Well that was quick. Thanks very much. It usually takes about five minutes and about three shouts, but that's excellent Okay, I'm gonna be extremely brief because we want to hear from Europe And to demonstrate our genuine transatlanticism. I would say that And that we are not EU bashes despite what you may have heard this morning in fact quite the opposite We want European Union to be as successful as possible We have with us today, I think one of the finest representatives of the wider Europe, and I mean that in a most comprehensive way Beginning his career in a Czechoslovak foreign service, and I underlined Czechoslovak a country that used to exist in 1988 Miroslav Lychak progressed rapidly up the Slovak diplomatic ladder after Slovakia gained independence at the beginning of 1993 and Ended up during the last decade as one of the key figures I think in the European Union not only dealing with the West Balkans But also deciding on the West Balkans, and let me very briefly read from his bio Miroslav is managing director for Europe and Central Asia He's actually expanded his portfolio beyond of course the Balkans at the European External Action Service He has previously served as director general for political affairs in the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs Has a as I've mentioned extensive experience in Southeast Europe where he was best known for his role as mediator and personal representative of the EU high representative Savvier Solana in Montenegro in 2006 where he oversaw What we thought would be a controversial referendum, but it turned out To be a representative referendum In fact, maybe you need to add Montenegro as one of Montenegro as one of your languages in the in your bio I notice you have hyphenated Bosnian Serbian Croatian So actually without further ado because I want to give as much time to Miros possible. Let me leave it there and Floor is yours. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming. Thank you very much Janus for your invitation and for Presenting me to the audience. I would also like to thank Hedda Conley for her Invitation to this conference and I have to say I love speaking about the Western Balkans here in the United States Because I find the discussion here More difficult but also more inspiring and I'm well aware of the fact that I'm the only Participant in today's conference who doesn't come from either United States or the Western Balkans I'm representing the European Union. So don't be surprised that my views might not be Totally compatible with the views presented here But take them as an authentic European Union views on the region and I really believe that In order to stimulate the discussion. It's in everybody's interest that we do not Repeat the same points But we rather Engage in exchange of sometimes different views, but our views are as a matter of fact not different The truth also is that every time when I'm invited to speak about the Western Balkans I My first question is if there is even a possibility to say something new something that hasn't been said many times before Because we seem to know everything about the region and so many of us and so many of you in this room have spent Years in in the region and know so much about the realities of the region But on the other hand if this was true and if everything has been said and everything has been done Then the Balkans today would be a much better place and we wouldn't be organizing organizing conferences like this one The same as we no longer organize conferences about the Central Europe for example, so that means that something must be wrong and I would say that amount of our investment our political military financial Investment into the region is just not adequate to the results We we see we receive namely to the progress achieved on the ground. So what's wrong and what needs to change? I Was asked to and I will speak more about European Union policy in the region not about the region itself so much because we have two panels discussing the most complex issues in the region in much greater detail, so Let me start by saying that It has been widely accepted that the European Union's enlargement in 2004 has been a success Why was this so? Because the European Union on the side of the candidate countries and I come from one of the countries that used to be candidate for at that time European Union integration was number one priority. That means everything that was done in the political lives of this country was measured against the ultimate goal of joining the European Union and Was considered whether it will help or will not help to get the countries closer and faster there Second there was white political consensus and very strong public support for the European Union Integration and third it was understood that it's about reforms It's about changing states societies Systems and the membership comes as a logical consequence of this change on the European Union side There was Nationality there was clear and transparent set of rules for the process The European Union applied individual and merits based approach to each of the candidate countries and There was a mutual respect to the rules of the game as said and defined by the European Union And let's not forget that regional cooperation has proved to be an extremely efficient instrument that countries of Central and Eastern Europe Profited from both regionally and also in their integration process So are we in the same situation with the countries of the Western Balkans? No Why not? There are many reasons and let me elaborate on them It's been clearly stated and constantly reiterated that the Western Balkans have European perspective This is a clear offer of membership in a broad European family Which is voluntarily based on democratic values on single market and unified rules and this is not a small thing Just see how much the countries I'm also dealing with In my current capacity countries like Georgia Ukraine or Moldova would wish to have the same perspective, but they don't So I guess I'm not wrong to claim that the European Union idea is more broadly accepted and wanted by the common people in the Western Balkans rather than by their political elites With all due respect to Zlatko, of course while People rather focus more on the carrots of the membership the leaders seem to be more worried about the sticks that Are attached to it and there is actually a huge discrepancy between expectations of people who won't progress European Union membership who won't freedom of movement better life and prosperity and Effort or lack of it on the side of many politicians in the region who revert to their individual interests elitism oligarchy sometimes retrograde political concepts and quest for full and not necessarily transparent control over political and economic processes in their countries or in parts of the countries and As a logical consequence the European Union idea is still not the leading and predominant one To make a U-turn in the mentality in the region European Union integration is important, but it's objectively not a number one priority in the region It is being mentioned But it's still not the driving force. It's rather more about words not yet about the deeds and results Too many bilateral and post-conflict issues in the Western Balkans still prevail As we all know the name issue the border issue the definition of the state issue minority and refugees issues and there is also this constant quasi dilemma Which we hear time and again from number of politicians from the region if I have to choose between the European Union integration and You can insert whatever you want my my entity my language I will definitely go for the for the letter not for the former which is certainly not helpful So as a result that the Western Balkans seem still too consumed by domestic politics and by electoral calendars But European Union is determined to do as much as we can to help the region But at the same time it's clear that we cannot do More and we cannot bond the European integration of the Western Balkans more than the countries themselves want Joining of the European Union requires a lot of work, which is not politically attractive in the short term But it is about what's best for the countries and it's about what other people want And you know how popular the idea of the European integration is in each of the countries of the Western Balkans At the same time European Union and we must not forget it Needs to be sure that each applicant is fully able willing and prepared to respect and fulfill our rules Which means the decades of the European Union? Evolution cannot and must not be undermined just because one or more countries wish to join Moreover enlargement shall not only solve the problems of the regions of the Western Balkans But it shall also further strengthen the European Union and that's are also important to keep in mind So I'd like to stress here two important principles First the European Union Integration process must be about reforms. It must be about wanting political economic and social transition The membership comes at the end as I said as a logical consequence of the effort and implemented reforms that have made these countries compatible with the European Union standards So it's not about managing the change in the region It's about helping the countries to manage the change But the bulk of the work must be done on the ground and we are here and we stand ready to help and assist because it's in everybody's interest So European Union membership is not a reward for the best efficient lobbying effort in Brussels or in the capitals of the EU member states It's also important not to forget. It's a license given after lots of successful exams and hard work Now a lot has been said already and I'm sure will be said Also in the second panel about the current role of the European Union in the Western Balkans region. So let me Just bring a couple of facts about what the European Union is doing in the region today We have the so-called stabilization and association process Which is the framework for the EU negotiations with the Western Balkan countries And you know that for the countries of Central Europe European Union proposed association process while in the Western Balkans we have stabilization and association process and this is the process that should lead them all the way to their Accession to the European Union and it has three aims first stabilizing the countries and encouraging their swift transition to a market economy second promoting regional cooperation and third membership of the European Union We offer so-called stabilization and association agreements to the potential applicants and candidate countries They are very comprehensive contractual frameworks Which are covering political dialogue regional cooperation the so-called for freedoms That means freedom of movement of goods services capital and people They cover justice and home affairs approximation of laws and law enforcement financial cooperation and help Implementation rules and assistance and other sectoral cooperation policies such as telecommunication energy environment and so on and so forth So it's about all encompassing frame of reforms and it comes together and let's not underestimate it with free-of-charge advice and Know-how so if the candidate country or applicant country is serious about its European future Then it makes this future very tangible it because it simply is there and The European Union stands ready to assist and to help Then the next and probably the