Monday, August 31, 2015
Princess Yennenga
PRINCESS YENNENGA:
HORSE-RIDING WARRIOR AND MOTHER OF MOSSI PEOPLE OF BURKINA FASO
Princess Yennenga, also
known as Yennenga the Svelte, was a legendary African princess, considered the
mother of the Mossi Mole-Dagbani people of Burkina Faso. She was a famous
horse-riding warrior whose son Ouedraogo founded the Mossi Kingdoms. The origin of the "Land of Honest
Men," the meaning of Burkina Faso is entrenched in the history of Princess
Yennenga. The stallion, princess` own power animal became an important symbol
in the country and it symbolizes her passion, personal drive and appetite for power.
Yennenga was the only
daughter of the progenitor of the four
Mole-Dagbani ethnic groups, Na Gbewa also known as Nedega. Na Gbewa or Nedega
became the early 12th century king of a Kingdom at Pusiga in the northern region
of Ghana. Na Gbewa`s three sons all founded powerful kingdoms. The first son,
Tohagu founded the Mamprusi kingdom, the second son, Sitobu founded the Dagomba
kingdom and the other son founded Nanumba kingdom, all in the northern region
of Ghana. It is no surprise that Na Gbewa`s only daughters` son Ouedraogo
following her mother, Yennenga`s, warrior prowess also founded the most
powerful Mossi kingdom of the ethnic Mossi people in Burkina Faso.
Yennenga the only
daughter of Na Gbewa was said to very beautiful (as all Mole-Dagbani women are,
even today) and beloved princess who from the age of 14, fought in battle for
her father against the neighbouring Malinkés. She was very brave woman, with
uncommon skills with javelins, spears and bows, an excellent horsewoman who
rode horses much better than his brothers and commanded her own battalion at a
tender age. Yennenga was such an important fighter that when she reached a
marriageable age, her father refused to choose a husband for her or allow her
to marry. To express her unhappiness to her father, Yennenga planted a field of
wheat. When the crop grew, she let it rot. She would not harvest it. Her father
was very surprised and asked her for an explanation. "You see
father", she said, "you are letting me rot like the wheat in this
field". King Nedega was very upset, unmoved this gesture and ordered that
she be locked up.
But Yennenga had
friends among the King's (Na Gbewa) guards. One night, one of the king’s
horsemen helped Yennenga, dressed as a man, escape on her stallion. Both rode
long into the night and were later attacked by Malinké warriors. Yennenga and
her benefactor routed their attackers but the horseman paid for the victory
with his life. Yennenga was now alone in the middle of the forest, far, far
away from Gambaga.
Bravely she continued
to ride further north. At one point in the journey she had to cross a river.
After using her stallion to withstand the strong currents and negotiating
through the river she became exhausted. She rode slowly into a forest and lay
on the back of her horse. It was at this juncture that Yennenga’met a famous
solitary elephant hunter called Riale. When he saw through Yennenga’s disguise,
they fell in love straight away. They got married; in time Yennenga and Riale
had a son who came to be called Ouedraogo, which means "Male Horse"
or “stallion” and is now a common name in Burkina Faso. Ouedraogo founded the
Mossi Kingdom.
Yennenga is considered
by the Mossi to be the mother of their empire and many statues of her can be
found in the capital city of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. A statue of a golden
stallion, called the Étalon de Yennenga, is awarded as the first prize in the
biennial Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso's
most celebrated film makers, Idrissa Ouedraogo, who won the Yennenga prize in
1991 with a film called "Tilai" had the Golden stallion. The national
football team is nicknamed “Les Étalons” (“the Stallions”) in reference to
Yennenga’s stallion.
Divine Right Of Kings
Divine right of kings,
doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings
derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable
for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament. Originating in
Europe, the divine-right theory can be traced to the medieval conception of
God’s award of temporal power to the political ruler, paralleling the award of
spiritual power to the church. By the 16th and 17th centuries, however, the new
national monarchs were asserting their authority in matters of both church and
state. King James I of England (reigned 1603–25) was the foremost exponent of
the divine right of kings, but the doctrine virtually disappeared from English
politics after the Glorious Revolution (1688–89). In the late 17th and the 18th
centuries, kings such as Louis XIV (1643–1715) of France continued to profit
from the divine-right theory, even though many of them no longer had any truly
religious belief in it. The American Revolution (1775–83), the French
Revolution (1789), and the Napoleonic wars deprived the doctrine of most of its
remaining credibility.
