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‘The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins’ US DVD, set for March 18, 2025 release

Austin Tang — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 14:29:07 +0000

The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins DVD

This 90-minute documentary tells the story of the legendary pianist Nicky Hopkins, dubbed rock and roll’s greatest session man, who played on over 250 albums and on some of the most iconic rock tracks ever recorded.

Amongst his stand-out achievements, Nicky contributed to records by The Rolling Stones (14 albums), The Kinks, The Who and The Beatles, but he also appears on solo albums of all four Beatles, most notably, John Lennon’s Imagine.

The list of interviewees in the documentary is impressive and includes Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Peter Frampton, Dave Davies and Pete Townshend, each giving their unique take on what it was that made Nicky so special and the magic he brought to every track he appeared on.

The Session Man was originally released in the US on November 5, 2024 on Amazon (TVoD), and by popular demand, it is now being released on DVD from March 18, 2025, also on Amazon:

The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins DVD:
https://www.amazon.com/Session-Man-Peter-Frampton/dp/B0DXRBWPV5

DVD cover artwork:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pKgWRatWNF7NM39D9

‘This is an excellent and well-made documentary that even those who don’t know a lot about Hopkins will find interesting.’

Aaron Badgley, Spill Magazine

For more information, please contact:

John Wood, co-producer

www.thesessionmanfilm.com

johnalexwood@gmail.com

THE SESSION MAN: NICKY HOPKINS MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FEATURING MICK JAGGER, KEITH RICHARDS, PETER FRAMPTON AND MORE TO BE RELEASED IN NORTH AMERICA ON NOVEMBER 5^TH

LEGENDARY SESSION PIANIST NICKY HOPKINS FEATURED ON OVER 250 ALBUMS AND ICONIC SONGS WITH THE ROLLING STONES, THE BEATLES, THE WHO, STEVE MILLER BAND AND MORE

The Session Man Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egp63SvF9aU

September 30, 2024 – The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins, a documentary film that tells the story of the prolific virtuoso session pianist Nicky Hopkins, will be released in North America November 5^th on TVOD/PPV on Amazon Prime, additional major platforms and will also be available on DVD in late 2024. For viewing information, please visit www.thesessionmanfilm.com. Featuring commentary from Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Frampton, Pete Townshend and more, The Session Man explores the legendary 30-year career of Nicky Hopkins and his contributions to over 250 albums, including John Lennon’s Imagine, The Who’s My Generation, and countless iconic songs like “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker, “Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones and “Revolution” by The Beatles. Directed by Mike Treen, THE SESSION MAN has been shown at festivals in a number of countries, winning awards in London, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Los Angeles and Paris. It is scheduled to be screened in The New Zealand Indie Film Festival and The Albuquerque Film Festival at the end of September.

“Nicky Hopkins was a dear friend and iconic piano player. No one had his wonderful touch, feel and choice of notes. I was lucky to have him play on my Somethin’s Happening record. I miss him and listen to him often. He taught me plenty.” – Peter Frampton

“THE SESSION MAN film is not a Hollywood biopic, rather a homage to a virtuoso and prolific session pianist. There is a sad irony in that Nicky Hopkins was unknown to the greater public but amongst his peers, he was treated as Rock Royalty. The sheer volume of albums and singles that he contributed on and the testimonials from the star-studded list of interviewees in the film allows me the right to say that Nicky’s story deserves to reach a wide audience worldwide. As Bob Lefsetz succinctly put it, ‘The Session Man” is a link in your education. It fills holes in your mental history of rock and roll. Which revolutionized society, impacted an entire generation, music was the coolest medium, it drove the culture and Nicky was there, not on the periphery, but audible on some of your favorite records.’” – Director Mike Treen

Classically trained at The Royal Academy of Music, London, Nicky Hopkins could play Rock and Roll piano like nobody else. His legendary piano riffs and dazzling musical motifs helped ordinary tracks become iconic. With a career spanning 30 years until his tragic early death at age 50, he played with some of the greatest bands and artists in the world including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Steve Miller Band, Joe Cocker, Jerry Garcia, Art Garfunkel and many others.

By the late 1960’s, Nicky was one of the busiest and most successful session players in London. He then joined the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, which took him to America. He settled in Mill Valley enjoying the free-wheeling San Francisco ‘Bay Area Bands’ and playing at Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane. The 1970’s were his most successful period, commuting across The Atlantic to play with The Stones, John Lennon, and on countless sessions in Los Angeles.