most attractive part of our assistance is the so-called IPA instrument for pre accession assistance the total funding for the region of the western Balkans for the period 2007 through 2013 is 11.5 billion euros Which is not a small thing again and these funds are intended for transition for Institution building for regional development for cross-border cooperation, etc And on top of it in the western Balkans We also employ our common security and defense policy tools in order to help to stabilize the region and enable its progress towards the European Union membership here. I'm talking about our civilian missions such as you legs in Kosovo or military missions such as you for in Bosnia and Herzegovina and This combination of enlargement financial and CSDP elements is expressed also operationally in our double-headed Representations that exist both in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina and we faced out one in Fyro Macedonia at the beginning of this year So here let me point out that this three component approach its novelty and has been tailor made for the region of the western Balkans Now to take a bit of stock What has been achieved so far where we are at the end of 2011? We have three current candidates for the EU membership Croatia Fyro Macedonia and Montenegro and four potential candidates Albania Bosnia Herzegovina Kosovo and Serbia Out of which two Albania and Serbia already applied for membership But they are still waiting for the European Union to grant them the candidate status and what the year 2011 means for each of them You know that European Commission just Last month produced a very detailed progress report about the progress achieved by each of the countries I'm certainly not going to repeat it, but one sentence per country Should be probably sufficient here Croatia is about to join This country is a foolproof to the rest of the western Balkans that it is possible and it is achievable Croatia will sign its accession treaty on the 9th of December and from then on The our Croatian partners will be sitting with us in the council in the working groups first as observers and later on as a full-fledged participants Montenegro fulfilled the recommendations from the last year's progress report and Therefore the Commission proposed opening of accession negotiations. We are waiting for the decision of the December European Council on the date Major steps have been done by Serbia on the ICTY file, which was closed this year And this is bringing this country very close to the candidate status What needs to be done now of course is the implementation of the commitments already accepted by Serbia in the dialogue with Pristina And as we speak the dialogue is taking place in in in Brussels Fyro Macedonia, we hope that the momentum to resolve the name issue could be restored after The elections and formation of the government in Skopje and with the new Greek government and it's an opportunity. We should not miss In Albania, we have seen an awful political deadlock throughout most of the year 2011, but We are also pleased to see some very promising Parliamentarian activities in Albania and I really want to hope that this is going to To to restart the process. Yes, keep our fingers crossed for this Most of our current effort with all our tools goes nowadays to Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo And it's no surprise that it's exactly these two cases these two countries that are being debated here today in much greater detail than the rest of the region In Bosnia Herzegovina We have been constantly repeating the warning of losing yet another year and that the risk of falling behind the rest of the region is imminent and Unfortunately, the Commission's progress report confirms this as 2011 has not produced much progress no agreement on a central level government has been found No real European platform has emerged among the political parties and no real engagement on the reforms among political parties was noticed by The European Union without going into details because this will be discussed Later on let me simply stated Bosnia Herzegovina's problem problem is twofold first its political establishment is Divided over how the country should function and secondly its its constitutional setup It's which was inherited as a settlement of the war reinforces these divisions European Union is willing to help but will not impose solutions to such fundamental questions We believe that there is no alternative to local solution and local Compromise which we wholeheartedly support we stand ready to help to transform the consensus on the EU integration That is a very strong feature in Bosnia Herzegovina into a process a process through which we will be able to answer the other Existential questions that means to address the problems against the backup of the European Union membership perspective and our readiness Was also translated into a tailor-made Approach for Bosnia Herzegovina in particular which was reflected first in our March strategy Which was adopted by the 27 foreign ministers of the European Union then in in May In the launch of the structure dialogue on judiciary in September by appointment our Reinforced double-headed representative who is the EU special representative and the head of EU delegation in Sarajevo and In October with a new Foreign Affairs Council conclusions that defined our current modified approach on the you for Althea operation and also indicate The proposed or suggested way forward for the OHR The next step as we see it will be to give our presence enough time to demonstrate its potential on the ground before we move further What has been done by the European Union so far particularly in 2011? I believe confirms that we do have strategy and instruments for Bosnia Herzegovina The other concern is Kosovo and by implication Serbia It is another case where we are convinced that the European perspective that they both share is the most conducive context for finding the way forward That practical solutions which are based on the European Union rules famous Akis Agree which are must and must be agreeable to both should be defined and implemented That a proactive Facilitation by the European Union helps to turn attention to the common objective of Brussels European Union led effort is based on all the values and principles we strongly believe in it is a dialogue Which is discussing issues to improve lives of people and some of their basic freedoms such as freedom of movement Right for security and so on it is a transparent exchange of positions between the two partners That voluntarily sit at the same table and discuss directly I've heard some criticism towards this dialogue and you know that Robert was invited to take part in this conference But he's chairing the dialogue right now or facilitating the dialogue. I Don't think that much of public diplomacy Would be help conducive helpful to achieving the goals of the dialogue. I can hardly remember any statement coming of Belgrade that made the situation in in Pristina and Kosovo Easier to accept the dialogue and vice versa. So but let's let's be sure that All the EU member states and the United States are fully in the picture United States participates in the dialogue and plays a very important Role in the dialogue. So we believe that this is the best way forward It's a best way forward for both for Serbia and for Kosovo because it is a step of towards normalization Towards stabilization and towards the European Union It's the only platform where Belgrade and Pristina are talking to each other So it should be in everybody's interest to strengthen this channel and it's we we need to come to the point when both Belgrade and Pristina will appreciate and value and and To having this channel and we'll work to to broaden the scale of issues that are being discussed as a part of the dialogue And This dialogue is also very important more broadly first to prevent a potential frozen conflict in the region and particularly in the northern Kosovo, which we will not which is not acceptable to keep the enlargement strategy alive and tangible To both of them to help European integration of Kosovo together with the rest of the region and To reiterate European Union support to the principle of territorial integrity This is the principle that we apply throughout the region. We don't believe in the partitions being Way forward or solution of to any of the problems Western Balkans is facing on the contrary So all that I just said about the European Union engagement leads me to a logical conclusion that the transformational power of the European Union and enlargement has proved successful and that we shall pursue This policies further Such a comprehensive and large engagement is our strategy It's our offer to the Western Balkans and it's our testimony to what we believe in And you can rest assured that European Union will remain engaged. This is our firm conviction Which is reiterated again and again Now coming back to the title of this conference time for change. Maybe I could suggest a change of paradigm First we must build our policies on realities not on wishful thinking As much as we might wish that Europe was not divided on the issue of Kosovo, that's a reality So instead of crying why is it 20 to 5? We shall build our policies on the fact that it is how it is As much as we might wish or we try to be given much greater support particularly from the European Union It's not the case because majority of the EU member states Don't believe that this is the right way to to progress in the European in Bosnia-Herzegovina And they would wish to give much more space to the European agenda rather than to the OHR agenda Which is a reality whether we like it or not. So Let's stop saying what if and let's start building our policies on where we are This is probably the best point of departure. We shouldn't we should not get stuck in time It's impossible to deal with the challenges of 2011 Through the instruments of 90s. We shall Be very clear that status quo is not a strategy Maintaining the status quo is Not offering positive and sustainable solutions for the Western Balkans on the contrary. It's a way of deepening crisis And also our approach It is not and should not be about Individuals about personalities It should be about countries about processes about inclusiveness and about the perspective for each of the countries and for the whole region and And it was also mentioned here. We have to see things in wider perspective and speaking about Western Balkans We must not forget about the Arab Spring about Iran about other issues because whenever we Require political decision. This is how people look at the issues to put it on the scale of challenges That they are facing globally These are important points if we want to implement a strategy, which is credible and which is tangible for the region And this is what we want. So to conclude I'm convinced that the European Union's enlargement policy remains the right vehicle for the Western Balkans Compared to the previous enlargement our approach has become more tailor-made and we will come we continue working on it as I explained before But such approach will still needs to be formulated against the backdrop of European perspective And on the basis of the European Union's best practices and aches and the candidates and applicants Will still be judged on the buried on the on the basis of their individual merits and achievements The fact that European Union is going through its internal challenges and has to dedicate