complacent and did not bother to turn out. The outcome of the presidential contest was not going to be close in Alaska, and Barack Obama's victory in the Electoral College was apparent as of about 4 PM local time. Begich supporters, moreover, may have looked at the polls and concluded that their candidate was far enough ahead that they didn't have to bother to vote. Meanwhile, the Republican base was going to turn out no matter what because of their enthusiasm for Sarah Palin. There seems to be a sort of danger zone at about 10 points wherein a candidate is far enough ahead that many of his supporters assume the race is in the bag, but not so far ahead that he is immune to poor turnout (a similar dynamic affected then-Governor Jim Blanchard of Michigan in his 1990 race against John Engler).
The second possibility is that a substantial percentage of the Democratic vote is tied up in the early and absentee ballots that have yet to be counted. We know that Barack Obama overperformed among early voters in many states, and Alaska may be no exception. (Although, I would guess that the absentee vote is predominately rural, whereas Begich's base is in Anchorage).
The third possibility is that a lot of those "questionable" ballots are Democratic ones, and that there have been irregularities in the voting tally. Although this is the least likely possibility, Alaska is a provincial state with some history of corruption, and Democrats ought to be making sure that too many of their ballots haven't been disqualified.
Senate (275 posts) Alaska (63)


JCRC
Humanity In Harmony
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Jewish Community Services
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J Care
Israel at 70! Concert
The concert was a musical revue of the history, culture, and achievements of Israel and which featured Hadar Orshalimy on vocals and keyboard accompanied by Sheldon Low and Gregg Monteith. Prior to the concert, a Middle Eastern dinner was catered by Annabel Cohen, caterer and food columnist for the Detroit Jewish News which included wines from Israel.
Hadar Orshalimy is one of the most highly sought after cantorial soloists and children's music educator in New York, regularly leading Shabbat and holiday services at Temple Israel of the City of New York, Temple Emanu-El of New York City, and at communities all across the New York Metro area.
Hailing from Tel Aviv, Hadar's early singing career included numerous appearances on national Israeli broadcasts including being featured on the Children's Channel, commercials and radio, televised basketball games, and the first season of Israeli Idol. In 2004, Hadar moved to the US to attend the Berklee College of Music where she graduated with honors.
After Berklee, Hadar has become involved in Jewish music, performing with Jewish rockers Josh Nelson and her life-partner, Sheldon Low, and has co-written and performed on 5 of Low's albums. Hadar served as the music specialist and musician in residence at both Larchmont Temple and Park Avenue Synagogue and most recently, Hadar and Low have created a new secular music band called "We Are The Northern Lights". The band is beginning to achieve national acclaim, thanks to their singles "I'm Still Here" and "Sunshine", both being featured on the TV series, Startup, starring Adam Brody and Martin Freeman. In January Hadar performed at Temple Emanu-El Manhattan at a reception for Barack Obama.
Sheldon Low continues to establish himself as a prominent voice in contemporary Jewish music. He has released 5 full-length albums and received placements on three Ruach compilations to date. A self-proclaimed road warrior, Low performs over 100 concerts, services, and workshops around North America each year. In addition to becoming a mainstay of congregational life, Low's music has become the soundtrack of the lives of hundreds of thousands of children around the globe, thanks in part to PJ Library distributing two of his children's albums and appearances on countless other compilation albums. Beyond his acclaim as a Jewish musician, Low is a highly regarded Jewish educator and published author. Low is currently the artist-in-residence at Temple Israel of the City of New York and lives in Harlem with his wife and musical partner, Hadar Orshalimy. Together they are known as the pop-folk duo "We Are The Northern Lights. Look for Sheldon's podcast jewishsongwriter.com.
Gregg Monteith has performed throughout the world as a drummer/percussionist for numerous Broadway productions. Most recently, he performed at Madison Square Garden with the hit musical Elf. Gregg is also a filmmaker working with brands like Sharpie, Lowe's and Breathe For Change. Love to Karen.
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Pegaso Z102 - "The Spanish Ferrari"
Ted Marcus
Probably, this is the best Spanish car that you never heard about. It's Pegaso Z102 that in 1950 was titled the fastest vehicle in the world.
Beating Jaguar, Ferrari and other industry giants is a never-ending quest for many. Pegaso, which was a government-controlled company, had the same ambition. Between 1951 and 1958, it made only 84 cars, and that's why today they are a little-known rarity.
The company's manager was an experienced engineer Wilfredo Ricart, who also worked for Alfa Romeo before WW2. Back then, he created some memorable racing cars for Italians like Alfa Romeo Tipo 512. He was also a fierce competitor to Enzo Ferrari. These two tempers didn't go well together, so eventually, Ricart went back to his homeland Italy.
