Between 1988 and 2006, Shun Kurokochi, who describes himself as “an ordinary man working in a bank,” assembled an unusually large collection dedicated to the work of the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara.
Bit by bit, Kurokochi saved part of his salary to buy paintings and none of his friends or close family knew about his collection. When he started collecting back in the 1980s, Nara had not yet shot to international fame, and Kurokochi recalls he only needed to save “six months’ worth of my lunch money to buy one painting.”
On April 5, Sotheby’s Hong Kong will be auctioning this private collection with 35 lots, ranging from acrylic on canvas, works on paper, edition prints, to products such as wristwatches and a skateboard. Sotheby’s expects the collection to fetch in excess of US$2.4 million as all the works are completely fresh to the market and in pristine condition.
Kurokochi said he was attracted to Nara’s work early on because he empathized strongly with Nara’s images of children. “I see myself in them,” he said, recalling that as he lost his father when he was three and because his mother worked, he was frequently left in the care of his grandmother with no one else to play with. “I wanted to play with someone, yet I did not want anyone to know that I craved such friendships. I would purposely act annoyed so that they could not see through me and my loneliness. In reality, back then I was more lonely than anyone could ever guess,” he said. This strong affinity drove him to give up the small luxuries in life in exchange for these works and start buying everything he could, while also developed a friendship with the artist
Kurokochi told Artinfo he is selling his entire collection bar one drawing that the artist made of his two daughters as a gift.
“For a few years now, I have been feeling that Nara and his works have become far greater than I could imagine, and I have been feeling that these works are far too important for me to keep to myself,” Kurokochi said, when asked about the sale. “Having debated this, I felt that it was the right time to let them go in hopes that collectors who have appreciation for art and have the 'eye' for great works will add these works to their collections and appreciate them, too.” he added.
The Lexington resident, who has no prior history of heart problems, first fell ill in November 2011. Elliot developed bronchitis and pneumonia that persisted throughout the holiday season.
His health worsened, and he was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital on Jan. 25 of last year. Doctors there determined that he had suffered damage to his heart, and referred him to UK HealthCare for consideration of treatment options.
Dr. Navin Rajagopalan, medical director of cardiac transplantation, examined Elliott and determined that his heart was far too damaged to salvage with a ventricular assist device (VAD) — he needed a complete heart transplant, immediately. However, donor hearts are hard to come by, and the uncertain waiting period for a new heart posed a problem.
The TAH is a device that contains the same components as a real human heart, and for patients who have end-stage biventricular failure — like Elliott — the only options are an immediate donor human heart or a TAH as a bridge to transplant. He also received the Freedom Driver, a wearable, portable device that powers the Total Artificial Heart, allowing him the mobility to walk around and leave the hospital.
Elliott was officially placed on the transplant list on June 1, 2012. He went home to wait on his transplant, but when he began retaining fluid, he returned to UK for evaluation. Ultimately, due to his family’s work schedules, he decided to stay at UK so he could remain under surveillance should anything happen that would require medical assistance.
It’s been one full year since Elliott’s heart was removed — and he says he’s never felt better. He’s just waiting on that perfect donor heart to come through.
“I’m healthier now than I was before,” Elliott says. “I just try to keep a positive attitude.”
Elliott isn’t alone. Roughly 3,100 people in the United States are on the waiting list for a heart transplant on any given day, but only about 2,200 donor hearts are available each year. The level of necessity, blood type, and size are among several criteria that determines who receives a donated organ. Additionally, 49 percent of people listed for a donor heart in the U.S. have been waiting for a year or longer.
While he waits for his heart, Elliott passes the time by visiting with family and friends and watching movies, and he’s even taken up a new hobby — watercolor paintings. He stays mobile to keep up his strength, but declines to use the backpack that comes with the Freedom Driver, joking that he likes to carry the device manually to improve his arm strength.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
How the FBI Helps Terrorists Succeed
But after combing through thousands of pages of court documents, investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson came to a different conclusion -- that most of the men arrested could never have done what they were accused of if the FBI hadn't given them the tools to do so.
In his new book, "The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism," Aaronson argues that the U.S. government is responsible for "hatching and financing more terrorist plots in the United States than any other group." He spoke to Heather Maher.
The FBI is looking for what they term "a lone wolf terrorist," which is someone holed up in an apartment somewhere who sympathizes with Al-Qaeda but may lack the specific means to do that. And so the FBI uses sting operations to [find] these people -- these people who may want to commit an act of terrorism, are right on that line from moving from sympathizer to operator -- and then through these sting operations, lure them out and get them involved in a terrorism plot that they're ultimately prosecuted for.
But what I found is that of these cases, we can point to a handful of real, dangerous terrorists, like Faisal Shahzad, who came close to bombing [New York's] Times Square, or Najibullah Zazi, who came close to bombing the New York City subway system. But so many more of them, more than 150 people, were these men who were caught in sting operations who never had the means and, in some cases, never had the idea for the terrorism plot, and it was the FBI that provided them with everything -- the bomb, the transportation, everything they needed to move forward in a terrorism plot that on their own, they never would have been able to do. And certainly evidence suggests that in most of these cases, they never had any specific connections to terrorism. So it's really hard to believe that they ever would have had or acquired the means to commit some sort of act of terrorism.
In a terrorism sting operation, the FBI informant or undercover agent poses as an Al-Qaeda operative or an operative of another terrorist group and says to the target, "You know, I have what you need if you want to move forward on a terrorist plot. I can provide the bomb, I can provide the transportation, everything you need I can give you." And when they move forward in that plot, when they get the bomb together, and they put it in a car, and they drive it to a location and the target of the sting operation dials the cell phone that he believes is going to detonate the bomb and kill dozens of people, he's then arrested. And so in sting operations, essentially the government becomes part of the plot and then ultimately prosecutes the target of the sting operation based on his involvement in that plot, the actions that he took as part of that plot.
The FBI has an unprecedented number of informants -- there's a total of 15,000 informants. And they are paid -- in some cases handsomely; $100,000 in some cases, $400,000 in a case in California - they are paid to find people who are interested in committing an act of terrorism, people who are espousing some sort of violence, who say they want to commit some sort of violent act, but may not have the means to do that, and it's their job to target them and to get them involved in these sting operations.
But the problem I found in a lot of these cases is that there's a real question of whether the informant is actually a worse criminal than the target of the sting operation could ever be. In these sting operations, the FBI has used drug dealers frequently as informants, they've used an accused murderer, in a Seattle case; they've used a child molester -- people who are just odious in every way. And they also have a direct incentive to find terrorists and see them prosecuted because they can make so much money as informants.
So when they enter mosques and they look for people who are interested in committing acts of terrorism, they know there's a lot of money riding on it for them to find that person. And as a result of that, what they're ultimately finding in most of these cases are people on the fringes of society who are economically desperate, in some cases mentally ill, and these are people who are easily susceptible to a strong-willed informant.
While they're not connected, there are a lot of similarities. The New York Police Department used taxi shields as leverage to recruit informants from within New York City Muslim communities. The FBI does a similar thing, but instead of using taxi shields, they use immigration. So, many of the informants who have been recruited from Muslim communities since 9/11 have been recruited under duress; that is, the FBI comes to them and says, "Unless you work with us, you may face deportation." Or, "'We know your family wants to come over from Syria, or Lebanon, and unless you work with us, that's not going to happen."
In all of these cases, the issue of entrapment is front and center. And so far the courts have been unwilling to agree that these are entrapment cases. We've had 11 defendants go to trial so far and formally argue entrapment, and none has been successful. At the same time, I think you're beginning to see a growing skepticism, criticism of these cases by the press. For example, when the U.S. government announces these cases, they often announce how horrific and awful the plot would have been had it moved forward, and really downplay the fact that the people accused of the crime never could have committed it on their own. And it's taken a long time, but now we're beginning to see a real criticism of these cases by the media.
In his new book, "The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism," Aaronson argues that the U.S. government is responsible for "hatching and financing more terrorist plots in the United States than any other group." He spoke to Heather Maher.
The FBI is looking for what they term "a lone wolf terrorist," which is someone holed up in an apartment somewhere who sympathizes with Al-Qaeda but may lack the specific means to do that. And so the FBI uses sting operations to [find] these people -- these people who may want to commit an act of terrorism, are right on that line from moving from sympathizer to operator -- and then through these sting operations, lure them out and get them involved in a terrorism plot that they're ultimately prosecuted for.
But what I found is that of these cases, we can point to a handful of real, dangerous terrorists, like Faisal Shahzad, who came close to bombing [New York's] Times Square, or Najibullah Zazi, who came close to bombing the New York City subway system. But so many more of them, more than 150 people, were these men who were caught in sting operations who never had the means and, in some cases, never had the idea for the terrorism plot, and it was the FBI that provided them with everything -- the bomb, the transportation, everything they needed to move forward in a terrorism plot that on their own, they never would have been able to do. And certainly evidence suggests that in most of these cases, they never had any specific connections to terrorism. So it's really hard to believe that they ever would have had or acquired the means to commit some sort of act of terrorism.
In a terrorism sting operation, the FBI informant or undercover agent poses as an Al-Qaeda operative or an operative of another terrorist group and says to the target, "You know, I have what you need if you want to move forward on a terrorist plot. I can provide the bomb, I can provide the transportation, everything you need I can give you." And when they move forward in that plot, when they get the bomb together, and they put it in a car, and they drive it to a location and the target of the sting operation dials the cell phone that he believes is going to detonate the bomb and kill dozens of people, he's then arrested. And so in sting operations, essentially the government becomes part of the plot and then ultimately prosecutes the target of the sting operation based on his involvement in that plot, the actions that he took as part of that plot.
The FBI has an unprecedented number of informants -- there's a total of 15,000 informants. And they are paid -- in some cases handsomely; $100,000 in some cases, $400,000 in a case in California - they are paid to find people who are interested in committing an act of terrorism, people who are espousing some sort of violence, who say they want to commit some sort of violent act, but may not have the means to do that, and it's their job to target them and to get them involved in these sting operations.
But the problem I found in a lot of these cases is that there's a real question of whether the informant is actually a worse criminal than the target of the sting operation could ever be. In these sting operations, the FBI has used drug dealers frequently as informants, they've used an accused murderer, in a Seattle case; they've used a child molester -- people who are just odious in every way. And they also have a direct incentive to find terrorists and see them prosecuted because they can make so much money as informants.
So when they enter mosques and they look for people who are interested in committing acts of terrorism, they know there's a lot of money riding on it for them to find that person. And as a result of that, what they're ultimately finding in most of these cases are people on the fringes of society who are economically desperate, in some cases mentally ill, and these are people who are easily susceptible to a strong-willed informant.
While they're not connected, there are a lot of similarities. The New York Police Department used taxi shields as leverage to recruit informants from within New York City Muslim communities. The FBI does a similar thing, but instead of using taxi shields, they use immigration. So, many of the informants who have been recruited from Muslim communities since 9/11 have been recruited under duress; that is, the FBI comes to them and says, "Unless you work with us, you may face deportation." Or, "'We know your family wants to come over from Syria, or Lebanon, and unless you work with us, that's not going to happen."
In all of these cases, the issue of entrapment is front and center. And so far the courts have been unwilling to agree that these are entrapment cases. We've had 11 defendants go to trial so far and formally argue entrapment, and none has been successful. At the same time, I think you're beginning to see a growing skepticism, criticism of these cases by the press. For example, when the U.S. government announces these cases, they often announce how horrific and awful the plot would have been had it moved forward, and really downplay the fact that the people accused of the crime never could have committed it on their own. And it's taken a long time, but now we're beginning to see a real criticism of these cases by the media.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Saying a Last Goodbye To Gulistan Co-Workers
I had worked many hours in developing carpet colors at the Wagram plant and wanted to say goodbye to my co-workers at that location.
The "dye house" was located on the backside of a huge plant that had once housed a J.P. Stevens towel manufacturing and dyeing operation. Gulistan leased a small portion of that mostly empty plant to use for dyeing carpet. Not long ago, 38 employees worked at Gulistan's Wagram plant. Nowhere near that many worked there when I visited the plant on Jan. 10.
I spoke with a 55-year-old laboratory technician who had dyed thousands of small carpet swatches over the almost 24 years I worked with Gulistan. I used many of those swatches to create "color lines" for styles reviewed for introductions.
I visited Range Two, a "fluid-dye range" that applied color to the majority of Gulistan carpets. Range One dyed some carpets, and some goods were "hue infused" in "becks" (large vats), but Range Two was high-speed and served as Gulistan's dyeing workhorse.
The Range Two manager said he was uncertain about where he'd find employment. He's in his 50s.
His assistant told me about anticipated "screening tests" causing concern among soon-to-be-let-go employees. She said that a large soup-processing plant near Wagram requires job applicants to take several tests.
"They cost you 10 dollars apiece, and they're not easy," she said.
One woman I spoke with worked at Range Two "roll-up," where just-dyed carpets were still being inspected during my visit and rolled onto cardboard core tubes. The goods were slated to ship to the Aberdeen plant, where they'd be "back-coated" with latex, sheared and given a final inspection.
Another lift driver who spent workdays motoring around the plant with huge rolls of carpet impaled one at a time on a long steel rod located on the front of his lift-truck expressed concern. In his 40s, he worried about "those screening tests."
A young man sitting at a table in the Wagram break room said he planned to "go back to school."
I talked with more employees and walked past rolls of undyed goods on my way out of the plant. Colors would soon flow onto those carpets, and the dye house would close. I envisioned the plant sitting someday as a dark, lonely, cavernous hull - another empty textile mill dotting the North Carolina landscape and serving as a symbol of a bygone era.
On Friday afternoon, Jan. 11, my job ended. I said "so long" to my Aberdeen co-workers and took personal belongings to my truck. Leaving hardly seemed real.
Near the company gatehouse, I turned right on N.C. 5 and drove past the Gulistan sign standing in front of the main manufacturing plant and headed for home.
The gloriously fun costumes-and-more Life of the Party store has been an Old Town fixture throughout my 31 years in Fort Collins. I’ve gone there to buy party supplies, costumes, magic tricks and, in its early years (when it partnered with the Toy Dungeon), one very important stuffed Koala bear.
