Jim Dennis invites you to his Annual Holiday Sales at Jim Dennis Photography
Jim Dennis studied under Ruth Bernard, the master of light and shades
As a young boy Jim Dennis was discovered by Ruth Bernard, the world famous photography who belonged to a young group of photographers that included Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. He had the good fortune of training with her at a young age. The way he uses shadows and light is reminiscent of these masters.
Come visit the gallery, shop for wonderful gifts of classic art and join up with other Art Collectors and Jim Dennis admirers for a celebration of the Holiday Season and the Beaux Arts.
When: Sunday December 18, 2016 from 2PM - 8PMWhere: Jim Dennis Photography Studio and Gallery
4300 Horton St, Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 595-8634www.jimdennisphotography.com
Jim Dennis is a world renowned Bay Area Photographer whose work has spanned over thirty years, with exhibits ?at a variety of artful venues across the nation including: ?Kodak Gallery, New York, New York,? Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois?, The Oakland Museum, Oakland, California. ?Jim Dennis, a native of San Francisco recognized at an early age that he was visually oriented and ?was excited to discover that he could capture on film, elements that provoked thought and stirred emotion.
Jim Dennis Interview with an historic overview of many of his art pieces.
Jim Dennis loves music and enjoys to portray musicians. He has an amazing collection of photos of classic musicians, including Miles Davis, Lou Rawls, Pete Escovedo, Sarah Vaughn, Sheila E. and many more. He has photos of famous politicians and famous people including Willie Brown Jr., Barbara Lee, Dalai Lama, Princess Christina and too many to mention.
Stanley Jordan, Rolando Morales, Ranie Smith and Lloyd Gregory
As a young staff photographer with Eastman Kodak, Dennis photographed people and places across the world:?the Taj Mahal in India; life in Morocco; cultural portraits in Turkey. He also photographed the Indy 500 and Grand Prix Races, a cattle round-up in Wyoming and the Ringling Bros. Circus, Barnum, and Bailey Circus. His personal extensive travels have provided him with opportunities to capture exciting photographic images in such places as Haiti, Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, France, Italy, Britain, the Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica and the Ivory Coast.
Jim Dennis’ technical skills in photography were honed at Eastman Kodak where he collaborated with engineers ?developing state-of-the-art photographic equipment and products. He regularly attends professional development seminars and workshops to stay abreast of new developments in the photography world and has taught technical skills in photography to students at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Additionally, he studied with the famed San Francisco photographer Ruth Bernhard in developing his creative skills.
In addition to his personal clients, present corporate clients include: Pacific Bell, Pacific Gas and Electric, American Airlines, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, East Bay AIDS Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District, City of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District, Walter Katz Foundation, World Savings Bank, KTVU-Channel 2, Highland Hospital and the Port of Oakland.
Come visit the gallery, shop for wonderful gifts of classic art and join up with other Art Collectors and Jim Dennis admirers for a celebration of the Holiday Season and the Beaux Arts.
When: Sunday December 18, 2016 from 2PM - 8PMWhere: Jim Dennis Photography Studio and Gallery
4300 Horton St, Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 595-8634www.jimdennisphotography.com
Trump’s website declares: “Mr. Trump will stop China from stealing our jobs, renegotiate NAFTA, cut unneeded regulations and make America the best place in the world to do business and hire workers. Putting America First — and not globalism — will keep jobs and wealth in America.”
The Obama Whitehouse website explains: “The rules-based international economic system has helped to propel China’s unprecedented economic growth over the past 35 years, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. The United States has also benefited from the emergence of a global middle class that, by 2030, is projected to include more than 3 billion consumers in Asia alone. U.S. exports of goods and services supported approximately 12 million jobs in the United States in 2014. China has a strong stake in the maintenance and further strengthening and modernization of global financial institutions, and the United States welcomes China’s growing contributions to financing development and infrastructure in Asia and beyond.” Full Article
Trump will stop China from “taking” jobs from the US.
Trading Floor in China
China Experts at the Brookings institute let us know that China is now the economic superpower they set out to become in the early 90s. They hold the world by the proverbial financial purse strings. Their strategy has been to provide amazingly affordable goods and thus wipe out competition in many countries the world over. With the money they made they have purchased raw materials and have a corner on several core commodities. For instance the Wall Street Journal reported that during the first four months in 2016 the trading volume on the Shanghai and Dalian exchanges had more than doubled over the year before. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Dalian-traded iron and ore futures generated approximately the same dollar volume as gold futures in New York. Full Article
Trump now is pursuing an extreme protectionist strategy that puts the U.S. commitment to open trade severely in doubt. There is already the widespread view in China that the United States is withdrawing from the global economy. China and investors all around the world believe that the US is in decline economically and this is borne out in reality. The Balance reported in October 2016: “China’s economy produced $19.5 trillion in 2015 (based on purchasing power parity). It’s the world’s largest economy. The European Unionis second, at $19.1 trillion. The United States fell to third place, producing $17.9 trillion.” The US produces the value of $56,300 per person per year which is roughly four times as much as China produces with $14,300 per person per year.
