News for today's 2018: 01/07/12

2:08 PM Tukiyooo 0

<h1 id="watch-headline-title" style="text-align: center;"><span class="long-title" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War">Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War </span></h1><h1 id="watch-headline-title" style="text-align: center;"><span class="long-title" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War"> </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y4P2O8UjQeU?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><h1 id="watch-headline-title" style="text-align: center;"><span class="long-title" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War"> </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: yellow; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: yellow; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: yellow; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />

Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War …

The Costumes of VERTIGO

6:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Christian Esquevin</i></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDG8jqtfHXB5Lm7p0iALTRwxL05OvGK25z-HKQkTi4V9K8QmZwpyLfffJjkhJxcZCruU4u15_IFFChH9-eWeSMx21nfxSS0-RnjzNYhsCrlJy33L3eBNkcf_AM9SWU0eZRo1oHIL4Ac1o/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDG8jqtfHXB5Lm7p0iALTRwxL05OvGK25z-HKQkTi4V9K8QmZwpyLfffJjkhJxcZCruU4u15_IFFChH9-eWeSMx21nfxSS0-RnjzNYhsCrlJy33L3eBNkcf_AM9SWU0eZRo1oHIL4Ac1o/s400/Christian+Vertigo+7.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“<i><span style="font-size: small;">I</span> don’t wear suits, and I don’t wear gray. Another thing, I don’t wear black pumps</i>,” said Kim Novak to Edith Head, the costume designer for <i>Vertigo</i>. “I don’t care what she wears as long as it’s a gray suit," Hitchcock retorted when Edith reported this conversation to him. Thus began the creative tension over the costuming of <i>Vertigo. </i>But in a clash of opinion over the visual aspects of a Hitchcock film, Hitch always prevailed. Indeed, he had the colors already in mind along with the costume types he wanted even before pre-production for <i>Vertigo</i> began. Kim Novak wore the gray suit with the black pumps - her iconic look in <i>Vertigo. </i>“I had never had a director who was particular about the costumes, the way they were designed, the specific colors,” said Novak about Hitchcock later.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMTzXKNcrnteOlU7OVUqvzJQAJPifcD2uK5Db8Ehf1tn5lurb7WPNGXxlODaIVx0fc9VkZuSWlO1R2Sb6QWSTnZTX9S1zNjGHVWBoR4Xrt76PuzRGo97h8Sun5QotVRLCGJqT8rgkZ_AZ/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMTzXKNcrnteOlU7OVUqvzJQAJPifcD2uK5Db8Ehf1tn5lurb7WPNGXxlODaIVx0fc9VkZuSWlO1R2Sb6QWSTnZTX9S1zNjGHVWBoR4Xrt76PuzRGo97h8Sun5QotVRLCGJqT8rgkZ_AZ/s400/Christian+Vertigo+1.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">The story theme within <i>Vertigo </i>is based on obsession, and the costume looks for the Madeleine/Judy character are a key symbol of that dysfunction. The “clash” that Kim Novak had with Hitch and Edith Head over her costumes was nothing new in Hollywood, but Alfred Hitchcock’s very specific clothing demands in type and color speaks volumes about <i>Vertigo </i>being for him a very personal film. The combination of the costumes and look of Kim’s Madeleine, the psychological tension caused by the character Scottie’s clash of opposite impulses towards Madeleine/Judy, and the ultimate futility of his possession of her, were all deeply embedded in Hitchcock’s psyche. As far as the costumes being good fashion, it didn’t matter that Kim’s pumps were black. They would have looked better in gray or brown, or as she wanted, in tan to match her nude-toned hose. Wearing flesh-toned pumps was an old trick she’d learned from Marlene Dietrich, a device to make your legs look longer. The gray suit was in a neutral and sedate color. Hitch believed it revealed how the Madeleine