Now that “Life” is threatened. Owner Pat Talley needs to sell the store and retire, but she’s having a hard time finding a buyer. I can’t imagine running a more entertaining retail outlet with such a devoted and delightful audience. Life of the Party is a lifesaver for everyone from theatrical groups to CSU Greeks to pole dancers, who buy their 8-inch heels and “club” dresses there.
Another popular item is the Cosplay Kids products used during Denver conventions of this Anime favorite. Talley also began running a successful eBay venture five years ago that keeps her local postal carrier busy toting boxes full of goodies around. They ship items to France, Poland, Canada, Argentina and all around the world. According to Talley, eBay has been a real blessing in keeping the business going.
Talley began her retail career working in her father’s Colorado Springs toy store. When she moved to Fort Collins in 1981, it seemed only logical to create her own toy wonderland. This became the Toy Dungeon at 133 S. College Ave. The store’s small costume section soon outgrew its small space in the store so, in 1986, Talley expanded next door into the “Julian’s” building with Life of the Party.
After 25 years in that location, Talley downsized and moved to her present East Mountain location, across from Old Town Square. She donated a huge amount of stock during that move.
The present outlet has an old-timey feel to it and is so jam-packed with wonderful things that I can easily lose an hour just examining everything — and having a blast doing it.
Now that we’re threatened with losing Fort Collins’ only such store, I have to wonder where we’ll turn for costumes, makeup, wigs, etc., during the Tour de Fat, as well as for Halloween, Mardi Gras, theme parties, theatrical productions and so much more. Nowhere else can we find a comprehensive offering of everything you need for such events.
The "dye house" was located on the backside of a huge plant that had once housed a J.P. Stevens towel manufacturing and dyeing operation. Gulistan leased a small portion of that mostly empty plant to use for dyeing carpet. Not long ago, 38 employees worked at Gulistan's Wagram plant. Nowhere near that many worked there when I visited the plant on Jan. 10.
I spoke with a 55-year-old laboratory technician who had dyed thousands of small carpet swatches over the almost 24 years I worked with Gulistan. I used many of those swatches to create "color lines" for styles reviewed for introductions.
I visited Range Two, a "fluid-dye range" that applied color to the majority of Gulistan carpets. Range One dyed some carpets, and some goods were "hue infused" in "becks" (large vats), but Range Two was high-speed and served as Gulistan's dyeing workhorse.
The Range Two manager said he was uncertain about where he'd find employment. He's in his 50s.
His assistant told me about anticipated "screening tests" causing concern among soon-to-be-let-go employees. She said that a large soup-processing plant near Wagram requires job applicants to take several tests.
"They cost you 10 dollars apiece, and they're not easy," she said.
One woman I spoke with worked at Range Two "roll-up," where just-dyed carpets were still being inspected during my visit and rolled onto cardboard core tubes. The goods were slated to ship to the Aberdeen plant, where they'd be "back-coated" with latex, sheared and given a final inspection.
Another lift driver who spent workdays motoring around the plant with huge rolls of carpet impaled one at a time on a long steel rod located on the front of his lift-truck expressed concern. In his 40s, he worried about "those screening tests."
A young man sitting at a table in the Wagram break room said he planned to "go back to school."
I talked with more employees and walked past rolls of undyed goods on my way out of the plant. Colors would soon flow onto those carpets, and the dye house would close. I envisioned the plant sitting someday as a dark, lonely, cavernous hull - another empty textile mill dotting the North Carolina landscape and serving as a symbol of a bygone era.
On Friday afternoon, Jan. 11, my job ended. I said "so long" to my Aberdeen co-workers and took personal belongings to my truck. Leaving hardly seemed real.
Near the company gatehouse, I turned right on N.C. 5 and drove past the Gulistan sign standing in front of the main manufacturing plant and headed for home.
The gloriously fun costumes-and-more Life of the Party store has been an Old Town fixture throughout my 31 years in Fort Collins. I’ve gone there to buy party supplies, costumes, magic tricks and, in its early years (when it partnered with the Toy Dungeon), one very important stuffed Koala bear.
Now that “Life” is threatened. Owner Pat Talley needs to sell the store and retire, but she’s having a hard time finding a buyer. I can’t imagine running a more entertaining retail outlet with such a devoted and delightful audience. Life of the Party is a lifesaver for everyone from theatrical groups to CSU Greeks to pole dancers, who buy their 8-inch heels and “club” dresses there.
Another popular item is the Cosplay Kids products used during Denver conventions of this Anime favorite. Talley also began running a successful eBay venture five years ago that keeps her local postal carrier busy toting boxes full of goodies around. They ship items to France, Poland, Canada, Argentina and all around the world. According to Talley, eBay has been a real blessing in keeping the business going.
Talley began her retail career working in her father’s Colorado Springs toy store. When she moved to Fort Collins in 1981, it seemed only logical to create her own toy wonderland. This became the Toy Dungeon at 133 S. College Ave. The store’s small costume section soon outgrew its small space in the store so, in 1986, Talley expanded next door into the “Julian’s” building with Life of the Party.
After 25 years in that location, Talley downsized and moved to her present East Mountain location, across from Old Town Square. She donated a huge amount of stock during that move.
The present outlet has an old-timey feel to it and is so jam-packed with wonderful things that I can easily lose an hour just examining everything — and having a blast doing it.
Now that we’re threatened with losing Fort Collins’ only such store, I have to wonder where we’ll turn for costumes, makeup, wigs, etc., during the Tour de Fat, as well as for Halloween, Mardi Gras, theme parties, theatrical productions and so much more. Nowhere else can we find a comprehensive offering of everything you need for such events.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Rain-guarding technology can boost NR production
It had been known from the time NR had been introduced as a plantation tree crop that rain interferes directly with the harvesting of latex from rubber trees and therefore tapping on rainy days had not been practiced. This is because the fungi which usually grow on leaves and pods enter the fresh cut along with water gushing along the trunk of the tree, causing bark rot. Also it has been known that the rubber smallholders in the traditional Low Country Wet Zone can reap only 45% of the total yield due to this problem while the RPCs in the same areas used to get about 55% of the total yield by practicing what is termed as double tapping, which has its limitations.
The rain guarding technology was developed in the last century in order to minimize the adverse effects of rain interference on tapping. Initially, a polythene rain guard, similar to a plaited skirt in appearance, was fixed to the trunk of the rubber tree using a special adhesive that was not expected to melt or crack in any weather, although this had not been achieved fully. Although, this system had been in practice, where ever the grower was willing, since several years ago, yet this system is still being debated, with the existence of two schools of thought, based strictly on their personal experiences.
One school of thought believes that one of the solutions for improving rubber tapping process is the use of Rubber Rain Guards. This, they say, offer a proven economical solution for improving the yields in rubber plantations. The design of Rubber Rain Guards available in different rubber growing countries has been made to ensure improved yields with products which are easy to use for plantation workers. Given the proven benefits for plantation owners, they say, Rain Guards are being used in plantations across the world. Programs have been implemented in many countries including Ivory Coast, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, China and by some in Sri Lanka. The objective is to increase the income by reducing production disruption caused by rain. Rubber Rain Guards are fixed above the tapping panel all around the tree so as to divert stem flow of water protecting tapping panel and bark area. It provides sufficient aeration to the tapping panel so that the chance for fungal growth is negligible. It also protects the latex collection cup fixed under tapping panel.
The rubber growers on their own react to this situation in a number of ways. A popular approach is to tap the rubber trees continuously when weather conditions permit to do so. As a result, a tapping task is tapped continuously during dry months. With this method the desired objective of the land owner, i.e. recovering the crop loss due to not tapping in wet days, cannot be achieved.
This is because once the crop is harvested from a tree a certain period of time should be given for it to re-synthesize the latex prior to harvesting it again. This is why a rubber tree is recommended to be tapped every other day. Therefore daily tapping results in severe stress to the rubber plants.
Daily tapping leads to a lowering of the dry rubber content of latex and in such trees if tapping is undertaken continuously it leads to cessation of latex production. This situation is referred to as Tapping Panel Dryness(TPD) and in the rubber plantations in the country this incidence is high as 15-20%, now, a very discouraging factor as the issue still remains unresolved.
Undertaking late tapping is another strategy the growers adopt to minimize crop losses due to rain interference. Late tapping is commencing of tapping late in the day once the wet panels of rubber trees have dried-up. In this manner, about 40-50 out of about 140 tapping days lost per annum due to rain could be recovered.
Nevertheless, late tapping results in about 25% loss of crop when compared with normal tapping. When considering the number of tapping days we are able to recover and the crop loss on such days, this approach is not a complete remedy. However, it is a better method than undertaking daily tapping on dry periods of the year. But it is also known that the tappers are reluctant to undertake tapping on late tapping days.
The rain-guarding technology is generally accepted as an answer to the problem and is widely adopted in the rubber plantations of our neighbouring country, India and also in many other countries such as Vietnam.
Among the rubber growing countries in the world, the land productivity is the highest in India and the use of rain-guards would have contributed to this significantly. Though the use of rain-guards is on the increase in the country, it is still at a lower percentage of the total extent. An encouraging trend is that those who have realized the gains from this exercise continue to adopt it each year. Vietnam, another very good example.
A major issue is that rain-guarding results in the condensation of water on the tapping panel. This leads to infections and tapping panel dryness. The condensation of water is said to take place due to the covering of the entire circumference of the tree with the rain-guard, thus preventing any ventilation. But with the correct adoption of the technology this will not arise.
Some argue that even with alternate day tapping, exploiting of rubber trees without intervals of non-tapping can bring about a stressed condition to the tree and hence rubber trees should not be tapped when there is rain interference in order to provide that interval.
But, it is known that tapping at alternate day frequency has no detrimental effects to the tree. If a rubber tree is stressed due to tapping the dry rubber content of the latex obtained will drop to levels below 30%, and this does not happen.
However, if such a situation occurs it is advisable to give the trees a tapping rest for 6-8 days. Anyhow, even with rain-guarding about 20-30 days of tapping are lost per annum due to uncontrollable extensive and intensive rains. With the installation of rain-guards, however, the area of the tree covered by the rainguard will remain dry whilst the other areas of the tree will remain wet during rainy periods.
Also, the estimated gains from this to the rubber tappers will be much more than the disadvantages if there are any. Therefore, the rubber land owners should motivate the latex tappers to use rain-guards. This could be done by providing them with raincoats, leech repellents and also paying an incentive for tapping on days.
The rain guarding technology was developed in the last century in order to minimize the adverse effects of rain interference on tapping. Initially, a polythene rain guard, similar to a plaited skirt in appearance, was fixed to the trunk of the rubber tree using a special adhesive that was not expected to melt or crack in any weather, although this had not been achieved fully. Although, this system had been in practice, where ever the grower was willing, since several years ago, yet this system is still being debated, with the existence of two schools of thought, based strictly on their personal experiences.
One school of thought believes that one of the solutions for improving rubber tapping process is the use of Rubber Rain Guards. This, they say, offer a proven economical solution for improving the yields in rubber plantations. The design of Rubber Rain Guards available in different rubber growing countries has been made to ensure improved yields with products which are easy to use for plantation workers. Given the proven benefits for plantation owners, they say, Rain Guards are being used in plantations across the world. Programs have been implemented in many countries including Ivory Coast, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, China and by some in Sri Lanka. The objective is to increase the income by reducing production disruption caused by rain. Rubber Rain Guards are fixed above the tapping panel all around the tree so as to divert stem flow of water protecting tapping panel and bark area. It provides sufficient aeration to the tapping panel so that the chance for fungal growth is negligible. It also protects the latex collection cup fixed under tapping panel.
The rubber growers on their own react to this situation in a number of ways. A popular approach is to tap the rubber trees continuously when weather conditions permit to do so. As a result, a tapping task is tapped continuously during dry months. With this method the desired objective of the land owner, i.e. recovering the crop loss due to not tapping in wet days, cannot be achieved.
This is because once the crop is harvested from a tree a certain period of time should be given for it to re-synthesize the latex prior to harvesting it again. This is why a rubber tree is recommended to be tapped every other day. Therefore daily tapping results in severe stress to the rubber plants.
Daily tapping leads to a lowering of the dry rubber content of latex and in such trees if tapping is undertaken continuously it leads to cessation of latex production. This situation is referred to as Tapping Panel Dryness(TPD) and in the rubber plantations in the country this incidence is high as 15-20%, now, a very discouraging factor as the issue still remains unresolved.
Undertaking late tapping is another strategy the growers adopt to minimize crop losses due to rain interference. Late tapping is commencing of tapping late in the day once the wet panels of rubber trees have dried-up. In this manner, about 40-50 out of about 140 tapping days lost per annum due to rain could be recovered.
Nevertheless, late tapping results in about 25% loss of crop when compared with normal tapping. When considering the number of tapping days we are able to recover and the crop loss on such days, this approach is not a complete remedy. However, it is a better method than undertaking daily tapping on dry periods of the year. But it is also known that the tappers are reluctant to undertake tapping on late tapping days.
The rain-guarding technology is generally accepted as an answer to the problem and is widely adopted in the rubber plantations of our neighbouring country, India and also in many other countries such as Vietnam.
Among the rubber growing countries in the world, the land productivity is the highest in India and the use of rain-guards would have contributed to this significantly. Though the use of rain-guards is on the increase in the country, it is still at a lower percentage of the total extent. An encouraging trend is that those who have realized the gains from this exercise continue to adopt it each year. Vietnam, another very good example.
A major issue is that rain-guarding results in the condensation of water on the tapping panel. This leads to infections and tapping panel dryness. The condensation of water is said to take place due to the covering of the entire circumference of the tree with the rain-guard, thus preventing any ventilation. But with the correct adoption of the technology this will not arise.
Some argue that even with alternate day tapping, exploiting of rubber trees without intervals of non-tapping can bring about a stressed condition to the tree and hence rubber trees should not be tapped when there is rain interference in order to provide that interval.
But, it is known that tapping at alternate day frequency has no detrimental effects to the tree. If a rubber tree is stressed due to tapping the dry rubber content of the latex obtained will drop to levels below 30%, and this does not happen.
However, if such a situation occurs it is advisable to give the trees a tapping rest for 6-8 days. Anyhow, even with rain-guarding about 20-30 days of tapping are lost per annum due to uncontrollable extensive and intensive rains. With the installation of rain-guards, however, the area of the tree covered by the rainguard will remain dry whilst the other areas of the tree will remain wet during rainy periods.