much more time and energy To its internal issue does not mean that we have departed from our from our commitment towards The region of the Western Balkans enlargement is and will continue to be our policy with regard to the Western Balkans And we are proving our commitment through the progress progress achieved every year as Reflected in the Commission's progress report and in the council decision So no one can say that the process has has come to a standstill because it's not true and I'm sure that the interest of the United States states is the same Because we have jointly invested so much in the region and we need to preserve our investment together And therefore the full and clear backing of the of the European Union in the Western Balkans by the United States Is necessary European Union needs clearly demonstrated and applied trust of the United States We are allies and we are allies in the Western Balkans project European Union success in the region is our common interest and it's our common success United States has played and continues to play very important role in the Western Balkans region We are fully aware of it and we fully appreciate it We have a good track record of successes in the region Particularly when the United States and European Union acted united formulated common visions and spoke with one voice And we have always been a good tandem of heart and soft power and we shall continue to play this leading role together and united and This philosophy has been Outline and reflected a number of times also by the statements Delivered by the US officials such as Phil Gordon speech in Sarajevo in June or his Presentation to the Congress last week and I'm very pleased to say that we share the philosophy of our approach So ladies and gentlemen, this is our strategy our offer and our vision. We are convinced This is the only credible way forward. We are not disengaging on On the contrary when talking about the Western Balkans as critical as we might be about the Actions and activities and the role played by the European Union We shall still acknowledge and let's face it that the European Union is the only International player with a very concrete tangible and positive strategy for the region Promising those countries a very clear perspective Perspective that we offer namely the membership perspective Should therefore be our joint program and our joint platform for our future common actions And this that's I believe is the best we can jointly do for the region of the Western Balkans. Thank you very much Okay, thank you very much. Miroslav. We have about 10 minutes And I want to jump in with the first question probably an obvious one You referred to it near the end about commitments, but given the crisis within the European Union itself I don't want to exaggerate it too much, but there are those that do nevertheless There is a crisis in the eurozone Economic stagnation Sovereign deaths increasing social disquiet How does this impact on enlargement policy amongst voters amongst politicians particularly if they begin to equate? Let's say the performance of countries such as Greece and Italy and others with the West Balkan aspirants In other words the idea that they're not well governed that they don't know how to do budgeting That they're corrupt or there are some very special interests involved that they do not meet basic European Union criteria Is that having an impact would you say in EU policy? Yes, and no As I like to say European Union is an organism rather than a mechanism. We are going through different times and different periods There are moments when enlargement is very high on the list of our priorities and there are moments when we focus on Different issues, but what's most important? It is our official policies that has never been questioned The fact that European Union has got less time and less money to deal with the Western Balkans Means that we expect more from the countries of the region to do their homework and to come to us with more of solutions rather than problems and once again it has never been questioned our commitment is here to stay and It everything depends on the progress on the ground in the countries of the Western Balkans region Okay, thanks very much questions. I see Mike lady next to Mike. Let's start with the two of you at you Mike Thank you very much Mike Hultzl, John Sopkins says. Thank you, Mr. Leitch act for your comprehensive and hard-hitting remarks You said that we can't hold with the status quo in the Western Balkans. I'm assuming that You're not talking about changing of borders in that regard. I mean, that's one status quo that I would have thought we would hold to Okay Okay, my question is the following You mentioned the the various tools the EU has including stability mechanisms including EU for in Bosnia and Herzegovina and In the previous panel several people said that any change in borders would be romantic and counterproductive and Have a domino effect They didn't say that they would also be immoral because any change of borders Especially with regard to the Republic of Serbs go would have been the result of Ethnic cleansing and genocide of the population. So my question is very simple Has the EU considered Moving Some of its EU four troops up to Birchco, which is a federal district as a demonstration that even though the EU has a structured dialogue with the RS that It wants to make absolutely clear that the RS is part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina and that's a fact of life and the presence of However many hundred EU soldiers in Birchco would demonstrate that is that something you might consider Thank you. Even a Howard National Endowment for democracy You read that the title of the presentation or the conference of this time for change But it's a new transatlantic approach and you mentioned the US towards the very end maybe one more time before but surprisingly mostly talked about the EU approaches and only Mentioned us in a sense that the US should join you in these approaches and Of course, I think there it's no secret here in Washington There's an impression that there is really a no-joint approach particularly when it comes to Bosnia And what happened with Lady Ashton's visit to Banyaluk earlier this year and the resulting structural changes Was something that really drew a line between the approaches between The European Union towards resolving the issue in Bosnia and the US and at the relationship between the two is not Maybe as as nice as everybody would like to to say publicly I think most of the time when we ask when we ask people such as yourself everybody says no everything is fine But I think in my opinion recently The way that this was illustrated most prominently is when a friend of mine recently told me that Any technocrat asked him at one point. Why do you trust the Americans more than us? Has have you really gotten to a point that there is no trust between the Americans and the Europeans as I think There is an impression looking at it from here, particularly when it comes to Bosnia. Thank you I personally always trusted Miroslav, but anyway Anybody else maybe one more question. No, okay, let me Let's be very clear Changes of border are not on the agenda will not be on the agenda is totally not acceptable I mean we the the the setup of the western Balkans is final European Union will never support any changes of borders and we shall not Think in the direction that Changing borders might solve our problems. It would open Pandora's box in the in the region with the unpredictable Impact and it's better not to dwell on it our military presence in Bosnia Herzegovina continues in line with the Decisions made by the ministers of foreign affairs in October. It's going to be well partly downgrade it refocused more on training education and the deterrence Effect will be now shifted more to the over the horizon forces This is based on the conclusions made by the military people and they are also responsible for the for the way how the forces are geographically located But you know how high is the mobility of our forces? So I have not been present at any discussions of stationing you forces in Bercico directly, but the their mandate covers the entire territory of Bosnia Herzegovina and whenever they feel or see Threats to the territorial integrity or the constitutional order of Bosnia Herzegovina They are ready to act on the basis of their mandate here. So on Regarding the I Was specifically asked to speak about European Union's policy in and that's what I'm doing I believe it's important to outline and refresh to the audience. What are the? The strategies instruments tools European Union has and applies in the region of the Western Balkans We know very well and we miss no opportunity to stress that if we want to be successful we need Firm as possible alliance between the European Union and the United States and in the Balkans and that's what we do We are in a daily context I am personally in daily contact with people who are forming and shaping the Western Balkan policy here in the State Department in the NSC so are my colleagues we we are Informing each other about everything we do and I've also used my visit to Washington DC to to continue doing so So I absolute I absolutely disagree with this with the statement that there is no trust between the European Union and the United States There is a strong trust and This trust is being reinforced through our actions on the ground starting from Secretary Clinton and Lady Eshton down to our ambassadors on the ground in Sarajevo or in any other country of the region I don't want to Elaborate on Eshton's visit here because this is not what I was asked to do So let me just say that this visit was highly appreciated in the European Union in Brussels and by our member states Which is also the fact of life. So but As I said the combination of the soft and hard power the fact that there are countries in the region who turn to Washington before they turn to Brussels is a fact that we appreciate and therefore It's really important not to send the signals that we might not be united because I do believe that we shared the same ultimate goal for the region and And it's nothing works better in the region when the United States and European Union speak with the same voice and that's What we mutually understand very well Maybe one last question if it's a quick one Please Mr. Leitcher You come from Slovakia you were a diplomat in Slovakia your country does not recognize Kosovo Four other countries don't recognize Kosovo It's a reality but what that says in terms of the European Union speaking with one voice being capable of Implementing the strategies that you're talking about when there is no consensus of How to move forward and prolong the issue of full Recognition of Kosovo not only by European Union But other countries and allow after 20 years people to enjoy the same rights that the rest of Europe enjoy as I said, it's a reality and Therefore we have to to To build our policies on this reality. It doesn't make life for the European Union easier But this this is where we are and if you want to know my personal opinion That's one of the reasons why I believe in the dialogue and why I Encouraged both parties to engage in dialogue because if you want the non recognizers to Reconsider the policy there must be a reason for them to do so That means they they it's the national positions are based on on on the resolution of their parliaments You don't go to parliaments to say I mean I've reconsidered you have to come back to your parliament to say There is a different reality on the ground They are talking to each other. They are accepting the documents. They are traveling freely They are supporting each other in regional for us So that there is a new situation compared to the one when the decision was made and therefore It's time for for us maybe to reconsider this our position So this is something that Pristina should bear in mind knowing how important it is To present itself as a credible international player Particularly through the dialogue and believe me that this is a very powerful instrument with multi multiple impact including on the issue Do you just raised? Okay, Europe has spoken. Thank you Muroslav


