Politics is the tail that tries to wag the dog. Politics is the tail that is indeed wagged by culture. Success in traditional politics comes when one jumps aboard the trends of culture. Success in ideological politics is a much harder process requiring identification of divergent cultures and the harnessing of appropriate elements of culture aligned with one's own values. Around this mass of rock and water and life called Earth, in Western worlds, in communist worlds, in third worlds, in cities, in villages, in the minds and actions and passions of women and men, there is something stirring. There is something growing. There is something calling. It is the culture of freedom. For some, it is a newly discovered series of ideas of human rights, of private property, as the main spring of human progress. For others, it is an old tradition of self-interest and privatization revitalized by practical awareness that controls and regulations and force result in oppression and famine and death. Still others only recently see that their long-held notions of man's nature and of voluntary community have an ideological framework and a name, laissez-faire. And these peoples are the culture of freedom. We hear it in the rhetoric of Reagan and Thatcher. We hear it in the calculations of Gorbachev's Gassnosts. It is in the hearts of young Koreans and Filipinos and solidarity workers. It is in the abstractions of Nobel Prize winners from Virginia and Parisian bestselling authors. Around the world and across this nation, a culture is stirring. A natural constituency for liberty is growing. And groups of people are discovering and living a body of truths and calling out for leadership. Fellow libertarians, I'm here today to tell you that you are that leadership, that they need and demand, and it is your politics that will inspire and lead their cultures of freedom into fruition and domination on this planet. I am honored to have been asked by this convention to be your keynote speaker at this crucial time in the history of the Libertarian Party. 1988 may very well decide whether this party will light the lamp of liberty around the world or fail the cultures of freedom in the world. Ideas, organization, work. Ideas, organization, and work. Ideas, organization, and work. This is why we are here at this convention. And I am to speak to you this morning about the way I perceive the world culture of freedom, the American culture of freedom, and the politics of freedom. I say again that I am very honored to have been asked to be your keynote speaker. I have called myself a libertarian for about 20 years. I have carried signs, distributed literature, debated, shouted, campaigned, petitioned, resisted, refused, educated, and entertained. But above all for 20 years in all of my thoughts and abstractions about public policies and current affairs, I have tried to do what I think all libertarians tried to do. Place liberty at the core of all values, all deliberations, all calculations, and all discussions. In a very real sense, this is what libertarian politics is all about. It is not the seizing of power to reshape society in our ideological mold. But rather, libertarian politics is the process of making human rights and individual liberty the common denominator in all formulation of public policy and social interaction. This morning, I will talk about the culture of freedom on a variety of levels. I will focus on what I see happening in this nation and in the world. I will focus on what I see happening in politics in America. And I will focus on what I see happening here within the libertarian party. Finally, I will address some eternal truths and unbankishable powers of liberty that underline the cultures of liberty in the world and in America. The theme of this convention is the culture of freedom.   In a pluralistic society like our own, a myriad of values exist. Liberty is but one in conflict with others. Our society operates with a contrast and an interplay of society values. Liberty is one. Community collectivism is another. Nationalism is a third. And compulsory humanitarianism is another. These other values represent, on one level, challenges and enemies to freedom. But on another level, they can be viewed as a result of flawed responses to some basic human needs of stability and peace and caring. These flawed responses stem not from evil, as much as from the fact that their advocates are impatient, immature, and impetuous. The culture of freedom can address all of these needs and combat all of these flawed responses. I look at a nation and a society, both here and around the world, which is seeing a growing recognition that community collectivism does not bring stability, that nationalism does not bring peace, and that compulsory altruism is not caring. Of course, the task is a great one. Most thinking people in this culture cling to a bewildering collection and mixture of conflicting contradictory value systems. Conservatives and liberals and authoritarians dominate the politics of our society. Just recently, I was on the beach near my summer home with friends from California, who asked me what I thought should be done with the street people in American cities. I was told that in Los Angeles, hundreds of men and women roam the streets, begging, sleeping on benches, beaches, and that many of these human beings were former inmates of psychiatric wards, who had been freed by legal action. Well, I asked, what should be done? Well, Helen replied, perhaps they should all be shipped to some part of the nation that was warm, maybe Arizona. She said, and given food and shelter and putting camps there, or maybe just rounded up and put back in mental hospitals. Her husband, Robert, jumped into the conversation and pointed out that he really didn't advocate concentration camps, but that this was a real problem, a problem facing community. And he said, communities have the right to legislate basic levels of conduct, health standards, and what he called aesthetic values. Street people were a challenge to community standards. It takes many hours to combat such notions and to explain this source of frustration. A few weeks ago, I was watching on C-SPAN, the debate in Congress over the reflagging of Kuwaiti ships and the Reagan policy of USS Court. The vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans who spoke on the issue suggested that if we did not take up the role of world policemen in the Persian Gulf, the Russians would. And that would result in the decline of American prestige, a growth of communist power, a threat to oil supply, and in the long run, the destruction of America. Speaker after speaker rose to talk of the flag, the deaths of our sailors, the pride of being an American, and the need for tough action in a tough world. I saw frustration at a world that knew no peace, nor security. It takes many hours to combat such conceptual notions. Last month, I ran into a fellow educator in a nearby school who had been reading Charles Murray's Losing Ground and was impressed and upset by what he read. Ed had always been a traditional liberal, favoring generous welfare plans, busing quotas, urban renewal, but he was frustrated and he was angry because those inside the welfare state never seemed to leave it. And after reading Murray's book, he saw that the welfare state was not a social net but a social cage. He told me that volunteerism and free enterprise just couldn't work. People would not give enough on their own. He was frustrated and he was confused. It takes many hours of discussion to attack such conceptual notions. Yet there are those who want community standards and those who love their nation and those who care about the poor. And these people are increasingly frustrated because the old politics does not meet their real needs. Traditional politics has failed them and their frustrations and confusions can lead them to the culture of freedom. When we look at our society, we see conflicting values and hence conflicting cultures. And in the 20th century, the culture of freedom, those who feel that human liberty must be at the core of all social policy have been in decline and have had a rear guard role in politics. But something is changing. Something is growing. Something is different in the air. A frustration is sweeping the cultures that preach community collectivism, nationalism, compulsory altruism. In the arena of intellectual concepts, a strong new liberty voice is being heard. And the effects of the growth of intellectual movement is the growth of a social and cultural movement for freedom in our nation and around the world. Consider these developments. Since the birth of the modern libertarian movement, the Nobel Prize in economics has gone three times to advocates of free market theory. Increasing numbers of books, professional publications are now based on the freedom thesis being used in college courses, being used among public policy researchers. When Ronald Reagan was elected president on a rhetorical platform calling for deregulation, free marketplaces and individual responsibility, almost no scholarly institutions and think tanks existed that commanded the attention of public policy makers. And thus, no real source for the administrative staffing that could bring about solid freedom reform existed. Today is a far different story. Today, the Reason Foundation, Cato, the Heritage Foundation and other free enterprise think tanks in Washington, D.C. are creating a core of thinkers and policy spokesman needed to staff a libertarian real revolution. Today, the libertarian movement has a college network, a taxpayers union, professional publications, an evangelical outreach in the advocates for self-government and a variety of improvements as a cultural, social force that did not exist eight or 10 or 12 short years ago. And consider the Reagan error, spell it either way like, President Ronald Reagan for all of his betrayal of true individual liberty and inconsistent policy on economic matters has given a respectability to certain notions on the Washington political scene that have not had since the new deal. Inflation has become unacceptable policy. Tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend is a healthy aspect of American political discussion and has become taboo. The voluntary sector for all of Reagan's hypocrisy has still become a part of the political discussion and agenda. Where are today the advocates of the massive welfare state? The spokesman for new deal liberalism. The Democratic leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eubart Humphrey or Walter Mondale. The rhetoric of the administration of Ronald Reagan may sense that something is stirring. And if the culture of freedom in America is in the rise and we are all part of it, what is happening around the world? In the last decade, three startling new agendas have occurred on the world political scene. Serious challenges to Soviet empire in places like Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Cambodia and Goliath. A rejection in Western Europe of communist and socialist political parties with a resurgence in the forces of decentralization and marketplace politics. And most significantly, the emergence of middle class entrepreneurial behaviors in much of the third world. A process of the awakening of consumerism, property interest, trade economies and the resultant demands for participation by people in politics and more importantly, a breakdown in mercantilist economic systems. It is my firm belief that the social cultural changes that have occurred in Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Korea in recent years are all part of an emerging middle class culture of freedom around the world. And what about within the most authoritarian societies which are industrialized and yet politically anti-freedom? As the newspaper and media reports tell us daily, something interesting is going on within the power structures of the USSR and the People's Republic of China. Each week we hear rhetoric from the leaders of both communist nations that sound as if good healthy doses of Milton Friedman, Adam Smith or even Murray Rothbard had been somehow introduced into their political and economic rhetoric. On Thursday, June 25th, Mikhail Gorbachev declared that his nation's economy was in crisis and that there was a clear need to free local enterprises from central planning and to radically reform the pricing system of the USSR. In a statement that could have been drafted by Ein Rand, Gorbachev said, quote, there is only one criteria of justice, whether or not it is earned. Now it would be easy for libertarians to be cynical of this type of rhetoric coming from the USSR. And we certainly should be.  