Also, the estimated gains from this to the rubber tappers will be much more than the disadvantages if there are any. Therefore, the rubber land owners should motivate the latex tappers to use rain-guards. This could be done by providing them with raincoats, leech repellents and also paying an incentive for tapping on days.
Monday, February 18, 2013
A late surge from the post-Eighties
London’s contemporary art sales last week took place very much in the shadow of New York’s spectacular $1 billion November sales, in which post-war American Abstract Expressionist and Pop Art attracted huge sums. More recent art, from the Eighties on, seemed flat by comparison and triggered a pre-London sale survey that suggested that confidence in this area was falling away.
However, the evidence of last week’s sales indicates otherwise. Although the ￡203.5 million taken by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips paled in comparison with New York, it was high for London February sales, up 9.5 per cent on last year, and included 27 record prices, most of which were for post-Eighties art.
The closest to Abstract Expressionism they got was a vigorously gestural black and white painting from 1962 by the Frenchman Pierre Soulages, who has often been compared to the American Franz Kline. The two had met in New York, and both exhibited at its Kootz Gallery. In November, Kline’s prices jumped to $40 million at auction. Last week, the leap for Soulages was also dramatic, as his 1962 painting far exceeded his auction record to fetch ￡3.3 million.
But the post-war selection was more remarkable for the solidity of its returns. At Sotheby’s, a small Francis Bacon triptych of self-portraits tripled the price it fetched six years ago from an Italian collector, selling for ￡13 million to the German tobacco tycoon Jürgen Hall.
At Christie’s, the sombre 1954 Bacon portrait Man in Blue, from the Norwich Union collection, which four years ago did not sell with an estimate of ￡4 million to ￡6 million, attracted bidding from several dealers before selling for ￡5 million. Also at Christie’s, a scarlet 1964 canvas with a single slash down its centre by Lucio Fontana, bought in 1996 for ￡117,000, sold for close to ￡4 million to the art consultant Andrew Stramentov.
However, there were more records and bigger mark-ups for recent art. The stand-out record of the week was the ￡7.6 million given for The Architect’s Home in the Ravine, painted in 1991 by Edinburgh-born Peter Doig. Originally sold for $10,000 to the accountants Arthur Anderson, it was bought at auction in 2002 by Charles Saatchi for $418,000. In 2007, Saatchi sold it with six other Doigs to Sotheby’s for $11 million. Sotheby’s then sold one of them, White Canoe, to the Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili for ￡5.7 million, making Doig briefly the most expensive living European artist. The Architect’s Home, meanwhile, was sold in New York, also in 2007, for $3.6 million to an American collector who sold it for a hefty profit last week. The buyer, described by Christie’s as a “private European” (which would include Russia and former Soviet states), was, intriguingly, the same as the buyer for the Soulages.
Other records were obtained for Doig’s former student Hurvin Anderson, for Adrian Ghenie, a Romanian artist recently taken on by the powerful Pace Gallery, and for the recent Turner Prize contender George Shaw, whose early painting of a telephone box sold for a triple estimate ￡51,650.
There were also records for sculptures of a snowman by Gary Hume, of a fat car by the Austrian Erwin Wurm, for abstract paintings by the Americans Wade Guyton and Carroll Dunham, and for a painting of a bullet hole by Nate Lowman, which sold to New York dealer Stellan Holm for a quadruple estimate ￡337,250. Artists making paintings with chewing gum (Adam McEwen), Plasticine (Dan Rees – a new Saatchi favourite), and latex (Ryan Sullivan) in the last few years were on a roll.
Similarly, works bought a decade or more ago saw massive returns. A sculpture of a car bonnet by Richard Prince, bought in 1995 for $8,625, sold to London and New York dealer Per Skarstedt for $490,000). A silver painting by Rudolf Stingel was bought 10 years ago for $4,800 and sold for $188,400).
Not all contemporary art is going up. A painting by Franz Ackermann, once favoured by the likes of Saatchi and Frank Cohen, fell from ￡193,000 in 2006 to ￡55,000. But while Gerhard Richter’s abstract paintings are no longer gaining value, Damien Hirst’s market, which had been falling, appears to be stabilising.
Almost 70 years after World War II, France is making one of its biggest efforts to trace the Jewish owners of artworks stolen by the Nazis, recovered by the Allies and sent to the country after the war. President Francois Hollande’s government is setting up a group of historians, regulators, archivists and curators to actively track down families, instead of waiting for claimants to come forward. The group starts working in March.
“It may be one of our last chances to find the owners,” said Jean-Pierre Bady, a former director at the culture ministry, who’s a member of a 1999-created Commission for the Compensation of Spoliation Victims and who was instrumental in the formation of the group. “Seventy years is a long time, but it’s never too late to make things right.”
The Nazis seized hundreds of thousands of works of art from Jewish private collections between 1933 and 1945 as part of their policy of racial persecution in what has been seen as the biggest such heist in history. Much of the art was returned to national governments, with unclaimed pieces landing in museums.
In France, the Hollande government’s plan would mark the first effort to reach out to victims of the Nazis since 1995 when former President Jacques Chirac for the first time recognized France’s responsibility for collaborating in anti- Semitic persecutions during the country’s occupation by the Germans, acknowledging the deportation of Jewish people.
However, the evidence of last week’s sales indicates otherwise. Although the ￡203.5 million taken by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips paled in comparison with New York, it was high for London February sales, up 9.5 per cent on last year, and included 27 record prices, most of which were for post-Eighties art.
The closest to Abstract Expressionism they got was a vigorously gestural black and white painting from 1962 by the Frenchman Pierre Soulages, who has often been compared to the American Franz Kline. The two had met in New York, and both exhibited at its Kootz Gallery. In November, Kline’s prices jumped to $40 million at auction. Last week, the leap for Soulages was also dramatic, as his 1962 painting far exceeded his auction record to fetch ￡3.3 million.
But the post-war selection was more remarkable for the solidity of its returns. At Sotheby’s, a small Francis Bacon triptych of self-portraits tripled the price it fetched six years ago from an Italian collector, selling for ￡13 million to the German tobacco tycoon Jürgen Hall.
At Christie’s, the sombre 1954 Bacon portrait Man in Blue, from the Norwich Union collection, which four years ago did not sell with an estimate of ￡4 million to ￡6 million, attracted bidding from several dealers before selling for ￡5 million. Also at Christie’s, a scarlet 1964 canvas with a single slash down its centre by Lucio Fontana, bought in 1996 for ￡117,000, sold for close to ￡4 million to the art consultant Andrew Stramentov.
However, there were more records and bigger mark-ups for recent art. The stand-out record of the week was the ￡7.6 million given for The Architect’s Home in the Ravine, painted in 1991 by Edinburgh-born Peter Doig. Originally sold for $10,000 to the accountants Arthur Anderson, it was bought at auction in 2002 by Charles Saatchi for $418,000. In 2007, Saatchi sold it with six other Doigs to Sotheby’s for $11 million. Sotheby’s then sold one of them, White Canoe, to the Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili for ￡5.7 million, making Doig briefly the most expensive living European artist. The Architect’s Home, meanwhile, was sold in New York, also in 2007, for $3.6 million to an American collector who sold it for a hefty profit last week. The buyer, described by Christie’s as a “private European” (which would include Russia and former Soviet states), was, intriguingly, the same as the buyer for the Soulages.
Other records were obtained for Doig’s former student Hurvin Anderson, for Adrian Ghenie, a Romanian artist recently taken on by the powerful Pace Gallery, and for the recent Turner Prize contender George Shaw, whose early painting of a telephone box sold for a triple estimate ￡51,650.
There were also records for sculptures of a snowman by Gary Hume, of a fat car by the Austrian Erwin Wurm, for abstract paintings by the Americans Wade Guyton and Carroll Dunham, and for a painting of a bullet hole by Nate Lowman, which sold to New York dealer Stellan Holm for a quadruple estimate ￡337,250. Artists making paintings with chewing gum (Adam McEwen), Plasticine (Dan Rees – a new Saatchi favourite), and latex (Ryan Sullivan) in the last few years were on a roll.
Similarly, works bought a decade or more ago saw massive returns. A sculpture of a car bonnet by Richard Prince, bought in 1995 for $8,625, sold to London and New York dealer Per Skarstedt for $490,000). A silver painting by Rudolf Stingel was bought 10 years ago for $4,800 and sold for $188,400).
Not all contemporary art is going up. A painting by Franz Ackermann, once favoured by the likes of Saatchi and Frank Cohen, fell from ￡193,000 in 2006 to ￡55,000. But while Gerhard Richter’s abstract paintings are no longer gaining value, Damien Hirst’s market, which had been falling, appears to be stabilising.
Almost 70 years after World War II, France is making one of its biggest efforts to trace the Jewish owners of artworks stolen by the Nazis, recovered by the Allies and sent to the country after the war. President Francois Hollande’s government is setting up a group of historians, regulators, archivists and curators to actively track down families, instead of waiting for claimants to come forward. The group starts working in March.
“It may be one of our last chances to find the owners,” said Jean-Pierre Bady, a former director at the culture ministry, who’s a member of a 1999-created Commission for the Compensation of Spoliation Victims and who was instrumental in the formation of the group. “Seventy years is a long time, but it’s never too late to make things right.”
The Nazis seized hundreds of thousands of works of art from Jewish private collections between 1933 and 1945 as part of their policy of racial persecution in what has been seen as the biggest such heist in history. Much of the art was returned to national governments, with unclaimed pieces landing in museums.
In France, the Hollande government’s plan would mark the first effort to reach out to victims of the Nazis since 1995 when former President Jacques Chirac for the first time recognized France’s responsibility for collaborating in anti- Semitic persecutions during the country’s occupation by the Germans, acknowledging the deportation of Jewish people.
All this talk of a mansion tax is just political posturing
It is normal for politicians, when living standards are falling, to channel the public’s discontent towards those who can be called rich. When the cause of that discontent is that the politicians have been unable to run a sound budget and thus need to cut expenditure, this has the added benefit of deflecting the public’s rage away from Westminster. It is not really about raising money to reduce the national debt. It is about making the public think less ill of the government, or, if a pledge made in opposition, of the would-be government.
Last week’s call by the Labour leader Ed Miliband for a so-called mansion tax was redolent of Denis Healey’s promise, back in 1974, to squeeze the rich “until the pips squeak”. The then Labour shadow Chancellor had also drawn up plans for a wealth tax, over and above existing income and capital gains taxes. Fifteen years later in his memoirs, Healey admitted that: “We had committed ourselves to a Wealth Tax: but in five years I found it impossible to draft one which would yield enough revenue to be worth the administrative cost.” He concluded: “You should never commit yourself in Opposition to new taxes unless you have a very good idea about how they will operate in practice.” In particular, Healey had discovered that the flight of capital would actually have resulted in a loss of revenue to the Exchequer.
I somehow doubt that Miliband bothered to consult the 95 year old Labour ex-Chancellor before coming up with his own version of squeezing the rich. It was not so much a suggestion of what he would do in government as a cunning plan to exploit the divisions within the Coalition: the Liberal Democrats have long advocated what they call a “mansion tax”, but have been thwarted by David Cameron.
Just how much Clegg and Co have been thinking of this was revealed at the weekend, with leaked reports of an internal policy document drawn up by two of the party’s MPs, suggesting that a wealth tax should include all assets: jewellery, for example. In furtherance of this, it said: “HM Revenue and Customs, in policing the system, will have to visit homes to test whether asset values of jewellery, paintings etc., were correct.” The thought of widows being shaken down by Tax Inspectors on a jewellery hunt (“Show us yer old wedding ring, now”) was one of the things that caused Healey to back down. Not nearly as quickly, though, as Vince Cable, who, within hours of this policy document emerging, declared that the idea of jewellery and paintings being included was “wacky”.
Why is that “wacky”, but a mansion tax not so? After all, the homes that people live in are arguably more essential for their families than any item of jewellery or painting. This only demonstrates that politicians advocating a wealth tax are not really interested in the principle, but only in the noise such a policy makes – and if it seems discordant, they will drop it.
There are, in fact, some good principled – rather than political – objections to what the Liberal Democrats and Labour propose (an annual tax on properties worth more than ￡2m). When someone buys a property, it is out of income that has already been taxed. He will pay stamp duty on that transaction – up to 7 per cent for the most valuable houses. If he then takes on builders to improve it, he will pay an additional 20 per cent of that cost in VAT. And if he sells the property, and it is not his primary residence, he will have to pay capital gains tax of 28 per cent. Finally, there is inheritance tax at 40 per cent on estates above a threshold of ￡325,000 – although great Labour dynasties such as the Benns and the Milibands have used Deeds of Variation to pass property down through the family in a way that avoids the full impact of inheritance tax.
The point of principle here is that tax is generally paid on property when income from it is available – for example, on rent accruing; and the reason why stamp duty works is that in the great majority of cases a person has cash available from the sale of an existing property, when buying a new one. Therefore, if there were to be an additional property tax, it would be much fairer to decide that capital gains tax should also be charged on the primary residence, when it is sold, rather than levy a tax simply on the fact that someone – whether or not a little old lady – happens to be living in a home above a certain value. Such a change, however, would affect all home owners making a profit on sale and would, therefore, not meet the politicians’ objective of seeming to be nasty only to rich bankers.
And, while we’re discussing equity in taxation, it should be noted that, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, it is not until a standard family with two earners and two children is earning just over ￡25,000 that it begins to become a net payer of any income tax at all. Meanwhile, the HMRC’s own official figures show that the top 1 per cent of income earners paid 24.8 per cent of all income tax collected in 2011-2012: the same people’s earnings represented 11.2 per cent of the total. In other words, the tax system in this country is already highly progressive.
Last week’s call by the Labour leader Ed Miliband for a so-called mansion tax was redolent of Denis Healey’s promise, back in 1974, to squeeze the rich “until the pips squeak”. The then Labour shadow Chancellor had also drawn up plans for a wealth tax, over and above existing income and capital gains taxes. Fifteen years later in his memoirs, Healey admitted that: “We had committed ourselves to a Wealth Tax: but in five years I found it impossible to draft one which would yield enough revenue to be worth the administrative cost.” He concluded: “You should never commit yourself in Opposition to new taxes unless you have a very good idea about how they will operate in practice.” In particular, Healey had discovered that the flight of capital would actually have resulted in a loss of revenue to the Exchequer.