![Bossuet, Jacques-Bénigne [Credit: Alinari—Mansell/Art Resource, New York]](http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media/89/6789-004-F2E69D9A.jpg)
The bishop
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), one of the principal French theorists of
divine right, asserted that the king’s person and authority were sacred; that
his power was modeled on that of a father’s and was absolute, deriving from
God; and that he was governed by reason (i.e., custom and precedent). In the
middle of the 17th century, the English Royalist squire Sir Robert Filmer
likewise held that the state was a family and that the king was a father, but
he claimed, in an interpretation of Scripture, that Adam was the first king and
that Charles I (reigned 1625–49) ruled England as Adam’s eldest heir. The
antiabsolutist philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) wrote his First Treatise of
Civil Government (1689) in order to refute such arguments.
The doctrine of divine
right can be dangerous for both church and state. For the state it suggests
that secular authority is conferred, and can therefore be removed, by the
church, and for the church it implies that kings have a direct relationship to
God and may therefore dictate to ecclesiastical rulers.
Brain Eating Amoeba: Naegleria fowleri
So far this summer,
three people have died from the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, now being called the
"brain-eating amoeba." Naegleria fowleri is the genus and species
name of an ameboflagellate. This particular amoeba causes a serious
inflammation of the brain and spinal canal called primary amebic
meningoencephalitis (PAM), mainly affecting children and young adults. The
amoeba exists in three scientific forms, free-living cysts, trophozoites, and
flagellated forms. Its life cycle is mainly in the cyst to trophozoite to cyst
cycle (see image) and resembles other amoeba such as Acanthamoeba. The organism
was officially discovered in Australia in 1965 by Drs. M. Fowler (hence the
scientific name) and R. Carter. It probably has been occasionally infecting
humans, however, for centuries.
Diagram of life cycle
and rare infection pathway of humans for Naegleria fowleri
Fortunately, humans are
rarely infected with Naegleria fowleri. Most doctors do not ever see or
diagnosis this infection in any of their patients. Although the organisms can
be found worldwide, mainly in warm waters (lakes, rivers, hot springs, power
plant warm water discharge pools) that have loose sediment, are stagnant or
contaminated with stirred up bottom sediment, or even in poorly chlorinated
swimming pools, only about 121 cases have occurred in the US according to the
CDC. Only one person has reportedly survived a diagnosed case of primary amebic
meningoencephalitis caused by this parasite.
The Proposal of John Reynolds by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Out of the year 1611
one of the most beloved and widely used translations of the Bible emerged, The
King James Version. Since then, the King James Version has long been admired
throughout the centuries. It seems there is an attraction to its poetical
arrangement and uplifting tone of phraseology. Most people are convinced that
the language used, which is sixteenth century English, could actually be the
most beautiful sounding language of all. But where did this beloved treasure
come from? Who wrote it? Was it a man named King James? Was he actually a king?
It may be helpful to understand the answers to these questions for our personal
edification and help to others. As to not belabor these questions, let us find
out what the real story is behind this version of the Bible.
The King James Version
was born out of a need to still the voices of godly ministers who relied
heavily on the Geneva Bible and the exceptionally well written notes in the
margins which taught that Christians should not obey corrupt Kings who ordered
them to obey even in wicked instances. The Bishop’s Bible, the Great Bible, the
Tyndale Bible and the Coverdale Bible could be found in various churches, yet
for a generation they had not been revised nor had they been reprinted. The
Geneva bible has been the favorite of Puritans for 50 years, and found its
final revision in 1599. King James, though, being the wicked man he was, did
not want the notes of the Geneva Bible circulated as far and wide as they had.
He desired another translation to be made without notes.
When Queen Elizabeth
died, on March 24, 1603, the crown of England passed to a man named James I,
who had already worn the crown of Scotland for thirty-seven years as James VI.
Some months after his coming to England, James summoned a conference of
churchmen and theologians at Hampton Court “for the hearing, and for the
determining, things pretended to be amiss in the church”. Nothing much came
about from the Hampton Court conference, which was held in January of 1604,
except (and a notable exception it was) the resolution that a translation
should be made of the whole Bible. This new translation was to be as close to
original Hebrew and Greek as it could possibly come. Then from the point of
completion, this new Bible was to be used in all the churches as its’ approved
text. But why? The Geneva Bible had served the reformational mind-set with
great fervor. Why did James want another translation made?
Three reasons prompted
King James I to make a new translation. One reason was the “back to the Bible”
movement trying to recapture the true meaning of scripture as a result of the
Reformation, and the King desired to ride that soap box as a way to “identify with
the people” as best he could. The second reason was the scholarship which was
beginning to become prominent during the Renaissance. Being a King during the
reign of scholarship was always something that has been noted in history. It
was another way King James would be “remembered.” Thirdly, the King detested
the current bible. The most beloved bible was the Geneva Bible. It was the
favorite of Puritans and almost every home had one. But the Geneva Bible had
something the other bibles had not previously had – extensive notes reflecting
reformation thought. This was dangerous to the King because of his immoral
lifestyle. (He was a very corrupt king, and a sodomite as well.) The Geneva
Bible extensively spoke against corrupt kings. King James did not favor this at
all. So he desired a new translation without notes.