Clearly the most radical of Gorbachev's advisors, Nikolai Shmenov, still favors a welfare state with ultimate economic power in the hands of the state. But without proclaiming that laissez-faire has arrived in the USSR, let's look at the processes that are occurring within the USSR to learn something about the nature of economic values, cultural change. Within the central power circle of both the USSR and communist China, a small group of manhole all of its way over economic policies. In both societies, the communist parties represent a small percentage of the total population, but represent a large percentage of trained intellectuals, economists, and philosophers. The nature of the Communist Party political system makes ideological challenge to the party structure a very slow developing process. Since longevity and seniority play a greater role in the power base than do popular ideas in the minds of people. Hence in the USSR, as in China, we see clear age differences between the group that supports and opposes the Gorbachev reforms. In the USSR, an 11 member of Politburo presently finds itself pressed between the older party officials, the military, and a huge bureaucracy. On one hand, and young economic intellectual leaders on the other. Fortunately, the newest ideas coming from the young, bright thinkers in both nations are the type that we find refreshing and wish to see more of in our own society. Soviet economist Nikolai Shmelyov wrote a detailed analysis of the Soviet economy in the journal Noval Yemir, which stated that the May moderate reform suggested by Gorbachev do not go far enough. Shmelyov reported, suggested that all subsidies and price setting should be abolished in favor of a free market policy system. And this is in the USSR. Further, he suggested that all central planning be eliminated and that the ruble be placed on a floating exchange basis with world economies. We're trying to get an SIL club started now, in fact. He also argued that guaranteed employment be abolished. Quote, and this is in a Soviet economic journal and the man is still alive today, by the way. He said, quote, we should not close our eyes to the economic harm caused by our parasitic confidence and a guaranteed job. The real danger of losing one's job and taking temporary benefits or doing obligatory work is a very good medicine for laziness, drunkenness, and irresponsibility in the marketplace. Because of the advice of this kind of young thinker, Premier Gorbachev has proposed to the Soviet plenum and to the Politburo itself sweeping new changes. One of the key concrete changes would be shown in the suggestion that the $84 billion worth of subsidies presently given to food and social services by the USSR Central Committee be abolished. And Gorbachev, in fact, suggested that the Soviet Central Economic Bureau be cut from an employment level of 300,000 at present to 5,000, something that could be measured, in fact. One might wonder where and how men like Comrade Shmelyov could emerge as key leaders within the Communist Party of the USSR. It seems that about 20 of these prominent thinkers and academics have been active for the past 10 to 20 years in university discussion groups and in professional journals. These groups appear to have gotten the attention, if not the allegiance of two of Gorbachev's top advisors and associates. I would suggest that the appearance of these two prominent academics who are calling for radical decentralization might offer a few important lessons, whether or not we believe that in fact they will be successful. In nations such as Korea, the Philippines, the USSR, red China, the development of anti-authoritarian, pro-decentralist political forces is largely a result of social, cultural forces. A westernized middle class with consumer interests, rising levels of affluence and individual economic self-interest. I would argue that this social model is one which is directly linked to expanded world trade of goods and services and the ideas and patterns that traditional free traders have long suggested. Growing trade in goods, music, literature, ideas, produce social and cultural changes around the world that the Marcos, the Shahs, the Mao's and the Brezhnevs cannot resist. The 20 or so radical reformers in Moscow are well aware of the tools of economic analysis used in the rest of the world. They are aware of the microeconomic theories long at the heart of the capitalist system and coupled with the growth of consumer power and pressure, middle class values, even among the sons and daughters of the old Bolsheviks, a growing demand for change is inevitable. The politics and patterns that are sweeping the world today parallel in a strange way the early years of the Ronald Reagan administration. When we heard that serious reform was going to occur here in political America, for several decades the fruits of economic intervention in the US economy were inflation, deficits, debt, shrinking economic base of production and savings. A new administration in 1980 was swept into power fueled by popular discontent and pledged to balance the budget, cut government spending, cut taxes and deregulate the economy. A number of young academics, Anderson, Bandal, McCallery, Loeffler and others, heavily influenced the rhetoric of the new administration. Unfortunately, other baggage arrived in 1981 as well. Other agendas, boosting defense spending, worldwide anti-communist crusades, support for banking interests and an intolerant social agenda. One clear non parallel between the reformers of the Reagan years, early Reagan years and what is happening today in the USSR is that the Soviet intellectuals are not only writing about decentralization but in fact are being critical of Soviet military spending, nationalism and Soviet policy of expansion and still are alive today. Today in the Soviet Union, the fragile efforts of radical reformers is growing but faces immense pressure. Just as in 1981, the few libertarian spokesmen who came into the Reagan administration faced the powers of bureaucracy when they tried to dismantle the Department of Education and energy and cut budgets. It is my view that the emergence of reformism of the market variety within the power elite of the USSR in China suggests the ultimate power of two important themes of libertarian analysis. First, the power of free flow of goods and ideas in the world, particularly within controlled nations. And second, the linkage of free market principles of trade and self-interest to basic human nature and values. A fundamental distinction between the libertarian worldview and the bipartisan republican democratic interventionism is the idea that free trade and interaction not only is the proper mode of relationship between peoples promoting peace and prosperity but that ultimately free trade policies drive nations away from aggression and central planning. Even within the libertarian community there are those who argue that free trade does not apply to trade with communist dictatorships and slave labor states. Suggesting that the powerful impact of free exchange of goods works only when both partners are free. This view could not be more incorrect. The greatest impact of free trade is the effect it has in fundamentally altering the internal economics and values of all who use it. It creates middle class values, consumer interests, erodes inefficiency and command economies. All which create within authoritarian regimes the seeds of their own destruction. This should be one of the most important lessons learned from the pressures now surfacing within the Soviet Union and China. Finally, they show the truth of the long held natural law view that free exchange and self-interest modes of interpersonal relationships are the most effective because they most closely correspond to basic human nature. Opponents of reform in the Soviet Union argue that as decentralization of the economy occurs and price mechanisms are enacted, the result will be an erosion of Marxist values such as selflessness, egalitarianism and collective obedience and they are right. They are right because Marxist values are anti-man. The basic operation of initiative and supply and demand prove even among a people that has been brainwashed, educated, propagandized to reject basic human nature elements that freedom makes life possible and that control makes death and poverty inevitable. Each time an authoritarian regime wants to increase its food production, eliminate waste and inefficiency and produce what peaceful people need to survive they have to harness the powers of freedom. Libertarians should closely watch these developments in the Soviet Union and the communist China. There will be advances and reversals in the tide of reform but in both nations as in our culture there are powerful forces at work that will not be stopped. And so the cultures of freedom around the world are growing and the culture of freedom in America is growing and where do the cultures of freedom around the world look for inspiration to the culture of freedom in America? And where does the culture of freedom in America look for its inspiration to the Libertarian Party? And where does the Libertarian Party look for its realization to the election of 1988? At this convention you will elect a nominee to represent the culture of freedom in America before the American voters and the American public in this election of 1988. This representative must be an articulate spokesman for the ideals of personal, economic and cultural freedom. This representative must be able to wage a campaign to raise the funds needed to finance a campaign that can reach out to the cultures of freedom in America that are emerging. This representative must reflect the culture of freedom and the banner of liberty. Will the Libertarian Party be ready as an organization for the task ahead? Will it be lean and trim and efficient? 1988 will be a crucial year for the Libertarian Party. The two major obstacles to third party success are not going to be present this time, which hurt our efforts in 1980 and 1984. These two obstacles I refer to are those of fear and rhetorical co-optation. In 1988, Ed Clark and David Koch gathered almost one million votes running against a well-known man who talked about getting government off our backs, rolling back the size of government and deregulation. Millions of voters believed that Ronald Reagan stood for these ideas and just could not bring themselves to vote for a third party candidate. In 1984, David Berglund and Jim Lewis faced greater obstacles as millions of voters who had seen Ronald Reagan enact some of his promises saw a welfare state liberal named Walter Mondale as a threat to their prosperity. Those who did not fear Mondale feared Reagan for his militarism and rhetorical authoritarianism. We were hurt in 1980 by co-optation of our rhetoric. We were hurt in 1984 by the fear of a New Deal liberal. Well, Libertarians, I am here to tell you that the election of 88 will see neither a co-opting of our rhetoric or a New Deal liberal fear from either Republicans or Democrats. The seven dwarfs and the three Stooges represent the most boring alternatives to the American voter since Warren G. Harding ran against James Cox in 1920. There will be no Ronald Reagan to steal our message about taxes, deregulation, and individual responsibility. There will be no Walter Mondale to upset Americans with an agenda of the New Deal taxation spending and more welfare statism. The powers of the state are against us as a third party. We have to petition, we have to gain media attention, we have to raise money, but damn it, we will be heard. We are here in Seattle to serve notice to the media, to the politicians, to the American voters that the culture of freedom is stirring and alive and growing. We are here in Seattle to give the people of this nation a chance to say, liberty works and liberty is right. This convention is also charged with the task of electing a national committee, a national chairman, and this responsibility must be taken seriously. This party needs a national chairman who will inspire and lead. This party needs a national