A little over 4 years ago Obama infamously mocked Governor Mitt Romney for his assertion that Russia was America's number one geopolitical foe...



"Governor Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that Al Qaeda's a threat.  Because a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America you said 'Russia'. * The 1980's are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War has been over for 20 years.*"



 

...and while it was a very 'cute' line, 4 short years later Democrats are now the ones progressing the relentless narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin is behind pretty much every international dispute or cyberhacking plot known to man.

But while most dismissed the left's rhetoric as just a bunch of sore losers letting off steam in the wake of a stunning defeat in November, rather than subsiding,* the left's rhetoric seems to be escalating with several lawmakers, with no proof whatsoever mind you, looking to officially label Russia's alleged meddling as a "act of war." * Per The Hill:



Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) most recently accused Russia of engaging in warfare.

 

*“I think this attack that we’ve experienced is a form of war, a form of war on our fundamental democratic principles,”* Coleman said during a hearing this week at the House Homeland Security Committee.

 

She lambasted Trump for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking a panel of experts and former officials what message Trump’s “borderline dismissive attitude” toward Moscow’s cyberattack sends to the Kremlin and other nations.



 

But Coleman isn't the only Democrat looking to pick a fight, as a couple of California representatives have also piled on:



*“I actually think that their engagement was an act of war, an act of hybrid warfare,* and I think that’s why the American people should be concerned about it,” said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.).

 

*“This past election, our country was attacked. We were attacked by Russia,”* said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). “I see this as an opportunity for everyone on this committee, Republicans and Democrats, to not look in the rearview window but to look forward and do everything we can to make sure that our country never again allows a foreign adversary to attack us.”



Meanwhile, the heightened rhetoric of the left comes despite the stark warnings from experts on the consequences of their provocative accusations.



*“I find that sort of talk dangerous,”* said Schmitt, who led the team of legal experts that formulated the Tallinn Manual 2.0, a comprehensive analysis of how international law applies to cyberspace.

 

*The Army’s top officer, Mark Milley, also cautioned individuals about using the term “war” to refer to the cyberattacks, saying at a conference on Tuesday, “If it’s an act of war, then you’ve got to start thinking of your response to that sort of thing.”*

 

Schmitt assesses that the hacking campaign was not an act of war but rather a violation of two prohibitions: one on violating another state’s sovereignty and another on intervention into another state’s affairs.

 

*“Without a scintilla of a doubt, it is not an act of war,”* Schmitt said.



Of course, as we pointed out earlier this month, if hacking and/or seeking to influence the outcome of elections is truly an "act of war" as these Democrats suggest, then* we would kindly remind them that their former leader "declared war" on the majority of the civilized world during his eight years in office.*  In fact, courtesy of WikiLeaks, here is just a small list of some of the individuals who were wire tapped by the Obama Administration over the years.



The US National Security Agency bugged a private climate change strategy meeting; between *1. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon* and *2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel* in Berlin;

 

Obama bugged *3. Chief of Staff of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)* for long term interception targetting his Swiss phone;

 

Obama singled out the *4. Director of the Rules Division of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Johann Human*, and targetted his Swiss phone for long term interception;

 

Obama stole sensitive *5. Italian diplomatic cables** *detailing how Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to help patch up his relationship with US President Barack Obama, who was refusing to talk to Netanyahu;

 

Obama intercepted *6. top EU and 7. Japanese trade ministers** *discussing their secret strategy and red lines to stop the US “extort[ing]” them at the WTO Doha arounds (the talks subsequently collapsed);

 

Obama explicitly targeted *8. five other top EU economic officials* for long term interception, including their French, Austrian and Belgium phone numbers;

 

Obama explicitly targetted the phones of *9. Italy’s ambassador to NATO* and *10. other top Italian officials* for long term interception; and

 

Obama intercepted details of a critical private meeting between then *11. French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Merkel and Berlusconi,* where the latter was told the Italian banking system was ready to “pop like a cork”.

Reported by Zero Hedge 10 hours ago.

Italy's Andrea Dovizioso says decision to run a soft rear tyre on the factory Ducati was the right choice after claiming battling runner-up finish in Qatar night race. Reported by Crash.Net 10 hours ago.

Italy's Andrea Dovizioso says decision to run a soft rear tyre on the factory Ducati was the right choice after claiming battling runner-up finish in Qatar night race. Reported by Crash.Net 9 hours ago.

People exposed to entertainment television are more likely to vote for populist politicians according to a new study co-authored by an economist at Queen Mary University of London.

The researchers investigated the political impact of entertainment television in Italy over the last 30 years during the phased introduction of Silvio Berlusconi’s commercial TV network Mediaset.

They compared the voting behaviours of people who lived in regions where Mediaset was broadcast versus those where Berlusconi’s network was unavailable. The researchers found that people who had access to Mediaset prior to 1985 — when the network only featured light entertainment — voted on average 1 percentage point more for Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, compared to municipalities that were exposed later as the network rolled out.

The researchers found that the effect persisted for almost two decades and five elections. It is especially pronounced among older people and young people, although it affected these groups in very different ways.

Author Dr Andrea Tesei from QMUL’s School of Economics and Finance said: “Our results suggest that individuals exposed to entertainment TV as children are less cognitively sophisticated and less socio-politically engaged as adults, and ultimately more vulnerable to Berlusconi’s populist rhetoric. Older people, on the other hand, appear to have been hooked by the light entertainment Mediaset provided and were later exposed to biased news content on the same channels.”

Less educated people (high-school dropouts in this case) who were exposed to entertainment TV voted three percentage points more for Forza Italia than their non-exposed counterparts (i.e. high-school dropouts in municipalities where Mediaset wasn’t available). People exposed to entertainment TV as children voted almost eight percentage points more for Berlusconi, compared to same-age individuals who were exposed later.

The researchers found that people who are exposed to entertainment TV as children are cognitively disadvantaged in later life. Those who were exposed as children score five per cent worse than their non-exposed peers in cognitive test as adults; they are also 13 per cent less likely to report an interest in politics, and 10 per cent less likely to be involved in a voluntary group.

The researchers found an even stronger effect among people who were already older (55+) when exposed to entertainment TV. This group voted on average by 10 percentage points more for Forza Italia than non-exposed voters of the same age. The study found that older people exposed to entertainment TV during the 1980s are 16 per cent more likely to report to watch news (traditionally slanted in favor of Berlusconi and introduced on Mediaset in 1992) on Mediaset channels which is traditionally slanted in favor of Berlusconi.

The researchers also found that exposure to entertainment TV does not just increase support for Berlusconi but also for other parties with similar populist features. Indeed, early access to Mediaset appears also to be associated with higher support for the Five-Star-Movement – led by former comedian Beppe Grillo – which first fielded candidates in 2013. These results suggest that Mediaset influenced political attitudes and voting behavior beyond its effect on Berlusconi’s party. In particular, the results suggest a relationship between exposure to light-fare TV and preferences for populist parties and leaders.

The researchers used a combination of research methods, including engineer-developed software to simulate TV signal propagation, econometric analysis based on municipal-level election data, and geo-referenced survey data.

Their results were significant and stood up when controlled for geographical and socio-economic characteristics at the municipal level.

Dr Tesei said: “Our results suggest that entertainment content can influence political attitudes, creating a fertile ground for the spread of populist messages. It’s the first major study to investigate the political effect of exposure among voters to a diet of ‘light’ entertainment. The results are timely as the United States adjusts to the Presidency of Donald Trump.”

The co-authors were Ruben Durante (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Sciences Po) and Paolo Pinotti from Bocconi University. The research is published today in a School of Economics and Finance (Queen Mary University of London) working paper.

*Control factors:*

The researchers first controlled for local measures of education and economic activity. Second they showed there are no pre-existing trends in voting for any political party before the introduction of Mediaset at the municipal level. Third, their methodology only relies on the signal intensity that is due to exogenous geographical characteristics (mountains, valleys).

The presence or absence of mountains interfering with the line of transmission between the municipality and the antenna is a matter of luck and is unrelated to any characteristic of the municipality. This effectively corresponds to exposing individuals (i.e. municipalities) to a random treatment (i.e. exposure to entertainment TV) and identifies the causal effect of exposure to entertainment TV on voting. Reported by Eurasia Review 6 hours ago.

Authored by Michael Hudson via NakedCapitalism.com,

*Nobody yet can tell whether Donald Trump is an agent of change with a specific policy in mind, or merely a catalyst heralding an as yet undetermined turning point.* His first month in the White House saw him melting into the Republican mélange of corporate lobbyists. Having promised to create jobs, his “America First” policy looks more like “Wall Street First.” His cabinet of billionaires promoting corporate tax cuts, deregulation and dismantling Dodd-Frank bank reform repeats the Junk Economics promise that giving more tax breaks to the richest One Percent may lead them to use their windfall to invest in creating more jobs. What they usually do, of course, is simply buy more property and assets already in place.

*One of the first reactions to Trump’s election victory was for stocks of the most crooked financial institutions to soar, hoping for a deregulatory scythe taken to the public sector. *Navient, the Department of Education’s knee-breaker on student loan collections accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of massive fraud and overcharging, rose from $13 to $18 now that it seemed likely that the incoming Republicans would disable the CFPB and shine a green light for financial fraud.