China has 1.37 billion people as to compared to 325 Million people in the US. Even though 1 half of the Chinese people live very impoverished lives in the country side, there are over 1 Billion more Chinese than Americans. That will not change anytime soon.
The Middle Class in China is growing steadily, it is actually a rather small fraction of the Chinese population. In 2013, China accounted for 35 percent of the world’s total online shopping. By 2018, it is estimated that China’s spending will exceed the rest of the world’s combined, and will account for one in every five yuan spent in China, according to Bloomberg. This is not because the lifestyle in China is higher than it is in the US, but it is due to the fact that there are so many people. And there are so many unmarried men who can spend all their money to make up for their loneliness, created by the questionable 1 Child Policy the Chinese government had pursued. There are 33% more men than women in China. So how does Trump plan to assist American firms to out-maneuver the highly sophisticated and highly educated middle class from China?
So far Trump wants to dismantle our already faltering education system even further. Most jobs these days require superior math skills and all the tariffs in the world that Trump and his team want to impose on China, will not change the fact that China outperforms the US in math and science skills by a HUGE MARGIN. The 2012 PISA study shows: “Percentages of top performing 15-year-old students (those scoring at level 5 or above) in mathematics literacy ranged from 55 percent in Shanghai-China. In the United States, 9 percent of 15-year-old students scored at proficiency level 5 or above, which was lower than the OECD average of 13 percent.” China on a percentage basis out performs the US by a margin of 6. And when you add the fact that China has so 4 times as many people than the US, the US is simply no longer competitive and will not become competitive unless it starts to focus on repairing the education gap. Tariffs don’t make people more educated.
If the US due to the fact that the current administration is terrible in math, cannot realize that if they add tariffs, Chinese products will get more expensive. This means that the products US manufacturers produce with Chinese parts will get more expensive. The end result is that the US manufacturers may loose the few jobs they were able to keep. The world is a competitive market and all countries compete. Wishing it were not so will not change that fact. Even Trump agrees and he purchases his products all around the world and uses the underpaid and unemployed American Consumer as customers while providing the earning capacity to countries who have a better educated workforce.
Americans suffer due to lack of education, due to lack of health care and due to the fact that their hard earned taxes are used in wars all around the world instead of on infrastructure and basic human needs at home. Trump promised he will fix this situation. He claimed he is the “only one” who can fix it. So far he brought in DeVos who plans to ruin the rest of the countries education the way she ruined it in Michigan. He has tasked Paul Ryan with is pet project of robbing the American people of what is left of their Medicare payments, and he wants to abolish Affordable Health Care.
He has empowered Pharma companies to raise their pricing to completely irresponsible levels that surely will end up literally killing the lower income people. He has brought in more military personnel than any previous administration since the Civil War. We are still waiting for him to provide us with signs that he is intent on following through any any one of his promises. Making America Great Again? What does that even mean? The media never received an answer from him. Unfortunately we will find out very soon and the damage will last a long time.
Berthe Morisot, The Cradle as exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
Berthe Morisot was one of three daughters of the Prefect of Bourges. Her grandfather was the influential Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Berthe Morisot was born January 14, 1841, in Bourges, France.Berthe and her sister Edna were given art lessons.
Berthe and Edma Morisot traveled to Paris to study and copy works by the Old Masters at the Louvre Museum in the late 1850s under Joseph Guichard. They also studied with landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot to learn how to paint outdoor scenes. Berthe Morisot worked with Corot for several years. In 1864, Berthe Morisot exhibited for the first time in the highly esteemed Salon de Paris. Sponsored by the government, and judged by , the Salon was the official, annual exhibition of the Académie des beaux-arts in Paris.
Berthe Morisot and her friendship with Edouard Manet
You know she is great if Edouard Manet admired her painting. Berthe befriended Edouard Manet from 1868 and the two influenced each other’s work.
Manet’s famous Painting “Repose” shows us what Berthe looked like.