The proposal for a new
translation came from Dr. John Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College at
Oxford, a leader of the Puritan side in the Church of England, and one of the
greatest scholars of his day. Reynold’s proposal caught King James’ fancy and
he set in order the machinery to bring about the translation. King James
himself took a leading part in organizing the work of translation. Six panels
of translators, (54 in all), had the work divided up between them; the Old
Testament was entrusted to three panels, the New Testament to two, and the
Apocrypha to one. Two of the panels met at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at
Westminster. The qualifications of the King’s translators and the guide rules
set up assured the best revision possible at the time. Some of the guide rules
for format were as follows: “it was laid down that the old ecclesiastical words
were to be kept, (“church” and not “congregation” for example). Marginal notes
were to be used only to explain Hebrew and Greek words, and to draw attention
to parallel passages. Words necessary to complete the sense of meaning were to
be printed in distinctive type. The existing chapter and verse divisions were
to be retained, and new headings were to be supplied for the chapters.” Some of
the workers died before the completed text and others were found to replace
them. A letter speaks of fifty-four translators, however, only forty-eight
names have been preserved.
What ancient texts did
they work with? They had the Complutensian Polygot of 1517, published at
Complutum, now in Alcala de Hanares, Spain, and they had the Antwerp Polygot,
1569-1572. These gave the Hebrew and Greek texts with versions in other tongues
added. Of course they had the Latin Vulgate, though that was suspect because it
was popish and uninspired. With some fragments of early church scrolls, they
had countless comments by the early church fathers and ancient scholars. Often
they referred to Saint Chrysostom, (347-407 A.D.), whose works Sir Henry
Saville had begun to edit, with the help from Andrew Downes and John Bois.
Another reference authority was the Geneva scholar, Theodore Beza, (1519-1605
A.D.).
The outcome was not a
bible literally translated from the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, but a redaction
of the Geneva bible (20%) and the Bishop’s Bible (80%) but all without notes.
Some of the more difficult passages were translated from the original, but most
of the Bible was cutting and pasting from the other sources.
After the final draft
was completed by the fifty-four scholars, a concluding committee of twelve
reviewed what the lower committees had prepared, and then Bishop Thomas Bilson
and Dr. Miles Smith added the finishing touches. By 1609 the whole revision was
ready for the public. Though the King contributed no money to its production,
and though no record of an official authorization of the finished product
survives, if such were ever given, the Bible became to be known as the King
James Version. Miles Smith, Canon of Hereford, later to be known as the Bishop
of Gloucestor, and Thomas Bilson, Bishop of Winchester, saw it through the
press, and Miles Smith composed the informative preface, “The Translators to
the Readers.” The title of this new translation was: “The Holy Bible,
Conteyning the Old Testament and the New: Newly Translated out of the Original
tongues, with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his
Majesties speciall commandment. Appointed to be read in the Churches. Imprinted
at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majestie. Anno
Dom. 1611.” The New Testament Bore a different title: “The New Testament of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Newly translated out of the Originall Greeke;
and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by His
majesties speciall Commandment. Imprinted at London by Robert Baker, Printer to
the Kings most Excellent Majestie. Anno Dom. 1611. cum Privilegio.”
Though the King James
Bible was never “authorized” by King James, it was called the authorized King
James Version nevertheless. “Many stood up against the King James Version. Dr.
Hugh Boughton, a distinguished scholar recognized by John Lightfoot, said “The
late Bible…was sent to me to censure: which bred in me a sadness that will
grieve me while I breathe, it is ill done. Tell His Majesty that I had rather
be rent in pieces with wild horses, than any such translation by my consent
should be urged upon poor churches…The new edition crosseth me. I require it to
be burnt.” Even John Lightfoot, in 1629, objected to the Apocrypha being placed
in the canon. The King James Version went through fifteen printings in the
first three years. It seems many disagreed with its translation and the
committees were forced to revise it over and over again. The first major
revision being some months after the 1609 version and the authorized version
(1611) came two years after.
It was not until 1662
that the King James Version was beginning to be used in Churches. The
popularity of the King James Version today has grown exceedingly compared to
its very unpopular beginning years. People are constantly quoting that
erroneous statement “the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus and Paul,
it is good enough for me!” It is easy to see the dedication to such a beautiful
translation in the King’s English, though any church historian knows that Paul
or Jesus never carried it around with them. Why is it that so many cling to
such a “sacred” translation? To see one obvious reason is to observe the fact
that it is popular. Another reason would be the poetical structure and the
flowing words which come out with grace as one reads. People say that the first
Bible one reads is the one he or she falls in love with. As the King James
Bible became a “fad” in England as a result of the King’s desire to rid his
court with the Geneva notes, people began to find its appeal more and more.