I somehow doubt that Miliband bothered to consult the 95 year old Labour ex-Chancellor before coming up with his own version of squeezing the rich. It was not so much a suggestion of what he would do in government as a cunning plan to exploit the divisions within the Coalition: the Liberal Democrats have long advocated what they call a “mansion tax”, but have been thwarted by David Cameron.
Just how much Clegg and Co have been thinking of this was revealed at the weekend, with leaked reports of an internal policy document drawn up by two of the party’s MPs, suggesting that a wealth tax should include all assets: jewellery, for example. In furtherance of this, it said: “HM Revenue and Customs, in policing the system, will have to visit homes to test whether asset values of jewellery, paintings etc., were correct.” The thought of widows being shaken down by Tax Inspectors on a jewellery hunt (“Show us yer old wedding ring, now”) was one of the things that caused Healey to back down. Not nearly as quickly, though, as Vince Cable, who, within hours of this policy document emerging, declared that the idea of jewellery and paintings being included was “wacky”.
Why is that “wacky”, but a mansion tax not so? After all, the homes that people live in are arguably more essential for their families than any item of jewellery or painting. This only demonstrates that politicians advocating a wealth tax are not really interested in the principle, but only in the noise such a policy makes – and if it seems discordant, they will drop it.
There are, in fact, some good principled – rather than political – objections to what the Liberal Democrats and Labour propose (an annual tax on properties worth more than ￡2m). When someone buys a property, it is out of income that has already been taxed. He will pay stamp duty on that transaction – up to 7 per cent for the most valuable houses. If he then takes on builders to improve it, he will pay an additional 20 per cent of that cost in VAT. And if he sells the property, and it is not his primary residence, he will have to pay capital gains tax of 28 per cent. Finally, there is inheritance tax at 40 per cent on estates above a threshold of ￡325,000 – although great Labour dynasties such as the Benns and the Milibands have used Deeds of Variation to pass property down through the family in a way that avoids the full impact of inheritance tax.
The point of principle here is that tax is generally paid on property when income from it is available – for example, on rent accruing; and the reason why stamp duty works is that in the great majority of cases a person has cash available from the sale of an existing property, when buying a new one. Therefore, if there were to be an additional property tax, it would be much fairer to decide that capital gains tax should also be charged on the primary residence, when it is sold, rather than levy a tax simply on the fact that someone – whether or not a little old lady – happens to be living in a home above a certain value. Such a change, however, would affect all home owners making a profit on sale and would, therefore, not meet the politicians’ objective of seeming to be nasty only to rich bankers.
And, while we’re discussing equity in taxation, it should be noted that, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, it is not until a standard family with two earners and two children is earning just over ￡25,000 that it begins to become a net payer of any income tax at all. Meanwhile, the HMRC’s own official figures show that the top 1 per cent of income earners paid 24.8 per cent of all income tax collected in 2011-2012: the same people’s earnings represented 11.2 per cent of the total. In other words, the tax system in this country is already highly progressive.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Experts Examine Prospects Of New Merchant Banks
THE issuance of operating licenses to two merchant banks – South Africa’s FirstRand Bank and Nigeria’s First Securities Discount House Limited (FSDH), to commence business in Nigeria after regulatory distinction between merchant and commercial banking was abrogated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about 13 years ago, has been a topical issue in the banking community.
In the 1990s, there were many merchant banks in the country, but because of the daunting challenges they faced, all of them converted to commercial banking. Some of their complaints in those days, were that they were not allowed access to the clearing house, no freedom to generate free funds by direct mobilisation from the grassroots, payment of huge current account turnover charges to commercial banks and the commercial banks’ transaction of businesses, which were supposed to be the exclusive preserve of the merchant banks, amongst others.
Of the two recently approved merchant banks, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has, in fact, commenced business.
The firm, which first commenced opration as a discount house in March 1993, said that, in continuation of its tradition as a pioneer in the sub-sector, it has become one of the first merchant banks to be awarded licence in Nigeria since the repeal of Universal Banking by CBN in 2010.
Following this development, The Guardian sought the opinion of experts on whether the factors that forced all the merchant banks in the country years ago to convert to commercial banks have now gone and what future lies ahead of the business under the new dispensation.
A lagos-based Investment adviser and financial services consultant, Mr. Dave Ogiemwonyi, said merchant banking requires lower capital requirement to establish and with its re-introduction in the banking industry, it would provide opportunity for banks to serve niche markets and customers in few locations.
He explained that the new window for merchant banks to come on board is an opportunity for discount houses to convert into a more viable model as all banks have become commercial and retailer in nature, certain customers would of necessity continue to require specialist attention and skilled services.
According to him, at minimum capital base of N25 billion for commercial banks, return on equity would remain low and tough but that with lower minimum capital base for merchant banks, they could pursue decent return on equity. Foreign banks, expected in the country, would prefer to be small and operate in a few cities, thus merchant banking will be ideal.
Ogiemwoyi deposed that the new licensing regime would revive the inter-bank market for placements since merchant banks would be net takers.
“Usually merchant banks rely on commercial banks for funding and this could be another source of risk if the merchant banks become excessive risk takers. Overall, it is a good development to deepen the market and cater for all customer segments but inherent risks must be managed,” he cautioned.
But Mr. Femi Ekundayo, a veteran merchant banker and the pioneer managing director/chief executive of the defunct Devcom Merchant Bank Limited and currently the Group Chairman, Resort Group of Financial Services Companies, examined the issue.
Explaining that merchant banking is a segment of various banking services, he obseved that what distinguishes it is the wholesale nature of it, while commercial banking is retail involves everything banking.
According to him, merchant banking concentrates on corporate entities and high net worth individuals.
In view of this, he affirmed that there is enough to engage the merchant banks in Nigeria now, adding, “When you look at the merchant banks, there are so many things they could do but it must also have what I would call its own structure. When merchant bank came to our shore, so many other banks and many financial institutions joined; and it was convenient for people to come into it under the guise of merchant bank; and they wanted to do everything that the merchant banks were doing and that was probably why people ran into problem and started seeking to change into commercial banks.
“There is no doubt that commercial banking has greater latitude and wider latitude. Merchant banking is supposed to be specialist industry. It isn’t supposed to be as big, in term of size, in term of personnel and even in term of clientele base, it isn’t have to be; but it requires specialists. Today, one thing that made IBTC to stand out was because it came in as a merchant bank and remained small but focused, it identified its own customers, and as at the time it was being set up, it had identified the areas to focused on. But several other merchant banks that came in had no such focus. They decided to establish branches in every town including their chairmen’s towns and these were really not necessary in merchant banking.”
According to him, the situation in the past made it easy for people to succeed in forming merchant banks. In some other environments like in the UK, if you chose to operate as merchant bank, you would remain a merchant bank and you would continue to improve on your areas of specialisation.
“But with regard to the licensing of the two merchant banks in the new dispensation, what is not clear to me is the kind of research that the CBN has carried out to prove that those circumstances that prevailed that made XY Merchant Bank clamoured and converted to commercial bank that those factors have been taken care of in allowing the evolution of merchant banks in this dispensation, Ekundayo said.
He continued: “I know there are guidelines but I also consider some of those guidelines very tough. For example, minimum size of deposit account, that is a tall order but I want to give it to the Central Bank that it must have conducted a thorough research. And probably this is the reason why they are not too many of them now. There are only two and one of them, the FSHD Merchant Bank, which has tested the water as a discount house, I believe, with this conversion, it must have done its own study to believe that it would be better of in this new area of business.”
Ekundayo, explained that what is important to make merchant banking to succeed is having experts to handle all the special products and services of a merchant bank.
And when The Guardian reminded him that one of the reasons the previous merchant banks sought status change was because of high interest rate and whether the prevailing interest rate, which the CBN, through MPR, had pegged at 12 per cent, would not hinder the mobilisation of deposit to do business by the new merchant banks? Ekundayo has this to say:
“This is an area of concern. But when you talk about deposit, you are looking at a number of factors. The most important of the factors, in my own opinion, is public confidence. This is one area where the CBN as well as the new in-coming merchant bank practitioners need to do a lot.
“The questioned you have asked is a pointer to what people will feel if the same situation that prevailed in the environment when many merchant banks became commercial banks is still there, and now again, you are granting licenses to new ones to come on board, I think what is needed is public enlightenment both by the CBN as well as the in-coming practitioners. Until that is done, I am afraid, the new merchant banks might not be able to attract more patronage in term of deposit drive but there would be remarkable change if there is enlightenment.
“Deposit, as I said earlier, is a function of confidence. The level of deposit requirement as stipulated by the CBN, I think, might debar a lot of high net worth individuals to become customers of the merchant banks. This was what the Nigeria’s past banking publics identified that made them to move more towards commercial banking than merchant banks. Merchant banks, also knew and wisely too, that once you are a bank, you need a lot of deposit patronage to succeed. If you take the balance sheet of an average bank and look at the total capital employed, it is usually about three to four times the size of the shareholders’ fund. But the CBN’s desire is that merchant banks should operate more with shareholders’ funds with little or no use of depositors’ funds. That has been a problem.
“In today‘s banking, when the CBN is promoting the policy of financial inclusion, which is what has brought virtually everybody, including the micro customers into the banking system, introduction of merchant banking might not necessarily include the various categories of customers. What I mean is that, today, many people can become customers of microfinance banks and anybody can become customer of commercial banks but the merchant banks would remain a bit exclusive. They are supposed to be but the larger their customer base, the better.
“I hope that the regulatory authorities did sufficient survey to believe that, even with all that exclusive regulation of the merchant banks, they will still be able to operate effectively in a country like Nigeria,” he enthused.
On the awesome political power of commercial banks over the merchant banks because they are limited in scope of operations, the erstwhile CIBN president replied:
“The commercial banks have moved away from universal banking. What they are doing now is not universal. It is just that they are structured in a manner that they can attract different categories of customers substantially larger than what the merchant banks can.
“Even the microfinance banks also have guidelines as to what they can do and what they cannot do. But when it comes to reckoning, so many different types of fish can be caught within the net of microfinance banks just as the net of commercial banking can also capture a lot of different types of fish but the kind of fish that can be caught with the net of merchant banks are big fish, no doubt, but fewer and I am just hoping that the number will not be too small to enable the merchant banks operate effectively and efficiently in Nigeria.”
In the 1990s, there were many merchant banks in the country, but because of the daunting challenges they faced, all of them converted to commercial banking. Some of their complaints in those days, were that they were not allowed access to the clearing house, no freedom to generate free funds by direct mobilisation from the grassroots, payment of huge current account turnover charges to commercial banks and the commercial banks’ transaction of businesses, which were supposed to be the exclusive preserve of the merchant banks, amongst others.
Of the two recently approved merchant banks, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has, in fact, commenced business.
The firm, which first commenced opration as a discount house in March 1993, said that, in continuation of its tradition as a pioneer in the sub-sector, it has become one of the first merchant banks to be awarded licence in Nigeria since the repeal of Universal Banking by CBN in 2010.
Following this development, The Guardian sought the opinion of experts on whether the factors that forced all the merchant banks in the country years ago to convert to commercial banks have now gone and what future lies ahead of the business under the new dispensation.
A lagos-based Investment adviser and financial services consultant, Mr. Dave Ogiemwonyi, said merchant banking requires lower capital requirement to establish and with its re-introduction in the banking industry, it would provide opportunity for banks to serve niche markets and customers in few locations.
He explained that the new window for merchant banks to come on board is an opportunity for discount houses to convert into a more viable model as all banks have become commercial and retailer in nature, certain customers would of necessity continue to require specialist attention and skilled services.
According to him, at minimum capital base of N25 billion for commercial banks, return on equity would remain low and tough but that with lower minimum capital base for merchant banks, they could pursue decent return on equity. Foreign banks, expected in the country, would prefer to be small and operate in a few cities, thus merchant banking will be ideal.
Ogiemwoyi deposed that the new licensing regime would revive the inter-bank market for placements since merchant banks would be net takers.
“Usually merchant banks rely on commercial banks for funding and this could be another source of risk if the merchant banks become excessive risk takers. Overall, it is a good development to deepen the market and cater for all customer segments but inherent risks must be managed,” he cautioned.
But Mr. Femi Ekundayo, a veteran merchant banker and the pioneer managing director/chief executive of the defunct Devcom Merchant Bank Limited and currently the Group Chairman, Resort Group of Financial Services Companies, examined the issue.
Explaining that merchant banking is a segment of various banking services, he obseved that what distinguishes it is the wholesale nature of it, while commercial banking is retail involves everything banking.
According to him, merchant banking concentrates on corporate entities and high net worth individuals.
In view of this, he affirmed that there is enough to engage the merchant banks in Nigeria now, adding, “When you look at the merchant banks, there are so many things they could do but it must also have what I would call its own structure. When merchant bank came to our shore, so many other banks and many financial institutions joined; and it was convenient for people to come into it under the guise of merchant bank; and they wanted to do everything that the merchant banks were doing and that was probably why people ran into problem and started seeking to change into commercial banks.
“There is no doubt that commercial banking has greater latitude and wider latitude. Merchant banking is supposed to be specialist industry. It isn’t supposed to be as big, in term of size, in term of personnel and even in term of clientele base, it isn’t have to be; but it requires specialists. Today, one thing that made IBTC to stand out was because it came in as a merchant bank and remained small but focused, it identified its own customers, and as at the time it was being set up, it had identified the areas to focused on. But several other merchant banks that came in had no such focus. They decided to establish branches in every town including their chairmen’s towns and these were really not necessary in merchant banking.”
According to him, the situation in the past made it easy for people to succeed in forming merchant banks. In some other environments like in the UK, if you chose to operate as merchant bank, you would remain a merchant bank and you would continue to improve on your areas of specialisation.
“But with regard to the licensing of the two merchant banks in the new dispensation, what is not clear to me is the kind of research that the CBN has carried out to prove that those circumstances that prevailed that made XY Merchant Bank clamoured and converted to commercial bank that those factors have been taken care of in allowing the evolution of merchant banks in this dispensation, Ekundayo said.
