Philip Deloria joined the History Department last month as Harvard’s first tenured professor of Native American history, a “years-in the-making” hire that department chair Daniel Lord Smail described as “tremendous.”“He’s the complete package in so many ways,” said Smail, who called Deloria “hands-down the leading authority in Native American history and an incredibly charismatic teacher.”“He can teach on a huge array of topics — not only Native American, but American studies in general,” Smail said. “Our needs in his areas of interest could easily outstrip his capacity.”Deloria, who is of Dakota descent, grew up in a house often visited by Native American “organizers, musicians, and weirdly interesting people.” His father, Vine Deloria Jr., was a Sioux author, activist, and prominent historian. His grandfather was a leading Native Episcopal priest, and his great-aunt, Ella Deloria, was an important anthropologist. Men of the previous two generations had served as leaders within the Yankton band of the Dakota Nation, and in the Episcopal Church. Deloria is also the great-great-grandson of portrait painter Thomas Sully.Deloria’s multilayered past framed a circuitous academic route that led from undergraduate studies in music to his first teaching position at the University of Colorado and then to the University of Michigan, where he taught Native American studies and was associate dean of undergraduate education.Smail hopes that Deloria will use his administrative skills to help strengthen the department’s connections with other departments and centers around campus.“There’s no question students want courses that pay attention to the histories of the peoples without history. Native American history has taken time to develop in the North American academy, but it is starting to take off, thanks to the scholarship of people like Phil,” said Smail. “He also has strong interests in indigenous studies around the world, which has taken off as a separate field. Native American history is very similar in so many ways to the history of the indigenous peoples of Australia and Taiwan and many other parts of the world. There are a lot of opportunities for connected histories, and Phil is interested in this indigenous approach.”The Gazette talked with Deloria about his life’s path, his scholarship, and what’s ahead.Q&APhilip DeloriaGAZETTE: Can you talk about the connection tying your personal experience to your professional life?DELORIA: I didn’t grow up in a tribal community, but my education was unique in many ways. I grew up in an interesting house visited by Indian leaders, country-rock musicians, and a parade of unconventional visitors. My dad was engaged with Indian politics at a national level. My grandfather was much closer to the tribal world of South Dakota, rooted in his work as a Native clergyman at the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Sisseton reservations. When the National Episcopal Church sought to reorient its Indian programs in the 1950s, he moved to New York City, and then led a massive reservation-by-reservation sociological study of Indian life in the church.My dad became director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in 1964, and he went for advice right to my grandfather, who had maintained a national network of Indian leaders. After three years leading the NCAI, my dad wrote “Custer Died for Your Sins” and several other books that popularized an Indian politics framed around treaty rights and sovereignty.My grandfather was a fluent Dakota language speaker, storyteller, and singer. Among many Indian people, tape recording was really a thing in the 1960s and ’70s, and people would make and pass these tapes around. Every chance we got, my brother and I would record my grandfather telling stories and singing songs. At one point, he recorded a record album of them. So from my dad I was seeing the politics of the ’60s and ’70s play out; from my grandfather I was getting a bit of a one-on-one cultural education. Both of those things have now become important in the ways I think about and try to tell history.GAZETTE: You studied music as an undergraduate, and you are known to begin lectures with a piano serenade or some acoustic guitar. What was your scholarly path?DELORIA: I played trombone in high school, and got a scholarship to study music at University of Colorado. I was a performance major for two years. But I plateaued — and I found that I really loved playing guitar. Being a professional musician started to look like an impossibly difficult life, what with all the really good trombone players out there in the world. I should note that, whenever guitar players gather, I’m pretty much the worst, so I’ve embraced life as a kind of backup bass player. I’ve never lost my love of music, but it’s always offered me a lesson in humility. I taught middle-school band and orchestra for two years and was playing part-time in an originals band, and then a punk-folk trio, and then, finally, a wedding-reception band. My musical decline was complete, from symphonies to weddings. I got into music videos, crewing on a lot of shoots for bands from L.A. who would come to make video demos in Colorado. At one point, my dad said, “Look, if you’re going to just mess around with your life, why don’t you get some initials after your name while you’re doing it?”I