1958 Pegaso Z-102 SSP Spyder Serra
© Wikimedia Commons
Pegaso Z-102 Serra Spider
After that, he decided to avail of a local truck company Enasa, which also acquired a manufacturer Hispano-Suiza in 1946. The company was later known as Pegaso. Wilfred was keen to challenge Enzo Ferrari once again. Even the chosen name brand suggests: if Ferrari's horses would prance, then the Spanish horses would fly.
Wilfred Ricard created Pegaso Z102, incredibly innovative and thrilling car that surpassed all the standards at the time. The alloy bodies were supplied by such coachbuilders as Serra, Carrozzeria Touring or Saoutchik. The car chassis and other parts (except the bodywork) were built in-house at the Pegaso factory in Barcelona.
Pegaso Z102 Coupé
1955 Pegaso Z102B Berlineta Touring
The vehicle had a V8 engine that could be of different power. There were two choices of engines - 2.8-liter or 3.2-liter options that could reach from 175hp to 360hp respectively. The engine power of a five-speed gearbox drove the rear wheels. At the time, Pegaso Z102 was one of the fastest cars in the world. It could reach up to 243 km/h (or 151 mph) speed.
Pegaso Z-102 "Berlineta Saoutchik" Serie 2
Pegaso Z-102 Cabriolet Saoutchik Series 2
Buyers could choose between coupe and cabriolet models. However, Z102 was incredibly expensive. It would cost two times more than competitor's cars from Ferrari and four times more than Jaguar XK120. The Spanish government eventually cancelled the project when they realized how expensive it is to build such a vehicle.
1954 Pegaso Z102 Coupe Saoutchik
Pegaso Z-102 cockpit
Today, Pegaso cars are collectibles that cost a lot of money. For example, the 1954 Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta Series II was sold for USD 880,000 in 2016 RM Sotheby's Monterey auction. The same year's Pegaso Z-102 3.2 Berlinetta by Touring was sold for USD 742,500 in 2015 in New York.
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Some thoughts on China
Edmond Chan · Mar 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment
As mentioned, I went into China with some preconceptions, many with a degree of negativity and probably arising from years of exposure to Western media and also from the Hong Kong part of my heritage.
In the West, China is usually painted as slightly sinister, repressive, and unaligned with collective Western interests, particularly as seen by its long-held tacit and not-so-tacit alignment with the more reprehensible regimes in the world such as Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
Every Chinese action is heavily scrutinised; from its handling of domestic issues such as Tibet, the 2008 Olympic Games and the recent upheaval in Xinjiang to Chinese foreign policy (such as their handling of North Korean nuclear disarmament) and even to her handling of her currency and her alleged deliberate devaluation of the Renminbi (RMB) (as if other countries don"t do the same).
It's not just the West; Hong Kong people are also generally uneasy about their future with China. Prior to the handover to the Chinese in 1997, Hong Kong had been under British control for around 150 years and the island saw phenomenal growth under colonial rule.
Despite China's assurance that Hong Kong"s status and institutions would remain stable for at least 50 years post-handover, Hong Kong fears China"s perceived gradual neglect of its interests in favour of its economic rival, Shanghai. Further, on a less self-interested note and on a more prejudicial note (as we have seen), Hong Kong people have many negative perceptions of people from the mainland; principally that mainlanders lack sophistication, both in manners and in taste.
Needless to say, prior to my visit, all of the above had permeated my consciousness to some extent. However, thankfully, all of the above negativity was challenged, re-evaluated and overturned during my time there; I"ll try my best to explain why.
Let's have a closer look at some of the charges made against China. China has many critics worldwide, particularly from many parts of the Western media; nearly every human rights organisation; and most Western governments, to a greater or lesser extent. She comes under criticism and scrutiny for, amongst other things, her human rights record, her handling of domestic unrest (witness Tibet 2008, Beijing 1989, Xinjiang 2009), and her financial affairs (alleged devaluation of her currency to maintain her export driven economic model).
Recently, heavy scrutiny of China came during the Beijing Olympics 2008. The media chose to focus on the alleged "forcing" of child athletes into extreme training programmes for years in order to ensure the biggest medal tally; on the wider treatment of Tibetans and foreign journalists covering the contemporaneous unrest in Tibet, and on whether the fantastic pyrotechnics of the opening ceremony would be possible under a multi-party state etc.
Underpinning all this negative press and scrutiny is, I think, the fact that China is a one-party state and (to exacerbate this in the eyes of the West) there's the fact that she is not a natural ally (China holds a veto on the UN Security Council and the US, the UK and France are generally not able to "count" on China's vote. (They can't count on Russia's either but Russia may be held to a lesser standard of scrutiny as today Russia is, to a greater extent than China at least, democratic and perhaps viewed as more of an ally to the West). Worse, in the West's eyes, China often aligns itself instead with unsavoury regimes such as Zimbabwe). Now I'm not passing judgement on China"s human rights track record or any of the above, but I think it's only right that, in the absence of any forthcoming defence, the debate be given some proper context.