Yet, many think the
Kings English far too outdated. To state such an example would be to observe
the odd sentences used throughout the King James Version. Such as, “To brake
his skull-Judges 9:53Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), Thou shalt
destroy them that speak leasing-Psalm 5:6Open in Logos Bible Software (if
available), The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning
the vapour-Job 36:33Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), and also, Ye
are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels-II
Corinthians 6:12Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). There are also
various words which are seemingly foreign to most twentieth century readers.
Such as, “ouches of gold”-Exodus 28:11Open in Logos Bible Software (if
available), “collops of fat”-Job 15:27Open in Logos Bible Software (if
available), “Wimples”-Isa. 3:22Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), and
“cast clouts” in Jer. 38:12Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). What
does all this mean to the modern reader? It means that those who are fanatics
concerning this translation are going to spend long hours trying to decipher
the English text. Would it not be more sensible to decipher the Greek or Hebrew
than to spend the time trying to figure out what sixteenth century English
says? Possibly. Of course there will be forever the numerous “traditional” King
James adherers, and they shall have their own opinion about the meaning of
scripture. The traditionalists sometimes forget that new texts and fragments
appear and add to the more concise meaning to scripture rendering it a better
translation than its’ predecessor. Yet even as such staunch readers hold fast
to the King James Version of 1611, to their surprise they have been readily
deceived. They actually carry a translation rewritten about 158 years later!
The King James Version underwent a flutter of minor revisions until a final
revision was brought about by Dr. Benjamin Blaney in 1769. This revision was
not authorized. Not until 1881 was an official revision done. Even for the
traditionalist, the actual English of 1611 would be a task in deciphering in
itself. Yet, it must be agreed upon that once these archaic terms are overcome,
the translation read quite nicely.
In saying all of this,
I must emphatically assert that the KJV bible is an excellent translation since
it is simply a recompilation of the Geneva Bible and the Bishops Bible. It is
unfortunate that the Geneva Bible is not readily available today, although
facsimile versions abound. Of the translations which are available today I
would certainly choose to read the KJV over most, if not all.
King James of England, Scotland & Ireland
I am a native of
Virginia, which traces its beginnings to Jamestown, named after King James I of
Ireland and England, who granted the Virginia Company a charter in 1606. He had
also ruled Scotland as King James VI since 1567, from the age of thirteen months.
James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been forced to abdicate in
her infant’s favor (when she married her husband’s likely murderer). James
reigned over all three crowns until his death in 1625. And he was a flaming
homosexual.
When he was fourteen
(see portrait at right), James fell in love with a Catholic Frenchman, Esmé
Stewart, who was nearly three times his age. The besotted James made Esmé the
only duke in Scotland, the 1st Duke of Lennox. According to eyewitness
accounts, he was “in such love with him as in the open sight of the people
oftentimes he will clasp him about the neck with his arms and kiss him."
The disapproving Scottish nobles first made Lennox choose between James and his
Catholicism (he chose James), then eventually forced Lennox to flee back to
France. James comforted himself by writing Scottish poetry (see second portrait
of an older and wiser Scottish King).
When Elizabeth I died
and James became King of England in 1603, his exploits with men were well
known. Londoners sneered, “Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen.”
In 1607, the same year
Jamestown was founded, he attended a jousting tournament, where he saw
17-year-old Robert Carr thrown from a horse, breaking his leg. James rushed to
his aid and promptly fell in love. James made Carr a gentleman of the
bedchamber and gave him many gifts, including the title 1st Earl of Somerset
and a country estate. Seven years later James fell in love with George
Villiers, whom he later made the 1st Duke of Buckingham. When restoration of
Apethorpe Hall was completed in 2008, a previously unknown passage linking the
bedchambers of James and Villiers was discovered. Faithful to the end,
Buckingham was at his side when James died in 1625 following a stroke.
The contemporary playwright
and poet Théophile de Viau wrote:
“Apollo with his songs
debauched young
Hyacinthus,
And it is well known
that the king of England
fucks the Duke of
Buckingham.”
Oh, and the King James
Bible is named after him. In 1604 James charged 47 scholars within the Church
of England to undertake a new translation of the Bible into English, which was
published in 1611 and still in use today. This year marks the 400th anniversary
of its publication. This illustration is of the title page of the first
edition.
Japanese Firms Enter Cuba
Japanese companies are
keen to make inroads into Cuba after the country last month fully restored
diplomatic relations with the United States after more than five decades of
enmity, informed sources say.
A statue of feudal
samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga, who in 1614 became the first Japanese person to
visit Cuba, is seen in Havana in April. Many Japanese firms want to make
inroads into the Caribbean nation after it restored diplomatic ties with the
U.S. | KYODO
Cuba is just 150
kilometers from the United States. In addition, demand for infrastructure
development is believed to be strong as many existing facilities, such as
ports, are dilapidated.
The Japanese government
is ready to help domestic firms win business in Cuba by using official
development assistance, according to the sources.