went back to school to get a master’s in journalism and became a night-shift video editor. I did car commercials and industrials, and, eventually, a documentary project, “Eyanopapi: The Heart of the Sioux,” about Lakota land claims to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That was my turn back to all the history that had been in my family a long time.I was lucky to take, as a cognate in my graduate program at Colorado, Patricia Nelson Limerick’s history of the American West class, which basically taught a version of her important book “Legacy of Conquest.” I loved the class, and I started writing two iterations of the assignments, submitting a satirical version under a pseudonym. Patty has a beautifully quirky sense of humor, and she embraced the challenge of figuring out her mystery student — which eventually led to a conversation about embarking on a Ph.D. program. I had applied for a Fulbright to Australia in order to make another documentary about indigenous lands. I did not get it. In the meantime, though, Patty had me applying to Yale.I had no idea what I was doing there. Who was I? A twice-failed musician, substitute band teacher, night editor, basically broke all the time. I was scared, but I had a great partner, my wife, Peggy Burns, who embraced the whole adventure. Each week after seminar, she’d ask me, “Did you say anything this week?” The answer, for pretty much the whole first year, was “no.”But I learned. All those classes and (eventual) conversations did, in fact, teach me how to think. The idea for my first dissertation, which became my first book (“Playing Indian”), exploded in my brain in something like 30 seconds one day in a lecture. I’ve never had another experience like it. My wife and I went back to Colorado, where she worked for Xerox while I tried to execute the dissertation. I adjuncted at Colorado and then, in 1994, got a job there. It is worth noting that it was the same department my father was in. At one point, we even shared an office! In 2001, I moved to Michigan, a tremendously supportive place for scholarship that also encouraged me to join with others in building a world-class program in Native American Studies. There, I passed into and through the world of academic administration, which — somewhat to my surprise — I found I loved. Every day, I look in the mirror and marvel that I’ve somehow landed on my feet. And I’m grateful.GAZETTE: What are you looking forward to doing here?DELORIA: Harvard is full of amazing possibilities. It has had a history with Native people that stretches back to its founding, of course, but also a more recent engagement that dates — like most institutional Native American Studies programs — to the early 1970s. The Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) is one of the strong foundational pillars here, dedicated not only to creating community and support for indigenous students on campus, but also to its nation-building curriculum and all kinds of community engagement. Another pillar has been the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, still going strong after three decades of important work. And then there are a range of faculty members interested in Native American issues: Kay Shelemay in music, Matt Liebmann in anthropology, Dan Carpenter in political science, Ann Braude in the Divinity School, David Jones in history of science, among others. Harvard also has had a strong record over the last few years of bringing in Radcliffe fellows and postdoctoral fellows. The Native students here are tremendous, and there are lots of students from all over who are interested in indigenous studies. I want to pitch in and do what I can to help us imagine something at Harvard that is even greater than the sum of all these very strong parts.GAZETTE: You are the first tenured history professor in Native American indigenous studies. What comes with that qualifier?DELORIA: I want to do things. Some significant part of that will be having a positive effect on the Harvard undergraduates who will be future leaders in Indian Country, and helping train the graduate students who will advance the field. Another important part will be my own scholarship. But I’d also love to have Native American students and studies at Harvard be more visible in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association and other scholarly organizations that are driving the national conversation. And I think there are fantastic opportunities to engage Harvard’s substantial international presence. I’m fortunate to have developed relationships with indigenous studies scholars in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Finland, and Canada. I’d love to develop these more deeply, perhaps in an institutional context.I’m also a bit of a museum person, and it seems to me that there are lots of possibilities in that area as well. Harvard is an elite institution well aware of its obligations to lead critical conversations about justice and equity, politics and policy, the past, present, and the future. Indigenous people are fundamental to those conversations, though we are often left out of them. I’d like to lend my voice in whatever way I can do make sure that is not the case, that we always pause to think twice about Native American and indigenous peoples and issues.This interview was edited and condensed.