It probably winds the West up more when it appears that China just doesn't really seem to care what the West thinks. China never looks to defend or explain herself and her recent history goes some way to explaining its refusal to listen to the West. Since the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty in the 1600s, China had been in relative decline to emerging world powers, (the newly industrialised powers of Europe and the US and also (later) in the modernised, militarised and resurgent Japan).
China's military weakness and insularity was exploited by the British who forced the opium trade upon the Chinese (effectively creating markets in China), with the resultant epidemic drug dependence further weakening the nation. The Chinese desire to rid itself of the drug trade led to conflict with Britain and to the First Opium War. China's defeat and the resulting settlement meant that Britain had exclusive rights to continue the opium trade and also to receive sovereign rights over Hong Kong. Shanghai eventually became controlled by the British, the Americans and the French.
Imagine the national sense of humiliation of losing a war that was forced upon you and then having major parts of your country controlled by foreign nations. In 1895, China lost further face when she lost the Sino-Japan War (further evidence of relative decline). Further humiliation came with the Versailles Treaty in 1919 when Germany"s territorial interests in China were not returned to China but instead were given to Japan. Before and during the Second World War, Japan invaded, occupied and committed countless atrocities against the Chinese population. In light of all this conflict and deeply felt humiliation heaped upon her by foreign powers, it is little wonder that China, to this day, might distrust outside influences, and view unsolicited criticism as unreasonable interference. This history goes a long way to explaining China's current diplomacy and foreign policy for, psychologically, how does one overcome a sense of humiliation? Through self-analysis and confident self-assertion without the aid of others, particularly when those "others" played a big part in that perceived humiliation. This is the prism through which much Chinese action and policy should be viewed.
I was just leaving China as the Xinjiang (a province in western China) riots in the summer of 2009 were blowing up. Tensions between the minority (in China as a whole) Uyghurs and the majority (in China as a whole) Han Chinese exploded resulting in at least 200 dead. Much of the world's media reported this as an inevitable result of Chinese policy towards its minority groups, such as that of the recent mass migration of Han Chinese to Xinjiang. This policy on its own may not have led to tension but the perception amongst Uyghurs is that there is bias towards the Han from policymakers and that the economic mushrooming which has benefited vast swathes of the country has passed them by. Comparisons with the situation in Tibet were inevitable in the outside press and world opinion. There"s no easy solution to this issue but again I think it's useful to consider the history and the particular circumstances of China as a nation before judging the policy. China has always been made up of disparate and diverse peoples and cultures and she was only unified in around 221 BC after great struggle.
Keeping it together and maintaining racial and cultural harmony has been a struggle ever since, with a return to the Warring States from around 300 AD to the 12th Century. Just think about it: China has a huge population; with easily 1.3 billion people. That"s more than 20 times the population of the UK. To exacerbate the obvious difficulties of governing this massive country and the vast lands within her borders, China is comprised of around 56 ethnic groups. Many speak their own dialects, the problems of which are obvious even to the extent that Mandarin had to be standardised during the 20th Century. This is the context that global calls for Tibetan autonomy and the growing calls for Han withdrawal from Xinjiang have to be addressed in light of. The concept of "One China" has been around for millennia. The current policy towards the minorities is driven by an ancient history of keeping all the elements of China under one umbrella; it is not driven by persecution but by a deep-rooted desire for harmony and union. Indeed, it's often overlooked that there are actually various positive discrimination initiatives to help minorities such as exemptions from the "one-child, one-family" policy that holds in most other parts of China.
All of which raises the old debates surrounding self-determination. Should Tibet be granted independence if it wants it? Should Xinjiang be treated in the same way? Oddly, the West is strangely silent when it comes to the same issues at play within the borders of its allies. How else to explain the global silence regarding the Catalan issue in Spain? Nobody calls for the Spanish Government to grant the Catalan province independence. To do so would be considered unreasonable interference in internal affairs. The same goes for the internal rifts in Belgium between the Flemish and the Walloons, the not insignificant movement for independence from nationalist elements in Scotland, the French Canadians in Quebec, the Chechens in Chechnya etc.; outsiders don"t interfere with these states.
It seems though that China is considered fair game. Why? I think it"s because it"s a one party state etc. something that"s seen as a bit morally suspect, with the consequence that its policies are seen to have less legitimacy. Now I"m not advocating the one-party state over the multi-party system (!) but whilst I was in China, I didn"t see an oppressed, unhappy people. I saw people who were going about their daily lives trying to make their way in the more open economy of recent decades. People don"t live in fear of the thought police either; witness the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, where many have been openly critical of the Government particularly in respect of allegedly poorly constructed buildings that collapsed in the massive tremors. When people say that there"s no free press in China; well that"s true probably in terms of criticising the government but otherwise the same preoccupations concern the press in China as they do in other countries, with pages devoted to sport, movies, music, celebrities etc. topics about which reportage is unfettered.