committee that will work and lead and make this party grow. This party needs to reach out to all of those who have burned out in the past or dropped out or lost interest and bring them back to activism. This party needs state organizations that are active, that run candidates, that gain ballot access, and that teach liberty. It will do freedom, no service at all for this convention to choose a candidate for president unless this party chooses itself to reform its structure into an efficient working organization. There is a culture of freedom waiting to hear what happens in Seattle. And who are the people who make up this culture of freedom? Who are our natural constituents? One is an 18 year old who holds his breath as he tears into little pieces and notice from selective service because he feels he owns his own life. One is a small entrepreneur buried in government tax forms and regulations trying to control a life dream. Every couple who want to buy a home, raise a family and be free from fear and war and inflation and politics. And our message to them is clear, liberty works and liberty is right. Or a 16 year old inner city black girl working at McDonald's after school, reading Shakespeare during breaks, earning good grades so that she can escape the welfare plantation that entraps her parents and her race. Or an illegal immigrant working in the fields, living with four other families to earn a living in the home of the brave and the land of the free. Or perhaps a consumer who wants to photograph his new German car with his Japanese camera while he smokes a Cuban cigar that he bought with Krugerans. And what is our message to these members of the culture of freedom? Liberty works and liberty is right. Or perhaps our constituent is a Vietnamese boat family living in Louisiana on a shrimp boat, sending their kids to school, earning their livelihood with hard work and sweat. Or two men cuddling in bed whose love is distracted by the sound of police cars on the streets outside their window. Or finally, a small farmer who wants to raise crops, own land and live life free from bureaucracy and management and public policy. And our message to these people is clear, liberty works and liberty is right. And the culture of freedom is found not only in our land. In Saigon, old farmers sell their vegetables in open free markets. 15 year old boys fight with the Contras in Nicaragua. Soviet economists write about firing central planners. Young black students in South Africa protest economic regulation. Chinese peasants sell their pigs and drink their cokes. Teenagers rot in Tehran prisons because they wanted to learn on computers rather than die for Allah. Polish workers, Bolivian shopkeepers, Filipino students, Israeli movie goers and millions of others are forming a worldwide culture of freedom and they are listening to what happens in Seattle. And our message to them is clear, liberty works and liberty is right. In 1886, a giant statue was erected in the New York Harbor facing not only the ships that entered that harbor but looking out at the world. Liberty enlightening the world was her name but her torch grew dim. She was built during a century when revolutionaries and radicals were cast in the mold of Henry and Payne and Jefferson, not Mao and Lenin and Fidel. She was built in a century when revolutionaries and radicals came to America to learn about liberty, to raise money, to buy weapons, to return to smash tyranny. The world of politics is the tale that cannot wag the dog. Cultural change always precedes political change. We live today in a nation and a world that has a growing culture of freedom. The time is ripe. The culture of freedom is calling out to us for leadership and inspiration and political voice. Liberty works and liberty is right.


All right, welcome back. You're still watching the breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. And now we move on to off the press and see what are the headlines on the dailies are this morning or begin with the daily independent with the banner headline their fresh crisis in APC as law one of bunny be care over 2023 presidency. There is a high that there is oil and gas announced CEO board of appointment then gunman abduct abya varsity student kill 10 in Niger and in on those state above the must head 27 state 121 local government areas at the risk of severe flooding agency once CBN extends Naira for dollar and 70 for desperate remittances just below the page there Boko Haram attacks scare heightens security tension at National Assembly embrace a name to guarantee peace security. Buhari tells Nigerians that again insecurity Senate grills service chiefs IGP DGSS and NIA or the rider service chiefs are doing their best with what is available. The one is saying Nigerian operating the military government in a democracy that attributed to body judge Buhari, Jonathan, some will call a commiserate with a boy over son's death. Those are on the front page of their daily independent. All right, let's now go to the punch newspaper. The headline reads Boko Haram invasion plot anxiety in FCT heavy security at NNPC. Ami barracks others FG increases security presence in Abuja intensifies stop and search and guards brigade here are saying who are not aware of security threats in nations capital above the headlines on the punch newspaper 1.5 billion dollars but hacker refinery repairs begin projects gets 44 month deadline reps summon NNPC CBA FIRS EFCC probe illicit financial flows cash crunch states bleeding in bad situation says Umahi. Arufah here says we were ready to lose students in planned bandits bombardments. Wow. Wow, that's just shocking. Below the headline on the punch newspaper, we see a picture of people jubilating dancing and the caption reads freed kaduna students excited parents storm school victims in hospital talks ongoing for release of greenfield versatility students and that's according to Sheikh Gumi. Adeyye narrow minded trying to relaunch himself and that's according to fire me's aid Buhari national assembly governors condole with Adeyye Boye over son's death.  Well those were screaming headlines away from the punch room over next to the Guardian. The banner headline this morning. These are rumors of bandits attacks and settle a boujah out several riders there. Then again a cautious optimism as contractor takes over Port Harcourt refinery for 1.5 billion dollars rehabilitation. All right. Those are the stories on the mora on the Guardian expect greater floods this year. Federal government tells Nigerians as housing ministry plant portal for sale of houses. Lagos begins distribution of ICT devices to students. Catholic church charges and back up followers to atone this creation. All right. Those are the stories on the Guardian. Finally Buhari governor's PF and Mon Adeyye Boye son Dari. On the Nigerian Tribune reps probe 43 billion Naira safe school initiative. Buhari suspends NPA MD Hadidza Balak Usman. No training of 3,000 full any men in under army barracks and that's according to Akiridolu. All your sets to give final judgment on boundary disputes in 23 local government areas. 28 states at risk of severe flooding that's according to the federal government. Insecurity defense budget not adequate that's according to the Senate president. Buhari governor's others mourn as Adeyye Boye loses 42 year old son reps probe reports on 348 billion dollar illicit financial flow and loss of public funds. All right. Those are the stories on the you know the day list this morning. Let's get back to our analyst GD Johnson. Precisely the caption on the Nigerian Tribune just hit me reps probe 43 billion Naira safe school initiative. Do you really think it is apt right now knowing that the insurgents bandits you know have taken over schools and soft targets recently in the country? The experts are on the list too. The pastor of reading, General Varsial reading Christian Tutor, go over the loss of his first son and his third child. It's very unfortunate God grant them 42 to pay the loss at his critical point in time and also to all other Nigerians you know through one way or the other that have lost their loved ones through this banditry. Somewhere it is somewhat key to the cost particularly in Katna because of them thinking that for going to school which takes us to the first story you asked me to comment about that is everyone of us that are children in school now are scared. I'm sure we are sleeping with our eyes open with our heart beating at the first story. The sighting of schools, whether universities, secondary schools are usually sighted far away from the from the community, particularly coding schools and universities that are hostile and what we are seeing now is giving everyone a cause for concern. I'm not sure if people are not going to adopt homeschooling for their children because the schools are not safe. With respect to the rape proving, I do have never seen the result of any proving by the hours of rape. I've never seen any prosecution. I've never seen anybody being unaccountable as far as I'm concerned it's just pure grandstanding. Grandstanding on their on their behavior of trying to show to Nigerians that they are doing something while in any case they're not doing anything. With the security situation in the country the national assembly should be killing the president not even the service chief, the service chief in Lund. They should be holding him accountable. There's no resolution. There's no process that have been put in place to ask questions with respect to how we are going to make our children safe. If not even invited the minister of education for them to see how they're going to make our schools to be safe. I remember in the in the 70s when we were still young where soldiers were posted. I recall soldiers were posted to all secondary schools in Lagos then to provide security and across Nigerian to provide security and maintain discipline in some of these in secondary schools across the nation then. So this particular issue is a cause for concern. Even to my son goes to school in Lagos but whereas in Lagos it's far from the cosmopolitan area because I still have my art puppets. I every time let me just put it that way. Every time in period receives the call from the son or the daughter that are in schools now. The first thing what's happening the first thing your first reaction is what is you are already agitated and prepped up concerning that. So let we continue to prove but they need to do what they are supposed to do which takes me to the second story which I want to talk about with the senate grilling service chief. We have it in the punch newspaper and in the tribune newspaper the the service the uncle that the tribune newspaper reported the same story is that defense budget inadequate law and we saw that the senate was grilling the service chief the body that was meant to hold the executive accounting and the head of that body at the same time even before the end of the meeting even before we are privy to what happened in the meeting made a defense for the service chiefs one saying that the defense budget is inadequate that's the uncle that the tribune newspaper reported reported it and the punch newspaper said his senate president was also saying that they were doing their best their best with what is available Jesus is Lord that they are doing their best with what is available if their best is not good enough then they should call it quit if this senate president is making excuses for this service chief if the body that has controlled over the post is saying that the funds that they have made available for security issues are not enough and yet they have money to make provisions for the renovation of the national assembly and that they didn't appropriate money for security because false question is if the senate president of if the senate president of the media leader of the united states senate or the brutish house of lord i said it even the first to resign because people are not an old accounting to the worse they speak that's that's such excuse and such reckless statement that that that shows the litigation of duty that shows lack of respect for democratic tenants and the Nigerian citizen who are stakeholders in the Nigerian project you think that if Nigeria is a company and our board of directors are making such statements will not will not have sucked them they will like the the the the the shareholders doing and