Musician to filmmaker to Native American historian
March 1, 2021
As colleges compete for top national rankings and students compete for top SAT scores, some people argue the college admissions process places too much focus on numbers. Don Bishop, associate vice president for Undergraduate Enrollment, said test scores do not fully reflect the attributes of a school or an applicant, especially at Notre Dame. “Colleges are accused by families as using the SAT too much to value students in the admissions selection process,” Bishop said. “Well, the colleges are concerned that students and their families use the rankings too much to value the colleges. There’s kind of a balanced equation, there, of discomfort in the process.” Bishop said an applicant’s exam performance is extremely important, but more weight is placed on class performance than on standardized test scores during the decision process. “People are concerned we use [test scores] too much, we would disagree with that,” he said. “The admissions office would be as poorly served if all we used were SAT scores. If we started being guilty of what the public thinks we do and we overused the numbers, we would have an inferior student body.” Bishop said along with academic excellence, Notre Dame emphasizes personal qualities in an applicant, including intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and leadership. “We are not going to become more generic in our selection process to get higher ranked,” he said. “What’s interesting is the more we stay Notre Dame at the core, the more successful we’ll be at raising the profile of the class.” Bishop said he wishes students and their parents viewed college rankings the same way Notre Dame Admissions views standardized test scores ⎯ in the context of other qualities. “Do you assume that the values that the U.S. News & World Report or other ranking organizations … are the same as yours, as a consumer?” Bishop said. “I would suggest … your ranking might put more emphasis on certain things.” He said students’ overuse of rankings to determine whether a college is a match shows a lack of sophistication. “There’s a certain sort of disease in this of, ‘No matter what I have, it’s not as good as what I want to have,’” Bishop said. “People have just lost their sense of perspective.” Those numbers should instead be used to help students identify a neighborhood of colleges to look into, Bishop added. “Whether somebody is ranked sixth or third or tenth or fifteenth, you need to put that away and go visit the campus, go to their website, talk to their alumni,” he said. “Do your due diligence of other fact-finding.” Bishop said Notre Dame’s ranking as number 19 in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s list of best national universities does keep the quality of applicants consistently high. The ranking reassures the public that Notre Dame is a top choice, he said. He said the University has especially benefited from the Mendoza College of Business’s number one ranking by Bloomberg Businessweek. “We have seen a disproportionate raise in applications over the last couple years because of that number one ranking,” Bishop said. “Notre Dame’s business school was always ranked in the top five and usually in the top three, but being number one has a cache that captures the imagination and the confidence of the public in a unique way.” Bishop said national rankings are subjective and did not accurately represent the quality of a university since ratings are calculated according to an algorithm. “Notre Dame has been consistently ranked in the top 20, but if you look at the academic profile of the freshman class, it’s actually higher than that,” he said. “If you look at the graduation rate we’re in the top three, if you look at the percentage of alumni giving we’re in the top three, if you look at our endowment for national private research universities we’re tenth … So actually top 20 is a lower rank than what our reality is, depending on what you value.” Over the next few admissions cycles, Bishop said, Notre Dame will reach out more aggressively to top students across the country. He said this initiative is not a criticism of what Notre Dame has done so far, but there exists an opportunity to do more. “Obviously, we’re doing a pretty good job,” he said. “We’re going to ambitiously think of how to [increase] that … I don’t think we’ve done enough yet as a University as successful as we have been.” For many applicants, Notre Dame is set apart by its Catholic social teaching, sense of community and strength of its alumni network, he said. “If students value our religious affiliation and our commitment to Catholic social teaching, what other school would rank with us? Notre Dame is considered by many as a unique choice,” Bishop said. “We are not generically a top-20 or top-10 highly selective school ⎯ we are more than that due to our