The United States is
unlikely to lift all of its sanctions on Cuba until President Raul Castro
leaves office in 2018, according to a U.S. research firm. To Japanese firms,
the key is whether they can get the jump on U.S. rivals.
Cuba “is in the midst
of a bubble,” a source says. The number of Japanese businesspeople who visit
Cuba for market research has shot up four- to five-fold year on year since last
December, when the United States announced its plan to normalize its relations
with Cuba.
A variety of Japanese
businesses have sent officials, such as automakers, trading houses and
construction companies.
“Some companies have
already started preparations to set up representative offices,” a Japanese
company official says.
The Japanese government
hopes to strategically use grant aid and other assistance programs, mainly in
the areas of medicine and agriculture, where Cuban demand is believed to be
strong, to promote the use of products supplied by Japanese firms, according to
government sources.
Cuba also has
expectations for Japan. The Caribbean country is trying to diversify its trade
partners as it took a devastating blow from the 1959 breakup of its relations
with the United States, which Cuba’s economy had heavily relied on, according
to a local academic expert.
But no sign can be seen
that Cuba will take drastic economic reforms anytime soon after the diplomatic
normalization with the United States. Companies newly starting business in Cuba
need to work out medium- to long-term plans extending to the period after the
current president leaves, sources say.
After the full
termination of the U.S. sanctions, U.S. companies are likely to rush into Cuba.
Anticipating this, European companies are stepping up preparations by holding
investment seminars and through other means.
Seeds are being sown in
Cuba, a diplomatic source says, adding that future success in the Cuban market
will depend on the results of such preparations.
Twitter Wants A Way Into Cuba
Twitter says it’s
talked with the Cuban government about expanding access to its service, the
latest sign of U.S. tech companies exploring digital possibilities on the
island after President Barack Obama’s announcement of a historic thaw in
relations.
While the tech
conversation around Cuba has thus far been about building the basic network
infrastructure the country lacks, Twitter says it has a simple, short-term ask:
Let Cubans tweet by text message.
Cuba lacks the sort of
four- or five-digit number shortcut that allows users to tweet via SMS, often
quite cheaply and even from rudimentary cellphones. (In much of the world, that
short code is “40404,” but it varies; Mexico’s short code is, for example,
“6464.”)
Twitter says its
director of global public policy, Colin Crowell, has met with officials from
the Cuban Interests Section in Washington — the country’s current diplomatic
outpost in the U.S. — to discuss the issue.
“We don’t have a short
code deal with Cuba, and it’s one of the few places in the world where we
don’t,” says Crowell. “We’ve broached our desire with Cuban officials and
they’re open to it, but we haven’t made a trip down there to effectuate that
deal.
“We’ll follow in short
order when everyone catches their breath,” he adds. “We’d love to get a deal
sooner rather than later.”
At least one major U.S.
tech company has expressed interest in helping to do a major upgrade of Cuba’s
communications infrastructure. A representative from Google is in Havana this
week, focused on “helping the Cuban government think through their publicly
stated goal of improving Internet access,” according to a company spokesperson.
Twitter could be a way
for Cubans to share information among themselves and with the outside world, a
sea change in a country that Reporters Without Borders ranks among the world’s
worst when it comes to freedom of the press.
While many of the
world’s users now tweet using the Twitter.com website or Internet-based apps,
the lack of online options in Cuba — only about 5 percent of the population has
Internet access — makes that difficult for many. But Twitter started out as a
text message-based service and can still operate as one, points out Crowell.
The Cuban government
owns ETECSA, the telecom that runs Cubacel, the island’s mobile network, and
that would be responsible for setting up the desired short codes.
It was April’s Summit
of the Americas in particular, attended by both Obama and Cuban leader Raúl
Castro, that demonstrated the potential power of increased Twitter access in
Cuba, says Crowell. The company saw that Cuba-related tweets were commented on
and retweeted remarkably widely and often.
Google Testing To Enter Cuba
A Google executive is
headed to Cuba this weekend to explore bringing better Internet access to the
island, and the search giant has made a related proposal to the Cuban
government, according to a State Department official.
It’s the latest sign
that U.S. tech companies are testing the seriousness of Cuba’s interest in
opening up to outside investment after President Barack Obama’s announcement of
a historic thaw in relations and the Raúl Castro-led government’s recent pledge
to bring Internet access to all Cubans by 2020.
The Google executive,
Brett Perlmutter, is a New York-based member of the company’s Google Ideas unit
aimed at helping to solve the world’s biggest tech problems. He’s taking part
in a five-day trip to Havana with about a dozen other U.S. business representatives
and “will focus on helping the Cuban government think through their
publicly-stated goal of improving Internet access,” a company spokesperson
said.
Google declined to say
much else about its work in Cuba. But a senior State Department official, speaking
on background, said the search giant has made a proposal to the Cuban
government. “We don’t know what they’ve proposed, but we do know they’ve
proposed something,” the official said.