Hey, this is Brett and this 2019 Cadillac Escalade Premium Luxury is stock number 13406Z. I'm here at Summit Automotive in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, your new and used SUV headquarters. This 2019 Cadillac Escalade has the 6.2 liter V8 gas engine. It's paired up with the 10 speed automatic transmission. This vehicle has been fully safe and inspected by our service shop per the state of Wisconsin inspection process. It has a fresh oil and filter change. All the fluids have been checked and topped off and it is 100% ready to go. I'm going to go all the way around in this video. Inside started up, take a look under the hood, go over all the options on the inside and give you the most accurate representation of the vehicle that I can. Black Raven is the color and I shoot all my videos in 4K. So if you have HD capabilities, turn them on now because it is your best way to check out the quality, condition, options, and of course, cleanliness of the vehicle before seeing it in person. 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Back room is absolutely perfect as well and the back tires have just as much tread as those front tires. Very good tread on these tires. Coming around to the back, rear bumper is in very nice condition. I didn't see any major dense dings or cracks on the rear bumper. It does have the towing package which includes a receiver hitch and seven pin wiring. The rear gate is in nice condition as well. You can see the LED lights that go all the way up to the roof. This is a power lift gate and that works nicely. There's the receiver hitch cover. We keep these inside the vehicle so they don't go missing and that's in pretty nice condition. Back storage area is very nice and clean. You do get a little bit of storage underneath there. These seats do power fold down. Watch how fast they go down. Always amazing. No, I didn't put that in fast forward. That's just how fast they go. And then to get this gate down you press that button and it'll come on down for you. There's also the flipper glass. If I press this button it comes up like so. You can see it's really nice and clean under there. Shocks are doing a nice job and those weird frost cables are still attached. For full disclosure we'll show you the driver's side rear rim. No scuffs or scrapes on there. That one looks really good as well. Down the rest of the side of the vehicle once again very nice condition. Does have the blind spot monitoring built in directional signals inside the premium luxury package. Gives you the black leather bucket seats in the front. No rips or tears on those seats. You get the suede on the backrest. They're in very nice condition. Weather tech floor mats, auto headlamps, turned dial four-wheel drive, power telescopic and tilt steering wheel. You get the nice wood grain trim on there. It does have heads-up display. You get the suede wrapped dash and door. Wood grain trim on the door as well. Power windows locks and mirrors and these mirrors do power fold in. I always like showing both sides so that you know that both sides are working properly and all the functions are working properly. Bose sound system. We'll take a quick look at the back seats. Look at these light these handles light up too. It's pretty cool. Second row quad seating. No rips or tears on these seats. The captain's chairs on these second row seats I believe are heated. Latch child safety system. No rips or tears on those seats. This one does have the blu-ray player and you can see that there are headphones right here and then there's a controller for that. The third row seats are in excellent shape as well. No rips or tears back there. Carpetting is very nice and clean and I'm going to put this first row seat up just a little bit so I can show you how this second row works one second. So the backrest goes down like so and then you push it up like that or you can use the strap and then that seat folds up like so. Second row carpeting is very nice and clean as well and then they just go down like that and the backrest goes up. You do get a plug-in down here. I believe it's a 120 volt, 150 watt plug-in, a 12 volt power point. There's also two usb's an aux jack and an hdmi hook up there. I believe this is where you can control your heated seats and rear air controls. Get the woodgrain trim and suede trim on the back doors here as well. We'll hop inside, check out the miles, the radio, and everything that this Cadillac has to offer on the interior. You can see that this one has 42,025 miles. You get the digital spinometer on there. Instrument cluster is of course all digital as well and in really nice clean condition. You get the heated woodgrain trim and leather wrap steering wheel. Audio and information center controls on the right cruise controls, bluetooth and forward collision warning controls on the left and then it does have the heads up display as well. The 10 speed automatic transmission with the optional tap shift. This one has the Cadillac user experience radio with the factory navigation system on there. There's highway 41 so you can see that that is working nicely. If you go to the audio you can see it does have the serious XM radio capabilities on there and as far as everything else that you can do lane departure, power pedal, stability control. I believe that's for your blind spot monitoring. We have to have the vehicle on to show you all the cameras and stuff. Down here you're heated and cooled seat buttons.  So this is pretty a pretty cool feature on this vehicle. I'm trying to remember where you got to touch it. It's right there or right there.  Push button start, woodgrain trim down. Here you get your keyless entry with remote start, power lift gate and it does have the wireless cell phone charge pad right there. Passenger side, floor mat and seat and dash are all in very nice condition. I don't think this Cadillac's ever been smoked in smells very clean inside and the headliner is in nice shape and you get the power sunroof up there as well. You get all your controls for your on-star, SOS buttons, home link buttons for your garage door security systems and lane systems, sunroof controls, rear gate controls and of course map lights. This one does have the I believe it's the camera mirror but we'll start it up so we can check out all those options here. Starts right up no check engine lights or anything like that. So yeah so this is the review camera mirror so that's actually a camera, a video camera display of what's going on behind you. It's like live time so it's pretty cool. If you don't want it then it's just a regular mirror like so. Now if you go into reverse you'll see that you can have your backup camera right there. You also have your 360 view right there as well so that's a pretty cool system to have and because we're in reverse that's really the only beauty you can do. You can choose your different modes, tour, sport, snow and ice and yeah that's pretty much it. We could go through the radio a little bit more. It also has the heads up display. You can see the digital speedometer in the windshield there which is pretty cool as well. Take a quick look under the hood. We'll also check out all those lights up front because they are really good looking. I would personally like to thank you for checking out the video today and hopefully from this HD video you've been able to verify the quality condition options and of course cleanliness of this vehicle all the way around. All the lights are working very nicely and under the hood we have the 6.2 liter of the 8 gas engine. Engine base very clean, runs very smooth. Once again this Escalade has been fully safety and inspected by our service shop. It has a fresh oil and filter changed. All the fluid tab been checked and topped off and this vehicle is 100% ready to go. There is the emissions sticker and I would highly recommend this Cadillac from a quality and condition standpoint. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this one and to see more pictures of this Cadillac or one of our other 550 new and used cars, trucks, SCVs, minivans, wranglers, halftones, three-quarter-tons, one-tons, you name it. We got to go to that website right there, summitauto.com. Full pictures and descriptions of every single vehicle from two locations all at summitauto.com and if you'd like to check out more HD videos you can go to youtube.com slash summitauto. Remember to like, subscribe, and share on this video and auto videos that you see there. Click the bell notifications. You'll get updates on the videos I do each and every day here at Summit Automotive. In fact in a second you'll see a link to subscribe to my YouTube channel on the upper left. A link to more Cadillac videos that I've done in the upper right. A link to this vehicle on our website in the lower left today. A link to one of our latest YouTube videos in the lower right. Click those, check us out and we're super excited to help you with this Ultra Clean 2019 Cadillac Escalade Premium Luxury in black raven clear coat. Thanks again for checking out the video. Remember to like, subscribe, and share on the YouTube channel. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.


My name is Nicole Kappa, your current Tammy Taylor Mrs. South Africa. Join me in April as I climb to base camp of Everest in support of rare diseases South Africa. As a rare mom to a rare warrior, I am passionate about rare diseases. Affecting one in seven individuals, it's an issue very close to my heart. I will be climbing every step for those who can't. I will be taking every breath for those who can't. And I will be experiencing that outdoors like some people only dream of. I will be hiking alongside Sibysesu Vilani and friends as he attempts his first climb to summit Everest without oxygen. Join me by supporting my climb in April and let's advocate for rare warriors everywhere. Let's go beyond for those living beyond and take rare diseases to rare heights.


This study developed a new technique for analyzing protein interactions within mitochondria, which is important for understanding how these organelles function. The researchers used nanoparticles to deliver protein cross-linkers into mitochondria, allowing them to detect and analyze the interactions between proteins. This approach was found to be highly successful, with 74% of the interactions detected being consistent with existing knowledge about the structure of the proteins involved. Furthermore, the researchers were able to identify interactions between proteins that had not been previously identified in databases such as String. Overall, this study provides a powerful tool for studying protein interactions within mitochondria, providing valuable insight into the inner workings of these essential organelles. This article was authored by Yuan Chen, Wenju, Euphatia, and others.