Living with Crohn’s disease since his teens, his ability to tour was limited, although he would manage tours with The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker and Art Garfunkel. But it was in the recording studio where he became a legend amongst his peers. As Keith Richards recounts, “We were coming up with songs that [were]absolutely beyond Stu’s- let alone capabilities-his dreams! He didn’t want to know! So, I think that Stu called and said, ‘The only guy that can handle this is Nicky Hopkins.’” Nicky ended up playing on a total of 14 Stones albums.

Nicky’s story is told in the film by Albert Lee, Antonia Cipollina, Arthur Rochester, Benmont Tench, Bill Wyman, Billy Nicholls, Bro Paul Brown, Chris Kimsey, Chris Welch, Chuck Leavell, Dave Davies, Glyn Johns, Graham Parker, Gray Levett, Greg Phillinganes, Harry Shearer, Helen O’Hara, Jack Casady, Jim Keltner, Joe Tansin, John Goddard, Jorma Kaukonen, Julian Dawson (Nicky’s biographer – author of And on Piano… Nicky Hopkins), Keith Richards, Merrell Fankhauser, Mick Jagger, Mike Hurst, Mike McCartney, Moira Hopkins (Nicky’s widow), Morgan Fisher, Nils Lofgren, Paddy Milner, Pete Edmonds, Pete Sears, Pete Townshend, Peter Frampton, PP Arnold, Rory Kaplan, Sarah Sleet (CEO of Crohn’s & Colitis UK), Shel Talmy, Slim Jim Phantom, Terry Reid and Tom Speight.

The Session Man’s narrator, Bob Harris, former presenter of the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, had no hesitation in confirming that, “His contributions on their records made him Rock and Roll’s greatest Session Man.”

The Session Man Online:

Official Website: www.thesessionmanfilm.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thenickyhopkins

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thenickyhopkins

Twitter/X: www.twitter.com/thenickyhopkins

The Session Man Press Contacts:

Lauren Mele

Beachwood Entertainment Collective

Lauren@Beachwood.LA

Jean Sievers

Beachwood Entertainment Collective

Jean@Beachwood.LA

Last week, on 5th November 2024,‘The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins’ was released in the US on:

Amazon: click to watch >>> https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DBPKT9K7/ and
Apple TV: click to watch >>> https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-session-man/umc.cmc.1ayu6onuxyswunrbtyi9rq36i

If you live in the US, when you’ve had a chance to watch the documentary, could you please leave us a review on Rotten Tomatoes via this link? https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_session_man

That would really help us! Thank you.

We’ve been getting a lot of media coverage since the release! Here’s a selection:

Rolling Stone magazine: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/played-beatles-rolling-stones-documentary-150000850.html
People magazine: https://people.com/john-lennon-s-jealous-guy-piano-player-almost-in-spinal-tap-8733348
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/06/nicky-hopkins-pianist-rolling-stones-who-beatles
BBC World Service (Mike Treen interview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC8IUIxOg8M&t=167s

As a result, yesterday, we reached position 6 in the iTunes Top Documentary Movies Chart!

https://www.popvortex.com/movies/charts/documentary-movies.php

Meanwhile, the film is still doing really well in Japan! See: www.sessionman.jp

So we’re getting there!

Until next time,

John Wood, co-producer

www.thesessionmanfilm.com

+44 7771 520001

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Porter Bibb, A Great Man for Humankind Moves On

Austin Tang — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:29:12 +0000

Porter Bibb, a Visionary and Devotee of Southampton, Dies at 87

Porter Bibb is a man who lived many lives.

He was a journalist, an investment banker, the first publisher of Rolling Stone magazine and an executive producer for the Maysles Brothers. He wrote books, covered the White House for Newsweek and studied economics. He was a trend predictor, a raconteur and a creative visionary, while also a gentleman, humble and kind.

And he deeply cared for Southampton.

“I just see Porter as this Renaissance man, because he really did a lot of different things — and I think he was interested in everything,” his wife, Sandra Bibb, said last week. “He was interested in the world around him.”

On January 4, Porter Bibb died from complications of fourth-stage prostate cancer while surrounded by his immediate family at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He was 87.

“He was very unusual and I’m very lucky to have had him for a big brother,” his sister, Elizabeth Bibb Yamashita, said. “We’re going to miss him, but he had a great life, so that’s some consolation. His three beautiful daughters, they really are terrific. So that’s his real legacy.”

David Porter Bibb III was born on April 2, 1937, into a quintessential Kentucky family in Louisville — where its members included the first and second governors of Alabama, according to his sister. He was the eldest of six, she said, and often took on a father-like role with his younger siblings, who all looked up to him.