character felt about herself. Edith Head often designed gray suits for her film costumes, and wore them regularly believing that it gave her a non-competitive look when working with the stars. But Marlene Dietrich had worn a gray suit for Hitch in <i>Stage Fright,</i> as had Doris Day in <i>The Man Who Knew Too Much, </i>and as Tippi Hedren would wear in <i>The Birds. </i>So the gray suit and black pumps touched something within Hitchcock, and along with the blonde hair of his leading actresses, denoted for Hitchcock the “woman of mystery,” the cool and subtle beauty with a blazing inside.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbssWbfcato9KYXmGseUFUB2SIKdcSS3PImblbL0aEPn3xjPaVx3EBwyUz8F5l2fKlzLbeTdEsFnK_nDLtIpkzaEvzroq0afJVsvkGTuZPwVIo3Gi7uqxygLWTI5zoUqhr5pyA3ABTk62/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbssWbfcato9KYXmGseUFUB2SIKdcSS3PImblbL0aEPn3xjPaVx3EBwyUz8F5l2fKlzLbeTdEsFnK_nDLtIpkzaEvzroq0afJVsvkGTuZPwVIo3Gi7uqxygLWTI5zoUqhr5pyA3ABTk62/s320/Christian+Vertigo+3.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;">The color of the costumes and the sets had a symbolic meaning for Hitch as well. The gray represented modesty. When Jimmy Stewart as Scottie first sees Kim playing Madeleine, she wears a black gown but is covered in a green opera coat at Ernie’s Restaurant. The wallpaper of the restaurant forms a red background that vibrates with the green in these color opposites. For some reason green represented death for Hitchcock. Madeleine’s car is also green. It’s in the following scene where Scottie begins tailing Madeleine that she first wears the gray suit.  Scottie’s former love interest Midge is dressed in warm colors and soft fabrics – symbols of her nurturing proclivities towards Scottie. After Scottie saves Madeleine from drowning, she is dressed, albeit in his robe, in a vibrant red. Here the color evokes life and full-bloodedness. Then in a later scene when Scottie and Madeleine drive to the shore, she is dressed in black and white – a black dress with black gloves and a white coat. The black and white in this costume denotes not the un-ambiguous nature of her character, but rather the duality of her persona. As an added fillip, her black chiffon scarf blows freely with the ocean wind, perhaps a symbol of mystery, or one of doom.</span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkUl33X6yDEzP7BI3Srcu0KAVFI2pUGBvAwXklKmjD09RHKhi1Fhk2zHYRHQk-7kcKqu40MiYTkjr948UdczEKdNlqrQ5Ljuj8s4p2c-N0SSs57raa_ZxOThaHeYTeD4hZ1EgZ7GgSWyd/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkUl33X6yDEzP7BI3Srcu0KAVFI2pUGBvAwXklKmjD09RHKhi1Fhk2zHYRHQk-7kcKqu40MiYTkjr948UdczEKdNlqrQ5Ljuj8s4p2c-N0SSs57raa_ZxOThaHeYTeD4hZ1EgZ7GgSWyd/s400/Christian+Vertigo+4.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-size: small;">As the character Judy, Kim Novak is costumed by Edith Head to appear dowdy. She wears green – a green sweater made bulky by being worn over a blouse. The blouse is green with white polka-dots and with a peter-pan collar turned over the sweater. The look is accentuated by an unflattering hair style. The total look is purposefully unappealing. This look has several purposes: to define the character of Judy in contrast to Madeleine’s; to appear that she is “hiding” her identity; and to provide a stark difference with Madeleine in order to dramatize her make-over. When they go on a date and later go shopping for her clothes, she is dressed better but still very simply. The make-over itself is a key dramatic moment in the film, Judy’s reluctance, Scottie’s obsession in turning her visually into Madeleine, complete with gray suit and blonde hair, provide dramatic tension and then release at the conclusion of the scene. This scene is accomplished through various film techniques that dramatize her unveiling as the re-incarnated Madeleine – making her entrance bathed in a pale and ethereal green light and leading to a climactic kiss. Her gray suit, here as before, tightly accentuates her curves. In its contradictory fashion, it is sedate but seductive.