One thing that did concern me, however, was the state surveillance of the internet. I was there during the spat that China had with Google in around June 2009 (an issue which has since exploded again in January 2010), to the extent that Google was disabled in China for a few days. Foreign media websites are clearly vetted before the page opens (as there"s a lengthy time lag with sites such as the BBC and The Times) and some story pages don"t open, citing server issues. Whilst some censorship may be necessary in all societies (such as in the interests of national security), this type of information censorship is clearly not a good thing. However, it's not such a stretch to imagine that multi-party democratic states also monitor the internet, and if they do, then maybe the state in question is just far more judicious as to the sites that are vetted and disabled. Regardless, the extent to which the internet in China can actually be controlled by the state will inevitably decrease as vast numbers of its huge population are online with so many of the users being active bloggers, social networkers, instant messengers, etc. who'll all become harder to monitor and control, just as the real-time reporting and information that pinged around the world during the 2009 Xinjiang rioting demonstrated. China is on the way to becoming a fully open society; it will just take some time.
In terms of any snide prejudices about the people themselves, particularly from the Hong Kong perspective as described above, from my first contact in China, through Nanning and then on the train from Hong Kong to Beijing, I found any hitherto held opinions to be completely unfounded. Chinese people are incredibly friendly and kind. From train staff to food sellers to fellow hostel guests to other shoppers, the people were just lovely. Encounters I remember particularly fondly were the staff at Nanning train station who kindly waited with me through the night, the great hot-pot stall lady in the next hutong down from the one we stayed in Beijing, animated taxi-drivers, and friendly fellow customers in restaurants and street stalls who implored (read dared) us to take on more and more chilli or eat sheep's testicles! Like anywhere in the world, people outside the cities may lack a certain worldliness but the charges of a lack of sophistication definitely cannot be levelled at the people in Beijing and Shanghai who are, for the most part, cultured, confident and achingly urbane. I absolutely love it in China; I love the culture, I love the food and I love the people; I'm definitely going back.
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What Would The World Be Like If Video Games Didn't Exist? Boring!
Have you ever wondered what would the world be like if video games didn't exist? For some, a scary thought, for others a matter of indifference. I know it's a bit silly to wonder about it when video games do exist and we should not dwell on what ifs but I thought that it'd be fun to look into it in one of my posts.
In short, there's no way of knowing. But if video games didn't exist, there would be other media to consume. However, the world would lose a great art form and many long-lasting friendships would not exist. Let's look into how video games have changed the world and what it would be like without them.
Whether you are a fan of video games or not, you have to admit that video games created a whole new culture on top of already established entertainment such as TV, movies and theatre. That brings me straight to point one.
Entertainment substitutes
If video games didn't exist, people would still stick with what they know: TV, board games, movies, theatre, music, fashion and with the vastness of the internet, social media and entertainment portals like Youtube.
Some people would pick out a new hobby (sports, musical instruments, crafts, writing, drawing), some would pick up more books as a result. Some people believe that children would be playing outside a lot more but I think that's debatable. With social media and TV, they could still sit for hours on end, substituting video games for TV shows and youtube videos.
Video games as an art
Those who say that video games aren't a form of art may have never touched a video game. Like books, movies, comics or TV, video games tell an engaging story with beautiful visuals. Not only that but they make the player a part of the story, allowing them to make decisions that can change the course of the game. Video games can provoke joy, sadness, grief, anger and everything in between, much like other media do. They make you think of your actions and their consequences, make you ask questions and maybe even see the world in a new light.
Not only that, but video games have inspired many artists to draw or write about their favorite characters, creating derivative works and expanding on the franchise. Just look at the stunning illustration of Ellie from The Last of Us!
A lot of hardware manufacturers would not be spending billions of dollars on making their products better and better. Graphic cards, while for everyone, are specifically marketed to gamers for great performance and best graphics. This is not limited only to graphic cards but also processors, headphones, gaming keyboards and mice. Technology advancement in this field develops very quickly.
Playing video games no longer carry (or should not carry!) the stigma of making people asocial. Nowadays video games can be an activity for the whole family or a group of friends. Not only that, thanks to online multiplayer games, we meet new people, socialize and bond over common interests, creating new friendships.
Many of these friendships are formed over long distances and in a world where video games wouldn't exist, we most likely would never meet the same people. The fact that these friendships have been forged online makes them no less valuable or less "real". I'm very thankful for video games; because of them I've met some of my closest friends and also my best friend. In fact, my friend wanted to make a post about his experience meeting friends online, which you can find here.
Of course there are people who prefer their own company to other people on most days and that's okay. Being introverted isn't necessarily a bad thing. And chances are if you're introverted and love to play video games, you'd be introverted even if they didn't exist.
Some people may find the thought that video games can help people ridiculous. There are many ways in which they can:
Career choices - some people may find inspiration for their career paths in their favorite fictional characters or even become a video game developer or writer. Sure, such characters also exist in movies, TV and books.