“He was always the big brother who was off to college and being very cool,” she said, “and he would come swooping in with all sorts of very sophisticated things going on.”

Bibb was attracted to characters, Yamashita said, which began at Louisville Male High School, where he was a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association. It was essentially a fraternity, she recalled with a laugh — and there, he became good friends with Hunter S. Thompson.

“I can remember Hunter sitting at our kitchen table, yacking with my mother. My mother actually loved him,” Yamashita said of the boy, who would go on to become a renowned author and journalist. “Porter was always drawn to interesting people and very much had a kind of a global perspective very young.”

Bibb went on to study history at Yale University, earned graduate degrees from Harvard Business School and London School of Economics, and even enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, his sister said.

He was athletic, excelled at skiing and tennis, and loved the ocean. He ran five New York City Marathons, his wife said, and religiously participated in Southampton’s Polar Bear Plunge.

“We used to always tease him about being Dorian Gray, because he never looked his age,” Yamashita said. “We always said, ‘Oh, there’s a picture up in the attic somewhere that’s getting very old,’ because he just, literally, until 87, he looked 20 years, 30 years younger. He was just very, very dashing.”

Sandra Bibb first crossed paths with her future husband more than three decades ago, when they both worked in investment banking. He had awkwardly announced that he had four girlfriends — and she made it clear that she wasn’t interested.

But one Christmas Eve, that changed for her. She had invited him to a party at her home and, after everyone left, he took her out to dinner around the corner and came back to her apartment to help her tidy up.

“I was like, who does that?” she said. “Nobody does that unless you’re really good friends. It just changed the dynamic.”

They wed on June 8, 1997 — his third marriage — and became a blended family, she said. He is survived by his three daughters — Hilary Porado, Addison Porter Walker and Zoe Bright — three grandchildren, and all five of his siblings — Richard, Susannah, Walter, Robert and Elizabeth.

“He’d always write me notes, and he was always thoughtful and generous and sweet and kind and lovely,” his wife said. “He was a very, very sweet, romantic guy. I’m going to miss everything about him.”

A summer resident of Amagansett for most of his childhood, Bibb devoted his free time to his community in Southampton, where he lived for nearly 40 years. Leveraging his media, entertainment and technology experience, he was instrumental in keeping the National Public Radio affiliate, WLIU-FM, afloat after it parted ways with Stony Brook Southampton.

And toward the end of his life, he poured his energy into saving the windmill on the campus — pushing for its move to the heart of Southampton Village where it once stood, according to his colleague in the endeavor, architect Siamak Samii.

“His kindness is something that I think we can all take a lesson from because you can never go wrong with that,” he said. “Life is not easy, and there’s a lot of ups and downs, and it’s these kinds of kindnesses that makes it more bearable and somehow sweet.

“It’s like the hello that you say on the sidewalk to somebody passing by and make their day,” he said. “That’s the kind of person Porter was.”

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The story of a Yellowstone icon: Old Faithful Geyser

Austin Tang — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:31:46 +0000

Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in the world, but who named the iconic feature? And how does the current frequency of its eruptions compare to when it was first described?

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Mike Poland, Research Geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and Shaul Hurwitz, Research Hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Old Faithful’s fame is well deserved. The geyser has been erupting at regular intervals for as long as records exist, and it delights visitors from around the world with its eruptions of boiling water. These eruptions regularly reach more than 130 feet (40 meters) and typically last for several minutes.

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.

Old Faithful Geyser in Upper Geyser Basin. 1878(?). Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden Survey).

Old Faithful is located in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, home to the densest concentration of geysers anywhere in the world. In about 1 square mile (about 2.6 square kilometers) of area lie approximately 150 geysers!

There are no concrete records of what Native Americans might have thought of Old Faithful. Obsidian flakes found at multiple locations around the Upper Geyser Basin, however, indicate that the area was well known to native peoples. The first known Euro-American explorer to the Yellowstone region was John Colter, who explored the area alone in 1807-1808. It is not known if Colter traversed the Upper Geyser Basin or witnessed eruptions of Old Faithful. In 1864, a gold prospector named George Harvey Bacon reportedly traveled through the area with Native Americans and, according to one of his descendants, “spoke of a geyser which was regular in its eruptions and [which] later was called Old Faithful.” A mountaineer also reportedly first witnessed the geyser in 1864 and reported that, to his knowledge, it had not missed an eruption between that year and the time he was interviewed, in 1883.