In Cuba today, only
about five percent of the population has Internet access, and cellphone service
can be sloth-like where it’s available at all. Google is known for its
experimentation with non-traditional ways of spreading the Internet, often
routing around incumbent providers. Its Project Loon uses high-altitude
balloons to carry access to hard-to-connect places, and Google Fiber has forged
partnerships with U.S. cities to sell moderately-priced, ultra-high-speed
broadband services.
Obama’s December
actions loosened considerably the restrictions on the export of
telecommunications equipment to Cuba. And trade analysts say that, while there
was an initial period of confusion over precisely what the new rules would
allow, tech companies like Google now feel on fairly firm legal footing.
According to the State
Department, other network infrastructure companies have expressed interest in
helping to upgrade island’s 2G wireless coverage.
The Cuba trip has been
organized by the Council of the Americas, a 50-year-old trade group founded by
David Rockefeller. The group will stay in Habana Vieja, Havana’s charming if
crumbling historic section, and is scheduled to return Thursday. The visit
coincides with the six-month anniversary of President Obama’s announcement of a
thaw in relations with Cuba, including the loosening of sanctions that, said
Obama, “have denied Cubans access to technology.”
Those who have paid
close attention to Cuba since the thaw describe an exuberance over the quick
flowering of technology tempered in short order by the realization that the
island of 11 million lacks the networks, both land-based and wireless, needed
to support modern devices. Without those networks, many technologies are little
more than paperweights.
U.S. tech has generally
thus far taken baby steps in Cuba, limited by the lack of Internet.
“Netflix made a big
announcement that it is going into Cuba, but nobody can really can really
access it,” says Kellie Meiman, managing parter at the international trade consultancy
McLarty Associates. “Airbnb is a little more thoughtful about understanding
what the needs on the ground are,” she said, because it’s established a Cuba
service running atop an existing network of government-licensed rental rooms.
Perlmutter and others
are on the trip are scheduled to attend a variety of meetings, including with
officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local entrepreneurs, economists
from the University of Havana’s Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, and
representatives of ETECSA, Cuba’s government-owned telecom. One goal is “to
give these companies a nuanced perspective of what’s taking place on the
island,” said Alana Tummino, director of policy at the Council of the Americas,
who is leading the trip.
This won’t be the first
trip by a Google executive to Cuba. Eric Schmidt, the company’s executive
chairman, visited the island last summer. After that, Google began offering
Cubans its lightweight Chrome Web browser.
Google Ideas, where
Perlmutter works, is headed by Jared Cohen, a former State Department official
who is co-author with Schimdt of the 2013 New York Times bestseller “The New
Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business.”
There are smaller
companies clamoring to engage in Cuba, too. The State Department official
described a recent, well-attended meeting in northern Virginia where local
executives asked eagerly about the new business landscape there. But the Cuban
government, swamped with offers to talk and applications for visas to visit the
island, appear to be prioritizing only the biggest fish.
“Cubans,” said the
State Department official, “are thinking about large agreements: the AT&Ts,
Verizons, and Googles of the world.”
The symbolism of
helping to network Cuba, say those in the field, is enormous, even if the
business opportunity is not. Cuba’s population is that of about Ohio, and the
average salary is less than 30 dollars a month. But there’s status that comes
with helping to connect a country that, despite sitting so close to the United
States, has largely sat out the Internet era the U.S. has helped to lead.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL
13: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
delivers remarks during the Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference at the
Washington Hilton April 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. Sponsored by a varied
coalition including lightweight metals producer Alcoa, the United Steelworks
union, the Sierra Club and various other labor, industry and telecommunications
leaders, the conference promotes the use of efficient and renewable energy and
cooperation in updating the country's energy infrastructure.
“A lot of companies are very interested,” said
Tummino. “It’s an intriguing market because it’s a virgin one for growing IT
and telecom infrastructure.”
But there are also
risks. Some companies worry that working with the Castro-led government, a
necessity when doing business in today’s Cuba, is still potentially toxic.
“Everyone’s really
nervous that they’re going to get protested in Miami,” said Jake Colvin, vice
president for global trade issues at the the National Foreign Trade Council.
That organization is leading its own trade trip to Havana later this month, one
that will include representatives of companies specializing in “Internet or
hardware,” he said.
“A lot of companies,”
said Colvin, “are just starting to do their due diligence.”
That includes figuring
how out serious the Cuban government is about opening up access to a free and
open Internet anytime soon.
“People had high
expectations that it was going to move very fast,” says Jose Luis Martinez of
the Miami-based Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, which runs a project
called Connect Cuba. “But the reality is that this is going to be a long,
drawn-out process, it isn’t going to happen overnight, and it’s going to be on
the Cuban government’s terms.”