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_2073969721"></span><span id="goog_2073969722"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa8ic5NnDHlLZlqcX84quGPesAjJcgW1EXueQu781YxVeF-A-Vj9HmQoduHUxKj5OkqKXbVloEK90LO7IoiUplPCiwxBsDsx4jnvZAZn3XORS03ALTxRshnwbHN26yqxB6P1vTwErnVPK/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa8ic5NnDHlLZlqcX84quGPesAjJcgW1EXueQu781YxVeF-A-Vj9HmQoduHUxKj5OkqKXbVloEK90LO7IoiUplPCiwxBsDsx4jnvZAZn3XORS03ALTxRshnwbHN26yqxB6P1vTwErnVPK/s320/Christian+Vertigo+5.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">The nature of the costumes, and the make-over, reverberated not only with the character’s roles, but with the actor’s and the director’s deep psychology. Hitch exercised his darker side in molding an actress into his own obsession, while directing Jimmy Stewart to do the same. Kim Novak as Judy wondered why Scottie couldn’t love her as she was, just as Kim Novak really felt about Hollywood in general. But the gray suit worn with the black pumps allowed Kim Novak to not only be in character, but by taking her out of her comfort zone in dress enabled her to more effectively be an actress that plays a part of a character that is pretending to be someone else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAICkjFdaOmA_GzWkfyo1oYCfKdnuXLV5QKIa5oQWoQrdpgrZ0r9K5SIEMtKn_3Ys6qUWhn2snnsJPoxy8JPpfEgCpPZBGveWmSxhImFI4_63hTe4Hj7e1bFwdSPEUfrBwr1sQ9KvaeJHH/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAICkjFdaOmA_GzWkfyo1oYCfKdnuXLV5QKIa5oQWoQrdpgrZ0r9K5SIEMtKn_3Ys6qUWhn2snnsJPoxy8JPpfEgCpPZBGveWmSxhImFI4_63hTe4Hj7e1bFwdSPEUfrBwr1sQ9KvaeJHH/s400/Christian+Vertigo+6.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;">Hitchcock must have recognized his own dilemma in creating <i>Vertigo. </i>At the climactic end, Scottie demonstrated his tragic disappointment with Judy, “He made you over just like I made you over,” he says accusingly to Judy. Only he (Elster) had made her over first, and thus Scottie was only re-creating another man’s fantasy. And perhaps worse, he accused her of being “an apt pupil,” which she hadn’t been for him. That demonstrated to Scottie, and served the film’s underlying theme, that the pursuit of an empty ideal is futile. For Hitchcock, it was a deeply ingrained motif, one that would keep repeating itself as he tried to mold one Hitchcock blonde after another into his fantasy, only to have her leave him. With the character Scottie, this creation fantasy was played out not as a means of domination, but rather one where once his fantasy woman was created, he could surrender and succumb to her. But we know that that too would have been another fantasy - another twirling and spiraling movement creating a feeling of vertigo.</span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjridZmwCUn7PwD8Fqi4aqIoVrwDqqi5vHbrFG5BHH2nxpekyeQ2DMla3vhliArJ8oYk4iCt5wrDPywlEWZvJUn1vqSn2VGoBSJwTVOWzFGzVr-vefZyk3SL_vcAkxYRguV-7M8sHPDBxm7/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjridZmwCUn7PwD8Fqi4aqIoVrwDqqi5vHbrFG5BHH2nxpekyeQ2DMla3vhliArJ8oYk4iCt5wrDPywlEWZvJUn1vqSn2VGoBSJwTVOWzFGzVr-vefZyk3SL_vcAkxYRguV-7M8sHPDBxm7/s400/Christian+Vertigo+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Vertigo </i>received several Oscar nominations, including Best Art Direction. Edith Head was not nominated for Best Costume Design, which was won by Cecil Beaton’s florid <i>Gigi. </i>And she had just been snubbed for her outstanding costumes for Grace Kelly in Hitchcock’s <i>To Catch a Thief. </i>It seems that a fabulous gray suit as character-delineating costume was too subtle to pick up awards. No matter, she had already won five of her eight Oscars by then. Worse, Hitch wasn’t nominated either for this iconic classic.