The first officially documented observations of the geyser came in 1870, with the Washburn-Doane-Langford expedition to the region. The geyser was reportedly named by Nathanial Langford, who noted: “It spouted at regular intervals nine times during our stay, the columns of boiling water being thrown from ninety to one hundred and twenty-five feet at each discharge, which lasted from fifteen to twenty minutes. We gave it the name of “Old Faithful.” This name was confirmed by Ferdinand V. Hayden, who led the 1871 geological survey that resulted in- the establishment of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872. Of Old Faithful, Hayden wrote: “This geyser was named by Mr. N. P. Langford, and well sustains the reputation given it by the Doane and Washburn expedition of 1870. It has been called the Guardian of the Valley. It is so regular in its operations and they occur so frequently that it has afforded unusual facilities for observation.”

The time between Old Faithful eruptions has not remained constant over the years. In the 1870s, explorers noted that the time between eruptions was 60-70 minutes. This remained the case through the 1950s, but then began to lengthen to the average today, which is 94 +/- 10 minutes between eruptions. About 2% of all eruptions are short, lasting only about 2.5 minutes. Following these short eruptions, the time to the next eruption is likewise shorter, about 65 minutes.

Sources/Usage: Public Domain.

Old Faithful Geyser, as well as Old Faithful Inn and the Yellowstone National Park visitor center, as viewed from the lookout on Observation Point trail.

The lengthening of time between eruptions did not happen smoothly, but instead occurred as a result of nearby seismic events, including the 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake (Montana) earthquake, the 1975 M6.1 Norris Geyser Basin earthquake, and the 1983 M6.9 Borah Peak (Idaho) earthquake. In the months following each of these events, the interval between eruptions at Old Faithful increased and maintained a new, longer time period. For example, prior to the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake, Old Faithful erupted on average every 69–70 minutes, but 4 months after the earthquake the interval had increased and stabilized at 77–78 minutes.

There is also evidence that rainfall can impact Old Faithful eruption intervals. During wet years, the interval is slightly less than during dry years, perhaps reflecting the greater volume of water that is available to feed eruptions. So even climate has an impact on how Old Faithful works!

Old Faithful has attracted attention since the first explorers visited the area, and no doubt from generations of Native Americans before then. The geyser is indeed a marvel, and like all of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal features, it is dynamic and ever changing.

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Question – What are blessings?

Austin Tang — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:25:17 +0000

Answer – When it rains , it rains equally on stone and on sand. *The rain doesn’t discriminate between stone and sand.* But the water washes away from stone , and seeps in and enriches the sand. Similarly , *grace and blessings are showered on everyone.* Where people are like stone , it washes away. *Where people are like sand, the blessings manifest. Blessings are given unconditionally.*

It depends how ready are we to receive them…!??

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Charles A. Davis

admin — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 21:46:09 +0000

http://goodnewsplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/charles_davis_1.mp3
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Chuck has more than 30 years of experience in the private equity and investment banking industries.

Chuck is the Chief Executive Officer of Stone Point Capital and Chairman of the Investment Committees of the Trident Funds. Chuck joined Stone Point in 1998, and he is actively involved in all of Stone Point’s portfolio investments. He is the chief architect behind Stone Point’s “Elephant Process” investment philosophy and partnership model with founders and owner-operators.

Prior to Stone Point, Chuck was a partner at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he spent 23 years.

Career Highlights
Goldman, Sachs & Co.

· Head of Investment Banking Services Worldwide

· Co-Head of Americas Group

· Head of Financial Services Industry Group

· Member of the International Executive Committee

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

· Vice Chairman

· Board Director

Education
· Columbia University – MBA

· University of Vermont – B.A.

Other Board Representation
· Board Director of AXIS Capital

· Board Director of Progressive

· Board Director of Hershey’s

· Member of the Advisory Board of Deutsche Bank

· Board Director of Stone Point Capital Foundation

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Days of Wild performing Music of Sly and the Family Stone Peace Day September 21 Times Square

admin — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 17:25:25 +0000

daysOFwild waz born on xmass eve 1994 when we played our very first show at the old rock and roll cafe down on bleecker streeet nyc with the one and only lenny kravitz in the house than we were every monday friday and saturday late-show style at the bitter-end next-door and every thursday late-nite at the red lion also next door…. in 2000 we went to italy 2 play the treviso blues and funk festival and in 2001 we played 4pRiNcE at paisley park in MPLS for hiz birthday in front of 500 friendz and pRiNcE himself did sound hehehe as we played a two hour pluz set of alll hiz music with jerry martini rose stone cynthia robinson & larry graham all in the house from sLy and the family stone….. in 2009 and 2017 we played 4sLy stone’z b/day at bb-kingz in nyc with original drummer & hallOFfamer from sLy & the family stone greg errico and sax player jerry martini and juzt recently we played at WE2019 woodstock eXperience in north carolina also with greg-errico !!!! WE R STILLL THE DAYS OF WILD hehehe LIVE every thurs. late-nite at 1am at the red-lion nyc woowoo alll peace luv and reespect thru music worldwide !!!!