focus as a Catholic University.”,As colleges compete for top national rankings and students compete for top SAT scores, some people argue the college admissions process places too much focus on numbers. Don Bishop, associate vice president for Undergraduate Enrollment, said test scores do not fully reflect the attributes of a school or an applicant, especially at Notre Dame. “Colleges are accused by families as using the SAT too much to value students in the admissions selection process,” Bishop said. “Well, the colleges are concerned that students and their families use the rankings too much to value the colleges. There’s kind of a balanced equation, there, of discomfort in the process.” Bishop said an applicant’s exam performance is extremely important, but more weight is placed on class performance than on standardized test scores during the decision process. “People are concerned we use [test scores] too much, we would disagree with that,” he said. “The admissions office would be as poorly served if all we used were SAT scores. If we started being guilty of what the public thinks we do and we overused the numbers, we would have an inferior student body.” Bishop said along with academic excellence, Notre Dame emphasizes personal qualities in an applicant, including intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and leadership. “We are not going to become more generic in our selection process to get higher ranked,” he said. “What’s interesting is the more we stay Notre Dame at the core, the more successful we’ll be at raising the profile of the class.” Bishop said he wishes students and their parents viewed college rankings the same way Notre Dame Admissions views standardized test scores ⎯ in the context of other qualities. “Do you assume that the values that the U.S. News & World Report or other ranking organizations … are the same as yours, as a consumer?” Bishop said. “I would suggest … your ranking might put more emphasis on certain things.” He said students’ overuse of rankings to determine whether a college is a match shows a lack of sophistication. “There’s a certain sort of disease in this of, ‘No matter what I have, it’s not as good as what I want to have,’” Bishop said. “People have just lost their sense of perspective.” Those numbers should instead be used to help students identify a neighborhood of colleges to look into, Bishop added. “Whether somebody is ranked sixth or third or tenth or fifteenth, you need to put that away and go visit the campus, go to their website, talk to their alumni,” he said. “Do your due diligence of other fact-finding.” Bishop said Notre Dame’s ranking as number 19 in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s list of best national universities does keep the quality of applicants consistently high. The ranking reassures the public that Notre Dame is a top choice, he said. He said the University has especially benefited from the Mendoza College of Business’s number one ranking by Bloomberg Businessweek. “We have seen a disproportionate raise in applications over the last couple years because of that number one ranking,” Bishop said. “Notre Dame’s business school was always ranked in the top five and usually in the top three, but being number one has a cache that captures the imagination and the confidence of the public in a unique way.” Bishop said national rankings are subjective and did not accurately represent the quality of a university since ratings are calculated according to an algorithm. “Notre Dame has been consistently ranked in the top 20, but if you look at the academic profile of the freshman class, it’s actually higher than that,” he said. “If you look at the graduation rate we’re in the top three, if you look at the percentage of alumni giving we’re in the top three, if you look at our endowment for national private research universities we’re tenth … So actually top 20 is a lower rank than what our reality is, depending on what you value.” Over the next few admissions cycles, Bishop said, Notre Dame will reach out more aggressively to top students across the country. He said this initiative is not a criticism of what Notre Dame has done so far, but there exists an opportunity to do more. “Obviously, we’re doing a pretty good job,” he said. “We’re going to ambitiously think of how to [increase] that … I don’t think we’ve done enough yet as a University as successful as we have been.” For many applicants, Notre Dame is set apart by its Catholic social teaching, sense of community and strength of its alumni network, he said. “If students value our religious affiliation and our commitment to Catholic social teaching, what other school would rank with us? Notre Dame is considered by many as a unique choice,” Bishop said. “We are not generically a top-20 or top-10 highly selective school ⎯ we are more than that due to our focus as a Catholic University.”