He continued: “I know there are guidelines but I also consider some of those guidelines very tough. For example, minimum size of deposit account, that is a tall order but I want to give it to the Central Bank that it must have conducted a thorough research. And probably this is the reason why they are not too many of them now. There are only two and one of them, the FSHD Merchant Bank, which has tested the water as a discount house, I believe, with this conversion, it must have done its own study to believe that it would be better of in this new area of business.”
Ekundayo, explained that what is important to make merchant banking to succeed is having experts to handle all the special products and services of a merchant bank.
And when The Guardian reminded him that one of the reasons the previous merchant banks sought status change was because of high interest rate and whether the prevailing interest rate, which the CBN, through MPR, had pegged at 12 per cent, would not hinder the mobilisation of deposit to do business by the new merchant banks? Ekundayo has this to say:
“This is an area of concern. But when you talk about deposit, you are looking at a number of factors. The most important of the factors, in my own opinion, is public confidence. This is one area where the CBN as well as the new in-coming merchant bank practitioners need to do a lot.
“The questioned you have asked is a pointer to what people will feel if the same situation that prevailed in the environment when many merchant banks became commercial banks is still there, and now again, you are granting licenses to new ones to come on board, I think what is needed is public enlightenment both by the CBN as well as the in-coming practitioners. Until that is done, I am afraid, the new merchant banks might not be able to attract more patronage in term of deposit drive but there would be remarkable change if there is enlightenment.
“Deposit, as I said earlier, is a function of confidence. The level of deposit requirement as stipulated by the CBN, I think, might debar a lot of high net worth individuals to become customers of the merchant banks. This was what the Nigeria’s past banking publics identified that made them to move more towards commercial banking than merchant banks. Merchant banks, also knew and wisely too, that once you are a bank, you need a lot of deposit patronage to succeed. If you take the balance sheet of an average bank and look at the total capital employed, it is usually about three to four times the size of the shareholders’ fund. But the CBN’s desire is that merchant banks should operate more with shareholders’ funds with little or no use of depositors’ funds. That has been a problem.
“In today‘s banking, when the CBN is promoting the policy of financial inclusion, which is what has brought virtually everybody, including the micro customers into the banking system, introduction of merchant banking might not necessarily include the various categories of customers. What I mean is that, today, many people can become customers of microfinance banks and anybody can become customer of commercial banks but the merchant banks would remain a bit exclusive. They are supposed to be but the larger their customer base, the better.
“I hope that the regulatory authorities did sufficient survey to believe that, even with all that exclusive regulation of the merchant banks, they will still be able to operate effectively in a country like Nigeria,” he enthused.
On the awesome political power of commercial banks over the merchant banks because they are limited in scope of operations, the erstwhile CIBN president replied:
“The commercial banks have moved away from universal banking. What they are doing now is not universal. It is just that they are structured in a manner that they can attract different categories of customers substantially larger than what the merchant banks can.
“Even the microfinance banks also have guidelines as to what they can do and what they cannot do. But when it comes to reckoning, so many different types of fish can be caught within the net of microfinance banks just as the net of commercial banking can also capture a lot of different types of fish but the kind of fish that can be caught with the net of merchant banks are big fish, no doubt, but fewer and I am just hoping that the number will not be too small to enable the merchant banks operate effectively and efficiently in Nigeria.”
The prime time wild card
It’s a massive office with 20-foot-high ceiling. The mahogany desk on one side adds to the sombre atmosphere of hushed silences and austere power. An archway leads to an office meant only for secretarial staff much smaller in comparison, but big enough for several captains of industry. Walls adorned with large oil paintings of famous parliamentarians look down benignly. Behind the mahogany desk on a large green leather chair sits only the second woman to occupy that seat since Independence. It’s the office of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, generally perceived to be the second most significant post after the Prime Minister. When Parliament is in session, Sushma Swaraj is seen more at the main gate with her fellow boycotting other members, but that does not mean she has not done her homework. On the great FDI debate in December, her research on the subject and eloquence nearly took the day. She kept it focused, talking to the country through Parliament. “Will Wal-Mart care about the poor farmer’s sister’s wedding? Will Wal-Mart send his children to school? Will Wal-Mart notice his tears and hunger?” Her speech stirred the Lohiaites and was more convincing than the Left. In the end, 14 parties stood behind her. The vote was lost by a whisker, but an evolving reputation was clad in iron.
At the investors’ meet that took place in November 2012 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, her home state now, she arrived a little late as her flight had been delayed. Speeches by industrial leaders and politicians were immediately put on hold and a small wooden stool pushed behind the lectern for her to stand on. There were smiles all around. A stool is kept handy when Swaraj must make a speech. Most people are surprised when they first see Swaraj. She is petite—less than five feet—but her school headmistress demeanour makes everyone else appear a nursery kid, looking up at her. She loves to make small talk in informal settings with people around her and never forgets to ask the well-being of family members if she happens to have met them. At smaller, cosier ladies’ sangeet-type family functions she is unafraid of shaking a leg, though it dusted up a little wind at Raj Ghat when she danced to a patriotic number.
The Shiv Sena is convinced of her ability to connect, and lead the NDA alliance. There are others who believe Narendra Modi could be that person. The party itself does not want a debate on the issue right now. An exasperated Rajnath Singh recently said: “This is the last time I am asking BJP leaders to desist from making any comments on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.” But the issue will come up sooner rather than later with May 2014 not very far away and it will all come down to the ability to keep alliance partners happy.
The Jaipur conclave of the Congress, meanwhile, has made it clear that it is looking around for partners and tie-ups. Some of the current parties in the UPA fold may leave, like the TMC. It may have to look around for newer ones, preferably those currently aligned with the NDA, on the possibility of shared secular agendas. “The Congress would be most happy to take on Modi as it may lead to fissure in the NDA with the JD(U) opting out a distinct possibility. The SP and BSP may also be forced to junk their neutral outside-support stance,” says a Congress veteran. The mood at 24 Akbar Road is that Swaraj would be a tougher opponent with her appeal cutting across sections and communities.
That drama will unfold in coming months, but the Swaraj story looks set to get bigger, and within the BJP first. Not since Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia have there been so many woman leaders of substance in the party—Uma Bharti, Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj. They have all taken different stairwells to the top. Bharti was the maverick firebrand who led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement till her first brush with serious power destabilised her and she stumbled. Raje, the Maharani, took her time but came into her own about 10 years ago when she led the BJP to power in Rajasthan, and though she missed a step later, she is back in saddle and ready to propel the party to power in her state. Swaraj’s of course has been the most significant success so far.
In the hype and hoopla and downslide games that have engaged the BJP and its leaders lately, Swaraj appears to have survived in the best shape. She’s fine-tuned her knack for saying the right thing at the right time in the right place, be it the FDI debate, an election in Gujarat, or politely refusing to become BJP president.
It first emerged in the media that L K Advani had floated her name as possible BJP president to replace Nitin Gadkari when it became clear that corruption allegations would sink his boat. “Advaniji had only said that there are suitable replacements. Two options are Sushma and Rajnath, and if the former is accepted then Leaders of Opposition in both Houses will have to be changed,” says a senior BJP party office-bearer. Sensing this was not be the right time to accept the job, Swaraj quietly told Advani of her reluctance, and later conveyed it to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as well.
She has consciously played on the right side of the RSS on all issues, sending a consistent message to Nagpur which is sometimes considered overly gender-sensitive in assigning roles. Throughout the past six months when the Sarsanghchalak was insistent that his nominee Nitin Gadkari be given a second term, she kept a calculated middle-of-the-road stance: never a word against the RSS line and still never seen to be against those opposed to Gadkari. It’s marvellous political posturing when everyone considers you “safe” including man of the moment Modi. At an election rally in Vadodara, she announced unequivocally: “Modiji mein woh sab qualities hain jo ek Prime Minister mein honi chahiye” (Modiji has those qualities which a prime minister should have). Others in the party are at the moment ambivalent on the subject, in accordance with a keep mum policy. “She is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and that in itself should be a pointer towards what the party expects from her,” says Prabhat Jha who has worked closely with Vajpayee and was till recently the BJP president of the Madhya Pradesh unit.
Raje, presently locked in a fierce intra-party struggle for supremacy within Rajasthan, may emerge with her stature enhanced by December if she delivers. She has the backing of Rajnath which saw her back in saddle as the state unit chief. That makes the equation interesting. Her appeal is quite unlike Swaraj’s though the base is as wide. Having won four Lok Sabha elections and been a Union minister, at 50 she acquired a common touch to lead a BJP resurgence in Rajasthan as she tirelessly travelled the dusty roads to annex the Jaipur crown. Her regal persona, the expensive sarees and jewellery only enhance her appeal in a curious inversion of what makes Swaraj tick. Outside the state and at BJP national executives, she is perhaps the only one signing autographs!
Most opinion polls over the past six months show her several points ahead of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. She will, of course, have to battle expectations as well. The BJP not only expects her to topple Gehlot with a clear majority but also deliver 20 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. If that happens it could make her one of the most powerful sub-group leaders within the BJP, almost at par with Modi.
Swaraj’s breakthrough moment had come when she was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1990 and moved out of state politics. BJP was riding the Ram Mandir wave. Bharti and Advani were on its crest but the think-tank was also planning for the long term. As education minister in Haryana, she had impressed the RSS and Advani. Her stock went further up with the advent of 24-hour television.
Some politicians like to contest this but the coming of 24-hour television in 1992 shaped and reshaped the careers of many. Swaraj was a natural and almost made for TV. Her bindi-sindoor clicked with the viewing class with its new-found love for the saas-bahu shows. Judgments based on appearance, likeability and intelligent sound bites started pouring in fast. “She was the best bahu on view though sometimes overshadowed by the aggression of Bharti,” says a long-time associate. Nevertheless it helped her leapfrog over her contemporaries and shed the confines of state politics. She was sent to the affluent South Delhi constituency with arguably the most cable homes in the country in 1996 and 1998 before she briefly became Delhi chief minister in 1998. In 1999 she took up the legendary Bellary challenge against the Congress’s Sonia Gandhi. All along she knew that her stature would be enhanced even in loss.
Television, in fact, might have thrown up some more interesting names among women leaders in the wake of Swaraj becoming the most serious candidate for the top job since Indira Gandhi. These women are expected to evolve over the next few years and none seems to be more promising than Smriti Irani, 36. The other is Nirmala Sitharaman.
Irani rode the Tulsi avatar to land in the party of her choice, but Advani sees in her the same potential that he once saw in Bharti and Swaraj in their younger days. Advani’s ability to pick winner is proven. The mere mention of Irani’s name in his book My Country My Life served as a red carpet rolled out for her right into top echelons of 11 Ashoka Road. She now heads the Mahila Morcha and is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat. Former journalist Sitharaman, 54, of course is now better known than when she was as a member of National Women’s Commission. Her combative stance on issues on national television are significant signs of a developing thought leader within the party.
The Women’s Reservation Bill, which Sonia’s own partymen are believed to be buttonholing from behind the curtains, if passed may lead to a flood of more women leaders emerging from the grassroots. It is also believed that the BJP might be better prepared if the Bill indeed becomes a reality. It has actively built a cadre of women leaders both at the national and the state levels. Some states have even held taluka-level meetings of Mahila Morcha regularly in an attempt to not only multiply the voter base but find leaders from the grassroots. In comparison Congress is still dependent on family heiresses, widows and wives.
At the investors’ meet that took place in November 2012 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, her home state now, she arrived a little late as her flight had been delayed. Speeches by industrial leaders and politicians were immediately put on hold and a small wooden stool pushed behind the lectern for her to stand on. There were smiles all around. A stool is kept handy when Swaraj must make a speech. Most people are surprised when they first see Swaraj. She is petite—less than five feet—but her school headmistress demeanour makes everyone else appear a nursery kid, looking up at her. She loves to make small talk in informal settings with people around her and never forgets to ask the well-being of family members if she happens to have met them. At smaller, cosier ladies’ sangeet-type family functions she is unafraid of shaking a leg, though it dusted up a little wind at Raj Ghat when she danced to a patriotic number.
The Shiv Sena is convinced of her ability to connect, and lead the NDA alliance. There are others who believe Narendra Modi could be that person. The party itself does not want a debate on the issue right now. An exasperated Rajnath Singh recently said: “This is the last time I am asking BJP leaders to desist from making any comments on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.” But the issue will come up sooner rather than later with May 2014 not very far away and it will all come down to the ability to keep alliance partners happy.
The Jaipur conclave of the Congress, meanwhile, has made it clear that it is looking around for partners and tie-ups. Some of the current parties in the UPA fold may leave, like the TMC. It may have to look around for newer ones, preferably those currently aligned with the NDA, on the possibility of shared secular agendas. “The Congress would be most happy to take on Modi as it may lead to fissure in the NDA with the JD(U) opting out a distinct possibility. The SP and BSP may also be forced to junk their neutral outside-support stance,” says a Congress veteran. The mood at 24 Akbar Road is that Swaraj would be a tougher opponent with her appeal cutting across sections and communities.
That drama will unfold in coming months, but the Swaraj story looks set to get bigger, and within the BJP first. Not since Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia have there been so many woman leaders of substance in the party—Uma Bharti, Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj. They have all taken different stairwells to the top. Bharti was the maverick firebrand who led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement till her first brush with serious power destabilised her and she stumbled. Raje, the Maharani, took her time but came into her own about 10 years ago when she led the BJP to power in Rajasthan, and though she missed a step later, she is back in saddle and ready to propel the party to power in her state. Swaraj’s of course has been the most significant success so far.
In the hype and hoopla and downslide games that have engaged the BJP and its leaders lately, Swaraj appears to have survived in the best shape. She’s fine-tuned her knack for saying the right thing at the right time in the right place, be it the FDI debate, an election in Gujarat, or politely refusing to become BJP president.
It first emerged in the media that L K Advani had floated her name as possible BJP president to replace Nitin Gadkari when it became clear that corruption allegations would sink his boat. “Advaniji had only said that there are suitable replacements. Two options are Sushma and Rajnath, and if the former is accepted then Leaders of Opposition in both Houses will have to be changed,” says a senior BJP party office-bearer. Sensing this was not be the right time to accept the job, Swaraj quietly told Advani of her reluctance, and later conveyed it to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as well.