The State Department
official said one stumbling block had been the country’s inclusion on a list of
state sponsors of terrorism, a designation lifted in May. Generally, though,
Cuban government officials seem receptive to the notion that it isn’t in the
best interest of Cuba, or Cubans, to keep the island cut off from the rest of
the networked world.
“It’s completely
professional,” the official said of meetings with Cuban counterparts to discuss
bringing the country online. “We have a different idea about the role of
government and of markets, but it’s cordial.”
Nancy Scola - Politico
Airbnb Is Now available In Cuba
Airbnb operates in 190
countries and 34,000 cities around the world, but its latest addition could be
a momentous one. The online lodgings marketplace said today it now offers
properties for rent in Cuba, becoming one of the first U.S. companies to
establish itself there since President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro
announced in December that they would restore diplomatic ties after more than
50 years.
Expanding an Internet
service to Cuba means overcoming a host of challenges, including spotty Web
access, limited payment options, and the still-ongoing U.S. embargo. So Airbnb
is starting small: U.S. travelers can choose from about 1,000 listings
throughout the country, mostly concentrated in Havana. The company says its
model—stay in somebody’s home, pay less than a hotel would charge—will help it
facilitate travel that won’t pave over Cuba’s unique character, forged by
decades of isolation from its northern neighbor. “Think about the big hotel
chains coming in, with mass development,” says Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb
co-founder and chief technology officer. “The idea here is to support growth in
travel that isn’t disruptive, that actually celebrates and preserves Cuba as a
distinct destination.”
Havana room $30 per night
The Cuban properties on
the site, their photos sprinkled with glimpses of the nation's famously ancient
cars, show off a broad range of colonial architecture and are available at
extremely low rates. The Home Lunass offers a private room and bathroom a
five-minute walk from Old Havana for $34 a night, including free breakfast.
(Dinner costs extra.) Next to the double bed is an old cassette player. “Hello
to my potential guests,” writes the owner, who gives her name as Yamilee. She
says she rents rooms to foreigners full-time and used to practice medicine.
Like other U.S.
websites, Airbnb had been forced to block IP addresses that originate in Cuba,
in accordance with federal law. On Jan. 20, when the U.S. relaxed restrictions
on Cuban travel, Airbnb initiated talks with the U.S. Department of State and
the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces trade sanctions, to clear
its expansion into the country. The government agencies didn’t immediately
respond to requests for comment.
In February and March,
the company sent employees on trips to Cuba to meet with potential hosts and
learn more about the existing network of casas particulares. That’s the local
term for vacation rentals by homeowners like Yamilee who have long done
business with tourists from countries such as Canada and Spain, typically
relying on word of mouth and, sometimes, a borrowed Internet connection from a
local business. In Cuba, “the Airbnb style of travel was already thriving,”
says Molly Turner, the company’s head of civic partnerships.
Source: Lisette
Poole/Airbnb via Bloomberg
Only about 4 percent of
Cuban homes have Internet access of any kind, so Airbnb had to find local
intermediaries to help manage listings and connect hosts with customers. That
led to the problem of paying hosts, most of whom asked for cash. That’s not how
Airbnb works; travelers pay online, and the site takes a 3 percent cut and
transfers the rest to a host’s bank account. So Airbnb had to contract a
licensed money remitter to make payments on its behalf. The company chose
Florida-based VaCuba, which specializes in sending cash and gifts to families
in Cuba. “What Airbnb has done is quite creative,” says Collin Laverty, founder
of Cuba Educational Travel, which organizes U.S. exchange programs. “ ‘Cuba’ is
really a dirty word in the banking world.”
As Airbnb tries to
expand its Cuban network, it’s likely to find some hosts unaccustomed to
American travel standards—among other things, many homes don’t have hot water.
The company also remains limited by U.S. laws. It can’t show Cuban properties
to users outside the U.S. or directly help Cuban hosts design ads for their
rentals. And although the U.S. has relaxed travel requirements for people
visiting Cuba for reasons such as professional research, educational
activities, and “support for the Cuban people,” it still bans visits that are
explicitly for tourism.
Airbnb’s first step
into Cuba is likely only the beginning, says Dan Restrepo, a former adviser to
President Obama on Latin America and the Caribbean who has consulted for Airbnb
on its Cuba expansion: “So little has happened between the U.S. and Cuba for so
long, I don’t think anyone really knows how this will develop.” But, he says,
“this creates connectivity between two peoples in a way that is outside the
reach of government on both sides.”
Mirrativ app can live stream anything on your phone
Mobile gaming company
DeNA has launched a live streaming app that lets users stream anything on their
smartphones, from chats to apps and video.
Mirrativ goes beyond
popular video live streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat, as well as
console-oriented Twitch, because it can broadcast smartphone screen content
instead of just live feeds from the camera or video games.