Foreclosure king Stephen Mnuchin of IndyMac/OneWest (and formerly of Goldman Sachs for 17 years; later a George Soros partner) is now Treasury Secretary – and Trump is pledged to abolish the CFPB, on the specious logic that letting fraudsters manage pension savings and other investments will give consumers and savers “broader choice,” e.g., for the financial equivalent of junk food. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos hopes to privatize public education into for-profit (and de-unionized) charter schools, breaking the teachers’ unions.* This may position Trump to become the Transformational President that neoliberals have been waiting for.*

*But not the neocons.* His election rhetoric promised to reverse traditional U.S. interventionist policy abroad. Making an anti-war left run around the Democrats, he promised to stop backing ISIS/Al Nusra (President Obama’s “moderate” terrorists supplied with the arms and money that Hillary looted from Libya), and to reverse the Obama-Clinton administration’s New Cold War with Russia. But the neocon coterie at the CIA and State Department are undercutting his proposed rapprochement with Russia by forcing out General Flynn for starters. It seems doubtful that Trump will clean them out.

*Trump has called NATO obsolete, but insists that its members up their spending to the stipulated 2% of GDP — producing a windfall worth tens of billions of dollars for U.S. arms exporters.* That is to be the price Europe must pay if it wants to endorse Germany’s and the Baltics’ confrontation with Russia.

*Trump is sufficiently intuitive to proclaim the euro a disaster, and he recommends that Greece leave it.* He supports the rising nationalist parties in Britain, France, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands, all of which urge withdrawal from the eurozone – and reconciliation with Russia instead of sanctions. In place of the ill-fated TPP and TTIP, Trump advocates country-by-country trade deals favoring the United States. Toward this end, his designated ambassador to the European Union, Ted Malloch, urges the EU’s breakup. The EU is refusing to accept him as ambassador.

-*Will Trump’s Victory Break Up the Democratic Party? *-

At the time this volume is going to press, there is no way of knowing how successful these international reversals will be. What is more clear is what Trump’s political impact will have at home. His victory – or more accurately, Hillary’s resounding loss and the way she lost – has encouraged enormous pressure for a realignment of both parties. Regardless of what President Trump may achieve vis-à-vis Europe, his actions as celebrity chaos agent may break up U.S. politics across the political spectrum.

*The Democratic Party has lost its ability to pose as the party of labor and the middle class. Firmly controlled by Wall Street and California billionaires, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) strategy of identity politics encourages any identity except that of wage earners. *The candidates backed by the Donor Class have been Blue Dogs pledged to promote Wall Street and neocons urging a New Cold War with Russia.

*They preferred to lose with Hillary than to win behind Bernie Sanders.* So Trump’s electoral victory is their legacy as well as Obama’s.* Instead of Trump’s victory dispelling that strategy, the Democrats are doubling down. It is as if identity politics is all they have.*

*Trying to ride on Barack Obama’s coattails didn’t work. *Promising “hope and change,” he won by posing as a transformational president, leading the Democrats to control of the White House, Senate and Congress in 2008. Swept into office by a national reaction against the George Bush’s Oil War in Iraq and the junk-mortgage crisis that left the economy debt-ridden, they had free rein to pass whatever new laws they chose – even a Public Option in health care if they had wanted, or make Wall Street banks absorb the losses from their bad and often fraudulent loans.

But it turned out that Obama’s role was to prevent the changes that voters hoped to see, and indeed that the economy needed to recover: financial reform, debt writedowns to bring junk mortgages in line with fair market prices, and throwing crooked bankers in jail. Obama rescued the banks, not the economy, and turned over the Justice Department and regulatory agencies to his Wall Street campaign contributors. He did not even pull back from war in the Near East, but extended it to Libya and Syria, blundering into the Ukrainian coup as well.

*Having dashed the hopes of his followers, Obama then praised his chosen successor Hillary Clinton as his “Third Term.” Enjoying this kiss of death, Hillary promised to keep up Obama’s policies.*

The straw that pushed voters over the edge was when she asked voters, “Aren’t you better off today than you were eight years ago?” Who were they going to believe: their eyes, or Hillary? National income statistics showed that only the top 5 percent of the population were better off. All the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during Obama’s tenure went to them – the Donor Class that had gained control of the Democratic Party leadership. Real incomes have fallen for the remaining 95 percent, whose household budgets have been further eroded by soaring charges for health insurance. (The Democratic leadership in Congress fought tooth and nail to block Dennis Kucinich from introducing his Single Payer proposal.)

*No wonder most of the geographic United States voted for change – except for where the top 5 percent, is concentrated: in New York (Wall Street) and California (Silicon Valley and the military-industrial complex).* Making fun of the Obama Administration’s slogan of “hope and change,” Trump characterized Hillary’s policy of continuing the economy’s shrinkage for the 95% as “no hope and no change.”

-*Identity Politics as Anti-Labor Politics*-

*A new term was introduced to the English language: Identity Politics. *Its aim is for voters to think of themselves as separatist minorities – women, LGBTQ, Blacks and Hispanics.* The Democrats thought they could beat Trump by organizing Women for Wall Street (and a New Cold War), LGBTQ for Wall Street (and a New Cold War), and Blacks and Hispanics for Wall Street (and a New Cold War). *Each identity cohort was headed by a billionaire or hedge fund donor.

*The identity that is conspicuously excluded is the working class. *Identity politics strips away thinking of one’s interest in terms of having to work for a living. It excludes voter protests against having their monthly paycheck stripped to pay more for health insurance, housing and mortgage charges or education, or better working conditions or consumer protection – not to speak of protecting debtors.

Identity politics used to be about three major categories: workers and unionization, anti-war protests and civil rights marches against racist Jim Crow laws. These were the three objectives of the many nationwide demonstrations. That ended when these movements got co-opted into the Democratic Party. Their reappearance in Bernie Sanders’ campaign in fact threatens to tear the Democratic coalition apart. As soon as the primaries were over (duly stacked against Sanders), his followers were made to feel unwelcome. Hillary sought Republican support by denouncing Sanders as being as radical as Putin’s Republican leadership.

In contrast to Sanders’ attempt to convince diverse groups that they had a common denominator in needing jobs with decent pay – and, to achieve that, in opposing Wall Street’s replacing the government as central planner – the Democrats depict every identity constituency as being victimized by every other, setting themselves at each other’s heels. Clinton strategist John Podesta, for instance, encouraged Blacks to accuse Sanders supporters of distracting attention from racism. Pushing a common economic interest between whites, Blacks, Hispanics and LGBTQ always has been the neoliberals’ nightmare. No wonder they tried so hard to stop Bernie Sanders, and are maneuvering to keep his supporters from gaining influence in their party.

When Trump was inaugurated on Friday, January 20, there was no pro-jobs or anti-war demonstration. That presumably would have attracted pro-Trump supporters in an ecumenical show of force. Instead, the Women’s March on Saturday led even the pro-Democrat New York Times to write a front-page article reporting that white women were complaining that they did not feel welcome in the demonstration. The message to anti-war advocates, students and Bernie supporters was that their economic cause was a distraction.

The march was typically Democratic in that its ideology did not threaten the Donor Class. As Yves Smith wrote on Naked Capitalism: “the track record of non-issue-oriented marches, no matter how large scale, is poor, and the status of this march as officially sanctioned (blanket media coverage when other marches of hundreds of thousands of people have been minimized, police not tricked out in their usual riot gear) also indicates that the officialdom does not see it as a threat to the status quo.”

*Hillary’s loss was not blamed on her neoliberal support for TPP or her pro-war neocon stance, but on the revelations of the e-mails by her operative Podesta discussing his dirty tricks against Bernie Sanders (claimed to be given to Wikileaks by Russian hackers, not a domestic DNC leaker as Wikileaks claimed) and the FBI investigation of her e-mail abuses at the State Department.* Backing her supporters’ attempt to brazen it out, the Democratic Party has doubled down on its identity politics, despite the fact that an estimated 52 percent of white women voted for Trump. After all, women do work for wages. And that also is what Blacks and Hispanics want – in addition to banking that serves their needs, not those of Wall Street, and health care that serves their needs, not those of the health-insurance and pharmaceuticals monopolies.

*Bernie did not choose to run on a third-party ticket. Evidently he feared being accused of throwing the election to Trump. *The question is now whether he can remake the Democratic Party as a democratic socialist party, or create a new party if the Donor Class retains its neoliberal control. It seems that he will not make a break until he concludes that a Socialist Party can leave the Democrats as far back in the dust as the Republicans left the Whigs after 1854. He may have underestimated his chance in 2016.

-*Trump’s Effect on U.S. Political Party Realignment*-

During Trump’s rise to the 2016 Republican nomination it seemed that he was more likely to break up the Republican Party. Its leading candidates and gurus warned that his populist victory in the primaries would tear the party apart. The polls in May and June showed him defeating Hillary Clinton easily (but losing to Bernie Sanders). *But Republican leaders worried that he would not support what they believed in: namely, whatever corporate lobbyists put in their hands to enact and privatize.*

The May/June polls showed Trump and Clinton were the country’s two most unpopular presidential candidates.* But whereas the Democrats maneuvered Bernie out of the way, the Republican Clown Car was unable to do the same to Trump. *In the end they chose to win behind him, expecting to control him. As for the DNC, its Wall Street donors preferred to lose with Hillary than to win with Bernie. They wanted to keep control of their party and continue the bargain they had made with the Republicans: The latter would move further and further to the right, leaving room for Democratic neoliberals and neocons to follow them closely, yet still pose as the “lesser evil.” That “centrism” is the essence of the Clintons’ “triangulation” strategy. It actually has been going on for a half-century. “As Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere quipped in the 1960s, when he was accused by the US of running a one-party state, ‘The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them’.”