we'll have removed we'll have removed we'll have removed them for since they know that since they know that the perpetuate coverage and when elections come they give handouts and they give hand out to the people and they make the process very difficult for people to participate in the process they know they will always be in power which we expect that for someone that has been in government since 1999 and that's why some of us have argued that there is need for time limit there has been in government since 1999 1999 to date so it does is far away from reality i'm not even sure that he has gone to UP in the last two months i'm not even sure that he has spent since 1999 he has spent two straight months in Yubi what is going to be the security situation in 1999 which takes me to another two people currently the senate president which is the story between me and the and and and the governor of the state and the character chairman of apc the character chairman of apc that they are picking over 20 over 2023 is the senate president you want to assume larger than life rule concerning that but my warning to apc is that they should be careful apc they are not careful might not have candidates in 2023 elections because if they continue with his their unconstitutional arrangement with having a character committee having a character committee chairman to run their party which is contrary to the constitution of the party which is contrary to the constitution of Nigeria they are opening themselves to litigation it is beyond even bulwan and and and and lawana it is the general overview of the democratic experience they are opening themselves up to litigation and apc out of their own sheer lack of respect for democratic principle i don't want to use the word the word does not sound very very but it's it's english word that's there's there's no place for it quote on quote out of their own sheer stupidity the laws and for our state which they want the laws by us are state they didn't provide candidates in in river states in some other states they lost the election they won the election on the election this election because it is miss ajeda johnson kindly hold on kindly hold on um we'll talk more about you know these issues what focusing on what we're seeing on the newspapers this morning really there's this story here um about the girls who were kidnapped from the federal college of first-year mechanization in africa kajuna state we'll be speaking about this you know in detail with sheik gumi you know kajuna state security commissioner and others but there's a statement here um i'm attributed to eru fa he made this on thirst they're saying that the kajuna state government was ready this is on the punch newspaper that we were ready to lose students in the planned bandits bombardment that this situation is a war and that the plan was to go in there bombard the terrorist hideout he knew that that some students would die but that that will be seen as collateral damage since it was a war and they will rescue the remaining students who survived i don't know what your thoughts are on this statement because he eventually said that the terrorists changed their location and that's why that bombardment did not hold so meaning that if that held the students might not have been up to 27 what is the value of a Nigerian life remember the story of 12 Thai kids that were locked up inside the cave in 2018 i wanted the recreation of that story that were locked up inside the cave 12 boys locked up inside the cave for more than for more than for close to a month you know how they were rescued he became a national international story the boys were rescued if they were Nigerians they would die there jesus name inshallah they would just die there nobody cares what is the value of an hybrid Nigerian in january december last december or january december last or january this year towards the tail end of the year at this year americans came to bonus day to rescue their citizens they were kidnapped as a hostage do you know the distance between united america and nigeria see such statement it tells you the value they have if his own son or his own daughter that are kidnapped would he have said such statement will he have said such statement such statement should not be coming from people you haven't trusted with state resources you haven't trusted with state power you haven't trusted with state authority that's that's that's not upholding the oath of office his swore this for an oath of office to protect lives and property to ensure that they give us the libri bus of democracy and is coming with i don't know what to say because i don't want to sound insulting i must not be here and i don't want to try the same part but such statement if it's coming from the governor nigeria should pay attention these are the kind of leaders you elect and you get the kind of leaders you elect because you don't pay attention to to to to those we elect into into into public office because such statements do come that they are ready to to lose how many country would rather see that we are ready to lose one citizen what's the life i'll give you a short illustration all right doctor that was given was a party that talks about paying attention to whatever is your care okay mr gd johnson just before we round off on this particular session i just want you to address one thing the reins are here again and the federal government is actually giving a more like an alert warning and says 28 state at risk of severe flooding over time we've had them issues in some states you know when the reins are at their peak and the the rivers are being Niger and the states around that particular locations are usually flooded what do you think we should be doing differently instead of just giving you know environmental alerts as we see almost every other time warning they said the government said you are one if federal government is going into state so what do you expect me to say we should keep warning them whether warning we solve the problem which you keep warning them what steps have we take it to address this problem over the years if you look at the money the vote on environmental issues the forestation flood control and the rest of you look at the budget if you follow the money and then you know where government has paid attention so government is warning people without not taking practical step is like someone that is hungry you are praying for him to to to to to be fair you don't provide the person food so what do we get flooding will come like the governor of god knows it said and they are ready governor government has warned them if you pay attention to what they have said you leave those places so that you don't lose your life you can lose your property but the most important thing is you don't lose you don't lose your life but like they said comment we want we are prepared for you to lose your life and property if you don't eat with your money so that's what i would say concerning concerning that because it's irresponsible of of government not to make adequate progression we are fair man we are fair man federal emergency authority we are fair man we have different agencies of government have we mobilized them have we set up a coordination between states and the federal government and the local government to look at the affected areas what will be our response to that particular issue when it happen it's it's nature it's something that we know we happen you know the time it will happen and then you are using warning you are not saying that this we have taken step one two three four five six seven we usually see united state of america another client when you look in it's about happening first level second level third level and they tell us different types of emergency that they put they put in place they put an evacuation system to evacuate people to take them to certain location the open conversion centers and the rest of it we are not doing that we are warning and you want me to advise government that is warning people if you keep warning people okay last thing miss agile joneson has told miss agile joneson lastly we see a story here on the nijin tribune which says this is according to the senate president about this security budget matter it says defense budgets not adequate but when we look at the 2021 budget and just how much of a lion's share you know security allocation took up and how you know that there was a report by syrap just a few days ago talking about how much spent in security votes you know the the budgets for security all the loopholes and just the corruption so how then do we do we marry these two information you know leakage and overspending for security with little to show for it and the senate now saying that defense you know budget is not enough this if money appropriated are not properly disposed and money disbursed are not monitored and funds disbursed are not audited and we have a situation whereby we don't allow public scrutiny over security budget because we say it's national security and national security fund is an operation of what we brought in from a security vote rather beyond security money allocated the bulk of it goes to security vote which you don't allow public scrutiny to go into into into it i have never seen any nation and i want to be educated because i don't know everything and i want to learn i've never seen any nation that gives money to the chief executive of the states and the chief executive of the nation as a particular fund out of the security budget called security vote that is the alpha and omega it cannot be questioned on how he spends those security votes i've never seen and has done to be collected is an operation that we brought from military government into civilian into civilian government and i've said it we are not running a democratic government nigeria translated from a military government to a civilian administration because most of the institution are still militaristic in nature they are still militaristic in nature i went with this one of the stories in this paper we talked about fc t under siege if federal capital is under siege and they are providing security for military formations but central bank for national assembly what sigma does he say to you what sigma if our federal capital territory the seat of power the seat of government is under siege and children are calling the appearance that they want to come back home students are leaving schools is there you need to do is to go to to go on ground and see the stories it tells you the security situation so marry that with what the senate president that has been in a buddha since 1999 is staying with the reality on ground then you know that we have been paying leave survey to security issues and there's the need for us to review it if you are spending money on security vote it's our money it's our taxes explain to us we use this to do this to do this to do that to do that but when you tell us that we don't have public scrutiny on the money you are spending for budget on defense let me tell you we still be in the in the same circle and ziggler said for us to do the same thing the same way and in the same manner and expect to get a different result is the beginning of insanity all right all right well said mr gd johnson many things for your thoughts he was very very dispassionate concerning the issues of security in the plague in nigeria at this particular time yes thank you very much once again mr gd johnson for always great on the breakfast on fridays we do hope you have a lovely weekend sure sure about that surely to that i need to make sure you enjoy the best of your weekend even though you come to work tomorrow if you have some time off thank you just it is a pleasure to be with you and thank you to our listeners there is there is light at the end of the tunnel everything would be better yes there is we hope so thank you so much all right we'll take a break here and we'll return with today in history do stay with us