In the 1870s Berthe who had developed a friendship with Degas and Bazille, agreed to be in the first independent show of Impressionist paintings, which included works by Degas, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Alfred Sisley. Edouard Manet continued to display his works at the official Salon.
In 1874, she married Eugene Manet, Edouard’s younger brother. Manet was the middle of the three sons of Adolphe Manet, an official at the French Ministry of Justice. He was born in Paris, 22 months after his more famous older brother Édouard in January 1832, and 16 months before his younger brother Gustave in March 1835. He was named after his mother Eugénie-Désirée (née Fournier). Eugéne served in the French Army, and then studied law, but did not follow his father into a legal career. He travelled to Italy with Édouard in 1853 to study Old Master paintings in Florence, Venice, and Rome. Eugene painted as well but devoted most of his life in support of his more talented wife, Berthe.
She participated in the Impressionist exhibitions every year except 1877, when she was pregnant with her daughter. She passed away on March 2, 1895 at the age of 54 from a case of pneumonia.
Built on Willis Carrier’s invention of modern air conditioning in 1902, Carrier is the world leader in heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions. Their corporate websites informs us: “We create comfortable and productive environments, regardless of the climate. We safeguard the global food supply by preserving the quality and freshness of food and beverages. We ensure health and well-being by enabling the proper transport and delivery of vital medical supplies under exacting conditions. We provide solutions, services and education to lead the green building movement.” Carriers Corporation is one of the United Technologies companies which employs 197,200 Employees, brings in an adjusted net sales volume of $56.5B*, pays out $6.3* an adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations $3.9B. UTC’s Total R&D investment includes company- and customer-funded around the world. The US government and other governments around the world are included in these pre-sales earnings.
From what we can tell the company is doing great work in India for instance. They are working hard on assisting companies reduce their food waste, which is a worldwide issue indeed. Food Waste is a major issue in a world where so many people go hungry every day, and it is also known to be a major contributor to Green House Gases. Pence and Trump who don’t believe in protecting the environment, are planning to donate even more money to United Technologies, Carriers Corporation.
Let’s celebrate the positive when we can.
We know that United Technologies has “supported” to create a study that will allow Carriers Corporation sell their products in India. BIO Intelligence Service for the Global Food Cold Chain Council (“GFCCC”) with support from United Technologies (“UTC”). This Report presents an assessment of the potential of the cold chain sector to reduce GHG emissions through food loss and waste reduction. The report educates:
"In monetary terms, the most recent global food loss estimate is a staggering $1 trillion in retail value, or about twice the gross domestic product of Norway 2 , equivalent to the Gross Domestic Product of Switzerland. Further, such loss aggravates food insecurity and malnutrition in a context of growing population and increasing food demand3 . And finally, this food wastage represents a missed opportunity to mitigate environmental impacts and use of resources from food chains. The carbon footprint of food produced and not eaten is estimated to be 3.3 Gtonnes of CO2 equivalent: food loss and waste would rank as the third top GHG emitter after USA and China if it were a country. This amount is more than twice the total GHG emissions of all USA road transportation in 2010."
United Technologies, and by extension Carrier, seemingly is doing a great job reducing food waste in India. Full Report
How is support of this international conglomerate “Making America Great Again?
Every day at United Technologies, nearly 200,000 people across the globe help move the world forward. In Europe they are quite competitive in the aerospace industry and in environmentally refrigeration units.
United Technologies and their brands Otis, Pratt & Whitney, UTC Aerospace Systems and UTC Climate, Controls & Security have recently initiated a $1.5 billion multiyear restructuring plan to improve our competitiveness in the global market. In 2015 they returned approximately $12 billion to shareholders in dividends and share buyback, including a $6 billion accelerated share repurchase program. In February 2016, Carrier announced it would close its Indianapolis factory due to ongoing cost and pricing pressures and to take advantage of and Carrier’s existing infrastructure and a strong supplier base in Mexico. They also initiated a $1.5 billion multiyear restructuring plan to improve competitiveness in the global market. They already operate out of Belgium, Canada, China, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, UK aside of their seven corporate offices in the US. The UTC companies conduct operations in more than 160 locations in 26 countries. Most of the manufacturing and parts businesses are outside the US already. Location
In the letter to the shareholders UTC President and CEO elaborates on his commitment to partake in the Middle Class growth in China, India and the Middle East. He is particularly interested in aviation as the middle class in Asia will nearly double the air travel industry in terms of carriers. Letter Aside of making air travel in Asia great again, UTC is a major supplier and repair contractor for the US Military. The company has enthusiastically agreed to a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases and is in the process of moving their core business to the aviation industry. Otis is still and will stay involved with elevators and escalators.