A blend of the words
"mirror" and "narrative," Mirrativ will mirror the content
of the broadcaster's screen on those of followers. The broadcaster can receive
feedback in real time in the form of stars, questions or comments.
DeNA said the app can
create a "shared experience" between the broadcaster and followers. For
instance, gamers could use Mirrativ to share tips with followers, while
shoppers could seek advice while searching for goods on e-commerce sites.
The Face Camera feature
shows a live view of the broadcaster's face in a small box superimposed on the
live stream screen view. That adds another layer of expression to interactions
such as chat screens, which have mostly been text, emoticons and cartoonish
stickers.
Mirrativ is available
in beta on Google Play, with releases for iOS users still in development. While
MIrrativ feeds can be viewed with Android 4.1 or higher, broadcasting requires
Android 5.0 or above.
While live streaming
apps present a number of legal questions, Periscope has exploded in popularity
since Twitter bought it earlier this year, gaining fame with events such as the
professional boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Mirrativ follows DeNA
releases such as Showroom, a livestreaming app for performing artists and their
fans that emphasizes interaction.
The latest app also
comes as DeNA tries to bolster its mainline business of mobile gaming while
expanding into new fields.
It formed a partnership
with Nintendo earlier this year to bring iconic video game characters to mobile
devices, and has announced a raft of new ventures ranging from a personal
genetic testing service called Mycode to a joint venture focused on launching
self-driving taxis in Tokyo by 2020.
Wes Craven
Horror Master Wes
Craven, Who Terrified Viewers with 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Scream'
Series, Dies at 76
The Hollywood Reporter
August 30, 2015
Horror Master Wes
Craven, Who Terrified Viewers with 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Scream'
Series, Dies at 76
Wes Craven, the famed
writer-director of horror films known for the Nightmare on Elm Street and
Scream movies, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76.
Craven, whose iconic
Freddy Krueger character horrified viewers for years, died at his home in Los
Angeles, his family announced. Survivors include his wife, producer and former
Disney Studios vice president Iya Labunka.
Craven was a longtime
summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, where he moved permanently three years
ago before returning to Los Angeles for work and health reasons.
Craven claimed to have
gotten the idea for Elm Street when living next to a cemetery on a street of
that name when growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland. His five Nightmare on
Elm Street films were released from 1984-89.
Similarly, Craven’s
Scream series was a box-office sensation. In those scare-‘em-ups, he spoofed
the teen horror genre. The movies frequently referenced other horror movies.
Craven’s first feature
film was The Last House of the Left, which he wrote, directed and edited in
1972.
He invented the youth
horror genre again in 1984 with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, which he
wrote and directed. He conceived and co-wrote Elm Street III as well, and then
after not being involved with the three more sequels, deconstructed the genre a
decade after the original, writing and directing Wes Craven’s New Nightmare,
which was nominated as best feature at the 1995 Spirit Awards. His own
Nightmare players, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, played
themselves in the film.
'Scream' Series, Dies
at 76
Wes Craven, the famed
writer-director of horror films known for the Nightmare on Elm Street and
Scream movies, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76.
Craven, whose iconic
Freddy Krueger character horrified viewers for years, died at his home in Los
Angeles, his family announced. Survivors include his wife, producer and former
Disney Studios vice president Iya Labunka.
Craven was a longtime
summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, where he moved permanently three years
ago before returning to Los Angeles for work and health reasons.
Craven claimed to have
gotten the idea for Elm Street when living next to a cemetery on a street of
that name when growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland. His five Nightmare on
Elm Street films were released from 1984-89.
Similarly, Craven’s
Scream series was a box-office sensation. In those scare-‘em-ups, he spoofed
the teen horror genre. The movies frequently referenced other horror movies.
Craven’s first feature
film was The Last House of the Left, which he wrote, directed and edited in
1972.
He invented the youth
horror genre again in 1984 with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, which he
wrote and directed. He conceived and co-wrote Elm Street III as well, and then
after not being involved with the three more sequels, deconstructed the genre a
decade after the original, writing and directing Wes Craven’s New Nightmare,
which was nominated as best feature at the 1995 Spirit Awards. His own
Nightmare players, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, played
themselves in the film.
In 1996 Craven reached
a new level of success with the release of Scream. The film, which sparked the
phenomenal trilogy, grossed more than $100 million domestically, as did Scream
2 (1997). Between Scream 2 and Scream 3, Craven, offered the opportunity to
direct a non-genre film for Miramax, helmed Music of the Heart (1999), a film
that earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for best actress in the
inspirational drama about a teacher in Spanish Harlem.
“We had a very
difficult time getting an audience into a theater on my name,” he once said
about that film. “In fact, we moved toward downplaying my name a lot on Music
of the Heart. The more famous you are for making kinds of outrageous scary
films, the crossover audience will say, ‘I don’t think so.’”
R.I,P. A Legend
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