Questionable choices - Video games can often help people from making poor life choices (turning to alcohol, drugs to escape)
Ambition - Video games provide a lot of rewards and achievements, which can motivate people in their careers to strive higher.
Interest in various subjects - many video games have dealt with history and mythology and as such they made more people interested in these topics better than a school would.
Battling mental illness - Agoraphobia and anxiety disorder can be very limiting to a person to the point of isolation. With the mobile game Pokémon: GO, people with these disorders report that for the first time in a long time, they look forward to going out among others. Such idea before this may have seemed unfathomable.
Escape from real life - If a person is going through a tough time, battling depression or even abuse, playing video games can provide an escape, forgetting their problems for a while. I've read this touching (and horrifying) story of Scott, whose life was saved by video games by escaping abuse.
Move more/work out - When you picture a gamer, you just imagine a person sitting down for hours on end. While that may be true for some people, there are also games that promote working out, using motion controllers or Kinect sensors to interact. Such games can be dancing games (Zumba, Dance Dance Revolution) to fitness games on Nintendo Wii.
Charity - A number of gamers who support various charities are on the rise. Large influencers use their reach to raise money for charity. Youtubers like Markiplier, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and others have raised millions of dollars for various charities and continue to do so to this day just by live streaming themselves playing a video game. There are charities helping people play video games or making custom controllers for people with limited mobility (for example AbleGamers, Child's Play). My friend Ian has done 5 or six 24-hour charity live streams, raising a lot of money in the process.
Video games made into broader entertainment
As I mentioned above, video games are an art form of their own. Video games have been taken and adapted for big screens, into novels and comics.
Notable examples of movies based on video games:
Some may argue that these movies were really bad. While that may be true, at least there was a lesson learned from them.
Video games are important
Whatever your stance on video games or gamers in general, the truth is that video games have become a large and integral part of our modern culture. So what would the world be like if video games didn't exist?
I dare to say it'd be very different. Characters and stories that we love and play time and time again would not exist and some people would have never met in real life and become friends or even significant others.
What do you think would happen if video games didn't exist? I'd love to hear your opinion, so make sure to comment down below!
Controller photo © by Mack Male @ Flickr
Unboxing Action Figures and Memorabilia...or Not?
shannon fowler
I know my fiancé uses them to destress. He is a plaintive care doctor, and his work is emotionally demanding. Without them he doesn't bounce back after a really hard day as easy
Yes, that is very true, they're very good at destressing. Until you can't move past a certain point in a game and you get stressed even more. 😀 But even then I wouldn't change it for the world. Thank you for your comment, Shannon! 🙂
Heather way
Before video games, I was obsessed with Monopoly board game and wanted to be the world champ
Emily Conway
I have such fun and fond memories with my brother playing video games (particularly Rock Band and the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) in Elder Scrolls, we would be cracking up as we chased a deer in the woods and punched it to death. If that didn't exist, I am not sure we would have too much common ground. TV is fine, but it is not interactive and you aren't working together. There is an element missing from it.
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How to file a complaint about an att store...
asteele
I want to complain about an authorized dealer att store in Carmel, IN. They are dishonest and scam your customers. I have a phone that died - the battery wouldn't take a charge any more. I went in and they basically lied to me. **Back story - Two years ago the same thing happened to me; when I went to a different AT&T store, they told me with my protection plan, all I had to do was file the claim, which they did in the store, and I could get a new phone. They will give you the same model you have (new) or if they no longer carry it, they give you the next level. All you pay is the deductible of $100. I ended up getting a new phone that was upgraded from the Active 4 to the 6. **
Yesterday, I went to the AT&T store on Michigan road with the same issue. I expected the same easy process. I went in, and the guy lied and told me the insurance company never give new phones but a pre-owned refurbished phone that is the same exact phone. He said, "you can't just keep filing claims and upgrade your phone." I told him of my experience two years ago, and he said the policy had changed, and I really need to keep up-to-date on changes. He said I needed to buy a new phone if I wanted something nice instead of a crappy refurbished phone. I asked what the point of the insurance was then because if your phone breaks, and you pay the monthly fee, they should replace it with a new phone. He said you could file a claim, but they wouldn't provide me with the "latest model" or a brand new phone. He tried to sell me a $700 phone. I told him I wasn't interested, and he said "I'm just here to sell you a phone." I told him last time they filed the claim in the store and gave me a phone, and he said he wouldn't sit there and fill out paperwork for me. After being berated by him, I decided to leave and call AT&T myself.
I went home and logged in on-line, went to the claims page. It took me less than 2 minutes to fill it out, I got upgraded from a Samsung Active 6 to an 8 - brand new phone; the 9 is the newest but who cares. I pay the $112 deductible, and it arrives today. I even called the insurance department and asked them what constitutes an insurance claim, and she said even if your battery life is just slow, the phone does not have to be totally broken, you can file a claim and they replace it. Of course, you only get 2 claims a year, but I have only filed 2 claims in 2 years. Totally worth it.