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsyM8dY0N7CjW_gQYIkRpxaoV1M0HWHTF9PVJ02BghgVHXGtgL5_Ao4bfcEImUN7vrFyeRfj08z0dxzRX22ZkIhbY6l0JKzsZdyt6AFp8W4IJnxByIRkrVzU2iWE-e7cO8qTZhl_G13yu/s1600/Christian+Vertigo+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsyM8dY0N7CjW_gQYIkRpxaoV1M0HWHTF9PVJ02BghgVHXGtgL5_Ao4bfcEImUN7vrFyeRfj08z0dxzRX22ZkIhbY6l0JKzsZdyt6AFp8W4IJnxByIRkrVzU2iWE-e7cO8qTZhl_G13yu/s320/Christian+Vertigo+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Christian Esquevin</b> is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adrian-Silver-Screen-Custom-Label/dp/1580931936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325219252&sr=8-1" style="color: #990000;">Adrian: Silver Screen to Custom Label</a>, published by the Monacelli Press in 2008. The book is about the life and career of MGM’s famed Golden Age costume designer Gilbert Adrian and his subsequent fashion business. Christian also produces the <a href="http://www.silverscreenmodiste.com/" style="color: #990000;">Silver Screen Modiste</a> blog covering classic film fashion.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Christian was born in Marseille, France, and moved with his French parents to Los Angeles when he was four. Los Angeles had a small but close-knit French community at the time that provided the social context for his youth in 1950s and 1960s L.A. One of his great-aunts was the vendeuse for lingerie at the art-deco palace Bullock’s Wilshire. Another one of Christian’s great-aunts had been the Head Cutter-Fitter for the old RKO Studio Wardrobe Department in the 1930s, where she worked under Walter Plunkett and supervised the fabrication of the costumes for Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Anne Miller, and the other RKO stars. Her knowledge and skill in making period costumes was an influence on Plunkett’s specialty in that area. While she had retired by the time Christian arrived in L.A., she used to dress him and his mother and other French-heritage participants in traditional French folk costumes for the Disneyland holiday parades and other ceremonial occasions. She bequeathed him her collection of costume sketches and photographs that started his interest in classic film costume design.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Christian has a Master’s degree in Library Science from USC and is the Director of the Coronado, California, Public Library. Christian’s book on Adrian was the result of several years of research and collecting. The lack of an “Adrian archive” and the disposal of much of the early film studios’ material heritage has fueled his efforts to preserve at least one aspect of film history. He is currently working on a combined biography of the costume and fashion designers Walter Plunkett, Irene (Lentz Gibbons) and Helen Rose. He is a collector of original costume design sketches and has organized several exhibits featuring film costume design based on his collection. Christian launched Silver Screen Modiste in 2009 in order to cover the history, heritage, and fashion influence of classic Hollywood costume design. He has written about Edith Head in several posts and considers her work with Alfred Hitchcock to be among her finest.</span></i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyBRU2H20aDYIfprOL3KuRJvO9REKNitdGOYfhRFmDyojkhmNipNPIU8-FkpRWsoZ6cjyfJgeu45LQMGZLslrAovcyQZwFlS_PHEl-Jt2IlLBNei0NChF15lcvVoq8NbfZIr56rVOXbA/s1600/silver+screen+modiste.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyBRU2H20aDYIfprOL3KuRJvO9REKNitdGOYfhRFmDyojkhmNipNPIU8-FkpRWsoZ6cjyfJgeu45LQMGZLslrAovcyQZwFlS_PHEl-Jt2IlLBNei0NChF15lcvVoq8NbfZIr56rVOXbA/s320/silver+screen+modiste.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div></div>

by guest contributor Christian Esquevin“I don’t wear suits, and I don’t wear gray. Another thing, I don’t wear black pumps,” said Kim Novak to Edith Head, the costume designer for Vertigo. “I don’t care what she wears as long as it’s a gray suit," Hi…

Brace yourself........