Okay, so hi everybody. I see a lot of familiar faces, so you all know who I am and what I do. But for those of you who don't, I am the National Director of the Make Tech Supports Affordable Campaign for the Student Public Interest Research Groups, or student purgs. We're a national nonprofit organization that works in about 25 states on important issues to students as citizens. So the environment, consumer protection, government reform. And we've been working on these issues for about 35 years. And what makes this kind of unique is that we have chapters on 100 campuses across the country that have staff organizers that work with the students to train them on important campaign skills and to actually run campaigns that make an impact on important issues. So I've been the director of our campaign for textbook affordability for about four years now. And when I started working on this issue actually, OER and textbooks really wasn't considered a solution. And since then it's really become our top priority. And it's been a pleasure to be part of this community and I'm excited to tell you a little bit about our work on affordable textbooks. But first just a quick issue overview, looking at why we think open textbooks and OER are such a great solution. So I'm sure everybody in this room knows that textbooks are expensive. Some of you may not know what current prices are. So this is the most widely used calculus textbook in the country, 224.95. Economics, ironically. A lot of money. Chemistry. So major introductory subjects especially. Most textbooks will run at least $150 up to $250. And you know these are students who are already struggling to afford their education as we heard yesterday. The amount of student debt held by Americans is actually larger than quite like that. And students are spending a lot of that money that they're spending on education on textbooks. The college board estimates that on average students spend over $1,000 per year on their books. And when you look at that in the perspective of how much they're spending on tuition and other education expenses, it can be pretty significant especially at community colleges. In a lot of cases, I've talked to students who actually spend more on textbooks than they do to pay to take the class. In states like California, the state auditor has released figures that show that students actually spend more on average on textbooks than their education at the single largest cost of attendance. And then just even though we've started to see a lot of cost saving measures coming out of the market, and I'll talk about those in a second, we have continued to see prices skyrocket. Four times the rate of inflation over the past two decades. And actually this is random, but on Twitter there was a hashtag trending when I was 14. And I ran a quick calculation on that and found that textbooks, since I was 14 years old, textbooks have actually more than doubled the prices. So that is just crazy how fast prices are rising and it's only getting worse. So the organization I work for, the student parts, we've conducted some extensive research on this issue about close to a decade and released a number of reports that have just sort of exposed the underlying causes of high prices and why they're rising so quickly. And the main factors are these really, really expensive prices. New editions that come out unnecessarily every few years. I'm sure anybody who's taught a class or perhaps has kids in college knows that publishers often release new editions. Even in subjects like calculus where the subject matter just doesn't change that much. And the purpose of that is to white-use books off the market so students have to buy the new editions. Since publishers depend on selling new books in order to make money, they don't make money off of used copies. And it's a tragedy though because you can get the old editions online, dirt cheap. This is just one example of a calculus textbook. You can get it for $80. Sometimes you can get it even lower than that. And then another tactic we've observed is bundling. So publishers will package textbooks with expensive CDs and passcodes and other supplements that aren't always necessary for the class and often are just sort of pitched to faculty as free add-ons. But what it actually does is it does drive up the cost because of the cost of developing these items. And then also it makes the books harder to sell back at the end of the semester, especially when there's like a passcode that expires. So even though the book is exactly the same, the bookstore can't buy the book back because it needs that passcode. So students in the next semester are forced to buy new books. And then just a lot of other tactics we've observed. We found that publishers withhold information about textbook pricing from professors. We passed the legislation to address that. Overseas publishers will charge much lower prices coming up with different ways to sabotage. The used book market actually customization is becoming one of the leading ways they do that. Even sometimes they'll just pitch, you know, a custom cover book that's exactly the same but has a different cover and forces students to buy new books rather than getting used copies of the standard edition. And then the other thing is the e-books that are out there right now, publishers have started to expand their digital offerings pretty rapidly. And when I say publishers here, I'm talking about, you know, major publishers, the large companies that dominate the market. Conventional e-books are sold at a lower price but they actually end up costing more because students can't sell them back at the end of the semester and then they expire so they can't even keep them if they want. And then the reason that kind of the core cause of all these problems is that there's what's called a market failure in the textbook market. And, you know, the way a normal market works is that you have two parties, a consumer and a producer, and they're kind of about even footing because the consumers have the right to put pressure on the producer at lower costs and then the producer has to work hard to get the consumer's business but in textbooks it just doesn't work that way. You have three parties, the publishers who develop products for professors, choose them and assign them to the student. And then the student is stuck paying whatever the publisher is charging. And even though this is the way it should work because professors are the ones that know best what materials will help educate their students, it still creates a flawed economic dynamic that allows publishers to really exploit students and charge such outrageous prices. And it's actually, there's another market out there that's kind of similar to this. Can anybody guess what it is? Healthcare prescription drugs really is the best example. So you have the doctor who's the decision maker but doesn't have to buy the product himself. But fortunately, we've gotten to a point where even though prices are rising, there are a lot of ways for students to save money. I mean, buying new books in the bookstore, usually you can get a 25% discount, even more online. And this has only expanded as social networking and the internet of large students across country and within their communities to find each other and trade books. Also renting, this is actually relatively new, not new idea but new rules out at campuses across the country. Just five years ago, there was only a handful of colleges that offered renting. But just recently, within the last year and a half, the major bookstore chains have rolled out rental programs on I think 2,000 campuses across the country, which is great. They don't rent all of the books, all of the titles, but students can also rent online, which gives them a lot more options. And students are used to buying a book and selling it back at the end of the semester. So renting makes a lot of sense for them. If they're not planning on taking a class in the future.  But the unfortunate thing is most conventional e-books do expire, usually after 180 days. So you're not actually buying something, you're only renting it. And a lot of students don't realize that up front. And then also, there are just some really silly restrictions on it to prevent piracy. You can't be logged in on more than two computers at once. You can't download it and store it on your computer for a long time. And then just generally, if you look at the terms and conditions, there are some pretty scary threats then. Who knows, the publishers will actually act on them, but it can be scary to students. And then also, we're starting to see digital textbooks for e-meters taking off. And this is expanded pretty rapidly. And we're going to delve in a little bit more into this and the next question, and you're going to stick around. But yeah, with iPad and Kindle and all of the different devices that are out here, it creates a lot of potential. However, just like the e-books, the content is really expensive. And on top of that, you need to buy a special device. So there are some challenges there for reducing costs. And then, so we did kind of an analysis across all of these different options just to figure out if every student who, or I guess this is just comparing how much students can save money on each of them. But we did a survey of students to figure out kind of where they're at on their preferences of what they want to rent and how they feel about print and digital. Interestingly enough, we found that about three quarters of students, despite the fact that they're on Facebook and Twitter and do everything online, they still prefer print books. And I think the limits on e-books is one part of that. And then also, students just sort of grew up with print books. So I guess it's not too surprising that they would prefer that. And then also that most students actually still want to keep their books or at least have the option to keep their books. So renting can't be a complete solution. And then just putting those things together, we found that every student who could take advantage of each one of these options or every student who wanted to take advantage of one of these options actually did. This is the maximum amount of savings that each option could provide for the market. So the largest one renting is 33%. So it could reduce costs 33% of where we are now, which is still not affordable. That's taking a $200 textbook and reducing $166, which is not affordable. So we need a better solution. We know that we can do better than that. And that's where open textbooks come in. So we all know what open textbooks are. They're just like a traditional textbook except they have an open license. And they're better. They're free, online, affordable. You can get hard copies at a low cost. And they have all the benefits of an open license, responsibility, the ability to share, and the ability of instructors to actually adapt the text to better fit their class. And open textbooks have been adopted. Actually, it's up over 3,000 classes now across the country, which is really great progress. And they're used at some really top-notch institutions, Harvard, Caltech, Berkeley, like the top colleges in the country are already using open textbooks. And then we've seen just new models developing. And many people in this room are part of that, coming up with ways that open textbooks can be sustainable in the long run. So here are just two examples of what open textbooks are. This is a linear algebra textbook. It comes HTML, PDF, EPUB, black and white book. You can print it yourself. And then there are all those varying costs. And then this is one of the books published by Flatwell Knowledge, the leading commercial publisher of open textbooks, which also gives students a variety of options that they can take advantage of. And then the thing about open textbooks that we really believe is the key is that it actually solves this problem. So this e-books and rentals and all those other solutions, they still perpetuate this old broken market because they're not actually changing the way that students buy their products and the way they dynamic between publishers and students. But open textbooks actually do that. It splits the textbook up essentially into content and products. So the publisher is going to market the content to the professor, because that's what matters to the professor. And then it's going to market the different products around the open textbook to the student, because that's what matters to the student. By splitting those two things up, it actually fixes the broken dynamic because it opens up a two-way street between publishers and students. And that's why I'm sure any of you who are familiar with our campaign, we give a lot of publicity to Flatwell Knowledge. And as a consumer advocacy organization, we very rarely give for-profit companies that kind of credit, we feel comfortable doing that with