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, in partnership with Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and Champlain Housing Trust, has received a $350,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The two-year grant will be used to demonstrate how deep energy efficiency retrofits in single- and multi-family residences can make housing permanently and comprehensively affordable by reducing energy usage and costs.In addition to establishing energy usage as a significant component of housing affordability, the project will also show how various sources of government funding might be harnessed to finance energy efficiency retrofits.‘This exciting partnership will help us to demonstrate how deep investment in energy efficiency can support housing affordability,’ said Scott Johnstone, Executive Director of Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. ‘This is a win-win project that will provide a roadmap for achieving the twin goals of reducing energy usage and addressing the need for affordable housing in our community.’The project will target at least five single-family residences for deep energy efficiency improvements. The goal of these improvements is to achieve energy savings of at least 50%, and potentially much higher. The homes, recently acquired following foreclosure, will then be sold to low-income households and be made permanently affordable through the Champlain Housing Trust’s programs.Three multi-family buildings in West Rutland, Enosburg, and Windsor, financed in part by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, will receive substantial energy efficiency improvements, again targeting energy savings of at least 50%.‘This is an exciting time in building energy science and this funding will help us determine what level of energy retrofit measures makes financial sense for permanently affordable rental housing. We are grateful for the opportunity presented by this generous award and will apply the findings to increase energy efficiency in Vermont’s portfolio of multi-family housing,’ said Gus Seelig, Executive Director of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.A comprehensive set of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures will enable the expected very high level of projected energy savings. These will include building shell improvements such as air sealing and insulation; heating system improvements such as advanced control biomass heating systems; electrical efficiency improvements such as super-efficient LED lighting; and renewable energy systems such as solar domestic hot water heating systems.‘We are thrilled to collaborate with these two partners to demonstrate how effective, targeted use of resources can create lasting assets for low-income households and our communities,’ said Brenda Torpy, Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Housing Trust.This project was one of nine projects selected to receive funding through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s national competition soliciting ideas for scalable approaches to spurring energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings in the United States. Launched in April 2010, the selection process was highly competitive, with 372 pre-proposals submitted by organizations in 44 states. The process included review by a panel of experts in real estate, finance, construction, efficiency technologies and government policies. More information on the competition can be found at www.ddcf.org/retrofits(link is external).About VEICThe Vermont Energy Investment Corporation is a mission-driven nonprofit organization, founded in 1986, dedicated to reducing the economic, social, and environmental costs of energy consumption through cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. VEIC has consulted in 25 states, 6 Canadian Provinces and 7 countries outside North America to design programs that reduce energy use through energy efficiency and renewable energy. In addition, VEIC operates Efficiency Vermont ‘ the nation’s first statewide energy efficiency utility ‘ as well as other implementation services across the country. For more information: www.veic.org(link is external)About VHCBThe Vermont Housing and Conservation Board is an independent, state funding agency providing grants, loans and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities and state agencies for the development of permanently affordable housing and for the conservation of important agricultural land, recreational land, natural areas and historic properties in Vermont. www.vhcb.org(link is external)About Champlain Housing TrustThe Champlain Housing Trust, founded in 1984, is the largest community land trust in the country. Throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, CHT owns or manages over 1,500 apartments, stewards 485 owner-occupied homes in its signature shared-equity program, provides services to five housing cooperatives, and offers affordable energy efficiency and rehab loans. In 2008, CHT won the prestigious United Nations World Habitat Award, recognizing its innovative, sustainable programs.About the Doris Duke Charitable FoundationEstablished in 1996, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation seeks to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The foundation’s Environment Program focuses on enabling communities to protect and manage wildlife habitat and create efficient built environments.
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York A masked gunman’s plan to rob a Brentwood deli last month was foiled by a brave employee who whipped out a machete and used the large knife to scare away the suspect. Suffolk County police released surveillance video of the dramatic robbery attempt on Monday with the hope that someone would identify the suspect. Police are offering a $5,000 cash reward for any information that leads to an arrest. The incident occurred on Sept. 25 at Stop & Shop Deli on Crooked Hill Road at approximately 8 p.m., police said. The masked gunman walked in through the front door and pointed a silver .22 caliber pistol at the employee standing behind the counter, police said.The quick-thinking employee reacted, according to police, after the suspect fired a bullet that missed and hit a wall. The man behind the counter reached down and grabbed the machete, which he used to fend off the gunman. The suspect backpedaled out the front door as the employee continued to give chase.The suspect was described as a young black man with a thin build and approximately 5-foot-10. He was wearing a gray mask, dark pants, black and white sneakers and a black-running style top with white stripes on the sleeves, police said. He was also carrying a black Air Jordan backpack, police said. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-220-TIPS.