Welcome to the Laveau Channel at 28th Street in Decatur Avenue, Channel Improvements Community Meeting. My name is Justin Naylor. I'm a Project Manager with the City of Fort Worth. Also on this call, we have Council Member Flores. Council Member Flores, is there anything that you'd like to say before we get going? Just a quick brief comment. I want to welcome everyone for joining us and Justin and our Project Manager Development Engineer and Project Engineer. Very important effort we're making here, Laveau Channel Improvements. Well, the list is tall and long. There are a lot of things that need to be done, but I commend staff for working with my office and finding a path that we can take to incrementally make these improvements. So thank you very much. Thanks, Justin. Thank you, Council Member Flores. So this project is being brought to you by the Transportation and Public Works Group, specifically the Capital Delivery Division. Within that, we're working in the program that's called our Hazardous Roadway Overtopping and Mitigation Program, otherwise known as the ATROM. Because we are a government entity, we do have to use acronyms and so ATROM will be the acronym of the night. The main purpose of the ATROM program is to address flooding from overtopping of the roadway whenever heavy rains come. The main reason why we're interested in that is because water over the roadway can sweep away cars very easily, as well as pedestrian. So it's a life safety issue that we're looking to address with the ATROM program. This project is currently in the project development phase. Our mantra with the project development is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So the prevention that we're looking for is we want to make sure that we have a good understanding of the source of flooding. We want to make sure that we have a good understanding of the city plans in the area, like a master thoroughfare plan which dictates what roads will be where and what size there'll be, a park master plan, an active transportation plan which kind of dictates where trails will be. We also want to make sure that we have a good understanding of the existing utilities. This would be city water and sanitary sewer facilities, as well as electric communications, gas lines. We want to make sure that we have a good understanding of all those, as some of those can be very difficult to work around. We want to make sure that we have a good understanding of required permits. The city, we do have to get permits for our work. This would be a permit from possibly the Corps of Engineers, possibly a floodplain permit so that everybody can be on good terms with FEMA. We also want to make sure that we understand all the other site constraints before we move this into a full-fledged project. So with this project being in project development, things are liable to change as the project develops and moves along. So again, the primary reason for this project is to address overtopping at 28th Street, caused by an undersized channel. As Council Member Flores mentioned, LIVO has a long history of flooding with millions of dollars having been spent to mitigate the flooding so far and still millions more to spend. The master plan was completed approximately 15 years ago with multiple projects having been completed since then. One of them is the 28th Street culverts, which TechStot did about nine years ago. TechStot, they came in and they improved the culvert crossing, but because channel improvements hadn't been done downstream of this crossing, the full channel solution wasn't able to be implemented at that time. So you can see in the image on the left that the dot showing roughly where our crossing is and the image on the right showing roughly the extent of our project.  You can see in the image on the right that the amount of debris that's stacked up against the fence next to 28th Street. You can see that a chain link fence just doesn't offer a whole lot of resistance to a significant amount of water. So I'm going to go through our project scope and kind of lay out what we're planning to do, but I'm going to start off with showing where we are today. The black line that runs from the right side of the screen to the left side of the screen represents roughly where the center of the channel is today. You can see that it crosses underneath the existing culverts that TechStot improved under 28th Street. And then runs, as you get downstream or south of 28th Street, runs very close to Decatur Avenue through a concrete line channel that's not in very good shape today. On the south end of our project is Trail Drivers Park, which just for reference, north is to the right on all of these images moving forward. To the west or to the left above the screen is the north side rail station, the Trinity Rail Station. And again, Trail Drivers Park is to the south here. So one of the first things that's going to happen is the channel is going to be lowered and realigned and stabilized. The channel bottom is going to be stabilized using these images that are shown in blue. It's called a rock riffle structure. Those are rocks that are stacked strategically to help stabilize the channel at an important point. The channel bottom is going to be made up out of rock. And the idea is that we're going to, with lowering the channel, we're able to flatten out the slope, which means we're going to slow down the speed of the water. By slowing down the water, we reduce the opportunity for erosion. And then at the far right side of the screen, you can see that big box would represent the drop structure, which gets us from the lower channel elevation to the higher existing channel elevation. And again, the culverts will remain in place. And this is an image, a cross section of what that channel bottom is going to look like. And you can kind of see the bed material that's a little bit rockier. And you can see the stone protection there. After we get the channel realigned and lowered, then we'll be coming in and we'll be installing a riparian buffer, which is shown in green, which is kind of a natural floodplain area with some taller shrubs. And then we'll also be installing plantings similar to Brennan Avenue, by the project that's just downstream of this one. So if you wanted to go get an idea of what this one, this project will look like. You can go down to Brennan Avenue and take a look at the plantings there. So you can see on the right bank or the east bank that there's a heavier tree planting area. And this is required by the Army Corps of Engineers for our permit. And then on the west side or the left bank, you can see that there's more of an urban landscaping area with a more regular interval of trees. And so this image is what the overall cross-section is going to look like. You can see over on the left, the urban landscaping, which is less dense. And then over on the right, the riparian enhancement area or the mitigation area that's required by the Corps of Engineers. Also with this project, this project is considering a future trail that's shown in the Park Plains. This trail would provide connectivity to the rail station. Right now, we are working with Parks Department to determine if we can partner with them to get the trail constructed at the time that we do the construction of this channel. But that is still in process. So to kind of recap and go over some of the benefits, this project will reduce the over-topping at 28th Street. It'll reduce that likelihood making it for a safer area. It will help reduce some of the flooding that takes place at 28th and the railroad underpass. This will help by one preventing water that may today leave the channel and go into Decatur Avenue. And then it'll also help by lowering the channel, the water surface elevation in the channel, thus allowing that stump to drain up more quickly. It's gonna restore some natural floodplain functions to the area, which is gonna provide some environmental and some aesthetic benefits. And it's also going to reduce maintenance costs by eliminating the failing concrete channel and keeping our crews from having to go out and replace concrete. Anticipated project milestones, we anticipate having design complete in the spring of 2022, going to bid and award in the contract in the summer of 2022 with construction starting in the winter of 2022 or 23. We anticipate construction taking lasting until the summer of 2024 for funding. This project is bond funded and has an estimated cost of $5.2 million. And with that, I'd be happy to open this up to any questions that we may have. Michael Crenshaw, he's gonna be reading off any questions that we have. Michael. Thank you, Justin. Thank you for the presentation. As I know we have some visitors on with us and I don't have any questions that have come through on the chat window just yet. I do wanna highlight though that there is a project website shown on the screen here. You can get to that through the city's new website and see some details. And of course, the contact information on the screen is whom you can contact regarding the questions that you have regarding the project. And the current timeline that Justin talked about is tentative, of course, we're in early days, but as was mentioned earlier, LeBeau has a long history and an extensive amount of effort has been put into it to date. So this is another tremendous milestone in that process. And one question, Justin, that does come to mind is, is there going to be any interruptions to traffic during anticipated during this construction effort? That's a great question, Michael. At this point, we don't anticipate a whole lot of traffic interruptions. We don't anticipate closing Decatur or Northeast 28th Street or Gunther Avenue shown there, which is actually the Trail Drivers Park. We don't anticipate that. Most of the work is gonna be taken place in the channel. So at most you'll see periodic trucks coming in and out of the channel area. Usually probably on the north side of 28th, they'll be coming in off of Decatur. And then most likely on the south side of 28th, they'll be coming in through the Trail Drivers Park there. Okay, so that's good that the impact, I guess, from a traffic standpoint be minimized there. Also you pointed out in the funding that it was funded by bonds. And we wanna highlight that that is a stormwater revenue bonds. The stormwater revenue bonds are financed through our stormwater utility fees that we all pay. And that's important to note. The may have seen the recent article in the Star Telegram that highlighted the bond program and the variety of projects that are being pursued to help make not only roadway crossing safer, channels more efficient, storm drain rehab, et cetera, things being done. This is one of those projects. And regarding your contacts that you had, they're just in on the screen, Michael Wellbaum, do you wanna introduce him and mention his role going forward? Yeah, so Michael Wellbaum, he will be managing the project on the city side moving forward. So he's gonna be taking the project through design and into construction. That will be his role. So we're kind of in this transition area between project development and moving it into a full project. So feel free to contact either one of us, but moving forward, Michael Wellbaum will be coming back and providing updates in future community meetings as well as responding to likely other inquiries. Okay, good deal. One thing that Councilman Flores pointed out, the need for planning alignment, the future textile improvements to 28th at Decatur. I know there has been coordination up to this point, Justin, I think you have a slide that kind of highlights the general area and maybe mentioned that we have been in coordination with TextDOT on that. Yeah, so TextDOT is gonna be working on 28th Street and the low pass, particularly at the railroad is one of the biggest trouble spots in the area and we have been coordinating with TextDOT regarding those improvements. They actually have a public meeting coming up in November to discuss those improvements as well. And we can certainly provide that information on the project website if anybody is interested. But yes, we have been coordinating with TextDOT regarding those improvements. Okay, good point. Yeah, that sump under the railroad has I think that's one of your photos there. That has a very long history. And so this project will lower the watershift elevation, help and drain that sump under the underpass there. So yeah, we can add that to the project website as we go. And so this is the project development phase, roughly early days, about 30% are just right there. So what will the other meetings and about roughly when those will occur, not dates, but I mean, as far as phases of the project, Justin. So we anticipate future community meetings when we have construction plans at a 60% level. So we'll have a lot more