*By 2017, voters had caught on to this two-step game. *But Hillary’s team paid pollsters over $1 billion to tell her (“Mirror, mirror on the wall …”) that she was the most popular of all. It was hubris to imagine that she could convince the 95 Percent of the people who were worse off under Obama to love her as much as her East-West Coast donors did. It was politically unrealistic – and a reflection of her cynicism – to imagine that raising enough money to buy television ads would convince working-class Republicans to vote for her, succumbing to a Stockholm Syndrome by thinking of themselves as part of the 5 Percent who had benefited from Obama’s pro-Wall Street policies.

*Hillary’s election strategy was to make a right-wing run around Trump. While characterizing the working class as white racist “deplorables,” allegedly intolerant of LBGTQ or assertive women, she resurrected the ghost of Joe McCarthy and accused Trump of being “Putin’s poodle” for proposing peace with Russia. *Among the most liberal Democrats, Paul Krugman still leads a biweekly charge at The New York Times that President Trump is following Moscow’s orders. Saturday Night Live, Bill Maher and MSNBC produce weekly skits that Trump and General Flynn are Russian puppets. A large proportion of Democrats have bought into the fairy tale that Trump didn’t really win the election, but that Russian hackers manipulated the voting machines. No wonder George Orwell’s 1984 soared to the top of America’s best-seller lists in February 2017 as Donald Trump was taking his oath of office.

*This propaganda paid off on February 13, when neocon public relations succeeded in forcing the resignation of General Flynn, whom Trump had appointed to clean out the neocons at the NSA and CIA.* His foreign policy initiative based on rapprochement with Russia and hopes to create a common front against ISIS/Al Nusra seemed to be collapsing.

-*Tabula Rasa Celebrity Politics*-

*U.S. presidential elections no longer are much about policy.* Like Obama before him, Trump campaigned as a rasa tabla, a vehicle for everyone to project their hopes and fancies. What has all but disappeared is the past century’s idea of politics as a struggle between labor and capital, democracy vs. oligarchy.

Who would have expected even half a century ago that American politics would become so post-modern that the idea of class conflict has all but disappeared. Classical economic discourse has been drowned out by their junk economics.

*There is a covert economic program, to be sure, and it is bipartisan. It is to make elections about just which celebrities will introduce neoliberal economic policies with the most convincing patter talk. That is the essence of rasa tabla politics.*

-*Can the Democrats Lose Again in 2020?*-

*Trump’s November victory showed that voters found him to be the Lesser Evil, but all that voters really could express was “throw out the bums” *and get a new set of lobbyists for the FIRE sector and corporate monopolists. Both candidates represented Goldman Sachs and Wall Street. No wonder voter turnout has continued to plunge.

Although the Democrats’ Lesser Evil argument lost to the Republicans in 2016, the neoliberals in control of the DNC found the absence of a progressive economic program to less threatening to their interests than the critique of Wall Street and neocon interventionism coming from the Sanders camp. *So the Democrat will continue to pose as the Lesser Evil party not really in terms of policy, but simply ad hominum. They will merely repeat Hillary’s campaign stance: They are not Trump.* Their parades and street demonstrations since his inauguration have not come out for any economic policy.

*On Friday, February 10, the party’s Democratic Policy group held a retreat for its members in Baltimore. *Third Way “centrists” (Republicans running as Democrats) dominated, with Hillary operatives in charge. *The conclusion was that no party policy was needed at all. “President Trump is a better recruitment tool for us than a central campaign issue,’ said Washington Rep. Denny Heck, who is leading recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).”*

But what does their party leadership have to offer women, Blacks and Hispanics in the way of employment, more affordable health care, housing or education and better pay? Where are the New Deal pro-labor, pro-regulatory roots of bygone days? The party leadership is unwilling to admit that Trump’s message about protecting jobs and opposing the TPP played a role in his election. Hillary was suspected of supporting it as “the gold standard” of trade deals, and Obama had made the Trans-Pacific Partnership the centerpiece of his presidency – the free-trade TPP and TTIP that would have taken economic regulatory policy out of the hands of government and given it to corporations.

Instead of accepting even Sanders’ centrist-left stance, the Democrats’ strategy was to tar Trump as pro-Russian, insist that his aides had committed impeachable offenses, and mount one parade after another. “Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio told reporters she was wary of focusing solely on an “economic message” aimed at voters whom Trump won over in 2016, because, in her view, Trump did not win on an economic message. “What Donald Trump did was address them at a very different level — an emotional level, a racial level, a fear level,” she said. “If all we talk about is the economic message, we’re not going to win.”* This stance led Sanders supporters to walk out of a meeting organized by the “centrist” Third Way think tank on Wednesday, February 8.*

By now this is an old story. Fifty years ago, socialists such as Michael Harrington asked why union members and progressives still imagined that they had to work through the Democratic Party. It has taken the rest of the country half a century to see that Democrats are not the party of the working class, unions, middle class, farmers or debtors. They are the party of Wall Street privatizers, bank deregulators, neocons and the military-industrial complex. Obama showed his hand – and that of his party – in his passionate attempt to ram through the corporatist TPP treaty that would have enabled corporations to sue governments for any costs imposed by public consumer protection, environmental protection or other protection of the population against financialized corporate monopolies.

*Against this backdrop, Trump’s promises and indeed his worldview seem quixotic. The picture of America’s future he has painted seems unattainable within the foreseeable future. It is too late to bring manufacturing back to the United States, because corporations already have shifted their supply nodes abroad, and too much U.S. infrastructure has been dismantled.*

There can’t be a high-speed railroad, because it would take more than four years to get the right-of-way and create a route without crossing gates or sharp curves. In any case, the role of railroads and other transportation has been to increase real estate prices along the routes. But in this case, real estate would be torn down – and having a high-speed rail does not increase land values.

The stock market has soared to new heights, anticipating lower taxes on corporate profits and a deregulation of consumer, labor and environmental protection. *Trump may end up as America’s Boris Yeltsin, protecting U.S. oligarchs (not that Hillary would have been different, merely cloaked in a more colorful identity rainbow). The U.S. economy is in for Shock Therapy. Voters should look to Greece to get a taste of the future in this scenario.*

Without a coherent response to neoliberalism, Trump’s billionaire cabinet may do to the United States what neoliberals in the Clinton administration did to Russia after 1991: tear out all the checks and balances, and turn public wealth over to insiders and oligarchs. So Trump’s his best chance to be transformative is simply to be America’s Yeltsin for his party’s oligarchic backers, putting the class war back in business.

-*What a Truly Transformative President Would Do/Would Have Done*-

*No administration can create a sound U.S. recovery without dealing with the problem that caused the 2008 crisis in the first place: over-indebtedness. *The only one way to restore growth, raise living standards and make the economy competitive again is a debt writedown. But that is not yet on the political horizon. Obama’s doublecross of his voters in 2009 prevented the needed policy from occurring. Having missed this chance in the last financial crisis, a progressive policy must await yet another crisis. But so far, no political party is preparing a program to juxtapose to Republican-Democratic austerity and scale-back of Social Security, Medicare and social spending programs in general.

Also no longer on the horizon is a more progressive income tax, or a public option for health care – or for banking, or consumer protection against financial fraud, or for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, or for a revived protection of labor’s right to unionize, or environmental regulations.

*It seems that only a new party can achieve these aims. *At the time these essays are going to press, Sanders has committed himself to working within the Democratic Party. But that stance is based on his assumption that somehow he can recruit enough activists to take over the party from Its Donor Class.

I suspect he will fail. In any case, it is easier to begin afresh than to try to re-design a party (or any institution) dominated by resistance to change, and whose idea of economic growth is a pastiche of tax cuts and deregulation. Both U.S. parties are committed to this neoliberal program – and seek to blame foreign enemies for the fact that its effect is to continue squeezing living standards and bloating the financial sector.

If this slow but inexorable crash does lead to a political crisis, it looks like the Republicans may succeed in convening a new Constitutional Convention (many states already have approved this) to lock the United States into a corporatist neoliberal world. Its slogan will be that of Margaret Thatcher: TINA – There Is No Alternative.

*And who is to disagree? As Trotsky said, fascism is the result of the failure of the left to provide an alternative.* Reported by Zero Hedge 6 hours ago.

*Florian Hense, European economist at Berenberg Bank, says Yes.*

The Eurozone is enjoying a broad-based upswing that can last. Some two years behind the more advanced recoveries of the UK and US, the Eurozone is on track to enjoy growth above its trend rate for a while as it plays catch up.

With a little help from the ECB, and with austerity over, real GDP growth can accelerate to 1.7 per cent in 2017 and 2018, above its trend of 1.5 per cent. The recovery is in its fourth year now and caution is fading. Growth is becoming more entrenched. Only a major shock can derail it. Stable gains in demand and employment will encourage businesses and households to invest and spend more freely again.