Terawan said the patients treated in the hospitals suffered from dengue shock syndrome (DSS), a dangerous complication of dengue infection that is associated with high mortality.The minister brought along 30 physicians — including pediatricians and internists — and six nurses on his Sikka trip.”I am here as ordered by President Joko [Jokowi] Widodo. He sends his regards to all of you for your hard work [to fight the disease] under the Sikka regent’s leadership.”Even some of the health personnel here suffered from the fever themselves. You’ve done such extraordinary work,” said Terawan. Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has thanked local health workers for their efforts to tackle a dengue fever outbreak in East Nusa Tenggara’s Sikka regency despite the death of 13 patients to the mosquito-borne viral disease.”There were 1,190 people suffering [from dengue fever in Sikka] – that is quite a number. Thirteen of them have died, but it was not our fault. It is God’s will,” Terawan said during a visit to TC Hillers Maumere Region General Hospital in Sikka on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.According to the Sikka administration, 1,065 people of the total patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals. Following Terawan’s visit, Sikka regency reported a 14th fatality in the outbreak as a 7-year-old succumbed to the disease at the Hillers hospital on Monday evening.Meanwhile, Alex Armanjaya of the Community Development Foundation (Yaspem), which fights against malaria in Sikka, suggested the government reactivate the role of jumantik (community healthcare workers) in carrying out on-site monitoring to curb the spread of dengue fever, which is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.Alex said Yaspem had trained 316 jumantik, but the Sikka administration had yet to make use of them during the current dengue fever wave.”If Sikka plans to avoid another plague in the future, the administration must redeploy the jumantik — give them financial aid.”In my observation, only Nenbura village in Doreng district has taken serious action in deploying jumantik.”You can’t wait for a case to [request the services] of jumantik,” said Alex, adding that the jumantik worked continually.Alex went on to say that Sikka regency had agreed to support the work of jumantik using money from the village funds program. (gis)Topics :
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has charged Emirsyah Satar with bribery and money laundering, accusing the former president director of Garuda Indonesia of accepting multiple bribes totaling Rp 49.3 billion (US$3.1 million) during his term from 2005 to 2014.The KPK has brought the charge against Emirsyah under Article 12 of the Corruption Law, which prohibits civil servants and public administrators from accepting bribes, reported antaranews.com.“[We ask the court] to sentence the defendant to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 10 billion, [or an additional] eight months’ imprisonment if the defendant fails to pay the fine,” KPK prosecutor Ariawan Agustiartono read out the indictment during the virtual hearing on Thursday at the Jakarta Corruption Court.Ariawan also demanded that Emirsyah be sentenced to pay S$2.1 million in restitution or serve an additional five years in prison.The KPK accused Emirsyah of accepting Rp 8.8 billion, US$882,200, 1 million euro and S$1.18 million in bribes on five separate occasions, receiving the illicit money from British engineering company Rolls-Royce in connection with a procurement of aircraft parts and from European aviation giant Airbus in connection with aircraft procurement, as well as other sources.The indictment also named former Garuda engineering and management director Hadinoto Soedigno and former Garuda executive project manager Agus Wahjudo as Emirsyah’s co-conspirators under the bribery charge.Read also: After 3 years, KPK concludes probe into Rolls-Royce bribery case implicating ex-Garuda bossUnder the charge of money laundering, the KPK accused Emirsyah of laundering Rp 87.4 billion through multiple channels and also implicated Soetikno Soedarjo, the former president director of diversified retail holding company PT Mugi Rekso Abadi (MRA).The antigraft body stated that some of the money was changed into several different foreign currencies and transferred to multiple overseas bank accounts in violation of Article 3 of the Money Laundering Law.Ariawan added that other sums were laundered through debt repayments and a variety of property schemes. These schemes included a home renovation project in South Jakarta, mortgage payments on an apartment unit in Melbourne, Australia, home credit assurance for a South Jakarta property, and an ownership transfer for an apartment unit in Singapore.In a separate bribery trial on Thursday that charged Soetikno with violating Article 5 of the Corruption Law, the KPK presented a sentencing demand of 10 years in prison, a fine of Rp 10 billion and US$14.6 million, as well as 11.5 million euros in restitution.Read also: KPK detains ex-Garuda boss, Emirsyah Satar, for alleged money launderinghe KPK initially charged Emirsyah with bribery in 2017, but was not detained until the commission laid a second charge of money laundering against him in August 2019. The KPK also detained Soetikno that same month, and concluded its investigations into the two suspects in December 2019. (mfp)Topics :