5:48 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEili9KFQ-Ulk6Qq3NzdZjYy8C0S6CB4-WqF_GbILs07htNCcQzgxxjpO7zvqpgrdjtKOyl8wJsbAGT7hpRiQ7qLwGAxNFJaIc7fUuZd_0_iJoBqsb7hvD_2yMjOiASxWyYgrWBubAzVq_Dc/s1600/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEili9KFQ-Ulk6Qq3NzdZjYy8C0S6CB4-WqF_GbILs07htNCcQzgxxjpO7zvqpgrdjtKOyl8wJsbAGT7hpRiQ7qLwGAxNFJaIc7fUuZd_0_iJoBqsb7hvD_2yMjOiASxWyYgrWBubAzVq_Dc/s400/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once the markets pick up on water commodities we can </span></span></strong><b style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="normal1"><span style="color: white;">brace ourselves, the minute we turn on the water tap we will be billed as if filling our car at the filling-station ..................  </span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan; font-size: large;"><strong>Investing in Water: The Most Profitable Investment of the 21st Century</strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /><span class="normal1"><span style="color: cyan;">by Louis Basenese, Advisory Panelist, The Oxford Club </span> </span><br /><span class="normal1"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></u></strong><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><u><b>Editors Note</b></u>: Oxford Club Advisory Panelist and IPO expert Louis Basenese constantly monitors the world's fastest-growing industries. Below, Louis details the fundamental forces at work driving one of today's hottest growth opportunities…</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /><span class="normal1">Right now, there's one commodity that sells at gas stations for almost twice the price of gasoline - and U.S. consumers never complain about it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">In fact, this precious resource we often take for granted is in critical shortage in more than 80 countries worldwide. And it will forever be in high demand, as every living being's survival depends on it.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Of course, the commodity I'm talking about is water. And the effects of its shortage are of major concern…</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Nearly 40% of the world's population does not have access to clean water. And this problem is not going away anytime soon.  It's actually getting worse…</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Less than 2% of the world's water store is fresh water - to quench the thirst of 6 billion people. And according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, by 2020, an additional 2 billion people will be competing for this shrinking resource.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">But the problem isn't 14 years from now; the problem is now. Below, we'll review why investing in water</span></span><em><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></em><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> is turning out to be the most profitable investment of the 21st century. But first, let's look at the problem…</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">At this moment, clean, safe water is scarce across the globe. Fortunately, several players in the private sector are working hard to solve this problem. And for investors, this industry provides perhaps the most profitable opportunities of the 21st century.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Two Catalysts: Global Warming And Population Growth</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Water is the single-largest health problem in the entire world.  According to SIWI.org, 90% of the 5,000 daily child deaths are related to some sort of diarrhea-related disease.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And torrid population growth is not only stressing water use, it's causing massive pollution and depleting the largest aquifers on the planet. Unstable politics of water-poor communities, states and countries is triggering heated tensions - and in some cases, all-out wars.  And global warming is drying up lakes, eroding shorelines and depleting rivers.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Consider the following:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Within 50 years, more than      half of the global population will be living with water shortages.       They will affect 4 billion people by 2050.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Dead Sea has dropped more      than 66 feet in the past 100 years and is now losing about 3 feet each      year.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">     </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Lake Chad in Africa is now      1/20 the size it was 35 years ago.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Water-borne diseases kill one      child every 8 seconds.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">According to the National Academy of Sciences, Mother Earth is now the hottest it's been for at least 400 years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">More specifically, over the last 100 years the surface temperature of the Earth has risen 1 degree Fahrenheit.  And while that doesn't sound like too much, it's enough to wreak havoc on eco-systems, erode shorelines, dry aquifers and cause massive water shortages all over the world. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">According to the IPCC, if global warming is not stopped, the earth could heat up another 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century.  