She has consciously played on the right side of the RSS on all issues, sending a consistent message to Nagpur which is sometimes considered overly gender-sensitive in assigning roles. Throughout the past six months when the Sarsanghchalak was insistent that his nominee Nitin Gadkari be given a second term, she kept a calculated middle-of-the-road stance: never a word against the RSS line and still never seen to be against those opposed to Gadkari. It’s marvellous political posturing when everyone considers you “safe” including man of the moment Modi. At an election rally in Vadodara, she announced unequivocally: “Modiji mein woh sab qualities hain jo ek Prime Minister mein honi chahiye” (Modiji has those qualities which a prime minister should have). Others in the party are at the moment ambivalent on the subject, in accordance with a keep mum policy. “She is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and that in itself should be a pointer towards what the party expects from her,” says Prabhat Jha who has worked closely with Vajpayee and was till recently the BJP president of the Madhya Pradesh unit.
Raje, presently locked in a fierce intra-party struggle for supremacy within Rajasthan, may emerge with her stature enhanced by December if she delivers. She has the backing of Rajnath which saw her back in saddle as the state unit chief. That makes the equation interesting. Her appeal is quite unlike Swaraj’s though the base is as wide. Having won four Lok Sabha elections and been a Union minister, at 50 she acquired a common touch to lead a BJP resurgence in Rajasthan as she tirelessly travelled the dusty roads to annex the Jaipur crown. Her regal persona, the expensive sarees and jewellery only enhance her appeal in a curious inversion of what makes Swaraj tick. Outside the state and at BJP national executives, she is perhaps the only one signing autographs!
Most opinion polls over the past six months show her several points ahead of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. She will, of course, have to battle expectations as well. The BJP not only expects her to topple Gehlot with a clear majority but also deliver 20 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. If that happens it could make her one of the most powerful sub-group leaders within the BJP, almost at par with Modi.
Swaraj’s breakthrough moment had come when she was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1990 and moved out of state politics. BJP was riding the Ram Mandir wave. Bharti and Advani were on its crest but the think-tank was also planning for the long term. As education minister in Haryana, she had impressed the RSS and Advani. Her stock went further up with the advent of 24-hour television.
Some politicians like to contest this but the coming of 24-hour television in 1992 shaped and reshaped the careers of many. Swaraj was a natural and almost made for TV. Her bindi-sindoor clicked with the viewing class with its new-found love for the saas-bahu shows. Judgments based on appearance, likeability and intelligent sound bites started pouring in fast. “She was the best bahu on view though sometimes overshadowed by the aggression of Bharti,” says a long-time associate. Nevertheless it helped her leapfrog over her contemporaries and shed the confines of state politics. She was sent to the affluent South Delhi constituency with arguably the most cable homes in the country in 1996 and 1998 before she briefly became Delhi chief minister in 1998. In 1999 she took up the legendary Bellary challenge against the Congress’s Sonia Gandhi. All along she knew that her stature would be enhanced even in loss.
Television, in fact, might have thrown up some more interesting names among women leaders in the wake of Swaraj becoming the most serious candidate for the top job since Indira Gandhi. These women are expected to evolve over the next few years and none seems to be more promising than Smriti Irani, 36. The other is Nirmala Sitharaman.
Irani rode the Tulsi avatar to land in the party of her choice, but Advani sees in her the same potential that he once saw in Bharti and Swaraj in their younger days. Advani’s ability to pick winner is proven. The mere mention of Irani’s name in his book My Country My Life served as a red carpet rolled out for her right into top echelons of 11 Ashoka Road. She now heads the Mahila Morcha and is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat. Former journalist Sitharaman, 54, of course is now better known than when she was as a member of National Women’s Commission. Her combative stance on issues on national television are significant signs of a developing thought leader within the party.
The Women’s Reservation Bill, which Sonia’s own partymen are believed to be buttonholing from behind the curtains, if passed may lead to a flood of more women leaders emerging from the grassroots. It is also believed that the BJP might be better prepared if the Bill indeed becomes a reality. It has actively built a cadre of women leaders both at the national and the state levels. Some states have even held taluka-level meetings of Mahila Morcha regularly in an attempt to not only multiply the voter base but find leaders from the grassroots. In comparison Congress is still dependent on family heiresses, widows and wives.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Who will save the independent physicians?
The Wall Street Journal is my favorite newspaper, but its Op-Ed page is not the place to turn to for sober, non-partisan analysis. So I was only a little bit surprised to read The Doctor’s Office as Union Shop, which blames the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for ushering in “a potentially radical factor in the transformation of health care –the doctor as union worker.” The author, Dr. David Leffell from Yale Medical School, asserts that the ACA’s reimbursement schemes are forcing doctors to abandon their practices, although he doesn’t get into specifics. But reading between the lines it’s clear that Leffell understands that the shift of physicians from independent practice to hospital employment pre-dates ObamaCare and has other powerful causes.
I’ll admit that’s on the optimistic side, and its coming from someone who prefers to be a patient in a small practice rather than a large institutional one. But I truly believe that the small practice model can be viable. After all, other professionals with advanced training –including accountants, lawyers, and management consultants like me– have been able to leverage various tools to practice in smaller, more flexible settings than was possible a decade or two ago. These arrangements are rewarding to work in and better for clients (at least in my biased view). Granted, the dynamics of medicine are different, but many of the same lessons apply.
First and foremost, physicians need to be able to get paid for their services in a timely fashion. For better or worse that still means dealing with third-party payment from health plans and the government. Athenahealth is the leader in the so-called “revenue cycle management” arena, offering a cloud-based infrastructure that ensures a steadier and more predictable cash flow than traditional billing services. Others, including electronic medical record vendors with integrated practice management systems like eClinicalWorks, help achieve similar results.
Another challenge beyond the timeliness and predictability of payments is the ability to get good rates for services provided. Independent physicians don’t have great negotiating leverage with payers, although with an overall shortage of physicians their situation isn’t as grim as it could be. One way to deal with the reimbursement challenge is to abandon independent practice and move over to a hospital-based system that has negotiated better rates. But IPAs (independent practice associations) can achieve much the same result if they’re savvy. Even better are the management service organizations like Women’s Health Connecticut, that put business people firmly in charge of the business aspects and let the doctors run the clinical aspects. Women’s Health takes matters a step further and operates its own malpractice insurance carrier, enabling it to take active steps to control the notoriously high malpractice premiums paid by OBs.
Health plans, employers and other buyers of health care also have a role to play by making sure that their contracting does not inadvertently erode the viability of the smaller practices.
Physicians can make the customer service and patient comfort aspects of their practices more inviting by taking a page from the dental industry, which is used to catering to self-pay patients and competing more on the service aspects. My dentist, Dr. Daniel Whiteman is a great example of a comfortable, modern practice with high-end equipment and customer care.
Smaller physician offices can also benefit from general service providers that figure out how to cater to their needs. For example, financial services companies have helped physicians offer ways for patients to finance self-pay procedures such as LASIK and cosmetic dentistry. But they could do more if they delved into the somewhat peculiar financial characteristics of physician practices and supported those needs with tailored product offerings and customer portals. Telecommunications firms also have the opportunity to segment out physicians and create packages just for them.
Even if the financial services and telecommunications packages are similar to what are offered to other professions, there is a real marketing opportunity for these firms to position themselves as supporters of small physicians practices, which are small businesses. For example, the Amex Small Business Saturday program is a terrific way to support small businesses and build goodwill among cardholders. Last year I went with a family member to a wonderful boutique wine merchant that I would never have patronized if it hadn’t been for the program. What is the equivalent for a physician’s office?
One of Leffell’s arguments is that standardization of clinical practice is coming, and can’t be enforced unless doctors are organized into huge groupings. That’s a fundamentally flawed argument in the age of tablets, smart phones and cloud-based information technology. There’s absolutely no reason that even a solo practice physician should have trouble adhering to clinical guidelines and best practices. These physicians should be able to access data on how other physicians like them are practicing in similar situations. There’s also no reason that clinical quality improvement has to lead to cookie-cutter medicine that doesn’t take into account the individual. If anything we should see unproductive variation reduced and an increase in personalized approaches. That’s what I expect from my physicians and it’s what I increasingly see. You don’t need a giant practice to access UpToDate or other clinical information and decision support tools.
As quality reporting evolves, these smaller physician practices should also be able to demonstrate how well they take care of patients. If they can show they’re doing a great job then I’m confident that in the long run they’ll be able to not just survive but to thrive as consumers increasingly take their business to those who can show they are the best, regardless of setting. In the meantime there’s plenty of opportunity for technology and business vendors to help these independent practices out and make a good return for their shareholders as they do so.
G2 Web Services is a leading global provider of payment risk management solutions for due diligence, compliance, and fraud mitigation for supporting members of the payments value chain. G2’s key focus is to maximize clients’ ability to grow their business by managing risks within each client’s specific risk tolerance. G2’s global breadth, depth, and experience gives acquiring banks, ISOs and payment service providers a unique perspective to successfully navigate the complexities of changing regulations, card network rules, and the rapidly shifting payments landscape to identify risk.
Since the company’s inception in 2004, G2 Web Services has investigated, analyzed and linked data from over 16 million merchants, billions of webpages, and dozens of data sources, building the G2 Merchant Map(TM). The G2 Merchant Map is the industry’s most extensive map of global merchant data, offering current and historical merchant relationships, merchant risk history and insight into merchant behaviors. The Merchant Map helps power G2’s custom due diligence, compliance and fraud detection solutions.
I’ll admit that’s on the optimistic side, and its coming from someone who prefers to be a patient in a small practice rather than a large institutional one. But I truly believe that the small practice model can be viable. After all, other professionals with advanced training –including accountants, lawyers, and management consultants like me– have been able to leverage various tools to practice in smaller, more flexible settings than was possible a decade or two ago. These arrangements are rewarding to work in and better for clients (at least in my biased view). Granted, the dynamics of medicine are different, but many of the same lessons apply.
First and foremost, physicians need to be able to get paid for their services in a timely fashion. For better or worse that still means dealing with third-party payment from health plans and the government. Athenahealth is the leader in the so-called “revenue cycle management” arena, offering a cloud-based infrastructure that ensures a steadier and more predictable cash flow than traditional billing services. Others, including electronic medical record vendors with integrated practice management systems like eClinicalWorks, help achieve similar results.
Another challenge beyond the timeliness and predictability of payments is the ability to get good rates for services provided. Independent physicians don’t have great negotiating leverage with payers, although with an overall shortage of physicians their situation isn’t as grim as it could be. One way to deal with the reimbursement challenge is to abandon independent practice and move over to a hospital-based system that has negotiated better rates. But IPAs (independent practice associations) can achieve much the same result if they’re savvy. Even better are the management service organizations like Women’s Health Connecticut, that put business people firmly in charge of the business aspects and let the doctors run the clinical aspects. Women’s Health takes matters a step further and operates its own malpractice insurance carrier, enabling it to take active steps to control the notoriously high malpractice premiums paid by OBs.
Health plans, employers and other buyers of health care also have a role to play by making sure that their contracting does not inadvertently erode the viability of the smaller practices.
Physicians can make the customer service and patient comfort aspects of their practices more inviting by taking a page from the dental industry, which is used to catering to self-pay patients and competing more on the service aspects. My dentist, Dr. Daniel Whiteman is a great example of a comfortable, modern practice with high-end equipment and customer care.
Smaller physician offices can also benefit from general service providers that figure out how to cater to their needs. For example, financial services companies have helped physicians offer ways for patients to finance self-pay procedures such as LASIK and cosmetic dentistry. But they could do more if they delved into the somewhat peculiar financial characteristics of physician practices and supported those needs with tailored product offerings and customer portals. Telecommunications firms also have the opportunity to segment out physicians and create packages just for them.
Even if the financial services and telecommunications packages are similar to what are offered to other professions, there is a real marketing opportunity for these firms to position themselves as supporters of small physicians practices, which are small businesses. For example, the Amex Small Business Saturday program is a terrific way to support small businesses and build goodwill among cardholders. Last year I went with a family member to a wonderful boutique wine merchant that I would never have patronized if it hadn’t been for the program. What is the equivalent for a physician’s office?
One of Leffell’s arguments is that standardization of clinical practice is coming, and can’t be enforced unless doctors are organized into huge groupings. That’s a fundamentally flawed argument in the age of tablets, smart phones and cloud-based information technology. There’s absolutely no reason that even a solo practice physician should have trouble adhering to clinical guidelines and best practices. These physicians should be able to access data on how other physicians like them are practicing in similar situations. There’s also no reason that clinical quality improvement has to lead to cookie-cutter medicine that doesn’t take into account the individual. If anything we should see unproductive variation reduced and an increase in personalized approaches. That’s what I expect from my physicians and it’s what I increasingly see. You don’t need a giant practice to access UpToDate or other clinical information and decision support tools.
As quality reporting evolves, these smaller physician practices should also be able to demonstrate how well they take care of patients. If they can show they’re doing a great job then I’m confident that in the long run they’ll be able to not just survive but to thrive as consumers increasingly take their business to those who can show they are the best, regardless of setting. In the meantime there’s plenty of opportunity for technology and business vendors to help these independent practices out and make a good return for their shareholders as they do so.
G2 Web Services is a leading global provider of payment risk management solutions for due diligence, compliance, and fraud mitigation for supporting members of the payments value chain. G2’s key focus is to maximize clients’ ability to grow their business by managing risks within each client’s specific risk tolerance. G2’s global breadth, depth, and experience gives acquiring banks, ISOs and payment service providers a unique perspective to successfully navigate the complexities of changing regulations, card network rules, and the rapidly shifting payments landscape to identify risk.
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New Civil Cigar Lounge Booms—and Puffs—With Business
Chevy Chase's new cigar lounge—the Civil Cigar Lounge, inside the recently remodeled Chevy Chase Pavilion on Wisconsin Avenue—is up and running, and the clientele has turned out to be "surprisingly diverse," Eater DC reported.
"On any given night, we're averaging 35 percent, 40 percent women," co-owner Matt Krimm told Eater DC, so it's a far cry from being a stodgy men's club, which might be more stereotypical for a cigar lounge.