I then called the store to tell them they were wrong, and a different guy who answered still argued with me that they hardly ever see that happen, and I must have been lucky. Well I must have been lucky twice because this is the second time in 2 years this has happened to me. Plus, he said, "It isn't the latest phone." My response - who cares; it didn't cost $700. They need to be investigated for fraud.
sarebear705
Re: Re: How to file a complaint about an att store...
I would like to file a complaint against the Paseo Nuevo AT&T store in Santa Barbara, CA. Today was a stressful day in our community due to flooding closing the 101 freeway in both directions. I live in Carp (south of SB) and ended up stuck in SB for hours. In that time, my cell phone was almost dead. I visited this store to purchase a cable for my car charger, and asked the representative, Joey, if i could charge my phone for a bit in the meantime because I didn't have anywhere else to go. He stated this was fine, was very courteous and professional, and plugged my phone in for me. There was one other person in the store who was doing the same thing for the same reason. NO other customers came in or out of the store for the approximate 15 minutes I was in there. Joey's manager, Emilio, emerged from the backroom after the 10-15 minutes and without so much as a greeting immediately told me and the other person charging his phone that we had to leave. I explained that I had made a purchase but it was for my car and I needed to charge my phone for a bit because I was stranded in SB and unable to go and didn't want to be without a phone (the phone was at 8%). He stated he couldn't have me "loitering in his store." Emilio clearly lacks the intelligence to understand the meaning of the word, as I had made a purchase and was a customer, but worse, he lacks the decency to understand his customer was in a tight spot and wasn't willing to help like his more professional coworker. Emilio barely looked at me while he was talking and when i asked if I could speak to a manger he stated "well, no because I am the manager." AT&T, you clearly missed the mark when promoting this person to an authoritative role as he lacks any semblance of understanding customer service, and instead presents as rude and arrogant. There wasn't a single person in the store that needed helping! I was not a distraction or keeping them from doing their jobs. Perhaps he wanted me to leave so he could finish the rated R movie, Baby Driver, that was playing on the TV behind the register. This movie had a lot of foul language and violence, so it's probably best there weren't any customers present, particularly ones with children. Emilio doesn't seemed concerned about his customers or presenting himself in a professional manner, so I wanted to make you aware of it so in the future you can be more selective with your management candidates. The day was stressful enough not being able to use the freeway, backroads, or train to go home, but now the added stress of having a phone on a low percentage when I didn't know how long I would be stranded (6 hours total). I've been debating switching to Verizon for some time now, and this incident might be the push I needed to move in that direction.
archer120964
im going though the same kind of service i got talked into buying a new 1000 dollar note 9 with the promise i would get a new note 9 free well the manager didt put the order in so now i dont get my phone even thouth ATT said i was elgeble but their sorry their manager didt do her job [Per Guidelines: Keep it Relevant and Appropriate].
cmaitski
I was at the AT&T store at 7727 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando last Monday. My son's phone had gone dead and I wanted them to look at it. We were greeted by a young lady and told to have a seat, and someone would be with us shortly. She was taking care of another customer about four feet away from us, and I could hear the conversation between them. So we waited. I have been to AT&T stores before, and had never seen a transaction take so long. There was another family that had been there before us, and they were waiting as well. There were no less than five AT&T employees in the store, but no one was coming to us to offer to help us; or even to ask what we were there for. About 45 mins into our wait, someone with an Ipad came over and took our name, and we were put into a cue, but again he did not ask why we were there. About an hour in, four young men in hoodies walked in, two of them ripped phones and Ipads out of the display counter and ran away. We had now been witnesses to a robbery. The police came, and for the next 45 minutes they were walking in and out and talking to the employees, but no one was talking to us. The family who had been there before us, got up and left in exasperation. Finally, after sitting there for close to two hours, someone finally came over and attempted to help us. After hearing our story, he talked about paying off the phone, to which I said its insured. He then got a pamphlet and told us we could make a claim online or over the phone. Had someone asked us why we had come in, we could have received that information and been on our way in two minutes. Instead, we were made to wait for two hours without anyone from AT&T trying to help us, and were involved in a robbery which could have potentially threatened our lives. It was the absolute WORST customer service experience I have ever had. While we were waiting, we searched reviews of that store, and there were several very bad reviews. I can honestly say that this store definitely lived up to its extremely bad reputation.
MicCheck
ACE - Master
@cmaitski wrote:
You could have found out how to file an insurance claim online, but you said you wanted someone to "look at it," which meant you had to wait in line, and nothing would have been different had you told them that immediately. Surely you can't fault the store for a robbery occurring while you were there. I get why you're frustrated, but given the circumstances, I think being understanding is the least you can do.