Good News Corporation (GNC), nonprofit, 501 C 3 invites you, family and friends to help strengthen the message of the International Peace Day Friday, Saturday September 21, 2019 in Times Square at Duffy Square Park/47thSt./in front of TKTS Bleachers at 11AM-2:00PM. LIVE TO THE WORLD. Go To: www.peacedayparty.org.

All the 193 countries of the UN unanimously agreed to a Day of Peace and McKinsey Co. states that there are over 1.6 BILLION people aware of the day. At noon the UN Resolution asks the whole world to create a moment of silence, we also create the largest Human Peace Sign at Noon, will a Major Billboard as well.

Can join us performing the music of Sly and the Family Stone?

We will also do a story for our www.peacedayparty.org and www.goodnewsplanet.TV and social sites. This year we feature our Woodstock Forever: Peace, Love & HOPE movie theme, www.woodstockforever.org as this exact location is where Richie Havens, Juma Sultan and a group from Woodstock came to celebrate the 1989 20th Anniversary!

Paul Sladkus, Founder Good News Corporation, nonprofit 501 C 3, 917 687 1790

Background:

Our nonprofit company, Good News Corporation, est. 2002 (website www.peacedayparty.org ) peace initiative continues for 2019 …we created the largest Peace Sign Broadcast event in Times Square/NYC in New York, with additional initiatives in Central Park/Band Shell on September 15th for over 20 years, San Jose, California and international participation from Haiti, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam joined into the broadcast. We made the broadcast available for free for the world. Participants in our broadcast have been over 100 corporations, organizations, dignitaries and celebrities who have shared Peace message, i.e. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Michael Douglas, Dr Jane Goodall, Dr. Mahmet Oz, Ed Asner, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Michelle Phillips, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Leonardo DiCaprio, Shikira, World Peace Orchestra, Pope Francis, Borough Presidents Manhattan & Brooklyn, Broadway Show Annie, David Lynch Foundation, Harlem Globetrotters, special message Manjushree Orphanage, Dr. Kazuko, Calligraphy for Peace & Happiness including Secretary- Generals Ban Li-Moon & Antonio Guterres to name a few. Please view reel in this document and see list of founders. We have been in partnership with UNESCO and the New York City Schools Respect For All program and have featured their great work worldwide. McKinsey & Co. state that there are 1.6 Billion people who will be aware of Peace Day.

Some of the events we have planned:

1 Times Square, Duffy Park. 9/21 press conference/event. 11AM Sing along event, creation of Human Peace Sign and broadcast. Insert video feeds into final show. Our Good News we have a Clear Channel BILLBOARD in Times Square above McDonalds at 12 noon to share a 5-minute PEACE message, from our up-coming movie Woodstock Forever: Peace, Love & HOPE.

2 Vigil For Peace & Ecology.9/15 – Celebrating their 20th Anniversary, our Peace Day Party will join in for the opening of the Central Park Band Shell/NYC event. A Gala Performance with entertainment in costume from around the world will create our Human Peace Sign.

3. Video Feeds from newly created Peace stories, including Major Donors. Major Broadcast to the world on September 21, 12 noon, the declared International Day of Peace. The broadcast will incorporate all these pre-recorded feeds. Our main broadcast partner is www.peacechannel.TV and we are in negotiation with some of the largest worldwide Traditional & WEB broadcasters. There will be 100’s of segments that will be appearing, with Peace Messengers, Dignitaries from all fields, Celebrities and a roster of broadcasters sharing Peace Video’s on www.peacechannel.TV .

WHAT WILL WE DO?

1. Create a HUMAN PEACE SIGN at Times Square, Central Park,

2. Have SING ALONG with Peace and Love Songs and our focus is CHILDREN, Woodstock Forever outreach. We will dance and share peaceful thoughts.

3. Hold the Peace Prayer Society FLAGS OF ALL OF THE COUNTRIES IN THE UN to represent to world.

4. Hold HUGG-A-PLANETS representing all the people of the world and our ANIMAL AND PLANT KINGDOMS. BRING YOUR PETS!

5. Video tape the event and distribute it to the WORLD. We will roll into the program organizations, celebrities and believers that we can have WORLD PEACE totally. NO MORE WAR. THEN PARTY FOR PEACE.