Although political risks are serious, they probably won’t materialise. The risk of early Italian elections has receded while a likely win for reformer Macron could raise France’s potential growth. If Trumponomics raises US growth, that will boost Eurozone exports. Et voilà, you have a euro-boom, a boom by Eurozone standards.

*Stephen Brown, European economist at Capital Economics, says No.*

After March’s rise, the PMI survey points to an acceleration in the quarterly pace of Eurozone GDP growth, from the fourth quarter’s 0.4 per cent to 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. That would be the biggest quarterly expansion in two years.

But this is hardly spectacular by international standards. And with higher inflation weighing on consumers’ purchasing power, we suspect that any pick-up in growth will not be sustained. Even if it were, it would be too soon to claim that the economy is booming.

Granted, Eurozone GDP is 3 per cent above its pre-crisis peak. But in the UK GDP is 9 per cent higher, and in the US 13 per cent higher. And while unemployment is low in Germany, it remains very high in France, Italy and Spain. This is despite exceptionally loose monetary policy from the ECB, which has little scope to do more.

Finally, a clear sign of depressed conditions is provided by the rise of eurosceptic parties, which are polling strongly across the continent ahead of national elections. Reported by City A.M. 5 hours ago.

Netherlands coach Danny Blind was sacked on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 2-0 defeat away to Bulgaria left the team floundering in fourth place in World Cup qualifying Group A. The Dutch FA (KNVB) announced the decision in a statement after Blind, had been called in for crisis talks.

The 55-year-old had questioned his own future following Saturday's loss in Sofia, which left the Dutch six points off the pace at the halfway stage of the European qualifying campaign for the 2018 finals in Russia. But Blind bemoaned the decision in a statement on Sunday.

"We were on the right track but the Bulgaria loss was a setback. I gave everything I had and I'm really sorry that it ends this way," said the former Netherlands defender. The national team has been in the doldrums since missing out on the 2016 European Championship in a dramatic fall from grace two years after finishing third at the World Cup in Brazil.

The defeat by Bulgaria leaves the Dutch facing a tough struggle to finish in one of the top two qualifying places in Group A. They have seven points from five matches and trail leaders France (13 points), Sweden (10) and Bulgaria (9).

"We have respect for what Danny meant to us and the team during his tenure. But because the results were not forthcoming, and because qualification for Russia has gone poorly so far, we felt the need to take our leave of him," said KNVB director Jean Paul Decossaux.

Blind was appointed on July 1 to replace Guus Hiddink after a poor start in the Euro 2016 qualifiers but a home loss to Iceland in his first game in charge exacerbated the situation. The Dutch have struggled to find any consistency during his 20-month tenure, winning seven and losing seven of 17 games.

Netherlands assistant coach Fred Grim will stand in as caretaker for Tuesday's friendly against Italy in Amsterdam while the KNVB start to look for a new manager.

ReportSportReuters

· Danny Blind
· Netherlands
· Bulgaria
· Amsterdam
· Russia
· Brazil
· France
· Guus Hiddink
· Iceland
· Italy
· Mark Gleeson
· Sofia
· Sweden
· Football
· World Cup Qualifiers

Mon, 27 Mar 2017-10:03am
Date updated: 
Monday, 27 March 2017 - 10:03am
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Netherlands head Coach Danny Blind (C) reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying football match between Bulgaria and Netherland in Sofia on March 25, 2017
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From Print Edition:  Reported by DNA 4 hours ago.

DGAP-News: SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE N.V. / Key word(s): Final Results/Forecast

27.03.2017 / 07:01
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------

 

*NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN.*

*SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE grows more than twice as fast as the overall Continental European market in 2016. Accelerated growth projected for 2017 as well.*

· Revenues increased by 41% to EUR 177.4 million in 2016
· Gross margin stable at 20.5% despite accelerated growth; adjusted EBITDA margin improved from -4.2% to -3.3%
· Long-term loans repaid as planned with proceeds from the IPO
· Revenues from international operations more than tripled to EUR 30.4 million thanks to the early integration of FARMALINE that was acquired in September 2016
· Profitability in the German core market grew while revenues increased by 26%
· Excellent start into the 2017 fiscal year; accelerated growth and further improvements in profitability expected

*Venlo, the Netherlands, March 27, 2017 - SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE N.V., Europe's leading online OTC pharmacy (OTC = over the counter = non-prescription medications), has achieved its ambitious 2016 growth targets. With corporate revenues increasing by over 41% to EUR 177.4 million (previous year: EUR 125.6 million), SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE grew more than twice as fast as the overall Continental European market, which went up 17%*. Strong growth in international revenues - boosted by the rapid integration of the FARMALINE online pharmacy acquired in September 2016 - has further accelerated growth and strengthened SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE's leading position in the dynamically growing European online pharmacy market.*

The number of orders rose from 2.8 million to 4 million during the reporting period. At 73.4%, the share of orders placed by existing customers remained at a consistently high level while the return rate continues to remain at less than 1% and site visits increased to 42 million in 2016.

SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE's gross profit increased in line with revenues, up from EUR 25.7 million in 2015 to EUR 36.3 million in 2016. The gross margin remained stable at 20.5% despite the company's accelerated growth and new customer acquisition through coupon promotions in the fourth quarter 2016 which had a negative margin impact. Due to the successful customer acquisition initiatives, the number of active customers increased substantially from 1.3 million at the end of 2015 to 1.8 million at the end of 2016.

The consolidated adjusted EBITDA MARGIN (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and non-recurring effects from the IPO and the integration of FARMALINE) improved by 0.9% to -3.3% from -4.2% the previous year. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was EUR -5.8 million compared to EUR -5.3 million in 2015. The adjusted EBIT (earnings before taxes and interest) for fiscal year 2016 was EUR -9.1 million with an EBIT margin of -5.1% compared to EUR -7.4 million or -5.9% respectively in 2015. Improvements were accomplished primarily in relative administrative costs (including depreciations): Due to economies of scale and increased efficiency, they increased at a lower rate than revenues from EUR 6.7 million (adjusted for one-off costs of EUR 1.7 million mostly related to the IPO) to EUR 7.4 million (EUR 9.1 million excluding one-off costs).

Adjusted for non-recurring costs related to the application of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) to the repayment of shareholder loans as announced prior to the IPO, which negatively impacted interest income by EUR 6.9 million, the net loss for 2016 was EUR 10.7 million (after EUR 9.1 million during fiscal year 2015). The repayment of shareholder loans means that SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE is now debt-free.

Revenues for SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE's profitable core segment "Germany" increased by 26% to EUR 145.6 million (previous year: EUR 115.7 million). Increases in efficiency, economies of scale, progress in process automation and the high share of repeat orders made by existing customers led to a 1.5% improvement in the sales and distribution cost ratio to 18.9% (previous year: 20.4%) in the company's German core market. In line with this development, the "Germany" segment's gross margin increased from 20.1% in fiscal year 2015 to 20.4%; segment EBITDA** grew by EUR 3.2 million from EUR 0.8 million in fiscal year 2015 to 4 million in fiscal year 2016, corresponding to a margin of 2.7% versus 0.7% the previous year.

In the international regions - which as of now include Austria, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy - SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE has more than tripled its sales. Revenues in the "International" segment increased by 262% to EUR 30.4 million (previous year: EUR 8.4 million). The gross margin of the "International" segment improved by a significant 3.4% from 15.0% in 2015 to 18.4%. The substantial increase in international business volume is mainly due to organic growth as well as to the acquisition of FARMALINE in September 2016. Following the integration of the Belgian online pharmacy, SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE has further expanded its market position in all relevant European markets. The integration of FARMALINE was completed ahead of schedule in Q4 2016. Due to one-time costs for the accelerated integration of FARMALINE, adjusted segment EBITDA** stood at EUR -3.9 million, EUR 1.6 million less than the EUR -2.3 million posted the previous year. Relative to sales, the segment's adjusted EBITDA margin improved to -12.8% from -26.9% the previous year.

The segment "Germany Services," which includes web shop services, posted gross income of EUR 4.1 million prior to the deduction of EUR 2.6 million worth of intra-company services. That is a rise in income of 20.6% compared to fiscal year 2015 (EUR 3.4 million). Due to internal development projects, the segment's high gross margin declined slightly from 91.3% the previous year to 89.7% in fiscal year 2016, however, it returned to previous-year levels in Q4 2016. Segment EBITDA** was EUR 1.0 million for the reporting period, slightly below the previous year's figure of EUR 1.2 million.

Dr. Ulrich Wandel, CFO of SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE, comments: "2016 was a very successful year of growth for SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE. We entered very promising international target markets, further improved our excellent market position with fast integration of FARMALINE and are in pole position to achieve accelerated growth in the coming years with the growth financing raised during our IPO in October 2016. We also structurally improved key expense positions in relation to revenues. This means we have taken a big step towards reaching our next goal, generating positive EBITDA on a group-level mid-term."