Patriot1951
I have a complaint about your Valdosta, GA store. We pay our AT&T bill by check on time every month. Frequently when I go in to make the payment, the kiosk is down. This time when we went to the Norman Drive store to pay by check as usual, the girl (sorry, I did not get her name) told me that the kiosk was down again, she would not take my payment and I would have to "come back tomorrow". She told me I could pay by credit card or cash. The problem is the payment was due today, 5/28/2019, and if I paid tomorrow, May 29, there would be fees and penalties.
In utter frustration, I tossed the check and bill over my shoulder and said "This is ridiculous". I did not curse or threaten the employee. The manager, Mike, stepped in while I was getting out the cash to pay the bill and he told me they would not take the money, I had no right to talk to the employee "that way" and to leave the store. They did not offer any apology for the kiosk being down again, nor did they offer me any payment alternatives.
My wife then went in and talked to Mike, and he told her "You shouldn't have waited so late pay your bill". I have never been treated so shabbily by any company employee! We do not have any choice but to use AT&T for our wireless and Data, but you can bet if we have any other payment options by check, we will never darken the doors of this AT&T store again.
@Patriot1951 wrote:
If you insist on using a check, you can pay by check online. You can also use a credit or debit card online or mail in the check (allowing plenty of time for delivery).
If you know the payment kiosk has frequent issues, why did you wait so long to pay?
ATTCares
Hi, we would like to look into this. Please send us a private message with more details, such as the time and date of your visit, your full name and contact information. Thank you.
Ask a question to get help from the AT&T Community or support from AT&T specialists. If this reply helped you please use Accept solution to mark it as an Accepted Solution.
How to file a complaint with the Corporate Office
How to file an official complaint about ATT servic...
How to File a Complaint About an ATT Store?
I will be filing a Complaint!!!


Edmonton city council
Edmonton decides to keep property tax increase at 2.6%
By Scott Johnston Reporter 630CHED
A photo taken at an Edmonton City Council meeting on Jan. 22, 2019.
The final number is in at Edmonton City Hall for your property tax increase.
It'll stay at 2.6 per cent, the number city council landed on during budget deliberations in December.
READ MORE: Council settles on 2.6% Edmonton property tax increase for next 4 years
Watch below: Edmonton city councillors have approved a property tax increase of 2.6 per cent each year over the next four years. Vinesh Pratap has the details.
A report heading to next Tuesday's city council meeting says council has nearly $3.8 million to work with. That's because of a mix of increased housing starts and permits that increases the total tax base. The city also has a bump of $700,000 in revenue because of the annexed area.
Councillor Andrew Knack isn't surprised there is an increase between then and now, although he had his doubts that the tax rate would change.
"They're often conservative in their estimates, so usually, you're talking about something that might impact the tax increase by 0.1 or 0.2 of a per cent," he said.
"Usually there's additional permits and residences coming aboard that they had originally planned for, recognizing that growth while we still have been experiencing that, it's been quite small, so I'm sure they estimated a fairly low growth total."
Cannabis plays a factor. The report said the budget is taking an adjustment of half-a-million dollars.
"[The Edmonton Police Service] requires an adjustment of $0.5 million for cannabis costs that were originally approved on a one-time basis but are ongoing in nature," the report says. "EPS also requires an increase of $0.2 million to address additional expenditures for police-based victim services offices. This increase is offset by an additional $0.2 million in revenue from the Government of Alberta."
The report also contains 22 pages of things council had the option of spending more money on when the budget was debated in December. It's not clear heading into Tuesday's meeting if they'll look at adding to the spending.
The report also indicates that the province has not sent a requisition for the education portion of the property tax, so the city will have to take a guess if the figure will significantly increase over the $480 million it has been set at. If the city doesn't pay enough to the province, the difference can be made up later. Four payments of $120 million are paid every three months.
No one in the city administration can remember the province not sending a bill in the last 40 years.
City of Edmonton
Edmonton property taxes
Alberta wildfires
Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer


Requesting Entity: Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit XI
Issues Concern: Computation of Liquidated Damages
Guidance on the Proper Computation of Liquidated Damages for Infrastructure Projects
The contractor incurred a 19-day delay in the construction of a farm-to-market road in Saranggani Province. Original contract period was set at 204 calendar days. The Office of the Provincial Engineer computed liquidated damages at P136,801.68, while the contractor computed it at P7,200.
A comparison of the two differing computations indicates that the values used by both parties in the application of the foregoing formula are the same. Thus, both parties derived the same figure (P7,200). However, the Office of the Provincial Engineer further multiplied this amount with the total number of days in delay (P7,200 x 19 days) resulting to a higher figure of P136,801.68.
However, an examination of the prescribed formula (IRR-A, Annex "E") reveals that the number of days in delay has already been factored in through the variable (ⁿ). Thus, further multiplying the resulting figure with the number of days the project is in delay becomes superfluous. More importantly, the intent of the formula is to compute the total liquidated damages, as can be seen in the meaning of TLD.