detail flushed out at that time. And then again, at 90% and then finally a community meeting with the contractor once we have a contractor on board. So that would be after the project has been bid and awarded to a contractor. At that point, the contractor's gonna have a lot more information about where they think they're gonna make their access points and what everything's gonna look like as far as from a day-to-day standpoint. Okay, good to know. So there will be further meetings. Those will be announced on the project website. So I'd keep an eye on that. And the new city's new website and that's fairly easy to find that project webpage location. And as you said, this meeting will be recorded. And so a link to that will be on that page as well for your friends or neighbors or others that would like to attend and listen in as the progress is made and the project moves forward. And I don't see any other questions that have occurred up to this point. And if you do have any questions and even after we're done, those questions can be directed at either Justin or Michael Welbaum, their email addresses and phone numbers were put up there. Please do let them know, reach out if you have any questions. And again, this is being recorded, will be on the project website. And so they are friends and neighbors can watch it in coming days. And if they have any questions, they'll know who to contact from that. And future meetings will be scheduled as Justin mentioned, 60%, roughly 90%. And that will provide much more information, detailed plans, engineering type information. So I think that was it for our presentation and the questions that have come in and don't believe Justin if you have anything else or council member Florez, if you have any closing remarks, welcome to add those. We have some folks that have called in and we can unmute anyone that would like to interject a question or I think everyone that has called in or is able to unmute themselves. And any questions from our audience? Michael, this is a council member Florez. My closing remarks would be, again, I appreciate everyone listening in. I also like you made the presentation with the graphics of the maps, locations so people get a sense of the scope of the project. Again, LIBO channel is a rather sizable area to be making improvements on when it comes to stormwater and things related to that. So it's good to give a sense of place as to where the project's gonna occur, when it's gonna occur. So thank you and thank Justin for the presentation and the work. All right, thank you. And we'll again, same format, we're not sure when a time when in-person meetings will resume, but should that happen, we'll get to meet face to face. But if not, we'll definitely still have this avenue to present and get the word out to everyone. And so we'll leave this up for a few minutes. And if anyone has any questions, you can type them away in the chat window or unmute yourself and ask away. A few of us will hang around here to hopefully answer any questions you might have. And if you think of it later, cups in your mind later, you can email or phone either Justin, Naylor or Michael Welbaum, they can answer or get you an answer, get you to the right person to get an answer for any questions you might have. So I think that concludes it for our presentation. Like I said, we'll leave this going for another few minutes or so in case anyone wants to type something in the chat window or popped out a question. But otherwise, thank you, Justin, for the presentation. I wanna thank Fries and Nichols for the project development work they've done on this to this point. And going forward, Matt Busby with L.A.N. is on with us and they'll be carrying the torch forward on the detailed design part of the work, working with Michael Welbaum there. So if we have everyone in the room, if you have a question, feel free to ask away. And thank you all for coming and hope you have a good evening. And we'll stay on the line for a few minutes in case anyone has any questions. Thank you.


Hi everyone, my name is Sebastian Sanza Santa Maria, former co-founder of Residency Unlimited. And I'm Ashley Tucker and the Program Director at Artistic Freedom Initiative. The title's missing. So today we're going to talk to you about a residency program for at-risk artists. It's titled The New York City Artist's Safe Haven Prototype. The prototype supports artists who are persecuted for their work, threatened on the basis of their political or religious affiliations, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or has been forcibly displaced, needs a respite from dangerous situations, or from countries experiencing active violent conflict or oppression. The concept was workshopped back in 2011 when Residency Unlimited created a panel discussion on artist residencies in conflict areas in partnership with Goethe Institute. And it was subsequently workshopped at the Collaboration Laboratory on Wasan Island in Canada in its partnership with Freedimensional. Some of you may know Freedimensional as a 10-year project activating at-risk, supporting at-risk artists through the International Artist Residency Network. And from that, the idea came that while it's complex and energy-consuming, and difficult to support, to get artists out of danger once they are out and in places like New York City, they're left to the challenges that is being here with little access to community or resources. And so the premise is that like-minded organizations and institutions and initiatives would share resources together in support of artists who are here temporarily or permanently depending on their situation. And so basically short-term, long-term, and providing resources like psychosocial resources, legal housing, employment, education, professional development. As my side from Residency Unlimited, which some of you know supports visual artists within the residency context, that organization would extend its professional development to a visual artist at risk. And this was in 2012, so seven years later. The challenges that happened back then that took so long for the program to take form was basically what everyone deals with in the city and that's housing. So it took a while to get to it. So now we're going to get to it. I'm going to talk to you a little bit about sort of how this coalition came together and what each one of these partner organizations represents within the coalition. It really started, as Seb said, with the housing. West Beth, some of you may know West Beth Artist Community over in the West Village of Manhattan. For a long time, very much an institution. They approached Todd Lester, formerly a free-dimensional now of ArtistSafety.net with the idea in mind that they had a little bit of surplus housing and they wanted to utilize that for the purposes of helping in some way with the Syrian refugee crisis. And speaking with Todd, he kind of steered them in the direction of looking at at-risk artists as a really interesting and important way that they could contribute this surplus housing. At-risk artists may need a shorter-term housing period than perhaps a refugee might need, for example. So it seemed like this was a smart way for West Beth to utilize this resource. Some of the other resources that were missing in the development of this program were legal services, for example, for talking about artists who are coming from other countries. Certainly, if there are no immigration attorneys who can help them with the legal work that they need to be able to stay and work and continue to create art, then, again, it's not possible. So Todd and ArtistSafety.net were really called upon to be sort of the masterminds behind developing the strategy and capacity building. They began to identify some various partners that they could bring on board who would really sort of complete the picture and fill in the gaps that had existed since 2012, as Seb mentioned. So the first organization is the one that I'm the program director of, Artistic Freedom Initiative. Our mission is essentially as immigration and human rights attorneys to provide pro bono immigration representation to artists under threat. So in addition to that, we also facilitate resettlement assistance that looks like matching artists with residency programs, grant fellowship opportunities, emergency funds, things of that nature. And this residency program is a part of that resettlement assistance that we offer. Lastly, we also partner with arts and cultural organizations, museums, galleries, curators to put on exhibitions, performances, and create these platforms and opportunities for artists to showcase their work. So our contribution to the coalition is primarily providing the legal services that these artists need in order to be able to stay and work. The West Beth, of course, providing that critical piece of the puzzle. They've offered us, at this point, we have two active units, and we are hoping to extend that up to six over the course of a few years. This is a look inside, actually, the first studio that they offered us. I'm very proud to say that I went shopping at IKEA and got all the furniture for this and built it all myself, including a bed frame. Pretty impressive, right? So not only do we offer legal services, but IKEA construction services as well. We have a second unit that's active now, and I'll talk about that in a minute. And so then Residency Unlimited provides the artistic support. Residency Unlimited started in 2009 as a sort of alternative format to the centralized studio programs that exist in the city. And the program really sort of is in tune with the concept of the partnership that is that Residency Unlimited has an event space, but essentially it works in a horizontal, decentralized way, and it really thrives by creating relationships and partnerships with other organizations and other institutions, whether it's to levy a gallery or a studio space or help an artist ride a horse down Broadway. I did that once. And yeah, so it provides the resources that a visual artist would need to nurture his or her practice. And then ArtistSafety.net really is sort of the resting place for the original free-dimensional and critical resistance fund, which started almost now 15 years ago. Todd Lesser, the founder, started with free-dimensional and then essentially really plays a role as the glue for all the coalition partners for this prototype and also provides sort of expertise on intake and experience on the complexities of identifying and activating artists at risk. The Pan-America's Artist at Risk Connection is a relatively new program, though Pan-America's been around for a long time. They are a free expression advocacy organization essentially working with writers at risk. So the second unit that's currently active at the West Beth is managed by Penn, an artist at risk connection in conjunction with Fordham University, who has made space for a writer at risk to do a teaching fellowship at Fordham University. So we have a visual artist in the first unit and a writer in the second unit. These are our artists. Hadi Nasiri was our very first artist in the first unit. He's from Iran, visual artist, multi-disciplinary, though also interested in film. The second artist here, Kanchana, she's the writer at risk that I mentioned. She's in the second unit. Hadi completed his year-long fellowship residency at the West Beth with us in the summer, this past summer, and he's since been replaced by our second visual artist in residence, Rashwan Abdelbaki, who is from Syria. He is a painter and printmaker and we're very excited to share that he will be on exhibit in December at the Queens Museum. We're opening a show there for a month and he will have his beautiful paintings there. So come and see him and meet him. And then the project is supported by the Shelly Dawn and Rubel Rubin Foundation, the Art and Social Justice Grant that we got funded for this year and we're actively awaiting the answer for next year. Yeah. And then upcoming. So this is What's in Store. We're hoping to expand the project to up to six units so we can provide for more artists. We are working on a guide to safety hosting that's New York City-specific and that can be replicated to other cities and in conjunction with that, we want to do some workshops and training for folks who are interested in trying to do something similar. And there's our new website, so check it out. Thank you.