The Management Board of SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE expects an increase in the company's revenues from 45% to 55% in fiscal year 2017, primarily driven by the growing international business. The management also expects positive impulses from a strong market environment: In its latest market research study, SEMPORA has increased its estimate for the average annual growth rate for the online pharmacy market 2016-2020 from 23.7% to 24.7%. While SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE's growth strategy is focused on further strengthening its market leadership in the relevant European markets, the Management Board expects that effects of scale, improvements in efficiency and further automation will continue to have a positive impact on the bottom line in fiscal year 2017. This projection is supported by the predicted continuation of the company's profitable growth course in its German core market. Along with the anticipated growth, the group's gross margin is expected to increase during the current fiscal year. Management also expects an improvement of the EBITDA margin to -2% to -3% on a group-level.

*according to market research by SEMPORA 2017
**Segment EBITDA: Defined as earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation as well as company-level administrative costs.

 

*PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL REPORTS*

SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE has today published its annual accounts 2015 and its annual report 2016 on a special annual report landing on its website with the following link: https://shop-apotheke-europe.com/en/investorrelations/publikationen/geschaeftsberichte.html

The annual general meeting of shareholders of the Company will take place on 16 May 2017 at 13:00 CEST at Van der Valk Hotel Venlo, Nijmeegseweg 90, 5916 PT Venlo, The Netherlands. The convocation for the annual general meeting, including the agenda, the accompanying explanatory notes and other information/documentation, will be published on the Company's website by 3 April 2017.

*ABOUT SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE.*

SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE is Continental Europe's leading online OTC pharmacy with a portfolio that focuses on OTC medication and pharmacy-related beauty and care products (BPC). The Company operates online pharmacies in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. In Germany, the TÜV-certified shop-apotheke.com is the market leader in terms of traffic. SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE delivers a broad range of more than 100,000 original products to 1.8 million active customers quickly and at attractive prices. In addition, SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE provides comprehensive and consistent pharmaceutical services.

SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE generated EUR 177 million in revenues in the financial year of 2016. Headquartered in Venlo (the Netherlands), SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE also has offices in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Paris and Tongeren, Belgium. The online pharmacy has been listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) since 13 October 2016.

*KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS*

  *2016* *2015*
Site visits 41,841,536 25,496,383
Mobile visits 17,997,761 8,946,672
Mobile share 43% 35%
Number of orders 3,949,886 2,801,358
Repeat orders 73.4% 73%
Return rate 0.76% 0.7%
# Active customers 1,809,028 1,266,706
Average cart size 52.24 EUR 52.31 EUR

 

 

*FINANCIAL CALENDAR 2017*

 

May 15, 2017 Publication of the First Quarter Results 2017
May 16, 2017 Annual General Meeting
July 26, 2017 Publication of the Half-Year Report 2017
November 9, 2017 Publication of the Third Quarter Results 2017

 

*CONFERENCES 2017*

 

May 17-18, 2017 Citi's European Internet and Digital Conference, London
May 22-24, 2017 Berenberg European Conference USA 2017, Tarrytown, NY
August 29-31, 2017 Commerzbank Conference, Frankfurt
September 6-8, 2017 Citi Global Technology Conference, New York
September 18-20, 2017 Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference, Munich
December 04-07, 2017 Berenberg European Conference, London

 

 

*MEDIA CONTACTS.*

Trade and public media:
Sven Schirmer
Mobile: +49 152 28 50 63 61
E-Mail: presse@shop-apotheke.com

Financial media:
Thomas Schnorrenberg
Mobile: +49 151 46 53 13 17
E-Mail: presse@shop-apotheke.com

Investor Relations:
Dr. Ulrich Wandel
Phone: +31 77 850 6117
E-Mail: ulrich.wandel@shop-apotheke.com

*DISCLAIMER. *

This announcement does not constitute a public offer or an offer to subscribe to any securities in any jurisdiction. The offer was made exclusively on the basis of the company's securities prospectus that had been published in connection with the offer. The shares have already been sold.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that relate to the future course of business and future financial performance, as well as future transactions or developments concerning SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE. The bases of these statements are current expectations and assumptions of SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE's management, of which a large number are outside SHOPE APOTHEKE EUROPE's sphere of influence. These statements are therefore subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. If such risks and uncertainties occur, or if the underlying expectations do not materialize or the assumptions made are not correct, the actual events, both positive and negative, may differ materially from those events contained in the forward-looking statements. SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in the event of occurrences or developments other than those anticipated. Such updates or corrections are not intended.
--------------------

27.03.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: SHOP APOTHEKE EUROPE N.V.
Dirk Hartogweg 14
5928 LV Venlo
Netherlands
Phone: 0800 - 200 800 300
Fax: 0800 - 90 70 90 20
E-mail: ulrich.wandel@shop-apotheke.com
Internet: www.shop-apotheke-europe.com
ISIN: NL0012044747
WKN: A2AR94
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 4 hours ago.

The researchers investigated the political impact of entertainment television in Italy over the last 30 years during the phased introduction of Silvio Berlusconi's commercial TV network Mediaset. Reported by DNA 3 hours ago.

*Press release*
*2017-03-27*
* *  
Xbrane Biopharma has delivered its first batch of Spherotide to its partner in the Middle East to a value of 7 MSEK. Xbrane expects shipment of at least two additional batches of similar size to its partner in the Middle East during 2017.

"We are excited to sell the first batch of Spherotide to our partner in the Middle East. We are working closely with our partner ahead of local launch of the product and we are very excited to see how the product is received in the local market." says Martin Åmark, Xbranes CEO.

Spherotide is a depot formulation drug with the active substance triptorelin and is used primarily in the treatment of prostate cancer, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. The drug is based on encapsulation of the active ingredient in biodegradable microspheres that degrade in the body after injection and create a long acting effect.

*About Xbrane*
Xbrane is a commercial phase Swedish biopharmaceutical company specialized in biosimilars and long acting injectables. Xbrane has world leading expertise in developing generics for long acting injectable drugs and proprietary high-yield protein expression technology for the development of biosimilars. Xbranes's headquarter is located in Stockholm and the company's in-house research and development facilities are in Sweden and Italy. Xbrane is listed at Nasdaq First North since February 3 ^rd , 2016 under the name XBRANE and Avanza Bank AB is Xbrane's certified advisor. For more information see www.xbrane.com .

*For further information, please contact:*
Martin Åmark
Chief Executive Officer
M: +46 (0) 763-093 777
E: martin.amark@xbrane.com

This information is information that Xbrane Biopharma AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 March 27 2017.

Press release - Shipment of first Spherotide batch
--------------------This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Xbrane Biopharma AB via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2090688 Reported by GlobeNewswire 3 hours ago.

Rome, Italy, Mar 27, 2017 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A veteran Vatican official praised EWTN foundress Mother Angelica as a pioneer of the New Evangelization, saying the way in which the Church speaks to the men and women of today wouldn't be the same without her influence.

“I think Mother Angelica was a New Evangelizer ante litterum (before her time),” Monsignor Graham Bell told CNA.

An official of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization who has spent around three decades in Rome, Msgr. Bell said that while St. John Paul II coined the phrase some 30 years ago, Mother Angelica had been an active player “long before.”

“She just fits into that so well, because why do we have the New Evangelization? Not because the Gospel is new – the Gospel is ever-new, but it’s also unchanging, and the 'new' in the New Evangelization is essentially seeking to find new languages with which to communicate the Gospel to the men and women of our time.”

Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation founded EWTN in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. She died March 27, 2016 after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years-old.

Mother Angelica, Msgr. Bell said, was able to talk about even difficult or sensitive topics in a meaningful way that always brought people “back to the center, which is Christ.”

*Please see below CNA's full interview with Msgr. Bell:*

*One of the reasons I wanted to speak to you about this is because of the frequent remarks you’ve made in the past about Mother Angelica and what she accomplished. Why is she such a striking and important person for you?*

I came to Mother Angelica not through her television programs, but maybe at the beginning of the 2000s, there was a craze – maybe it was more popular then, I’m not sure, but there was a kind of podcast craze, and what EWTN did at that time is they would put out Mother Angelica live as a podcast, so I faithfully downloaded this every week. I didn’t know this nun before I started listening to the podcasts, and what immediately became clear is that there’s nothing original in Mother Angelica, she’s not trying to be original, all she’s trying to do is she’s taking the Word of God, she’s taking the teaching of the Church and she’s applying them to people’s lives. And the more I listened to this lady, the more I was reminded of Cardinal Newman’s motto: Cor ad cor loquitur, heart speaks to heart. And she has this phenomenal capability of speaking to your heart, and that comes across. Obviously I was listening to it as a podcast, I couldn’t see how people were reacting in the studio to what she was doing, but this great humanity came out. I think Newman got his motto from Saint Francis de Sales, and I think Francis de Sales said heart speaks to heart, whereas the tongue just hits the ear. You always had the impression with Mother Angelica that her heart was behind what she was saying. It struck people as true because she recognized it as true, and I think this is a phenomenal gift. It’s a gift every preacher should seek to have, but it’s also a gift that every Christian should seek to have. This phenomenal capacity to communicate and to communicate the unchanging truth of the Gospel in a way that’s relevant for men and women today, and that’s an art, it’s a grace.