The 93-seat lounge opened on Jan. 14 and features a full bar serving top-shelf whiskies, scotches and unique cocktails, Chevy Chase Patch reported last month.
The lounge has lengthy menus for cigars, wines, spirits and food. Edibles are prepared in the kitchen of neighboring restaurant Range, celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio's latest creation.
"The bar sees a happy hour crowd, neighborhood residents, diners leaving Range for a nightcap, businessmen and cigar aficionados alike," Eater DC added.
Co-owner John Anderson hopes to introduce a sort of cigar cart—like a dessert cart—"where the individual smokes will be physically present rather than just names on a menu so that a guest can see and touch just what he or she is choosing," Cigar Aficionado reported.
The decor—like the cigars and spirits—was chosen with care. "Civil benefits from the use of 'P.E.D.’s,' in this case, Puff Enhancing Décor, Design and Determination," with tall leather stools at the bar and high-backed, burgundy leather chairs in the lounge, Cigar Aficionado added.
During a regular meeting of the Bastrop County Commissioners Court on Jan. 28, the commissioners unanimously approved a renewal of the county’s contract with Seton Smithville Regional Hospital for the Bastrop County Indigent Health Care Program.
Under the agreement, Seton Smithville agrees to be the mandated provider for the program and will continue the “medically necessary and in-patient and out-patient hospital services within the scope of its licensure.” Also, all medically-necessary transfers for indigent health care recipients will be arranged “in the same manner” as is currently established for all other patients of the facility.
The commissioners approved an inspection and maintenance agreement with Wattinger Service Company of Austin for the air-handling system for the Bastrop County Courthouse. Wattinger will inspect and repair the building’s heating, air conditioning and ventilation system twice per year.
Wattinger will give the county a discounted labor rate and furnish parts “at current prices.” Those labor rates are: for mechanics/technicians – $72 per hour from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hourly rate for work after 4:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays will be $108 per hour. Work on holidays will be $144 per hour.
The commissioners also approved waiving platting requirements and development fees for the efforts of the non-profit Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team in the ongoing recovery from the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire. The LTRT has been assisting in the recovery from the fire by constructing homes for the uninsured and under-insured.
The group depends on private donations and foundation grants to do its work. In 2011, it built about 30 homes using volunteers from the Mennonite Disaster Service and Christian Aid Ministries.
The co-owner of a Russian cruise ship adrift in the North Atlantic said his attempt to salvage the derelict vessel has ruined him as the federal Opposition questioned why it was ever allowed to be towed in the dead of winter.
NDP transport critic Olivia Chow said that Transport Canada never should have permitted the Lyubov Orlova to be towed out of port in St. John's, N.L.
"Just because the ship is now drifting in international waters, it's still the Canadian government that gave it the authority to tow the ship," Chow said in an interview.
The empty cruise ship was being pulled to the Dominican Republic for scrap when its tow line snapped in rough seas on Jan. 24.
Efforts to reattach the cable failed, and Transport Canada ordered the tugboat Charlene Hunt back to port a few days later.
An offshore supply ship from Husky Energy was sent to tow the Lyubov Orlova away from oil platforms last week before a vessel chartered by Transport Canada took over.
However, the department said the towing operating was hampered by poor weather and the vessel was allowed to drift into international waters.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Opposition questions why cruise ship is allowed to drift as owner laments losses
However, the department said the towing operating was hampered by poor weather and the vessel was allowed to drift into international waters.
"Transport Canada, in consultation with its partners, decided not to pursue the drifting vessel as there are no people aboard the ship and there was a serious concern for the safety of Canadian sailors involved in the salvage operation," spokeswoman Celine Gaudet wrote in an email.
She said the Canadian Coast Guard installed a tracking device on the cruise ship, and government surveillance flights would also monitor its location.
Transport Canada has said the ship is not expected to re-enter Canadian waters and the owners of the ship remain responsible for its movements.
Reza Shoeybi said he and his uncle Saeed Shoaibi, both of Toronto, became co-owners of the Lyubov Orlova after Hussein Humayuni, a family friend and Iranian scrap merchant, bought the ship for $275,000 in a Federal Court process last year in Montreal.
Shoeybi said Humayuni struggled with the payments and that the other two men invested a total of more than $400,000 getting the vessel ready to be towed to the Dominican Republic for scrap, and they expected to make between $700,000 and $800,000 depending on metals markets.
It wasn't ideal to set out in mid-winter but Shoeybi, 32, said he felt pressured to get the vessel out of the harbour as soon as possible or risk having it seized by the courts.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Opposition questions why cruise ship is allowed to drift as owner laments losses
"On any given night, we're averaging 35 percent, 40 percent women," co-owner Matt Krimm told Eater DC, so it's a far cry from being a stodgy men's club, which might be more stereotypical for a cigar lounge.
The 93-seat lounge opened on Jan. 14 and features a full bar serving top-shelf whiskies, scotches and unique cocktails, Chevy Chase Patch reported last month.
The lounge has lengthy menus for cigars, wines, spirits and food. Edibles are prepared in the kitchen of neighboring restaurant Range, celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio's latest creation.
"The bar sees a happy hour crowd, neighborhood residents, diners leaving Range for a nightcap, businessmen and cigar aficionados alike," Eater DC added.
Co-owner John Anderson hopes to introduce a sort of cigar cart—like a dessert cart—"where the individual smokes will be physically present rather than just names on a menu so that a guest can see and touch just what he or she is choosing," Cigar Aficionado reported.
The decor—like the cigars and spirits—was chosen with care. "Civil benefits from the use of 'P.E.D.’s,' in this case, Puff Enhancing Décor, Design and Determination," with tall leather stools at the bar and high-backed, burgundy leather chairs in the lounge, Cigar Aficionado added.
During a regular meeting of the Bastrop County Commissioners Court on Jan. 28, the commissioners unanimously approved a renewal of the county’s contract with Seton Smithville Regional Hospital for the Bastrop County Indigent Health Care Program.
Under the agreement, Seton Smithville agrees to be the mandated provider for the program and will continue the “medically necessary and in-patient and out-patient hospital services within the scope of its licensure.” Also, all medically-necessary transfers for indigent health care recipients will be arranged “in the same manner” as is currently established for all other patients of the facility.
The commissioners approved an inspection and maintenance agreement with Wattinger Service Company of Austin for the air-handling system for the Bastrop County Courthouse. Wattinger will inspect and repair the building’s heating, air conditioning and ventilation system twice per year.
Wattinger will give the county a discounted labor rate and furnish parts “at current prices.” Those labor rates are: for mechanics/technicians – $72 per hour from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hourly rate for work after 4:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays will be $108 per hour. Work on holidays will be $144 per hour.
The commissioners also approved waiving platting requirements and development fees for the efforts of the non-profit Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team in the ongoing recovery from the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire. The LTRT has been assisting in the recovery from the fire by constructing homes for the uninsured and under-insured.
The group depends on private donations and foundation grants to do its work. In 2011, it built about 30 homes using volunteers from the Mennonite Disaster Service and Christian Aid Ministries.
The co-owner of a Russian cruise ship adrift in the North Atlantic said his attempt to salvage the derelict vessel has ruined him as the federal Opposition questioned why it was ever allowed to be towed in the dead of winter.
NDP transport critic Olivia Chow said that Transport Canada never should have permitted the Lyubov Orlova to be towed out of port in St. John's, N.L.
"Just because the ship is now drifting in international waters, it's still the Canadian government that gave it the authority to tow the ship," Chow said in an interview.
The empty cruise ship was being pulled to the Dominican Republic for scrap when its tow line snapped in rough seas on Jan. 24.
Efforts to reattach the cable failed, and Transport Canada ordered the tugboat Charlene Hunt back to port a few days later.
An offshore supply ship from Husky Energy was sent to tow the Lyubov Orlova away from oil platforms last week before a vessel chartered by Transport Canada took over.
However, the department said the towing operating was hampered by poor weather and the vessel was allowed to drift into international waters.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Opposition questions why cruise ship is allowed to drift as owner laments losses
However, the department said the towing operating was hampered by poor weather and the vessel was allowed to drift into international waters.
"Transport Canada, in consultation with its partners, decided not to pursue the drifting vessel as there are no people aboard the ship and there was a serious concern for the safety of Canadian sailors involved in the salvage operation," spokeswoman Celine Gaudet wrote in an email.
She said the Canadian Coast Guard installed a tracking device on the cruise ship, and government surveillance flights would also monitor its location.
Transport Canada has said the ship is not expected to re-enter Canadian waters and the owners of the ship remain responsible for its movements.
Reza Shoeybi said he and his uncle Saeed Shoaibi, both of Toronto, became co-owners of the Lyubov Orlova after Hussein Humayuni, a family friend and Iranian scrap merchant, bought the ship for $275,000 in a Federal Court process last year in Montreal.
Shoeybi said Humayuni struggled with the payments and that the other two men invested a total of more than $400,000 getting the vessel ready to be towed to the Dominican Republic for scrap, and they expected to make between $700,000 and $800,000 depending on metals markets.
It wasn't ideal to set out in mid-winter but Shoeybi, 32, said he felt pressured to get the vessel out of the harbour as soon as possible or risk having it seized by the courts.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Opposition questions why cruise ship is allowed to drift as owner laments losses
Monday, February 4, 2013
Disgraced Owner, but What About Cadillac Ranch?
Cadillac Ranch, located just off Interstate 40 a few miles west of Amarillo, is one of the most famous roadside attractions in America. The art installation, consisting of 10 tail-finned, brightly painted Cadillacs planted nose down in a pasture, was financed in 1974 by Stanley Marsh 3, the eccentric Panhandle oil heir and arts patron.
It has appeared as a backdrop in magazine fashion spreads and music videos (even Bruce Springsteen has sung about it) and has become a destination for a regular stream of visitors from all over the country.
But since October, when Mr. Marsh was named a defendant in the first of a series of lawsuits filed on behalf of 10 teenage boys who say he sexually abused them, Cadillac Ranch is attracting a different kind of attention. As details of Mr. Marsh’s alleged abuse emerge, citizens in Amarillo are debating whether the quirky Texas landmark should be dismantled.
“Seize the property at Cadillac Ranch under forfeiture laws!!!” one resident recently posted on the Web site of The Amarillo Globe News. Another wrote, “A stupid bunch of junk cars.”
For nearly a half century, Mr. Marsh, 74 — who uses 3 at the end of his name because he says he finds Roman numerals pretentious — was celebrated as a free-spirited mischief maker who livened up the Panhandle with what he called “unexpected art.”
Besides the Cadillacs, he once built a pool table the size of a football field on his ranch, painting the prairie green and creating large, beanbag-like billiard balls. He was known as a mentor to Amarillo’s young people and hired many for his art projects, including the installation of mock traffic signs with cryptic slogans like Road Does Not End and You Will Never Be the Same.
But according to the lawsuits, which were filed by Anthony G. Buzbee, a Houston lawyer, Mr. Marsh purposely sought out “troubled young men” as his protégés and took advantage of them. The plaintiffs not only accuse Mr. Marsh of paying them for sexual favors in 2010 and 2011, when they were 15 and 16 years old, but they also contend that several adults close to Mr. Marsh — including his wife, his son and a business associate — were aware of, and facilitated, the abuse. In November Mr. Marsh was arrested on felony charges of sexual assault of a child and sexual performance by a child. If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in prison.
Mr. Marsh’s defense lawyers, Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson, of Houston, say that although their client is now legally incapacitated because of a series of strokes he suffered in late 2011, he will fight the charges “as vigorously as his declining health permits.”
Although the allegations are shocking in a town where Mr. Marsh is generally admired, many residents said they were not surprised. According to George Whittenburg, a lawyer in Amarillo, rumors about Mr. Marsh’s indiscretions have circulated for years, “probably as long as the Cadillac Ranch has been standing,” he said.
Mr. Whittenburg represented two teenagers who sued Mr. Marsh for attempted sexual assault in 1996 and 2004. Those suits were settled out of court, and Mr. Marsh admitted no wrongdoing. “I had several other boys who also wanted to sue, but they chose to settle with Mr. Marsh for money and agree to confidentiality,” Mr. Whittenburg said.
Mr. Buzbee said that Mr. Marsh had never been successfully sued or prosecuted “because he’s been able to pull enough strings in Amarillo to keep himself out of trouble.”
“He’s gotten a lot of people to pretend that nothing was happening, just like Jerry Sandusky did at Penn State,” Mr. Buzbee added.
Across Amarillo, residents are left to wrestle with what the lawsuits mean for Mr. Marsh’s imprint on their city. His supporters believe the teenage plaintiffs have banded together with an aggressive out-of-town lawyer to get at Mr. Marsh’s money. “Keep the pitchfork away until all the facts come out,” wrote one commenter on The Globe News’s Web site. Another wrote: “Now every idiot in town is going to claim allegations against Marsh. The greed for money just keeps on coming.”
“Listen, I’ll be the first to tell you that I admire Stanley and what he has done for this town,” said Jeff Blackburn, an Amarillo lawyer, who founded the Innocence Project of Texas and who, like Mr. Marsh, is a descendant of one of Amarillo’s first pioneer families. “I can tell you this town is better off for having had him in it for as long as it has. Yes, we’ve heard rumors, but they’ve always remained rumors. If it turns out they are true, then we’ll do the right thing.”
And although the vast majority of snaps on show have been taken with a Hasselblad, since 2008 participants have also been able to submit photos taken with other large- and medium-format cameras.
The snaps are all on show at the gallery space inside the Elite Photography Organization in Huangpu district.
The competition constitutes 11 categories for entries: architectural, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general, landscapes and nature, portraiture, products, up and coming, wedding/social, and wildlife. The theme of the 2012 competition was the simple word, "Evoke."
French photographer Denis Rouvre's two works hung by the gallery entrance instantly grab visitors' attention. With a black background, these half-length portraits capture every detail of their male subjects in light and shadow that evoke an oil painting. As a long-time fan of the Hasselblad, Rouvre is a renowned portraitist whose recent awards include third prize in the Portrait Single category at the 2012 World Press Photo for the series Tsunami Survivors, taken in quake-hit Japan in 2011.