We've opened up Burlington House for 50 days to our free public exhibition at Magna Carta through the Ages. That program includes free public lectures and free education program. If you've enjoyed this or would like to help us put on our next public exhibition program, we'd be really grateful for a donation. You can donate to the society in any way you like. There's a number of ways to do that. But one simple way of doing it is to send a text. All you have to do is to text T-S-A-L-0-0-1-2-7-0-9-7-0. And the Society of Antiquaries of London will get £5 to help it put on his next public exhibition program. We'd be really grateful for your help. Thank you.


Weeds are plants that you don't want in your school landscape. They invade empty spots and lawns, cover bare soil, or creep in unplanted areas. They tend to grow in areas that are wet or over-watered.  Weeds may be unsightly, cause health problems, or have other undesirable impacts. Weed populations vary from season to season. You don't have to let weeds take over your school. You can reduce most weed populations to tolerable levels and prevent large invasions with an integrated pest management program. This presentation will show you how to carry out an IPM program for weeds. We'll explain what an IPM program is, give you tips for identifying weeds and understanding their biology, discuss weeds that are particularly troublesome, and various strategies for managing them. We will stress the importance of prevention, including practices such as hand-weeding and cultivation, using mulches, and planting with competitive plants. We will discuss how and when to use herbicides as part of an IPM program. At the end of the presentation, there will be an interactive component that will give you a chance to review and discuss the concepts you've just seen. So let's get started and learn how to manage those weeds. Weeds are managed for a variety of reasons. Weeds can crowd out desirable plants and look untidy, provide hiding places for pests such as insects, rats, and mice, and interfere with other types of pest control operations around structures. Another reason is that some weeds may pose some sort of hazard. Clover in lawns where children play is a concern since it attracts bees, especially if there are any reports of bee allergies. Other weeds, if left unmanaged in sidewalk cracks or unplanted dry areas, can become tripping or fire hazards. Prickly weeds such as burr clover can also be problems. Integrated pest management or IPM uses environmentally sound yet effective science-based ways to keep pests from annoying you or damaging plants. IPM programs usually combine several pest management practices for long-term prevention and management of pest problems without harming you, the students, or the environment. Pesticides are applied as a last resort, and least toxic methods are used. In an IPM program, the goal is not to completely eliminate all weeds, but to keep them at a level that you can live with. The landscape maintenance supervisor generally decides when management is required, although administrators and others may have a say in the standards. Do you want nice-looking school grounds, but don't have a large staff to keep it tidy? Do you want to save money while protecting the environment? You can do all of this using an IPM approach. Create an IPM-friendly landscape using a combination of preventive methods such as mulches and competitive plantings, and you can stay on top of your weed problems. If you don't plan ahead and prevent weeds from establishing weeds, can get the upper hand. It is important to monitor the school regularly for weeds to see where, when, and which weeds are invading. Knowing what type of weed you have is necessary to determine the best management strategy. There are three general categories of weeds, broad leaves, grasses, and sedges. Broad leaves, such as oxalis, have wide leaves of various shapes with veins branching out in various directions. Grasses, such as Dallas grass and large crab grass, have narrow leaves with parallel veins arranged in sets of two with round or flattened stems. Sedges, such as yellow nut sedge, have leaves arranged in sets of three with stems triangular in cross-section. Remember, sedges have edges. It is really important to identify your weed to species so that you can choose the most effective management practice for that weed. Many weeds are similar in appearance, but may require a different approach to management. For more information on identifying and managing your weeds, check out the UC IPM website. You'll find several resources available on weed identification, including a pest note series, a weed photo gallery, and a key to weeds in lawns. For even more help in weed identification, take your weed to your local Cooperative Extension office. The plants that become weeds are successful because they are very competitive and invasive. In addition to common weeds, watch out for invasions of lawn grasses and vigorously growing ground covers into areas of your landscape where you don't want them. Weeds reproduce quickly and spread by seed or plant parts such as fleshy roots, tubers, or stolons, which are stems that creep along the ground, or rhizomes, which are underground stems. Weeds or other undesirable plants often invade landscapes, gardens, or lawns that are either poorly maintained or not cared for properly. Often identifying the weed present can give you an idea of an underlying problem. Once you know the cause of the problem, you can take measures to fix it. Keeping a record of what weeds you find around your yard can be helpful to determine if certain weeds are increasing or decreasing in response to your management actions. Here are some maintenance problems and weeds that commonly result from them. Areas that are over-watered or waterlogged can become infested with weeds such as annual bluegrass, crabgrass, or nut sedge. Compacted soils or bare areas are often infested with knotweed or spotted spurge. Lawns low in nitrogen fertilizer are susceptible to weeds such as clover, burclovers, and black medic. Thin areas in lawns are susceptible to dandelion invasions. Lawns mowed too short are susceptible to Bermuda grass invasions. Understanding the life cycle of weeds is key to managing them. Weeds are generally grouped as annual weeds or perennial weeds. Annual weeds complete their life cycle in one season. Annual weeds sprout from seeds, grow and develop flowers, and produce more seeds before dying. Some common annuals include spotted spurge, crabgrass, annual bluegrass, and south thistle. You want to control annual weeds before they flower and produce seeds because they can produce another population for next season. Perennial weeds are much harder to manage than annual weeds. Perennial weeds, such as Bermuda grass or Oxalis, live for more than one season. Plants grow from seeds or vegetative plant parts during part of the year. They mature and then die back when the weather changes. The underground plant parts can overwinter and form new plants the following season. It is easier to manage perennial plants before they can become established. Perennial weeds are hard to control because they can produce seeds and also spread by tubers, underground roots, or other vegetative parts such as stolons and rhizomes. Control perennials before these vegetative parts or seeds form. Manage weeds before you plant, before the weeds emerge, and before weeds mature. Plan and design your landscape and properly prepare your site to prevent weed problems before you plant. Plant competitive species, develop dense plantings, and apply mulches to discourage weeds from emerging. Once weeds have emerged, regular cultivation and mowing are your key tools. The smaller the weed, the easier it is to control it. Do not let weeds go to seed or develop tubers or other vegetative or reproductive parts because your management problems will be multiplied many times over. In areas not yet planted, manage weeds before you plant. Dig out existing vegetation, including buried vegetative parts of weeds. Cultivate the soil, irrigate to let weeds germinate, and then cultivate the area again to remove newly germinated seedlings. Soil solarization can control most weed seeds after vegetation is removed. However, it requires that a clear plastic tart be placed on the soil surface for about four to six weeks during the hottest part of summer. If you have serious weed problems with perennials or for very large areas, an application of a non-selective herbicide may be warranted. Switching from sprinkler irrigation to drip or other low output irrigation systems in landscape beds can reduce water use and extensive weed growth. Your soil type and plant selection are key components in preventing weeds. Soils must be able to hold enough water and nutrients so that your desired plant can establish a healthy root system, yet they must also have good drainage so that they do not become waterlogged. You can amend your soil before planting, but be sure to get soil from a reputable site. Confirm with your supplier that it does not contain herbicide residues, weed seeds, nutsedge tubers, or other propagules. Try to establish new plantings as quickly as possible so that weeds will not have a chance to take over. In landscapes, plant vigorous plants that are adapted to local conditions. Plant ground covers or other plants that will cover bare area so that they can shade out weeds. For lawns, plant a grass species that grows well in your area. Mulches are very effective at preventing weed germination and growth. A mulch is a layer of material that is put on the soil surface around plants to prevent weeds from growing. Seedlings need light to grow, and mulches block the light and suppress the growth of many weeds. Many mulches also help to hold moisture in and reduce soil compaction and erosion. Some mulches even improve the soil by adding nutrients. Many materials are available as mulches. There are organic mulches that include wood chips, bark chips, sawdust, leaves, or compost, rock mulches, and synthetic mulches such as