Time magazine points out that, "Mount Kilimanjaro has lost 75% of its ice cap…" Moreover, it could completely lose ALL of its ice by 2020. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The result is less inland snow, a reduced amount of fresh river water, drying aquifers, and intense strain on any ecosystem relying on irrigation. With entire regions becoming unsuitable for crop production, both food and water will need to be transported into the water-deprived nations, dramatically hindering their ability to contribute to world GDP.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="color: yellow;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And the world's fast-growing population isn't helping the situation…</span></strong></div><br />  <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWJXTGi7hRd9VG91NvgF_eTEk-rRp2QJLsw_qHLS_c2xsBDBdIuQokcFfxlGteqN7BOiU5GmJUpGnKMIT2bWPFiGtabrQQ3AFuv0PVIuQcpxZHzrmt4u2djYCnQGS-NMVadrSKzrepW_p/s1600/is_your_water_contaminated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWJXTGi7hRd9VG91NvgF_eTEk-rRp2QJLsw_qHLS_c2xsBDBdIuQokcFfxlGteqN7BOiU5GmJUpGnKMIT2bWPFiGtabrQQ3AFuv0PVIuQcpxZHzrmt4u2djYCnQGS-NMVadrSKzrepW_p/s320/is_your_water_contaminated.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">From the beginning of time through the middle of the 1900s, the global population grew at a steady - but not alarming - rate.  Now, it's multiplying exponentially.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">There are just over 6.1 billion people on the planet right now, but by 2050, census officials predict there could be as many as 9 billion people on Earth.  And more demand for water simply means that the already under-supplied resource will become scarcer in the years to come.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The World Bank points out that global demand for water is doubling every 21 years.  And, at present, 1 billion people on the planet don't have access to safe water.  "In Latin America alone, about 15% of the population - roughly 76 million people - lack safe water, and 116 million don't have access to sanitation services."</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">So how do we solve this water crisis?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Opportunity in Water Investing Is "Dripping" From This Shortage</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The answer lies in the private sector - companies working night and day to solve the world's water woes.  The global water industry has been heating up for several decades, and the story's certainly not new.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Many savvy investors have already recognized that investing in water stocks <a href="http://www.investmentu.com/IUEL/2007/20070418.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></a>is simply the investment of a lifetime.  Some have already locked in huge profits over the past few years.  Here are just a few examples of water investment successes:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Investors who put $10,000      dollars in Consolidated Water (Nasdaq: CWCO) in 2000 banked a cool      $71,061.43 by February of 2006.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Water has to be moved, as      well… and the lucky few who invested $10,000 in the IPO of American      Commercial Lines (Nasdaq: ACLI) in the early part of 2005 would have made      more than 310% by May of 2006.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></li></ul><span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And these profits are just the beginning of what could be the greatest investment of the 21st century. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Think of it this way: Bottled water sells for roughly $1.50 a liter at the gas station right now, while gasoline sells for around $3 a gallon.  With 3.78 liters in a gallon, bottled water would be selling for $5.67 a gallon - almost twice the price of gasoline. And water companies don't have to build expensive oil wells and refining plants that are toxic and environmentally unfriendly. The overall cost to bring water to market is, in many cases, lower.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">In the end, investing in water stocks is a smart play all around for those seeking constant, stable returns.  Global Summit Management (SGM) reports that from 2000 to 2005, water utility stocks returned 134.57%, while the S&P 500 clocked in at a mere 2.74%.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And those who invested in water stocks for a 10-year period were even happier.  The stocks banked 446.01% from 1995 to 2005, versus 9.06% in the S&P.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <strong style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Conclusion on Water</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The world needs safe, clean drinking water and acceptable sanitation levels. Demand is outstripping supply. And several smart companies are solving the problem, which bodes well for investing in water for long-term gains.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />  <span class="normal1"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Good investing,</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><br />

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