*Do you think this is a reason she’s been so attractive and appealing to so many people?*

Yes, I do. Because language changes, and it changes now at a greater pace than it’s ever changed, and Mother Angelica in my opinion was able to bridge the gap. Sometimes the institutional Church isn’t good at speaking to people, but I think Mother Angelica, first of all with her many books, and then when she got the television and radio thing going, she was capable of bridging that gap. I can think of many things she said about people with addictions, you know? Sometimes the Church isn’t good at doing that, but she was good at looking at things which were difficult to talk about, but talking about them in a way that was very, very meaningful and always bringing people back to the center, which is Christ. I listened to all of her podcasts, and I just thought it was phenomenal. It certainly helped me in my preaching, and also helped me in the living of my priesthood.

*In view from your position on the Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, how do you think Mother Angelica has influenced the New Evangelization? Clearly she’s been a huge personality …*

I think Mother Angelica was a New Evangelizer ante litterum (before her time). I think John Paul II coined the expression himself in 1979 when he was in Poland, and what Mother Angelica had been doing long before that was certainly New Evangelization, certainly. She just fits into that so well, because why do we have the New Evangelization? Not because the Gospel is new, the Gospel is ever-new, but it’s also unchanging, and the “new” in the New Evangelization is essentially seeking to find new languages – I use the term language in the extended sense – with which to communicate the Gospel to the men and women of our time, who obviously have to hear the Gospel in a language which can understand. But the thing about Mother Angelica is, it was never the case of communicating a content which really didn’t concern her. Her communicating the Gospel was she was really communicating a part of herself, because Christ was so much a part of her and a part of her religious vocation. In communicating Christ through television, through radio, through her many books, she was actually communicating a part of herself, she was so identified with Christ, and I think that’s the heart of the New Evangelization. Obviously another thing I think is very close to the heart of the New Evangelization is the whole question of witness. Because how did Jesus communicate the Gospel to his disciples? He is the Gospel in himself and in his person. It was done through what he said and what he did, and what he said and what did find their center in his very person. So it must be for those who witness to the Gospel. It’s not enough just to speak about Christ, and it’s not enough just to do good works. There has to be a relationship so that what we say is explained by what we do, and what we do is explained by what we say. And I think in Mother Angelica, as in the great saints, this is exemplified, this is exemplified very, very strongly.

*A lot of people see the impact she had specifically in the Church in the Unites States and say that she changed the Church in the U.S. during a really critical time, but we also see that this is spreading very internationally. With your experience and in your time following EWTN, how do you see that she’s influenced culture even here in Europe?*

Mother Angelica, it must never be forgotten, was a woman religious. And women religious have a very, very, very important role to play in the New Evangelization and in the Church generally, because people react so favorably to them, because they express the maternity of the Church in a way in which priests and men religious really aren’t capable of doing. Mother Angelica, I think, is exemplary in this, and in her clarity of identity. What you see is what you got, there was no mystification there. You saw this nun with her habit, and she was always the same, the message was always the same, and this sense of authenticity I think absolutely captivates people. And I think that’s a big part of her secret and why she’s so popular. It’s this capacity of expressing maternity in an age in which maternity is not very fashionable.

*Being here in the Vatican for so long – you’ve been here for about 30 years, right? – have you seen any impact that she’s made here specifically?*

I don’t know about that, about what impact she’s made here. I think she’s made a positive impact to the extent that I think women religious always make a positive impact. When women religious are faithful to their vocations and faithful to the Church, they always make an impact, and I think the history of the Church demonstrates this. I wouldn’t be able to say what her impact has been on the various dicasteries. Certainly I do consider her one of the forerunners of the New Evangelization, and it would be difficult to imagine the New Evangelization without figures like her. I think one of the keys to the success of the New Evangelization will be how we can involve women religious in this project. I think the more we involve them, the more the New Evangelization will be successful.

*So in your opinion, aside from EWTN, what do you think is the core of the legacy she has left that and that we’re continuing to see grow?*

I would say this very, very humble, that I think today in the Church we are very much concerned, I would even say obsessed, by the question of communications, because we want to keep up with the times and we realize that this is very, very important; communications are a very important part of how the modern world works, and it’s important that the Church should be there. But what we must never forget, in my opinion, is that content always has a primacy over the technical aspect. The technical aspect is absolutely wonderful, but if you’ve got nothing to communicate it's completely useless, and I think Mother Angelica, she wasn’t just the person who founded this fantastic, hotshot television network that was financed completely by the people who listened to it. It wasn’t just that. It was the fact that she always put content first, and I think that’s a great part of her legacy. But I also think another equally important part of her legacy is the eternal truth of our Catholic faith. It always has been and always will be until Christ comes again, it’s a question of a man or a woman who believes in the Resurrection of Christ, looks into the eyes of another man or another woman and says ‘I believe’, and asks you to believe, too. And Mother Angelica exemplifies this; the transmission of the revelation, the transmission of our faith will always be an interpersonal relationship, and all of the hardware and all of the software and all of the gadgetry will never be able to replace that. And she never imagined that EWTN or her various initiatives would ever substitute this interpersonal transmission of the faith. So I think her legacy will be discovered 10, 20 years down the way. I really do.

*Would you say that part of the appeal and effectiveness of how she communicated the Gospel and the Resurrection had to do with how she experienced it in her own life?*

Yeah. She suffered. I can’t remember all the details of her biography, but I know early on in her life she had a serious medical conditions, and these were overcome and they were overcome through prayer. She might also have been the subject of a miracle, thinking about her very early life before she decided to become a nun. And then all through her life she battled through ill health. One of the things that makes her so authentic is that when you listen to – one of the things I used to love about EWTN was listening to all the podcasts, and you could hear her coughing, and she would put a cough sweet into her mouth, and if you look at the big, sleek media operations like the BBC, you very rarely hear people coughing and at EWTN you could hear all this, and it was so human. With technology, I think a television lens transforms everything, and it really is – if it’s the great observer, it’s also the great betrayer because you look at these television studios and how they come through the lens of the camera, but when you actually go there and you see how they’re built with all the cables everywhere that people never see, and the lighting makes it seem much bigger than it is, it’s smoke and mirrors, it really is from start to finish. You never got that impression with EWTN. You got the impression that here’s a lady in her parlor, speaking to you in your parlor, that’s what it came across as. So she coughed, and she put in a cough sweet and it was wonderful.

*Did you ever get to meet her personally?*

I didn’t, no. I always used to ask – sometimes we got people coming up from EWTN – I would always ask how is she, and I think the most of the latter half of her life she was bedridden. And sometimes you wonder what did God want from her in that time? What was her vocation in that time? That’s very difficult to discern.

*It was striking to me that the culmination of those last few years and then to pass away on Easter after what I understand were very excruciating last days. There was clearly something at work …*

Her oneness with Christ … Another chap who greatly influenced me when I was listening to Mother Angelica about 10-12 years ago was Father Benedict Groeschel, because he had Sunday Night Live. That would come out as a podcast and I would download that too. He is another one, I think they’ll both be saints. With Benedict, I know something happened at the end of his life, but that will be forgotten. In fact, it should probably be forgotten right away, because I don’t think he said what he was intending; an old man – and a young man – can make mistakes. But I am convinced that both of them will be beatified, I’m absolutely convinced. Reported by CNA 3 hours ago.

The movement in credit default swaps suggest angst over anti-euro politics in Italy Reported by FT.com 2 hours ago.

DGAP-News: Capital Stage AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Preliminary Results

27.03.2017 / 08:53
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------
*Capital Stage AG: Preliminary operating results for 2016 exceed internal expectations*

· *Revenue growth of more than 25 per cent *
· *Equity ratio up to more than 25 per cent *
· *Growth is expected to continue in 2017**The SDAX-listed Hamburg-based solar and wind park operator Capital Stage reports further significant growth in the 2016 financial year on the basis of preliminary operating figures. Despite it being a comparatively poor year for wind, the company even exceeded its own forecast for the operating result in 2016. This positive performance was based primarily on further expansion of the portfolio of solar and wind parks and the takeover of CHORUS Clean Energy AG in October 2016. At the same time, Capital Stage's equity ratio has increased significantly as of the reporting date.*

Revenue in the 2016 financial year increased significantly by more than 25 per cent to some EUR 141.8 million (Capital Stage forecast for 2016: EUR 140 million). Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (operating EBITDA) came to some EUR 106.1 million (Capital Stage forecast for 2016: EUR 104 million). Operating earnings before interest and tax (operating EBIT) rose again in the reporting period to EUR 61.6 million (Capital Stage forecast for 2016: EUR 60 million). Cash flow from operating activities was also up significantly in 2016 to over EUR 103.8 million (Capital Stage forecast for 2016: EUR 98 million). The preliminary figures for operating results exceeded the own expectations of the company for the 2016 financial year. According to the preliminary figures, the equity ratio has increased to 25.9 per cent and the balance sheet total to approximately EUR 2.4 billion compared to the reporting date of the previous year.

For the first time, the operating figures for the 2016 financial year include the earnings contributions of CHORUS Clean Energy for the fourth quarter of 2016. Capital Stage's results are therefore only partially comparable with those for the previous year. In November 2016, Capital Stage AG published an adjusted earnings forecast for 2016 (Capital Stage forecast) which included earnings contributions from CHORUS in the fourth quarter 2016.

*Continued growth in 2017*
Capital Stage is also confident it will continue its rapid growth in the current 2017 financial year. For 2017, the Company is expecting revenue to go up to over EUR 200 million. Operating EBITDA should increase to more than EUR 150 million as a result. The Management Board is expecting operating EBIT for 2017 to be in excess of EUR 90 million. Cash flow from operating activities should again improve significantly to over EUR 140 million.