plastics or fabrics. Any mulch that can be thrown, such as a rock or large pieces of wood or bark, may be unsuitable to use around a school. Avoid mulches such as hay that may contain weed seeds. Proper application of mulches can really help to reduce weed populations. Before applying any mulch, make sure there are no large weeds and be sure to control perennials. Organic mulches can be very effective if applied correctly. There are various types of organic mulch, and they differ by the size of their particles. The key to applying organic mulch is to apply it to an adequate depth that keeps light from reaching the soil. Be sure to keep mulch away from the base of woody trees and shrubs. Medium to small mulches, such as wood shavings or small wood chips about three-quarter inches, should be applied three to four inches deep. There are very fine mulches such as compost or leaf mold that can be applied about two inches deep. However, these mulches may not control weeds because weed seeds can blow in and grow. Very large and throwable mulches such as bark, wood, or rock should not be used at schools. Organic mulches gradually break down and need to be replenished in order to remain effective. They are more effective and longer lasting if applied over a landscape fabric. Plastics and barrier fabrics are two types of synthetic mulches that are used under organic or rock mulches. Use landscape fabric and avoid the use of plastic mulches. Unlike plastics, landscape fabrics allow water and air to pass through them and last a long time. They should not be exposed to the sun. To install, put the fabric down with U-shaped nails. Be sure to overlap the edges. Cut an X in the fabric and dig a planting hole. Avoid leaving the soil from the planting hole on top of the fabric as this could put weed seeds above the material. Place the plant into the hole and cover the fabric with a shallow mulch layer about one inch deep. If you are applying fabric to an already planted landscape, lay the cloth close to the ground using U-shaped nails. Cut an X over the plant, pull the plant through the cloth, and cover the fabric with mulch. In order to remain effective, mulches must be maintained. Applying mulches too deep may keep the soil too moist and lead to the development of disease. Not applying mulches deep enough can allow weeds to grow through the mulch. Replenish mulch as needed and keep it at the proper depth for the type you are using. Keep in mind that even if used properly, mulches will never provide 100% control. Some perennial weeds may get through even thick layers of mulches. Some annual weeds may germinate and grow on top of them as they decompose. If weeds appear, remove them by hand when they are small and avoid disrupting the mulch. Mulching makes hand-weeding easier. You can keep your weeds down if you remove them as soon as you see them. Remove them when they are small before they have set seed. The easiest way to remove them is to just pull them out. However, hand-weeding is not practical for large areas in a school. To control perennial weeds, you must dig up and destroy all roots and underground stems and tubers. Weed knives, dandelion knives, or even screwdrivers can help dig out the weeds and their roots without much disturbance to the soil. Annual weeds can be controlled with various types of hose. Use a garden hoe to cut weeds with a chopping motion at the soil surface or slightly below the soil surface. A push-pull hoe or a hula hoe can be used for the same purpose, scraping back and forth on the surface of the dry soil to cut small weeds off at their basal stem. Portable weed trimmers or weed eaters can break older weeds or small woody weeds. In lawns, regular mowing will keep weeds down. Hot water and flaming are two alternate ways to control weeds. Hot water or steam treatments are most effective against annual or young perennial weeds and are usually applied as a spot treatment along fence lines or in pavement cracks. Apply treatment to foliage and stems. Established perennial weeds can regrow. Flaming with a propane torch can control weeds on bare soil along fence lines and in pavement cracks. Flaming is most effective against young annual weeds. Perennial weeds and grasses can regrow. Kill weeds by passing the flame over the leaves. This causes the cells in the plant to burst. There is no need to char the weed. Flaming when winds are high or on poor air quality days. Don't use flamers near wood chips, dry weeds or other flammable materials. You can start a fire. Herbicides are pesticides that are designed to control weeds. A well-designed and well-maintained landscape generally does not require herbicides. Using garden tools and mulch usually provide adequate control. Use herbicides for special problem situations such as infestations of difficult-to-control perennial weeds before establishing new plantings or in turf grass. Don't rely on them exclusively. Before doing anything, you need to figure out what your underlying problem is and work from there. For example, if you have crabgrass, you may be overwatering or have leaky sprinklers. Determine what is causing the problem and correct it. Once you have fixed the underlying problem, use preventive methods such as mulch, competitive plantings or cultivation that may make future herbicide use unnecessary. If you do use herbicides, choose one that is labeled for the type of weed that you are trying to control and that is safe for you to surround the other desirable plants in the area. When using herbicides, you must take special precautions to avoid injury to desirable plants. Herbicides are applied as pre-emergent or post-emergent and are selective or non-selective. Pre-emergent herbicides are applied before weed seedlings emerge from the soil while post-emergent herbicides are applied after weeds have emerged. Selective herbicides are designed to kill specific types of weeds such as broadleaves or grasses without damaging other plants. Non-selective herbicides kill all or most vegetation and can be the best choice when preparing planting sites. Apply post-emergent herbicides when the target weed is in the stage that is most sensitive to the product. This is usually when the weed is small and actively growing. Monitor regularly so that you know when the weeds are emerging and actively growing. If you use herbicides when weeds are small, you will need less material. In schools, herbicide use is usually limited to times of the year when school is not in session such as summer or holiday vacations. Do not apply post-emergent herbicides if rain is expected. Injury to many ornamental or garden plants may result when label instructions are not followed, but it also occurs when drift or runoff takes the herbicide to neighboring plants. Drift to damage can occur quite a distance away from the spray zone. Trees with roots growing under lawns may be affected by some herbicides applied to the lawn. Three herbicides that have been associated with plant injury are glyphosate, dicamba, and 2-4-D. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide and can cause injury on non-target plants. Roses are easily affected and leaves appear needle-like, yellow, or mottled with small growth. Dicamba is a selective herbicide for use on broad leaves and often used in weed and feed products in lawns. If not used according to the product label, dicamba can damage trees and plants, causing dwarfed or distorted foliage. 2-4-D is a selective herbicide that is often used in lawns to kill broad-leaf weeds. However, it can cause injury to nearby trees and shrubs if it drifts onto leaves. Be sure to use caution before, during, and after using any pesticide. Follow all directions on the product label and wear the proper protective clothing. Check the label for the active ingredient. Make sure it is labeled for the type of weed you are trying to control and that it is registered for the area where you are planning on using it. Only use the amount needed and mix it up appropriately. When using herbicides, avoid washing them into storm drains. Don't apply right before rain is expected and don't over-irrigate. As required by the Healthy Schools Act, make sure to post warning signs where pesticides are applied 24 hours in advance and 72 hours after application. Glyphosate is probably the most common herbicide used around schools. It can kill most weeds, but if not used correctly, it can also damage nearby desirable plants. Ready-to-use bottles of glyphosate are widely available, but the formulations in these premixed solutions may be too weak to control perennial weeds. Use a hand-held controlled droplet applicator or a low-pressure small pump sprayer with a flat or cone nozzle. Follow the rate listed on the label of the product using a formulation labeled for your specific use. Measure the correct amount of product. If the product label calls for it, add a few drops of a surfactant or wetting agent to allow for better spray coverage on the surface of the weeds. Some products already include a surfactant. After you add the product, rinse the measuring container and pour the rinse solution into the sprayer followed by the correct amount of water. Control perennial weeds when they are actively growing. Treatment will be more effective if weeds are not dusty or stressed for water. For small areas infested with perennial weeds, dig up the vegetative propagules, irrigate to control growth, and then treat when the new sprouts mature. For large areas, treat, irrigate, and then treat again after the new sprouts emerge. Weeds will decrease in your landscape if you have managed the area properly using competitive plantings, barriers such as mowing strips, well-maintained mulches, and drip irrigation or other low output irrigation system. Remove weeds regularly as you see them and before they set seed. For more information about integrated pest management for weeds, visit the UC IPM website or contact the UC Cooperative Extension Office in your county. For more information on school IPM, see the school IPM program website of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.