Following the concerns, KPU commissioner Dewa Raka Sandi said the regulations were made in accordance with existing laws, adding that the commission would look for ways to better align campaign regulations with COVID-19 prevention measures.President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo previously issued Perppu No. 2/2020 to push back the 2020 simultaneous regional elections to December from their initial September date over coronavirus concerns.As many as 270 regions across the archipelago will participate in this year’s elections to select their new leaders.Many observers still urged the government to postpone the poll for safety reasons amid the spike of coronavirus cases, pointing out that the early stages of the elections alone saw many candidates violating health protocols. (mfp) “One of the alternatives is to increase prohibition of campaigns [or other activities] that attract a crowd, including during balloting and vote counts.”Read also: KPU criticized for allowing crowd-pullers during campaigns for December’s electionsHe suggested that after the Perppu was issued, candidates should be allowed to hold online campaign events to gather support.Previously, government officials expressed concerns that KPU regulations allowed physical campaign events that could gather crowds such as concerts, art performances, festivals, competitions, bazaars, blood donation drives and commemorations of party anniversaries. As Indonesia is still grappling with rising COVID-19 infections, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has urged the government to revise the 2015 Regional Elections Law through a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) in order to impose strict health protocols during campaigns for the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.KPU commissioner Virya Azis said the Perppu should adjust articles allowing crowd-gathering activities such as music concerts, which are allowed under the existing law, to better comply with health protocols to help cut the chain of coronavirus transmission and prevent regional elections clusters.The Perppu, he added, should also enforce strict punishments for violators and allow alternative election activities such as virtual campaigns and electronic vote recaps.“[Crowd-pulling campaigns] should be forbidden with heavy punishments through the Perppu,” Viryan said on Friday.
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Ginter has made a good name for himself in the Bundesliga (Picture: Getty Images)Chelsea and Arsenal have enquired about the availability of Borussia Monchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter on a free transfer for next summer, according to reports.The 26-year-old played a pivotal role in an impressive season for the Bundesliga club, in which they secured a top-four finish and Champions League football.Ginter’s solid form, which has seen him become a regular for the German national team, has also caught the attention of top European clubs.According to Sky Sport Germany, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan are in the race for the centre-back’s signature this summer.ADVERTISEMENTWith his current deal with the club due to expire in 2021, Chelsea and Arsenal have also registered their interest in the World Cup winner’s services, should he become a free agent next year.AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the report states that his contract will automatically renew if he makes more than 25 appearances for Gladbach in the upcoming campaign.Regardless of that eventuality, the German outfit are already in negotiations with Ginter over a new deal. Metro Sport ReporterTuesday 28 Jul 2020 2:17 pmShare this article via facebookShare this article via twitterShare this article via messengerShare this with Share this article via emailShare this article via flipboardCopy link Advertisement Comment Chelsea and Arsenal target Borussia Monchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter on a free transfer for next summer Lampard is believed to be on the lookout for a centre-back (Picture: Getty Images)Both Chelsea and Arsenal have endured defensive struggles, with the Blues conceding 54 goals in the 2019-20 campaign, which is more than any other side in the Premier League’s top 10.After securing the signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, Lampard is reportedly focusing on defenders to shore up his backline.Kepa Arrizabalaga’s place in the side is also an area of concern, but, the west London club will only sell him if they can recoup a large portion of their £71.6 million outlay on the Spaniard.More: Arsenal FCArsenal flop Denis Suarez delivers verdict on Thomas Partey and Lucas Torreira movesThomas Partey debut? Ian Wright picks his Arsenal starting XI vs Manchester CityArsene Wenger explains why Mikel Arteta is ‘lucky’ to be managing ArsenalMeanwhile, the Gunners go into their FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday with three senior centre-backs out injured; Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari.Speaking before Saturday’s final, Mikel Arteta admitted it an area they need to address.‘I already mentioned three central defenders who are not available and we haven’t had them available for a long time anyway, during this season,’ the Spaniard said. ‘We will have to address that.’MORE: Charlie Nicholas names just four Arsenal players that have shown ‘real substance’ this seasonMORE: Chelsea handed major boost in Ben Chilwell transfer pursuit as Leicester miss out on Champions LeagueFollow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and InstagramFor more stories like this, check our sport page Advertisement