"The preliminary operating results exceed our own expectations. In addition to the systematic expansion of our portfolio, it was above all the takeover of CHORUS Clean Energy AG that made the decisive contribution to this success," Dr Christoph Husmann, CFO of Capital Stage AG, comments on the preliminary result. "In the current 2017 financial year, we definitely intend to keep growing. We will continue to build our portfolio of profitable solar and wind parks and also review carefully any further opportunities for inorganic growth. Our guidance for 2017 is nonetheless based solely on the existing portfolio and does not include any additional acquisitions over the remainder of the year," continues Dr Husmann.

*Notes on the preliminary figures for 2016*
The figures provided are based solely on the Company's operating profitability and do not take any IFRS-related valuation effects into account. In addition, the operating earnings figures (operating EBITDA, EBIT) and the operating cashflow have been adjusted for one-time  expenses of about EUR 4.6 million and some EUR 8.5 million respectively.

The earnings forecast for the 2017 financial year is also based solely on the portfolio of solar and wind parks as of the reporting date 31 December 2016. Any further acquisitions or new asset management mandates acquired over the course of the remaining financial year are not included in the published forecast.

These preliminary operating figures for Capital Stage are still subject to audit and must be confirmed by the Supervisory Board. Definitive financial and earnings figures for the year 2016 will be published on 31 March 2017.
 
*About Capital Stage AG:*
Since 2009, Capital Stage has been investing in and operating solar and wind parks, now with installations in Germany, France, Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria and Sweden. Including solar and wind parks acquired and operated as part of the asset management business for third parties, the company's generation capacity totals more than 1.2 gigawatts. This makes Capital Stage one of Europe's leading independent solar and wind park operators. With its solar and wind parks, the company generates attractive yields as well as continuous and predictable income.
 
The Capital Stage AG share is listed on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the regulated market of the Hamburg stock exchange (ISIN: DE0006095003 / WKN: 609500). Since 2014, the Capital Stage AG share has been included in the SDAX index of Deutsche Börse.
 
You can find further information on the company at www.capitalstage.com.

Contact:
Head of Investor & Public Relations
------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Stage AG
Große Elbstraße 59
22767 Hamburg

Fon: + 49 40 37 85 62-242
Fax: + 49 40 37 85 62-129
e-mail: till.giessmann@capitalstage.com
http://www.capitalstage.com --------------------

27.03.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: Capital Stage AG
Große Elbstraße 59
22767 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 4037 85 62 -0
Fax: +49 4037 85 62 -129
E-mail: info@capitalstage.com
Internet: www.capitalstage.com
ISIN: DE0006095003
WKN: 609500
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 2 hours ago.

International standard provides common frameworks, standardized terminology, and assessments for business collaboration that will enable companies to create more strategic value at a faster pace and thrive amidst accelerating change.

CANTON, Mass. (PRWEB) March 27, 2017

The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP), the world’s leading professional association dedicated to the practice of alliance management, partnering, and business collaboration, announced that the International Standards Organization (ISO) has published ISO 44001, entitled “Collaborative business relationship management systems — Requirements and framework.”

As a nonprofit, ASAP has served as the lead organization on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Technical Advisory Group (TAG), whose members and sponsoring organizations have funded and led the effort in the US and collaborated with other national standards bodies to develop and refine the ISO 44001 international collaboration standard. ASAP’s alliance management frameworks and certification program have guided the development of the standard.

“As lead member of the US Technical Advisory Group that has worked very hard to make this standard possible, ASAP is pleased to announce the publication of the ISO 44001 standard for collaborative business relationship management,” said ASAP President and CEO Michael Leonetti, CSAP, who serves as chair of the US TAG. “A disciplined, proven framework and common language enable companies to partner more quickly, with more confidence, and with more consistent strategic performance. ISO 44001 promotes common frameworks, standardized terminology, and assessments for business collaboration. ISO 44001 offers business collaboration ‘superstructure’ or ‘meta-framework’ that aligns and integrates with ASAP’s frameworks, best practices, measurement systems, and certifications.”

Publication of ISO 44001 represents the acknowledgment by many national standards bodies, leading companies, nonprofit professional organizations, and governmental agencies that collaboration has become an essential organizational capability.

“A standard raises the visibility of business collaboration and awareness that there is a process model and a set of skills for collaborating effectively,” commented Norma Watenpaugh, CSAP, founder and CEO of Phoenix Consulting Group, who serves as leader of the US TAG. Several years ago, Watenpaugh worked with other ASAP members to develop ASAP’s CA-AM and CSAP certifications and she served as lead editor of “The ASAP Handbook of Alliance Management: A Practitioner’s Guide” (2013).

“One of the myths to dispel is that adopting a collaboration standard is restrictive. It’s a framework, not a hard-and-fast checklist or set of rigid procedures,” Watenpaugh emphasized. “Much like ASAP’s alliance lifecycle framework, ISO 44001 collaboration standard doesn’t tell you what to do. It says that in order to be consistently successful at managing collaboration, you ought to have a statement of purpose, an executive sponsor, governance, metrics, and an exit strategy, among other management systems.”

According to US TAG member Parth Amin, CSAP, principal of Alliance Dynamics, “The ISO 44001 standard provides several components that create the common ground needed to support business collaboration among diverse organizations and individuals in any industry, as well as government agencies, nonprofits, and academia.” These include:· Common Assessment—“The standard lays the foundation for a relationship maturity index by employing a maturity category for each competency. This will allow organizations to assess their own partnering and collaboration capabilities as well as those of potential and current partners,” Amin said.
· Common Framework—“The framework allows organizations to approach partnerships and other business collaborations using a disciplined, phased based approach with defined activities and deliverables for each phase,” Amin noted.

· Common Language—“Standardizing the terminology for business collaboration reduces the confusion both within organizations and with those organizations’ external partners,” Amin explained.

The US TAG—which also is the US delegation to ISO—includes executive representatives from diverse sponsoring organizations and companies. TAG members whose companies have provided sponsor funding for the collaboration standard development include Ron Ricci of Cisco, Ravi Rajagopal of Verizon, Nimma Bakshi of PwC, Parth Amin (formerly of funding sponsor Vision RT), and Alekzandr Zuhk of Business Relationship Management Institute (BRMI). Other members of the US TAG include Watenpaugh, Leonetti, along with Michael Young of biomedwoRX, Ann Trampas of the University of Illinois, Chicago, Bryan Stamford of BAE Systems, David Luvison of Loyola University, and Gregory Burge of California’s San Mateo County.

“The way organizations collaborate and work together might be the most important capability organizations need to survive the accelerating pace of change in the twenty-first century,” commented Ron Ricci, vice president, customer experience services, Cisco. “ISO 44001 creates a common vocabulary of collaboration, with tools and ways to work together on common goals, while recognizing and respecting the cultural and other authentic differences between people and their organizations. That’s why the simple principles in this standard are so amazing.”

Aside from the US, other countries actively involved in the development and adoption of ISO 44001 include the UK, Malaysia, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Finland.

About ASAP
The Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) is the only professional association dedicated to elevating and promoting the profession of alliance management, partnerships, and collaboration. Founded in 1998, the organization provides professional development, networking, and resources for cultivating the skills and toolsets needed to manage successful business partnerships. ASAP’s professional certifications include the Certificate of Achievement-Alliance Management (CA-AM) and Certified Strategic Alliance Professional (CSAP). Active global members include Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Capgemini, Cisco, Citrix, Covance, Dell, Eli Lilly and Company, HealthCore, Huawei, IBM, INC Research, Janssen—Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Mission Pharmacal, NetApp, Novartis, Plantronics, Sanofi, SAS, Schneider Electric, Takeda, The Warren Company, and Xerox. A complete list of global members is available at http://www.strategic-alliances.org. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

“Christmas Stories” from Christian Faith Publishing author Brian T. Reid, Sr. is a compilation of evocative stories taken from the writer’s childhood and adolescence in Georgia and Chicago. Each tale paints a vivid portrait of life in the first half of the twentieth century with a focus on the special feelings and traditions of Christmas in America.

(PRWEB) March 27, 2017

“Christmas Stories”: a compilation of short stories about Christmas. “Christmas Stories” is the creation of published author Brian T. Reid, Sr., a native of Georgia whose life took him to Italy with the Army, college, and work as a photographer and announcer in television and radio. He is an avid storyteller and has been a member of the Wayside Presbyterian Church for fifty years.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Brian T. Reid, Sr.‘s new book is a heartwarming and nostalgic trip to Christmases past in the life of an American family.

View a synopsis of “Christmas Stories” on YouTube.

Readers can purchase “Christmas Stories” at traditional brick and mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, Kobo or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about “Christmas Stories”, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Bed and Breakfast Locanda Dell' Artista, situated near the walled castle cities of San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, and Colle Val d’Elsa in Tuscany, Italy has been awarded TripAdvisor's prestigious Travelers' Choice Award for 2017 for best B&B/Inn in Tuscany and 11th best B&B/Inn in the World. Millions of reviews were factored in the creation of the ranking.