Announcement of Carriers plant shut down in February 2016.
In July Carrier and the United Steelworkers (USW) came to a generous agreement that the any of the 1,400 people who may be loosing their jobs, as they closed down old technology manufacturing lines. They would get a severance package and support with a scholarship fund to get retrained. It seems the company is planning to get out of the HVAC business as they have had lot’s of trouble with leaky freon. The CDC explains that the colorless, odorless gases released when freon leaks cause problems to skin, heart, central nervous system, cardiovascular system. The symptoms include: irritation skin, throat, drowsiness, dermatitis; central nervous system depression; In Animals: cardiac arrhythmias, narcosis.
Consumer Affairs is full of costumer reviews who are not at all pleased with the damage caused by Carrier products, i.e.: “I have two top of the line Carrier Furnaces. Both have been serviced annually. Both crapped out requiring major repairs after 6 years. Both were sold with 10 year parts warranties as they were high-end models. Now however, Carrier refuses to honor the warranty – even for parts. They claim a legal technicality buried in tiny fine print. Customer service was not responsive in any way. Both for reliability reasons and because of their unwillingness to honor their warranty, I would join the chorus of voices suggesting to avoid Carrier.” And another: “I replaced 13 year old Trane units that performed flawlessly for two Carrier Inverter units top of the line for top efficiency with the promise of quiet and reliable and an overall install cost of 50K. In year two one unit’s outdoor inverter caught fire and was backorder for nearly a month. While they paid for the part I had to pay $1200 of labor not covered and was without AC for a month. Then the second unit failed who was installed a year later with some freeze thermostat malfunction and a bill of 1400. Again labor not covered and a month delay on getting parts. So all the energy savings and huge investment barely pay for the repair bills. Clearly Carrier does not stand behind its products and I would never buy their units again. Additionally seeing the pictures of how the unit was burned to a crisp was very troubling and when the dealer said it happens sometimes, I lost faith in Carrier. The people who invented air conditioning forgot that customers have choices. Our family will never buy Carrier again.”
According to a July 2016 article Carrier was planning to eliminate 2,378 jobs as well as 1,400 jobs during a plant closure. “The decision to cut 2,100 manufacturing jobs across the state was financial, according to a statement from Carrier, which will begin eliminating its Indianapolis workforce in 2017 and continue the layoffs through 2019.” Full Article
According the recent reports there will be 1,000 jobs “saved” in 2017. What exactly does that mean? Does they mean they will be laid off in 2018 and 2019 as was already planned anyway. Or, will the jobs be saved for good and the long term? Neither the Trump/Pence team, nor Carrier have been very precise in their reports. If indeed manufacturing jobs would be saved for good at the current payment level that would be a major win for the Trump team. Service sector jobs pay an average of $39,338 a year, compared with $59,029 in manufacturing. Or it may be a misinformation campaign. The provide millions of free dollars to a multi-billion dollar company that moves forward anyway with the lay-offs as negotiated with the Steel Workers Union in July 2016. And, unless the quality of the furnaces improves and/or they are redesigned, it may just be a PR stunt for both the company and the new governmental administration, who are counting on the short memory of the public and the media alike. Perhaps the company may be doing it primarily to hold on to those Boing contracts. This is an exciting story to watch unfold. So far it sounds more like a PR stunt.
KTLA reported: “United Technologies collects about $5.6 billion in annual revenue from U.S. government contracts, according to company filings, which is equal to about 10 percent of its overall revenue. The government also pays for nearly $1.5 billion of the company’s annual research and development spending.” full story
All that said, the retraining programs that United Technologies offers their ex-employees are exemplary. Carrier offers their own private HVAC “University.” They donate money to their ex-employees (tax write-off) who are able to sign up online with their non profit company (low to no taxes) for a fee and instead of having the multi-billion dollar company pay for training, they charge the soon to be or already laid-off employees. Now if they could update the curricula to more modern and usable jobs that would be great. A well managed multi-billion dollar operation now receives even more money for keeping out-dated jobs that create unpopular products that leak toxic gases. (Consumer Affairs)
Their government sponsored (see paragraph above) commitment to move into new technologies that are environmentally friendly should not go unnoticed. Even though they help Europe, Singapore, India and China more than the US. We are going to stay tuned and report on how the Trump / Pence team will “Make America Great Again.” They get an A for media relations so far. Hope real jobs will follow in a verifiable way soon.