Flatwell Knowledge because we know because those books have an open license, there's always going to be the ability students have to keep them in check. They can't rip students off because if they start charging too much for their textbooks, students are just going to use the free version. So it creates the healthy dynamic that we want to perpetuate in the textbook market. And we want to expand the market to include more options like this. Then the other part of open textbooks that we really believe is the key is the overall savings. I mean, it's obviously dramatic. So just come here to the other options that I was talking about before. Open textbooks will reduce costs of 80% on average. Some people have asked, well, why isn't it 100%? But the other 20% is actually spent on the optional products. So not all students are going to want to use it free online. In fact, our research shows that given the option between a free online version and a low-cost print version, 60% of students would want to buy the print version and Flatwell Knowledge's sales statistics are somewhat back that up. So just to put that in perspective, so it works out to save students about $100 if their professor switches from a traditional textbook to an open textbook. The amount they'd be spending on a traditional textbook versus the open textbook. So $100 in savings per student. That means in the 100-student class, it would be, oh, got an extra zero in there. Okay, so $10,000 for 100-student class. Five classes at a university, that's $50,000. And two semesters a year, that's $100,000. So one professor or one department switching one class to an open textbook yields $100,000 per year in savings for students, which is tremendous. How did you check that's $100 per student, per class? Yeah. Yeah, it's like 107, but for this time, probably not off. So just the potential savings are huge. There are, what, 5,000 educational institutions in the United States? Multiply that by, well, what is that? $500,000? Yeah. $500 million, is that possible? That's a lot of money. So that kind of concludes the issue background portion of this presentation.  So the campaign is called Make Textbooks Affordable. And it's important to point out that it's not make textbooks free. So while we believe that textbooks have the potential to be free, we want to embrace all the solutions that are out there. So we started out, our first main strategy was exposing the problem. So publishers, obviously, the root of the problem, they are publicly traded companies. Their public image actually matters. And we've gotten a lot of mileage out of just exposing them to international media and just educating the public about the kind of just tactics they're using to rip off students. And our research has generated a lot of media attention and then also sparked a congressional investigation back in 2004 that resulted in a GAO report released in 2005. We've also worked to organize professors across the country to implement ways to reduce costs. I mean, professors are the ones that use textbooks. So they're in the best position to reduce costs. So even just adopting guidelines for adoption that limit the high prices and negotiating with publishers. And it can actually have a really, really big impact. And we've also organized about 3,000 professors to sign on to a statement saying they'd be willing to consider using open textbooks. What appropriate for that class. And that's really helped build credibility for the entire open textbook movement. I alluded to before, we've also passed a law through Congress that requires textbook publishers to disclose the price of textbooks when they're marketing books to professors. And it went into effect on July 1st of last year. So far, implementation hasn't been as strong as we would like. And we're planning on taking action this year to investigate just how much they're disclosing their prices and suggest some better practices for doing that. But it at least provided some sunshine and exposed one of the worst publisher practices our research has found. And then also just working to promote open textbooks we've been using our students on our 100 campus chapters across the country to just get the word out to faculty, let them know that these options are out there, presenting to departments and actually just going person to person. Students can reach professors in a way that really nobody else can because they're the effective party. And any professor in the room knows that your students are complaining a lot and taking that to the next level and actually providing information about the solutions can be really powerful. And then the most recent effort that we've been involved with is the textbook rebellion. And I think many of you have heard about our national tour and our math gods. And the textbook rebellion is actually a national coalition. What we've realized is that this problem is actually gone beyond just students. We've been running this campaign for close to a decade, but really it's not just about students anymore. Faculty are being affected. They're forced to teach more and more students who haven't purchased their textbooks because the cost is too high. Parents are having to spend extra money to buy books for their students.  So really what we need is to organize a united front across all constituencies affected by this issue. And that's kind of the idea behind the textbook rebellion. And so far the coalition includes us, a number of student organizations and student governments. Flatwell Knowledge is part of it and a couple of other open textbooks and affordable textbook publishers are part of it too. So we're hoping to build that out in the coming months and I hope that I can start conversations with a lot of you here about being part of that too. And then I just quickly want to show you, oh my goodness, I can go with this, our national tour. These are our mascots. We went on a tour across the country stopping at 40 campuses starting in August. We're gonna go, there we go. Those are the types of rebellion mascots. Literally we had a van and we put those mascots in a van and we drove them to 40 campuses across the country over the course of six weeks. We gathered 10,000 petition signatures. We generated over 100 unique media hits, so articles, TV stations that were syndicated. We estimate to about 300 different outlets but we're still just tallying that all up. So it was just a huge success. So let's see, I think that, oh yeah. Make sure that we have a couple of minutes for questions. So just quickly to run through what you guys can do to be part of the movement for affordable textbooks and the textbook rebellion. I mean faculty obviously adopt open textbooks when you can and just consider the options and let your colleagues know. Students, we provide a ton of resources on our website to help you run campaigns, educate your professors and pressure your decision makers. Colleges can help support their faculty to both write and adopt open textbooks and authors can put pressure on their publishers to allow them to publish open textbooks and start adopting business models that make more sense. So I'm going to stop there and see if anybody has any questions. I think we have four minutes left. Bye. Can you share the major publishers who are publishing open textbooks that are helping in this movement? So Flatwood Knowledge is by far away the largest. But there are also a couple of smaller efforts. We work with one company out of Cambridge, Massachusetts called the Worldwide Center of Math they're offering. I think their goal is to get to 10 open textbooks in math. They're using a no derivatives license though, so they're not as open as some of the other open textbooks out there, but as far as students are concerned, they're just as affordable. And then a lot of the efforts that we've heard about here, so CK12 offers a lot of open textbooks that are geared more towards high schools, but there's a lot of overlap with community colleges. And then, yeah, the Steyler Foundation, the Next Generation Learning Challenge is creating a bunch. There are a lot of different organizations. But they're currently being used right now in classrooms far away from the world? Yeah. But others that are currently being used in college classrooms? By, like, what organizations? Correct. Okay, so yeah, the Worldwide Center of Mathematics offers textbooks that are being used. CK12, obviously, has been adopted. In fact, I think we have an adopter of that in the room, Ted. Yeah. There you are. And there also are a variety of open textbooks that actually aren't published by a traditional publisher or, like, publishing company. They're just offered by individual authors or sponsored by departments that have gained a lot of visibility. There's a huge effort out of Virginia Commonwealth University. And then a professor at the University of Puget Sound who's published two books. We can look at that. Yeah, there's information there. There's a lot of information on our website. We offer a catalog of open textbooks that are most widely used. Yeah, all the way back. Well, I kind of want to make a comment. I've developed an open textbook called Writing Composition. So I'm clearly behind this movement. I also direct a large writing program from up in that 10,000 kids at the time in two or eight years old. And I just want to say that I have developed over the years a great deal of respect for the publishers. Yeah, I mean, I am doing an open and open OER project. But I think the system is a little broken. I agree. But it's really complicated. I've also written textbooks. And the deal is, you know, I want to say that the production of textbooks written by faculty is not part of the faculty members' job, typically. Because you're not going to get tenure, you're not going to get any kind of reward because that's not the reward structure that you'll be able to achieve.  I mean, so I'm kind of in a contrary position, but I just want to say that I don't think that the publishers are necessarily our enemies. I think they're looking for a new business model. But they are helping develop new resources. And their problem is, you know, after three years, it goes through the, well, I have to say, first year, they must have their money because it's going through the bookstore that's getting a 30% and the book market is 50%. Right. So it's just, it is a broken system, but I don't know that they publish this year. I've got a long respect for the publishers. Okay, so publishers, publishers offer a valuable contribution. They, nobody's arguing that. But there's no excuse. There's, we shouldn't tolerate the high prices. Like it doesn't make it okay. But also you have a short window of covering your development costs. But it doesn't have to be that way. They're using a business model that fundamentally doesn't make sense. And it's costing students money. That's why we're all out of this. Yeah, but I think we can all agree that this is a complicated issue. I think that's right. And I'm glad that you brought this up because it is true. We do tend to demonize the publishers because our role in all of this is to build pressure on them to actually make that leap and start using business models that make a lot more sense. So, I mean, I appreciate the comment. For sure. Brad, do we need this up? Yeah? One more. Okay. Well, I think if anyone knows like it's a lot of work published and how much a professor makes from their fees. Come with the next session. Okay. Your question. I'm just going to say that I think what might end up happening is rather than seeing a change to an open model, the pressure that's being applied to publishers might be that they're making incremental changes. So, they start paying people by journal articles, for example, or by refereeing journal papers. So, they might move a bit. I think if they move a bit, they could get a lot of people on board who are not currently on board. So, it seems to me that's the sort of danger for you because if publishers do shift the bit, the sort of leverage that you've got changes because they can get academics on-site because all of a sudden, they've got more self-interest. Well, if the model shifts in a direction that makes sense, what's more affordable? That's by progress. Well, even not. That's what I'm saying. Because it could be just that rather than the profit going to the publishers, they get spread around to the academics and produce the materials as well. Or, for example, academics on-site. I see. Well, it's always going to be a smaller portion of authors to, or unless everybody offers their own. Certainly, there are ways it could go that would be disadvantageous for students. But I think that right now, Bill Wakings, we're looking at, we just keep on the publishers to come up with business models that are better for everybody. Okay, so I think that concludes the first session and we're now transitioning to the next session.