This year, Danish photographer Ken Hermann won the "general" category for City Surfers, a series depicting people involved in parkour and other free-running sports. "I took the images using a Hasselblad H2 and studio lighting to freeze the subjects and to make them stand out from their surroundings," he said in an introduction to the show.
It has appeared as a backdrop in magazine fashion spreads and music videos (even Bruce Springsteen has sung about it) and has become a destination for a regular stream of visitors from all over the country.
But since October, when Mr. Marsh was named a defendant in the first of a series of lawsuits filed on behalf of 10 teenage boys who say he sexually abused them, Cadillac Ranch is attracting a different kind of attention. As details of Mr. Marsh’s alleged abuse emerge, citizens in Amarillo are debating whether the quirky Texas landmark should be dismantled.
“Seize the property at Cadillac Ranch under forfeiture laws!!!” one resident recently posted on the Web site of The Amarillo Globe News. Another wrote, “A stupid bunch of junk cars.”
For nearly a half century, Mr. Marsh, 74 — who uses 3 at the end of his name because he says he finds Roman numerals pretentious — was celebrated as a free-spirited mischief maker who livened up the Panhandle with what he called “unexpected art.”
Besides the Cadillacs, he once built a pool table the size of a football field on his ranch, painting the prairie green and creating large, beanbag-like billiard balls. He was known as a mentor to Amarillo’s young people and hired many for his art projects, including the installation of mock traffic signs with cryptic slogans like Road Does Not End and You Will Never Be the Same.
But according to the lawsuits, which were filed by Anthony G. Buzbee, a Houston lawyer, Mr. Marsh purposely sought out “troubled young men” as his protégés and took advantage of them. The plaintiffs not only accuse Mr. Marsh of paying them for sexual favors in 2010 and 2011, when they were 15 and 16 years old, but they also contend that several adults close to Mr. Marsh — including his wife, his son and a business associate — were aware of, and facilitated, the abuse. In November Mr. Marsh was arrested on felony charges of sexual assault of a child and sexual performance by a child. If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in prison.
Mr. Marsh’s defense lawyers, Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson, of Houston, say that although their client is now legally incapacitated because of a series of strokes he suffered in late 2011, he will fight the charges “as vigorously as his declining health permits.”
Although the allegations are shocking in a town where Mr. Marsh is generally admired, many residents said they were not surprised. According to George Whittenburg, a lawyer in Amarillo, rumors about Mr. Marsh’s indiscretions have circulated for years, “probably as long as the Cadillac Ranch has been standing,” he said.
Mr. Whittenburg represented two teenagers who sued Mr. Marsh for attempted sexual assault in 1996 and 2004. Those suits were settled out of court, and Mr. Marsh admitted no wrongdoing. “I had several other boys who also wanted to sue, but they chose to settle with Mr. Marsh for money and agree to confidentiality,” Mr. Whittenburg said.
Mr. Buzbee said that Mr. Marsh had never been successfully sued or prosecuted “because he’s been able to pull enough strings in Amarillo to keep himself out of trouble.”
“He’s gotten a lot of people to pretend that nothing was happening, just like Jerry Sandusky did at Penn State,” Mr. Buzbee added.
Across Amarillo, residents are left to wrestle with what the lawsuits mean for Mr. Marsh’s imprint on their city. His supporters believe the teenage plaintiffs have banded together with an aggressive out-of-town lawyer to get at Mr. Marsh’s money. “Keep the pitchfork away until all the facts come out,” wrote one commenter on The Globe News’s Web site. Another wrote: “Now every idiot in town is going to claim allegations against Marsh. The greed for money just keeps on coming.”
“Listen, I’ll be the first to tell you that I admire Stanley and what he has done for this town,” said Jeff Blackburn, an Amarillo lawyer, who founded the Innocence Project of Texas and who, like Mr. Marsh, is a descendant of one of Amarillo’s first pioneer families. “I can tell you this town is better off for having had him in it for as long as it has. Yes, we’ve heard rumors, but they’ve always remained rumors. If it turns out they are true, then we’ll do the right thing.”
And although the vast majority of snaps on show have been taken with a Hasselblad, since 2008 participants have also been able to submit photos taken with other large- and medium-format cameras.
The snaps are all on show at the gallery space inside the Elite Photography Organization in Huangpu district.
The competition constitutes 11 categories for entries: architectural, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general, landscapes and nature, portraiture, products, up and coming, wedding/social, and wildlife. The theme of the 2012 competition was the simple word, "Evoke."
French photographer Denis Rouvre's two works hung by the gallery entrance instantly grab visitors' attention. With a black background, these half-length portraits capture every detail of their male subjects in light and shadow that evoke an oil painting. As a long-time fan of the Hasselblad, Rouvre is a renowned portraitist whose recent awards include third prize in the Portrait Single category at the 2012 World Press Photo for the series Tsunami Survivors, taken in quake-hit Japan in 2011.
This year, Danish photographer Ken Hermann won the "general" category for City Surfers, a series depicting people involved in parkour and other free-running sports. "I took the images using a Hasselblad H2 and studio lighting to freeze the subjects and to make them stand out from their surroundings," he said in an introduction to the show.
Piece by piece, history emerges at the Griswold Inn
Step into the Griswold Inn in Essex, and you'll encounter a roomful of curious things. An old nautical map here, vintage signs there, low ceilings and long-retired architectural details everywhere.
The inn and tavern's walls are covered in paintings, sketches and ephemera that illustrate the history of the Gris as a gathering place and, indeed, that of the river-valley region, starting in 1776.
It would take a visitor some time to examine the entire collection. Even Gris co-owner Geoff Paul isn't quite certain of just how many pieces the inn has acquired over the years, but he estimates that number to be in the hundreds, or more than 200 years' worth. Paul can say with certainty, though, that the Gris houses the world's largest collection of art and ephemera related to steamboating in the region.
It's quite a niche collection and not all of it is valuable, but one common denominator brings back tourists and residents for another look.
As Paul found himself regularly answering patrons' questions about the art and because the collection is too vast to include museum-quality descriptions with each piece, Paul decided about a year ago to organize free art tours of the inn - an ideal venue from which to regale visitors with the real scoop on the art, all of which is placed or hung where it was originally set over the years. So if you spot a Currier & Ives print, it's because the Gris subscribed to the firm's mail-order service in the mid-1800s, then hung it in the tavern at that time.
"The whole accumulation is an original collection in its original location, and that in and of itself tells a story," Paul notes.
Since the tours began, Paul says every single one has been fully subscribed. Approximately 500 people toured the Gris in 2012, several of them more than once.
"I'm certain, anyone who invests the hour and a half in this art tour will never look at the Griswold Inn the same way," Paul notes. "They will have a much richer experience forever once they know some of the stories."
Not surprising, considering the location itself is historic. As the oldest continuously run tavern in the United States, a volume's worth of history has taken place at the Gris. The Gris likely was named one of the state's 50 Cultural Treasures for several reasons. Construction of the Revolutionary warship Oliver Cromwell helped to build the Gris and Essex itself; British troops captured it and camped there during the War of 1812; steam-boating boomed on the nearby Connecticut River; several protests in the name of temperance erupted there-and just about all of those historic highlights left some artwork behind.
There's the drawings of steamboats by Samuel Ward Stanton, who was lost on the Titanic; and Antonio Jacobsen's masterpiece, "The Steamboat Connecticut," which depicts the grand ship in bold colors, set firmly on a course headed toward the viewer under a gorgeous cloudy sky. Jacobsen's treatment of the ship characterizes a booming industry and America's growing love affair with industrialization in the late 1800s.
Or take the final charcoal study of Norman Rockwell's "Steamboat Race on the Connecticut River," which hangs in the wine bar. The piece shows a scene of a focused pilot, a young apprentice and a few other characters cruising specifically through Essex. Paul says there's another "very, very cool" story associated with the painting, but he's keeping it mum until the next tour.
He does offer this: Rockwell's final oil painting of "Steamboat Race" sold for $2.7 million at Sotheby's. It was purchased by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who are fans of Rockwell's method of visual storytelling, according to Paul.
Head past the barroom - the space Paul calls "heaven" for fans of marine art - and into the bar's dining area, and a flurry of temperance banners (circa 1842) admonish those who imbibe to excess. One reads: "Large streams from little fountains flow, great sots from moderate drinkers grow." Some items overlap, placed as such by the proprietors when they were acquired, and there they remain. Paul notes that Prohibition was extremely unpopular and lackadaisically policed in Connecticut, so spirits continued to flow on the sly at the Gris throughout the state's dry days in the early 1900s.
With so much ground to cover, it's a wonder Paul reports only one instance of being stumped by a group - a class of sixth-graders that Paul calls his most challenging group to date, not because of unruly behavior but because of the intellectual quality of the students' questions. More than one question sent him running back to his library for answers, but the one he remembers is a query after a discussion about Benedict Arnold and the burning of New London. The boy wanted to know if Benedict Arnold and Nathan Hale knew each other, since Arnold was in New York around the time Hale was hanged there as a spy. Paul found no evidence of a connection between the two men, but the question stirred up a lively discussion.
Independence Seaport Museum’s Chief Curator Craig Bruns has known Boone for many years through working with him at the museum, and is amazed at his knowledge of Delaware River history.
“He can look at an old photograph and say, ‘Oh, that’s right next to pier so-and-so,’ or see a photo of a particular tug and know that it ran from this time to this time,” Bruns said. “He has that incredible ability, so we value him greatly.”
After seeing several pieces of Boone’s artwork, Bruns said he had been interested in having the artist exhibit his works for a while.
“So, when the opportunity opened up I approached him about it,” Bruns said.
“The Seaport’s mission is to document and teach, or show people a history of the Delaware River region,” Bruns said. “He is, of course, part of that as a (former) tug dispatcher and as an artist, painting his maritime subjects, and he is also an historian. He fits several times over into our mission.”
The inn and tavern's walls are covered in paintings, sketches and ephemera that illustrate the history of the Gris as a gathering place and, indeed, that of the river-valley region, starting in 1776.
It would take a visitor some time to examine the entire collection. Even Gris co-owner Geoff Paul isn't quite certain of just how many pieces the inn has acquired over the years, but he estimates that number to be in the hundreds, or more than 200 years' worth. Paul can say with certainty, though, that the Gris houses the world's largest collection of art and ephemera related to steamboating in the region.
It's quite a niche collection and not all of it is valuable, but one common denominator brings back tourists and residents for another look.
As Paul found himself regularly answering patrons' questions about the art and because the collection is too vast to include museum-quality descriptions with each piece, Paul decided about a year ago to organize free art tours of the inn - an ideal venue from which to regale visitors with the real scoop on the art, all of which is placed or hung where it was originally set over the years. So if you spot a Currier & Ives print, it's because the Gris subscribed to the firm's mail-order service in the mid-1800s, then hung it in the tavern at that time.
"The whole accumulation is an original collection in its original location, and that in and of itself tells a story," Paul notes.
Since the tours began, Paul says every single one has been fully subscribed. Approximately 500 people toured the Gris in 2012, several of them more than once.
"I'm certain, anyone who invests the hour and a half in this art tour will never look at the Griswold Inn the same way," Paul notes. "They will have a much richer experience forever once they know some of the stories."
Not surprising, considering the location itself is historic. As the oldest continuously run tavern in the United States, a volume's worth of history has taken place at the Gris. The Gris likely was named one of the state's 50 Cultural Treasures for several reasons. Construction of the Revolutionary warship Oliver Cromwell helped to build the Gris and Essex itself; British troops captured it and camped there during the War of 1812; steam-boating boomed on the nearby Connecticut River; several protests in the name of temperance erupted there-and just about all of those historic highlights left some artwork behind.
There's the drawings of steamboats by Samuel Ward Stanton, who was lost on the Titanic; and Antonio Jacobsen's masterpiece, "The Steamboat Connecticut," which depicts the grand ship in bold colors, set firmly on a course headed toward the viewer under a gorgeous cloudy sky. Jacobsen's treatment of the ship characterizes a booming industry and America's growing love affair with industrialization in the late 1800s.
Or take the final charcoal study of Norman Rockwell's "Steamboat Race on the Connecticut River," which hangs in the wine bar. The piece shows a scene of a focused pilot, a young apprentice and a few other characters cruising specifically through Essex. Paul says there's another "very, very cool" story associated with the painting, but he's keeping it mum until the next tour.
He does offer this: Rockwell's final oil painting of "Steamboat Race" sold for $2.7 million at Sotheby's. It was purchased by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who are fans of Rockwell's method of visual storytelling, according to Paul.
Head past the barroom - the space Paul calls "heaven" for fans of marine art - and into the bar's dining area, and a flurry of temperance banners (circa 1842) admonish those who imbibe to excess. One reads: "Large streams from little fountains flow, great sots from moderate drinkers grow." Some items overlap, placed as such by the proprietors when they were acquired, and there they remain. Paul notes that Prohibition was extremely unpopular and lackadaisically policed in Connecticut, so spirits continued to flow on the sly at the Gris throughout the state's dry days in the early 1900s.
With so much ground to cover, it's a wonder Paul reports only one instance of being stumped by a group - a class of sixth-graders that Paul calls his most challenging group to date, not because of unruly behavior but because of the intellectual quality of the students' questions. More than one question sent him running back to his library for answers, but the one he remembers is a query after a discussion about Benedict Arnold and the burning of New London. The boy wanted to know if Benedict Arnold and Nathan Hale knew each other, since Arnold was in New York around the time Hale was hanged there as a spy. Paul found no evidence of a connection between the two men, but the question stirred up a lively discussion.
Independence Seaport Museum’s Chief Curator Craig Bruns has known Boone for many years through working with him at the museum, and is amazed at his knowledge of Delaware River history.
“He can look at an old photograph and say, ‘Oh, that’s right next to pier so-and-so,’ or see a photo of a particular tug and know that it ran from this time to this time,” Bruns said. “He has that incredible ability, so we value him greatly.”
After seeing several pieces of Boone’s artwork, Bruns said he had been interested in having the artist exhibit his works for a while.
“So, when the opportunity opened up I approached him about it,” Bruns said.
“The Seaport’s mission is to document and teach, or show people a history of the Delaware River region,” Bruns said. “He is, of course, part of that as a (former) tug dispatcher and as an artist, painting his maritime subjects, and he is also an historian. He fits several times over into our mission.”
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