Tuscany, Italy (PRWEB) March 27, 2017

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest reviews website, announced their prestigious Travelers' Choice Award for 2017, and Locanda Dell’ Artista is deemed best B&B / Inn in Tuscany and 11th best in the World. Millions of reviews were factored in the creation of the ranking.

Locanda dell’ Artista is a boutique country inn located in the heart of Tuscany, Italy, near the ancient walled castle cities of San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, and Colle Val d’Elsa. Their luxury facilities provide a convenient location for their guests to tour all of the legendary beauty of the Tuscany region.

Multiple Oscar nominated film producer Baker Bloodworth and Cristian Rovetta, owner of a fashion accessory business in Bergamo, saw that there was not a comparable elegant boutique hotel within 20 miles of historic San Gimignano, Tuscany, and seized the opportunity to create their Locanda dell’ Artista. Now after 5 years and multiple facility expansions, this recognition by TripAdvisor comes at a good time for them.

When asked about receiving the award, Bloodworth said, “Cristian, myself, and our staff are humbled and proud to receive this award for the second time, because we dedicate all our passion and energy to the well-being of our guests. It’s the attention to every detail and warmth of our staff that sets Locanda dell’ Artista above the competition. Our many returning guests confirm that their stay at Locanda dell’ Artista was the best part of their holiday in Italy. We’re really proud of that.” He also stated: “Our goal at Locanda dell’ Artista is to give each and every guest the same warm welcome and personal attention to ensure their holiday in Tuscany is as authentic and wonderful as it can be, and this vote of confidence by travelers worldwide on TripAdvisor confirms that what we are doing is right.”

TripAdvisor, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, claims to be the largest travel site in the world, with more than 60 million members and over 170 million reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses. The site is helpful to hotels like Locanda dell’ Artista in a variety of ways as they are one of the most highly trafficked sites for hotels and for reviews and information.

In its latest report, “Luxury Hotels: Regional Search Strategies,” New York-based brand consultancy L2 suggests upper upscale and luxury hotel brands should be looking to TripAdvisor more often than they are now.

TripAdvisor dominates in both SEO (organic searches) and SEM (paid searches) for accommodations online. L2 tested out 452 non-branded search terms during the month of January and found that TripAdvisor was on the first page for 99% of organic search results and 72% or paid search results on Google. TripAdvisor also occupies 7% of all organic real estate in brand term search, even when competing against the brand’s own sites (63%) and social media properties (16%). Within those brand term searches, these brands currently have the top TripAdvisor visibility: Jumeirah; Anantara; Hilton; Sofitel; and Omni Hotels & Resorts.

Hotels can partner with TripAdvisor in a number of ways, one being a strategic Instant Booking partnership, as Marriott has done. As it would with an Online Travel Agent (OTA), Marriott pays a commission to TripAdvisor for each room booked via the site’s Instant Booking feature, and L2’s report states this “gives Marriott a fighting chance against OTAs on the site.”

Hotels also improve their visibility within TripAdvisor by using popular keywords in descriptions for specific markets, investing in content for their property page, and improving guest review response rate and time spent on the platform. Their public awards essentially recognize excellence in the use of these strategies.

Hotels like Locanda dell’ Artista who are successful with Tripadvisor, will be able to take advantage of the new upcoming TripAdvisor Connect service later this year: a tool that will allow independent hotels to enjoy the same visibility on TripAdvisor as the big hotel chains and online agencies and significantly increase the number of direct bookings. With TripAdvisor Connect Locanda dell’ Artista will also have tools to analyze sales and will be able to send scheduled emails to their customers once they have left the establishment. Like this, they can encourage customers to write comments on Tripadvisor and improve their position in the ranking of hotels in their destination.

With this new service, TripAdvisor intends to give more chances to small hotels which demanded to have the same opportunities to receive direct bookings than the big chains. “Now they can have the same visibility and control all their information from their management panel” explains Julio Bruno, vice president of Global Sales and TripAdvisor for Business.

Receiving this lofty recognition from TripAdvisor serves as a powerful reminder to Locanda dell’ Artista (http://www.locandadellartista.com) that the bar is set high. Following their example, every hotel should remember that each new guest is as important as the last. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Andrea Belotti has insisted that he is definitely staying at Torino next season despite reported interest from the Premier League. The Italy international has been one of the surprise packages in the top European leagues this season after his scintillating form for Torino. Belotti has scored 22 goals and has made three assists in 25 […]

The post Striker comments on Serie A future amid Arsenal, Chelsea transfer link appeared first on The Sport Review. Reported by The Sport Review 58 minutes ago.

The seaside palace was part of Herculaneum, a Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption on the west coast of Italy in AD79. Broken timber from the building was found on a beach near the ruined city. Reported by MailOnline 13 minutes ago.

In the Two-Year Musical Theatre Program at the New York Film Academy (NYFA), student performers work alongside NYFA’s faculty and staff of professional artists to develop original movie musicals.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 27, 2017

While “La La Land” certainly put movie musicals back into the limelight of modern Hollywood cinema, the New York Film Academy Musical Theatre program has consistently continued to keep the genre on the forefront of its curriculum. Since 2012, the program’s Two-Year Conservatory has developed original movie musicals in order to prepare students not only for the stage but also for careers in the film and television industry.

“A highlight of this experience is when students go to a professional studio and work closely with the engineer and the film's music director to record their final vocal tracks,” said NYFA Chair of Musical Theatre, Mark Olsen. “No other program can provide this level of professional support.”

Each film consists of original music and stories that feature collaborations with industry professionals such as Tony Award-winner James Monroe Iglehart and Tony Award-nominee Charlotte D’amboise. While these respected and well-known Broadway names draw attention to each musical, it is the students who remain the stars of the films.

"Musical theatre students get the experience of not only having original material written and composed just for them, but also the opportunity to record that material in a professional studio, and perform to that recording in a movie musical,” added David Klein, Senior Executive Vice President of the New York Film Academy. “The education experience in the NYFA Musical Theatre Program is unsurpassed.”

Over the past few years, NYFA’s movie musicals have touched on a range of topics — from “The Ghosts of Ethan Dean,” a cautionary drama about addiction, to “Landed,” which follows a group of expats trying to make it in New York. Each film showcases a modern musical paradigm with an edgier subject matter with the hopes of encouraging aspiring performers and theater producers to confront issues that truly speak to millennials.

NYFA’s more recent productions of “Seeking Alice,” “Landed,” “Streetwrite,” and “Gingerbread House,” have all screened at film festivals across the country, including the Manhattan Film Festival, NewFilmmakers NY, the Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival, and others.

"Over the years we have had the honor of screening the great work of numerous New York Film Academy students,” said Manhattan Film Festival Director, Philip Nelson. “We are thrilled to celebrate our 11th annual edition with a film program featuring NYFA movie musicals. The talent speaks volumes of both the students and the entire NYFA organization."

“Landed,” by Jason Brewer, is scheduled to screen at the Fifteenth Annual Garden State Film Festival on March 30, and the film will air in the Tampa Bay area later this year on the Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to present films like ‘Landed’ by Jason Brewer among the hundreds of true indie films presented at our event each year,” said Diane Raver, Garden State Film Festival Founder. “We hold dear the ability to screen films from all nations, cultures, and viewpoints as the epitome of freedom of speech and expression we hold dear.”

“Streetwrite” had its premiere at The Cutting Room on Sunday, March 12 and also has its East Coast Premiere at The Queens World Film Festival on Sunday, March 19 in the Zukor Theatre at Kaufman Astoria Studios. The film has also been accepted to screen at Cinémonde, a private film series at the Roger Smith Hotel in NYC.

=========================
About New York Film Academy

With locations all around the world, the New York Film Academy has grown into an international film and performing arts school with a focus on learning by doing, providing its students with hands-on instruction. Students can choose to enroll in one of the Academy’s MFA, MA, BFA, BA, and AFA U.S. accredited degree programs and short-term workshops in filmmaking, acting for film, photography, producing, 3D animation, cinematography, screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, game design, musical theatre, broadcast journalism, music video, graphic design, illustration, and digital editing.

With more than 8,000 students from over 100 countries, NYFA offers courses in New York City, Los Angeles, South Beach (Miami), Sydney & Gold Coast in Australia, Florence, and more.

The New York Film Academy’s Florence, Italy location holds film and acting programs in a renovated renaissance era building, across the street from Le Cappelle Medici, moments away from the Duomo.

Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Bruce Springsteen, Al Pacino, Robert Downey Jr., Kevin James, Jamie Foxx, and Jodie Foster are among the many figures in the film industry that have sent their family members to study at the New York Film Academy. For more information, please visit nyfa.edu. Reported by PRWeb 12 minutes ago.

Italy is one of the countries where copyright holders have been the most successful in their fight against torrent and streaming sites, but this time, a court ruled that several pirate movie streaming sites were legal.  The decision comes from the Court of Appeal in Rome which overturned a ruling against four unlicensed sites offering streaming movies to the public, TorrentFreak reports. It looks like the Court decided that simply providing links to copyrighted content does not qualify as distributing those same files, even though the sites generate revenue via advertising like pretty much any site under the sun.  Italy is known for wrapping up in the same category just about any type of site that offers links towards copyrighted content, regardless if they're hosting the content or just linking towards it. Now, with this new decision, a precedent may have be... Reported by Softpedia 18 hours ago.