Valaris, offshore drilling contractor with the world’s largest fleet, has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to restructure its debt. Valaris said on Wednesday that it voluntarilyfiled for a Chapter 11 financial restructuring in the United States BankruptcyCourt for the Southern District of Texas. “Valaris will continue to serve our customers uninterrupted through this process, delivering safe and reliable operations, through its highly-capable rig fleet. “We have taken several steps to right-size and streamline our organization in line with our goal to be the offshore drilling cost leader. Now, we intend to use this restructuring to complement these measures to create a stronger financial structure for the company. Valaris also faced delisting from the New York Stock Exchange in April after its stock fell under $1. As far as the restructuring process is concerned, the company entered into restructuring agreements with approximately 50 per cent of its noteholders, to undergo “a financial restructuring that is intended to reduce its debt load substantially, support continued operations during the current lower demand environment, and provide a robust financial platform to take advantage of market recovery over the long term“. According to the offshore driller, it aims to pursue an efficient restructuring process and exit Chapter 11 “as soon as possible” and is confident that a comprehensive financial restructuring is “in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders in the long-term”. Valaris added that would work with itsother creditors and stakeholders who have not signed the restructuring supportagreement to advance the company’s efforts to restructure its balance sheet.
The agreement will fully equitize thecompany’s pre-petition revolving credit facility and unsecured notes, a fullybackstopped rights offering to noteholders for $500 million of new securednotes, the effective cancellation of existing equity interests in the companyin exchange for, in certain circumstances, warrants for post-emergence equityand payment of trade claims in full in cash. “We appreciate the continued support of all of our stakeholders throughout this process, particularly our employees who continue to provide excellent service to our customers amid challenging market conditions […]”. It claims that it will have “one of the best balance sheets in the offshore drilling industry” after consummation of the contemplated restructuring transactions. Tom Burke, president and CEO of Valaris, said: “The substantial downturn in the energy sector, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires that we take this step to create a stronger company able to adapt to the prolonged contraction in the industry and to continue to enhance our position as overall market conditions improve. In related company news, Valaris booked a $3 billion loss in the first-quarter over rig impairments. During the spring, the company faced terminations for several of its drilling contracts on two occasions. Valaris further stated that it wasconfident of running its business normally since it has around $175 million incash. Also, certain noteholders will provide the company with an additional$500 million of liquidity, with an option to have no cash interest, to supportits operations throughout the Chapter 11 process.
LifeSiteNews 10 October 2013The European Parliament approved a report–Gendercide: the missing women?–that condemns practices that destroy the lives of women and girls, including sex selection abortion and infanticide. The report by MEP Antigoni Papadopoulou recognizes that sex selective abortion is a form of discrimination and violence against women and girls and that family or societal pressure on women to pursue sex-selective abortion is considered a form of physical and psychological violence.The Gendercide Report of Mrs. Papadopoulou was adopted on October 8th by 567 votes in favor 37 against and 54 abstentions.The report acknowledges that forced abortion and sex selective abortion are global concern and calls on the European Commission and all relevant stakeholders “to take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that practicing forced abortions and sex-selective surgery to terminate pregnancy without prior and informed consent or understanding of the procedure by the women involved is criminalized.” However, it fails to support legislative measures to stop any and all abortions that are based solely on the child’s sex and appears to issue an exemption for those sex selection abortions based on the mother’s ‘choice’.The report recognizes the lucrative nature of sex determination and supports the prohibition of advertisements for sex selection services. It calls on the European Commission and Member States to “identify clinics in Europe that conduct sex-selective abortions, provide statistics on this practice and elaborate a list of best practices for preventing them”.Overall, passage of the report expresses the concern of the European Parliament for practices that devalue and destroy the life of a girl child, before and after birth, and that are the reasons why the three most dangerous words in the world today are “It’s a girl!”http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/european-parliament-condemns-gendercide