Consequently, we believe that the computation for liquidated damages submitted by the contractor is more in accord with the prescribed guidelines under the IRR-A of R.A. 9184.


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FASTSIGNS International Inc., Receives 2019 Franchisees' Choice Designation By Canadian Franchise Association
- Award-winning Franchisor Recognized for Seventh Consecutive Year for Its Strong Relationship with Canadian Franchisees, Extensive Franchisee Support, and Training -
FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS®, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today it has been recognized by the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) as a silver recipient of the 2019 Franchisees' Choice Designation. FASTSIGNS has been recognized by the CFA for the seventh consecutive year for its strong relationship with Canadian franchisees, as well as extensive franchisee support and training.
"We pride ourselves on our high level of franchisee satisfaction in every country we operate in around the world and are honored to be recognized once again by the Canadian Franchise Association for this prestigious designation," said Mark Jameson, EVP of Franchise Support and Development, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. "Systemwide, we have the highest support ratio the best of any sign and graphics franchise. As we continue to grow throughout Canada, we'll continue to allocate a significant amount of resources to ensuring our franchisees  -  both existing and new  -  have access to top-notch training and support, and we'll continue to nurture our strong franchisor-franchisee relationship that is so crucial to FASTSIGNS' success."
The Franchisees' Choice designees are CFA member franchise systems who voluntarily took part in an independently-administered survey. Franchisees were asked to assess their franchisor in key areas of the franchise business model, including the franchisee selection process; franchisee information package; leadership; business planning and marketing; training and support; ongoing operations; and the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee.
"I've been with FASTSIGNS for more than twelve years, and the support I've received from the franchisor, in many aspects of my business, is fantastic. From strategic direction to marketing, along with vendor relations, technology and more, the tools and resources provided have continuously contributed to my center's ongoing growth," said Craig Gibbs, who opened a FASTSIGNS center in Scarborough, Ontario in 2007. "I am very satisfied with FASTSIGNS and am a proud advocate. I look forward to our combined efforts as we strive to grow the successful organization."
In the due diligence process of investigating a franchise opportunity, speaking with existing franchisees about the opportunity being explored is essential. For prospective franchisees, the Franchisees' Choice Designation identifies that a franchise brand has received solid endorsement and ratings from its franchisees. The 2019 Franchisees' Choice designees are representative of the spectrum of franchise opportunities and the diversity and excellence of CFA members.
FASTSIGNS currently has over 30 centers throughout Canada, including two recent openings in Ontario and additional centers slated to open in the coming months. The brand projects opening up to five new centers each year over the next several years and is actively seeking prospective franchisees throughout the country, including a Master Franchisee to develop in Quebec.
FASTSIGNS is known in the industry for equipping its franchisees with tools vital to securing the ongoing success of each individual location. In 2018, FASTSIGNS announced the launch of its partnership with 1HUDDLE, a workforce-training platform that converts unique training content into science-backed, quick-burst training games that are proven to accelerate workforce productivity. Additionally, FASTSIGNS announced the launch of a special incentive for first responders, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers, sheriffs, and firefighters, which includes a 50-percent reduction on the franchise fee  -  a savings of $23,750.
FASTSIGNS International, Inc. was ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category and 95 overall on Entrepreneur magazine's 2019 Franchise 500®, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500® recognizes FASTSIGNS, the only sign, graphics, and visual communications franchise to be recognized in the top 100, for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate, and brand power. FASTSIGNS also ranked #2 on this year's Franchise Gator Top 100 list, ranking the best franchises for 2019. FASTSIGNS also has been ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the "Best of the Best" for franchisee satisfaction for the last 10 years. Additionally, FASTSIGNS also was named to Franchise Business Review's "Innovative Franchises" list in 2017 and a "Best-in-Category" franchise by Franchise Business Review in 2018. Last year, the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) recognized FASTSIGNS International, Inc. with a special six-year Franchisees' Choice designation for its strong relationship with Canadian franchisees, as well as extensive franchisee training and support.
About FASTSIGNS®
FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the leading sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 700 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS® centers in nine countries including the United States, Canada, Chile, England, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE®). Locations are slated to open in two additional countries - Malta and Spain - in 2019.
FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive signage and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, promote their products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points.
FASTSIGNS centers provide architectural and interior decor graphics, fleet vehicle graphics, digital signs and digital signage content, event graphics, displays, banners, posters, safety and identification signs and much more, as well as handle everything from design to project management to installation.
FASTSIGNS International, Inc. has been ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 for the third consecutive year and named Best-in-Category in the business services sector on Franchise Business Review's list of the top franchises for 2018. In 2018, the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) recognized FASTSIGNS International, Inc. with a special six-year Franchisees' Choice designation for its strong relationship with Canadian franchisees, as well as extensive franchisee training and support.
Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com.
Follow the brand on LinkedIn at , Twitter @FASTSIGNS or Facebook at .
SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
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