6. Create and broadcast worldwide video feeds of Peace Circles efforts, videos from worldwide film makers, and worldwide thoughts for peace

WHY?

1. International Peace Day and Peace Day Party stand for the “Rights for People to Live in Peace, Respect for All, Building Block for Peace, 2030 17 Sustainable Goals ” We support the UN initiative and work to broadcast it happening, as well as everyone being peaceful.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Join us at our events and help to get the word out. Go to www.peacedayparty.org and watch our sizzle reel below. In Peace and Love for Our ONE World Family.

Incorporated and integral to the Special Peace Show
are educational Peace Video pieces from founders:

“All we are is what we are with each other.” Zeal

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Thought for the Day…

admin — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 19:42:22 +0000

Success is achieved and maintained by those who TRY and keep TRYING. -W. Clement Stone

The post Thought for the Day… appeared first on Good News!.

FIVE EASY THESES: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges, by James M. Stone.

admin — Fri, 06 May 2016 15:49:23 +0000

“Five Easy Theses sets out key issues of public policy easy to identify in concept but long unresolved in practice, We ask:

• Why the U.S. needs to raise the age for social security benefits
• How mandatory military and social service could cut down on student loan debt
• Why regulating too-big-to-fail banks will stop damage to jobs and small businesses
• Why “Right to Die” is important for improving healthcare costs and efficiencies

“Five Easy Theses sets out key issues of public policy easy to identify in concept but long unresolved in practice. Stone proposes sensible approaches to breaking the long-standing political deadlock. The specific measures to deal with budgetary balance, income inequality, public education, healthcare, and financial reform should provide a guide for constructive debate as we choose our next president.”
— Paul A. Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979-1987)
Current Chairman of the Volcker Alliance

At a time of political gridlock in Washington, Americans are eager to end infighting and find solutions.

FIVE EASY THESES: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges, is an urgent call to action to all of us and our leaders to find solutions to five of our most pressing economic and domestic public policy issues: Fiscal Balance, Inequality, Healthcare, Education, and Financial Sector Reform.

Highly praised by leading authorities in each of these five areas and from both sides of the political aisle including Paul Volcker, Edward O. Wilson, Atul Gawande, FIVE EASY THESES relies on straightforward common sense to liberate the public discourse from partisanship and focus it instead on what might really work to solve the economic problems most directly impacting our lives today.
James M. Stone, the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Plymouth Rock Group of companies, former Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner, and former Chairman and Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, argues that it is time for the electorate to challenge the deadlocked status quo and pressure our political leaders in both parties to stop running away from the issues that really matter.

This book is not just for policy wonks but for anyone worried about their rising healthcare costs, the future of their Social Security and Medicare, the effectiveness of education to prepare their children, and how their prosperity might be affected by income inequality and recklessness in the financial sector.
In FIVE EASY THESES, Stone presents a researched analysis of each sector, offering the context needed to understand what got us to where we are, and proposes the potential solutions that will lead us on the right path. These include:

Fiscal Balance
Stone identifies the worst loopholes and sources of waste in today’s tax policy. The federal government should stop making commitments it has no plans to fund. This problem is most severe with respect to our Social Security promises to the next generation of elders. Congress should cease to offer expensive tax breaks that serve no useful policy purpose. The most wastefully extravagant of these tax expenditures is the deduction available to corporations and individuals for payment of interest on their debts. The Social Security system can be secured by ceasing to automatically expand benefits as life expectancies rise. The corporate and personal interest deduction should be flat-out repealed.

Income Inequality
The greatest threat to traditional American values today is the drift toward an aristocracy of wealth. It is harmful that the fruits of our recent economic growth have virtually all been taken by top 0.1% of the population. To remedy this, and restore the economic strength of the middle class while maintaining a safety net for those in need, we must take steps that may sound as radical as the income tax sounded a hundred years ago but are just as necessary. We must begin to tax unrealized gains resulting from investment asset appreciation, and we must stop cold the leakage from inheritance taxes brought about through trust loopholes and excessive exemptions.

Education
Our system of grade school education and our private-public balance of higher education are in need of major repair. The grade school curriculum is poorly serving those who will not be earning a four-year college degree. The costs of college are undermining the benefits of higher education to all but the wealthiest students. Our nation ranks no better than mediocre by international measures of educational attainment. A universal national service program would offer a powerful set of solutions to the educational shortcomings, while providing other social and economic benefits as an extra dividend. The book lays out an 8-point plan and a bold post-secondary program to make education more effective and affordable for both college-bound and work-bound young people.