Hey everybody, welcome to Waldoch Way. I'm Jessica and today's video is a collaboration with Abby from Rooted in Rest. Today is day one of both of our back to school weeks. So both of us will be featuring a video every single day this week. We will also both be having a giveaway every single day this week and we will be collaborating on two of the five videos. Today's video is going to be about our schedule or routine or rhythm, whatever you wanna call it. And what's fantastic about us collaborating together today is that I have one child and I'm a kind of relaxed homeschooler and she has four kids and is more of a Charlotte Mason inspired homeschooler. So it's going to be a really great way to look at how two very different yet similar moms set up a schedule rhythm routine for their children for homeschool. So if you need to see what my routine was like for last year, I'm gonna link that video up here for you guys. Last year we had a little bit more of a complicated routine because we used a loop system. We're going to still be kind of using a loop system this year but it's gonna be a very relaxed one and I'm gonna try to explain that to the best of my ability. The first thing I wanted to show you guys are these amazing magnets from Lovey List Magnets.  Last year I used a printable schedule or kind of rhythm for us to follow and it worked great but I really wanted something that I could change out a little bit more easily and you're going to see why when I tell you what our schedule is going to kind of look like for the upcoming year. So these magnets were perfect for that because I can easily take them off of the fridge and put them back on. So they just sit on the side of our refrigerator and I can easily change them in or out or change what we're gonna be doing or the order we're gonna be doing it in and it gives Emily a great visual reminder of what the day's gonna hold. Now, I'm gonna kind of walk you through what our days and weeks are gonna look like in the upcoming school year and please keep in mind this is subject to change. This is what I think is going to work but that doesn't necessarily mean it's actually what's gonna work. So what our plan is, is to keep a very general routine for our days and that is going to be that we always wake up and Emily plays by herself independently with something that I have shrewd for about 20 to 45 minutes depending on the day, depending on what I shrew and depending on how interactive and exploratory that she is with what it is. And after that, I make breakfast and we sit down and do morning basket. That is going to stay the same. She's going to engage with something that I've shrewd or play with something quietly while I kind of wake up, make breakfast, we're gonna eat while we do morning basket and then we're gonna move into our table time. I am giving us about an hour for table time and I am not dictating just yet what has to be done during table time. I will tell you a little bit more about that when I talk about curriculum in a few days. We will just do kind of one thing and then everything else will just be kind of in a basket for us to work through at our own pace and whether she's interested in certain things on certain days, that'll be fine with me. And so we will work for whatever period of time about an hour on whatever she wants to work on at the table. And I say table because it's not always the table. Sometimes it's the floor, sometimes it's the couch, sometimes it's the bed, sometimes it's outside and the grass but we call it table time for lack of better terms. When we finish the table time, we'll move on to lunch. And then after lunch, she will have afternoons for online classes or co-op. I am hoping that the world opens up enough that we can start our wild and free co-op again. If that happens, it will be great. If it doesn't happen, it's not a big deal. I'm just gonna substitute with a nature subscription that we have so she will still be doing a nature online class. She is in a Lego class and an introduction to veterinary medicine class in this upcoming school year. So I know that she will be doing those two classes on specific days, which will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then that leaves Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the most part open for either her squilt live or one of her art classes online, no sweat nature study or additional out-school classes that she chooses to take. So that is going to be her afternoon. That is my plan as of right now. If the world opens up a little bit more, we may scale back on some of the online classes but if the world doesn't open up a little bit more, we are definitely gonna try to do an online class four to five days a week because that helps fill her bucket and give her that interaction that she desires. And it also gives me a little bit of a break, which I personally love.   That is the general outline of our day. That being said, if you did watch our routine video from last year, you're gonna know that we had afternoon activities like STEM projects, science experiments, art projects, music, subscription boxes that now no longer have a place poetry tea time that are not having a place in that routine I just told you about. So my plan for that is that every sixth day, sixth school day will be a fun enrichment day. We will not do morning basket or table time or an online class unless it's specifically scheduled that we can't, you know, move it around. So what that will look like is I will just mark off on my planner that we've done school for five days and the next day we will just take that day off and we will do something like play board games or poetry tea time or we will do an art project or we'll do all of the above. It will just be kind of a fun, no curriculum day for us to get in all of those extra wonderful goodies that we want to make sure we're getting to. So that is kind of going to be what my loop looks like this year which is why these magnets come in so handy because they're gonna give me the ability to change from our school to our fun stuff. So I'm gonna take you through what I have. This is kind of the order they're gonna be on the board for now is shower, brush teeth, comb hair, get dressed, morning basket, which she knows also means breakfast, school which would be our table time, lunch, computer which will be her online classes in the afternoon, play or free time, dinner, read which would be our bedtime basket time and bed and then the ones that I have for those fun days are board games, tea time, art, music and nature. So that is kind of a general overview of how I'm hoping our 2020-2021 school year rolls out. That seems really weird to be saying that. It also seems weird to be saying that I'm gonna have a third grader this upcoming year. Where does the time go, you guys? I will update you obviously in the mid-year and again at the end of the year about how this is working out for us. I think it's going to work really well because it's just gonna kind of also be a built-in break for us about a week, you know, every week-ish. We'll be getting that time off. And what's so great about it is that let's say we only do four days of school this week, no big deal. We just do one more next week and then we have our day off. So I'm not saying every Friday is gonna be a fun day. I would love to do it like that. But then I feel like we somehow are always playing catch-up or we're flying behind or we're missing our fun days and I wanna make sure that doesn't happen. And I also want as she's getting older to reward her for hard work. And so this way she'll see that anytime she puts in five days of good schoolwork and working hard, she gets a day off. And that's kind of what I wanna start instilling in her is that you have to work for that time off. So I'll do school for five days and then we'll have a fun day where we'll get in all of that enrichment type of activity. Now, I would love to know what your plan for your routine, rhythm, or schedule is for the upcoming school year. So please let me know in the comments down below what you're going to be doing for the 2020-2021 school year with your kiddos. Today's giveaway is for a set of 10 lovey list magnets of the winner's choice. To be eligible to win, you must be a subscriber, like this video and leave a comment. Okay. Okay.


My name is Sam Vaknin. I'm the author of Malignal Self-Love, Narcissism Revisited. Today we will talk about abuse. Abusers exploit, lie, demean or ignore, this is known as the silent treatment. They manipulate and they control. But they use a variety of ways to achieve these goals. There are many ways to abuse and many facets of it. Even to love too much is abusive. It is tantamount to treating someone as an extension of oneself, as an object, as a mere instrument of gratification. To be overprotective, not to respect one's privacy, to be brutally honest, to be with a sadistic sense of humor, or to be consistently tactless, all these are forms of abuse. To expect too much, to denigrate, to ignore are all modes of abuse. There is physical abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, and even legal abuse. The listed log. Most abusers abuse it surreptitiously. They are stealth abusers. You have to actually live with such an abuser in order to witness the abuse and discern it. There are four important categories of abuse. The first one is overt abuse. This is the open and explicit abuse of another person. This is the type we are familiar with.  But overt abuse is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a second type, which is control and abuse by proxy. If all else fails, the abuser recruits friends, colleagues, mates, family members, the authorities, institutions, neighbors, the media, teachers. In short, the abuser recruits third parties to do his bidding. He uses these to cajole, to coerce, to threaten, to stalk, to offer, to retreat, to tempt, to convince, to harass, to communicate, and otherwise to manipulate his target. The abuser controls these unaware instruments exactly as he plans to control his ultimate prey and victim. He employs the same mechanisms and devices with his intermediaries as he does with his ultimate targets, and he dumps his props unceremoniously when the job is done. Another form of control by proxy is to engineer situations in which abuse is inflicting upon another person. Such carefully crafted scenarios of embarrassment and humiliation provoke social sanctions, condemnation, or even physical punishment against the victim. Society or a social group thus become the instruments of the abuser against the unwitting victim or prey. So how do you cope with such abuse by proxy? Well, often the abuser's proxies are unaware of their role, so expose him, inform them, demonstrate to them how they are being abused, misused, and plain used by the abuser. Trap your abuser, treat him as he treats you, involve other people, bring it into the open, nothing like sunshine to disinfect abusive behavior. The third category of abuse is what I call ambient abuse or gaslighting. It is the fostering propagation and enhancement of an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, instability, unpredictability, and irritation. There are no acts of traceable explicit abuse. There is no manipulative setting of control, yet the irksome feeling remains a kind of disagreeable foreboding, a premonition, a bed omen. This is what I call gaslighting after the famous movie Gaslight. In the long term such an environment erodes the victim's sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Self-confidence is shaken badly. The victim begins to doubt himself or herself. Often the victim adopts a paranoid or a schizoid avoidant stance and renders himself or herself exposed to even more criticism and judgment. The roles are reversed in ambient abuse. The victim is considered mentally deranged, labile and unstable, while the abuser is universally regarded as the suffering soul. So how do you avoid ambient abuse? Run. Get away from the situation. Gaslighting often develops to avert and then to violent abuse. You don't owe anyone an explanation. Simply get away.  