Healthcare
The United States spends about 18 percent of its GNP on healthcare, while the rest of the developed world averages a little more than half that. Yet, our people experience worse health outcomes than those in other nations. The extra spending exceeds a trillion dollars a year, a vast amount you could put to many better uses. Only within the framework of a single-payer, single-negotiator, single-regulator system can we provide rationality, sensible incentives, and cost-effective administration. The gain to the public of a trillion dollars a year would be the largest available boost to the economy within reach today, and proper incentives would improve America’s health outcomes

Financial Sector Reform
With first-hand experience as a financial regulator, Stone shows how an out-of-control gargantuan banking, derivatives and hedge fund sector can be curbed to make finance serve, rather than dominate, America’s real commercial sector. The emergence of unmanageably large and complex banks whose failures would bring all of us down, the creation of hedge funds whose security and business practices remain beyond regulatory purview, and the rise of derivatives traded with nearly unlimited leverage, all contribute to the financial sector’s enrichment at the rest of the economy’s expense. The overall scale of the financial sector is out of proportion to its economic value. The current situation is at least as hazardous as before the crash. Banks should be downsized. Hedge funds should cease to exist outside of the successful and safe regulatory structure applied to mutual funds. And derivatives trading should be backed up by reserves that would reduce its volume to a tiny fraction of today’s unimaginable numbers.

While these theses are by no means “easy”, together they have the potential to break through political paralysis and transform the future prospects of America’s next generation. FIVE EASY THESES is the book that is needed now to inspire people on both sides of the political aisle to demand the solutions and leadership that it will take to set our country on the right path.

About the Author:
James (Jim) Stone is the founder, Chairman and CEO of the Plymouth Rock group of companies. He began his career by teaching economics, after earning a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard. He served as Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner from 1975 to 1979 and then as Chairman and Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for four years. On his return from Washington, he founded Plymouth Rock.

He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Globe, and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Global Post, a web-based international news service. Jim is a member of the Board of Directors of two non-profit organizations, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Management Sciences for Health, for which he serves as Chairman of the Board. Jim has served as an advisor to governments in three developing countries, and he has authored a book and numerous articles on insurance and finance. Jim is married, the father of two children, and lives in Boston.

FIVE EASY THESES
Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges
By James M. Stone

The post FIVE EASY THESES: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges, by James M. Stone. appeared first on Good News!.

Sunrise at Ankor Wat, The Kingdom of Cambodia – Photo by Dawn A. Levy article by Terri Hirsch

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 18:03:47 +0000

Southeast Asia
The Kingdom of Cambodia
By Terri Hirsch

The lure of the past is brought to life in Siem Reap nestled between the
rice paddy countryside along the Siem Reap River that serves as the gateway
to the temple ruins. Officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and once
known as the Khmer Empire it is located in the southern portion of the
Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand to the northwest,
Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the
southwest.

Siem Reap has tree lined boulevards, an historical museum and artisan
workshops consisting of art, wood and stone carvings, statues, furniture and
handicrafts. The City is best explored on foot or on a “tuk tuk” (a
rickshaw with the front-end of a motorcycle). Although not luxurious, they
are easy to find and inexpensive.

The Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, a French colonial style
resort designed by Thai architect Choochart Polakit, is situated ten minutes
from the airport and five minutes away from the magnificent temples of Siem
Reap. It showcases intimate living space with timber floors and wrap-around
terraces surrounded by lagoons, landscapes and bright turquoise
mini-fountains, plus an outdoor swimming pool with a swim-up bar, three
restaurants, an 18-hole championship golf course and a spa for rejuvenation.

One of the largest and most important archeological sites in Southeast Asia
is the Angkor Archeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, comprised of
dozens of ruins including the legendary Angkor Wat. In the darkness of the
night we rode in rickshaws and used flashlights to get to the Angkor Wat
site where we witnessed one of the most mesmerizing sunrises over Angkor
Wat. Afterwards, we continued touring other remains of the Khmer era.

Major highlights of the Park included the Baynon, known for the large number
of smiling faces sculptured on the towers. A journey through one of the
most spectacular ruins at Ta Prohn is a breathtaking site of trees emerging
out of temple walls that become intertwined with the temple stones –
featured in the film “Tomb Raider.” A huge platform known today as Terrace
of the Elephants runs from north to south across the east front of the Royal
Palace. The walls are carved with various scenes of court figures,
elephants and bird-like creatures. Also shown were hunting scenes with
elephants carved into the wall. In several places the elephant appears to
be fighting another creature, possibly a lion.