Bail out. The fourth category is covert or controlling abuse. It is composed of a few tactics. The first tactic is unpredictability and uncertainty. In professional terms, intermittent reinforcement. Let me explain. The abuser deploying this tactic acts unpredictably, capriciously, inconsistently and irrationally. This serves to render other people around him dependent upon the next twist and turn in his mood, the next inexplicable whim, upon his next outburst, denial or even smile. The abuser makes sure that he is the only reliable element in the lives of his nearest and dearest, and he does that by shattering the rest of the world through his seemingly insane behavior. He creates a roller coaster, a hurricane, a tornado. He perpetuates his stable presence in the lives by destabilizing their own. How do you avoid that? Refuse to accept such behavior. Demand reasonably predictable and rational actions and reactions. Insist on respect for your boundaries, for your predilections, preferences, wishes and priorities. The second tactic is disproportional reactions. One of the favorite tools of manipulation in the abuser's arsenal is the disproportionality of his reactions. He reacts with supreme rage to the slightest offense. He punishes severely for what he perceives to be a transgression against him, no matter how minor. He throws a temper tantrum over any discord or disagreement, however gently and considerably expressed by others. Or reacts inordinately attentive, charming and tempting, or sometimes oversexed. This is also a kind of disproportional, albeit positive reaction. These have a shifting code of conduct, and the unusually harsh and arbitrarily applied penalties are premeditated. The victims are kept in the dark. The neediness and dependence of the victims on the source of justice and on the source of judgment passed. On the abuser in other words, these neediness and dependence are thus enhanced, guaranteed, nurtured and consistently maintained. What to do? Demand a just and proportional treatment. Reject or ignore unjust and capricious behavior. If you are up to the inevitable confrontation, reacting kind to the abuser's abuse.  Another tactic is dehumanization and objectification. The abuser dehumanizes his victims, treats them as objects. People have a need to believe in the empathic skills and basic good-heartedness of others. By dehumanizing and objectifying people, the abuser attacks the very foundations of human interaction. This is the alien aspect of abusers. They may be excellent imitations of fully fallen adults, but actually deep inside they are emotionally absent or very immature. Abuse is so horrid, so repulsive that people recoil in terror. It is then, with their defences absolutely down, that they are most susceptible and vulnerable to the abuser's control. Physical, psychological, verbal and sexual abuse are all forms of dehumanization and objectification. How to cope with it? Never show your abuser that you are afraid of him. Do not negotiate with bullies. They are insatiable. Do not succumb to blackmail. If things get rough, disengage. Involve law enforcement agencies. Tell your friends, inform your colleagues, or threaten him legally of course. Do not keep your abuse secret. Whatever you do, do not keep it secret. Secrecy is the abuser's weapon. Share your plight. Never give him a second chance. React with your full arsenal to the first transgression. Abuser's also abuse information. From the first moment of an encounter with another person, the abuser is on the prowl. He collects information. The more he knows about his potential victim, the better able is the abuser to coerce, manipulate, charm, extort or convert the victim to the cause. The abuser does not hesitate to misuse the information he gleaned, regardless of its intimate nature or the circumstances in which he obtained it. This is a powerful tool in his armory. How to cope with this? Be guarded.  Gather intelligence. Don't volunteer it. Be yourself.  Do not behave inconsistently. Do not go back on your word once you have given it. Be firm and resolute. Abusers are engineer in possible situations. They create dangerous, unpredictable, unprecedented or highly specific environment in which the abuser is sorely needed. Abuser makes sure that his knowledge, his skills, his connections or his traits are the only ones applicable and the most useful in the situations that he himself has wrote. The abuser generates his own indispensability. How to cope with that? Stay away from such quagmars. Scrutinize every offer and suggestion by the abuser no matter how innocuous and innocent it sounds. Prepare backup plans. Keep others informed of your whereabouts and appraise of your situation. Be vigilant and doubting. Do not be gullible and suggestible. Better safe than sorry.


Welcome to the journey. This is episode two very crucial part We're gonna make buttercream and it's gonna hold the wafers together plus I imagine it tastes awesome Delicious and just as crucial we're gonna talk about their web presence and just hear some of the challenges that they may have with their web presence See how we can help out All right, welcome back Nealey here with Evie from all-purpose cakes Co we're gonna go to the next level with this cake in the last episode Emma talked about just the business itself How y'all got started and made some wafers and basically the focus of this episode is that next level The butter cream is the next level same thing with your website and your web presence Yeah, but before we get started. What's kind of the first steps with this buttercream? Okay? Well, the first thing is we're gonna need all the egg yolks That we Separated from the egg whites that went into the wafer. Okay, so that we'll need um, of course We're gonna need a double broiler. We're kind of waiting for that water to boil and we're gonna put in sugar and Cocoa powder we like using organic fair-tree cocoa powder a hundred percent and It's just non-gmo and better kind of ingredient awesome So with your with your business and everything else like a big step is making that website. Where are you at with that journey? I wish we were further on But what we did was we went on the GoDaddy website and it was really helpful We watched all the tutorials. We kind of have something put together But I'm sure with your help we can do so much better What do you envision for the website and just your site itself like when someone goes there? What do you want them to see? Well, first of all, we want them to hear about our story We want them to know why we're doing this. We want them to be able to Follow our journey. So we were looking at putting blog posts up there Advertising the people who've helped us along the way all those mentors and business partners that we're collaborating with and And showing off our cake perfect. Well, let's get started with this. Okay, so I just dump it all in and then go Never done this before. Okay. Well, the water is starting to boil. So you want to put in all our egg yolks, okay? Drop it in there. Use the spatula to clear off that plate. Look, I'm a natural. There you go. And then All right. Good job now, let's put in the Sugar sugar Like a salty. No, just everything And put in the cocoa powder All right Okay, so now what you want to do is to whisk it while it's Cooking basically so what we like about this Method is one it cooks the egg yolk. So we're sure that you know, we avoid salmonella that's always important and You temper the sugar so you won't get the granules in your buttercream So with the business itself like in a in a perfect world, where do you really see it in like a year from now? Well, the reason that I started this business is a bit more personal I have a daughter who has special needs on top of that she has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and Could not have sugar, gluten or dairy. What happened though is She couldn't even celebrate a birthday. We couldn't even celebrate with cake couldn't even celebrate with ice cream So and it was really near and dear to me when Val came up with this idea of coming up with a cake That was gluten-free sugar-free and dairy-free. I'm like, you know, aha moment right there. This is gonna be perfect So part of the part of the business strategy is to employ my daughter and People like her who have a hard time getting a job So if I was a visitor and I was trying to go to your website, what do you want me to do? I think what we want to do is for people to get to know us and get to know the story obviously But really to connect with us. That's that's part of how we want this business to go Is really to connect people and we feel that cakes and food really do that. I love that because I think cakes I think like celebrations and parties absolutely. Absolutely You just have to smile when there's a cake, right? Absolutely smile and eat it. Okay. Let's check our Because I've been stirring forever now. Okay. I think we're good Good job. So what we'll need to do now is mix it all with the butter We let's wait for it to cool a little bit and then we'll get to that All right, so these this the butter that we use in our cake and is vegan butter So that for those that don't want the dairy But for this particular cake, we're using organic butter Awesome. Yeah, you mentioned that you want to sell online Is it something that you want to distribute and sell globally or just like the local area? Um, We definitely want small batch Artisan cakes. That's kind of the business model. We were thinking of selling to coffee shops Especially those that because as Val was saying every time you go to a coffee shop I think we found that only 5% of them sell a gluten-free option And so we'd want to get out that way as well But still be able to sell direct to consumers through our website. Okay, so kind of an interesting partnership there I think not a lot of people think about it is you can have the best of both worlds You can sell to consumers, which is the everyday person and then partner with businesses that can really amplify your reach Absolutely. Yeah, our buttercream is halfway there. Halfway there. All right, pour it into the mixer bowl I'm real good at pouring. There you go There you go. Well, that's the important part about the buttercream and you can't stop moving We have to keep stirring it and mixing it to make sure that it doesn't cook All right, so we can put that into our mixer And start it So you want to put in the butter by this time the butter should be softened You have to have left it out for at least three hours so that it's room temperature Now what do I do? Tablespoon by Tablespoon, drop it in there. One thing I learned about baking is you really have to be patient I'm not exactly known for my patience, but I'm learning. I think that's the same thing with business too though, right? Like I think we we always get stuck on we want that instant gratification Yep, but I'm sure you know that starting a business is hard Oh, yeah, absolutely Absolutely as a visitor to your website or someone like interested in these types of cake What are some things that I might search for online like key phrases or? Well, for sure, we want to pop up with gluten-free, sugar-free, keto friendly We also want to be found as a woman in a business that's really important to us Well, how are we doing there? Hey, it looks great This is a great looking buttercream right here All right, it's your Brattels. Yeah, well, it's a great consistency Um, I have a pretty good teacher. So Oh, he did good everyone. Look at that So, okay, now we're gonna put it in a piping bag and start piping it into our cake. All right Thank you so much Evie for taking us through how to make buttercream You're welcome and talking about just your your business and your website Stay tuned for the next episode where we're gonna actually make this cake. We're gonna try it. I hope yes And absolutely taste it. Perfect. Stay tuned. Stay tuned