Upon return to the hotel there was time for visiting the outdoor market
before dinner and the Aspara dancing show at the hotel featuring local
Cambodian/Khmer folk dancers. An Aspara is a female spirit of the clouds
and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
Monday morning we boarded a motor coach for a six-hour transfer from the
Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort to our ship moored at Prek Kdam,
Cambodia. Before embarking on our Mekong River cruise we travelled through
mountain roads viewing numerous rice paddies, oxen, small villages and
outdoor markets. We joined the AmaLotus, our floating hotel for the next
7-nights, in the late afternoon and met fellow passengers at a cocktail
party and dinner. The meals onboard were prepared by local chefs and
consisted of western cuisine as well as Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine.
Wine and beer plus complimentary house brand spirits and soft drinks were
included throughout the cruise at lunch and dinner.
On Tuesday Kampong-Chhnang, one of the central provinces in Cambodia, was
our first stop on the Mekong River. Our tour was a motorboat excursion
along the Tonie Sap River viewing the wetlands, floating houses and fish
farms in the region. After lunch our guide took us on a leisurely walking
tour over dirt paths through the Koh Chen village visiting workshops that
specialize in silver jewelry and artifacts made from copper.
Wednesday we arrived in the city of Oudong, the former capital of Cambodia
and visited a Buddhist Monastery. The main attraction was a mummified monk
in a small chapel near the back of the temple. Inside the Monastery we
received a traditional blessing from Buddhist monks as we sat before them
listening to chanting and prayers and smelled the incense, candles and
flowers. Afterwards, an offering of a red thread was tied around our wrist
– a keepsake that signifies luck and prosperity.
The next stop was Kampong Tralach for the most popular transportation in
Cambodia – an oxcart. The Cambodian farmers use the oxcarts to harvest
crops, carry hay, animals and even their family members. Two of us were in
each cart as we travelled through the rural countryside of Kampong Tralach,
Cambodia for twenty minutes. Handrails were provided for each oxcart and we
were warned to keep our arms inside the cart to avoid arm injuries caused by
cart wheels.
After lunch on Wednesday we set sail for Phnom Penh, the capital and largest
city of Cambodia located on the banks of the Mekong River where we docked
overnight. Thursday morning we toured the Killing Fields. The mass graves
found here contain the remains of thousands of people. Survivor stories can
be heard from an audio tour – the loss of an infant, witness to a killing,
forced to leave home, anger, isolation and hope….
Thursday afternoon our guided tour of Phnom Penh included the Royal Palace,
Silver Pagoda and the National Museum. The Royal Palace, built in 1866, was
the home of the Cambodian King. At the end of the 19th century the Palace
was a small city with thousands of people living in courtyards. Inside the
Silver Pagoda were works of art, sculptures and hundreds of antique gifts
plus a Buddha statute made from pure gold with over 2,000 diamonds attached
to it. The National Museum, built in Khmer Style in 1917 by a French
architect, houses a collection of Khmer art dating from the pre-Angkorian
era.

Friday we cruised the Mekong River from Phnom Penh and crossed the
Cambodian/Vietnamese border before we anchored overnight in Tan Chau,
Vietnam. The next two days were spent touring numerous small cities before
arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for our flight home.

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The Actors’ Temple Comedy Benefit. Tonight 5/18

admin — Mon, 18 May 2015 17:00:51 +0000

THE ACTORS’ TEMPLE COMEDY BENEFIT Come out for a great night of comedy! presented by Bob Greenberg, Monday May 18th, 7 PM, In Fond Memory of JOE FRANKLIN, Starring: Scott Blakeman, Sandy Ehlers, Mike Fine, Bob Greenberg, Rhonda Hansome, Nancy Lombardo, Dave Rosner, Sassi, Steven Scott, Stone & Stone; Special Guest Stars Jackie Hoffman and Stewie Stone, with Ira Allen on Piano & Carmen Goldberg, Vocalist;

$40 Friend $50 Mensch, $100 Angel, $200 Seraph Tickets by phone, mail, online or at the door. Please send a check made out to The Actors’ Temple or fax credit card info to 212-586-3025 or the online store: www.theactorstemple.org. The Actors’ Temple, 339 West 47th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues, 212-245-6975. More information: info@theactorstemple.org.

Listen to the interview here..

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